Here we go again with a book tag on a Thursday! This week’s book tag was found on Kristen Kraves Books, and I knew it would be super fun to go through.
1-What was the last book you DNF?
I wrote about this on Monday, but it’s Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression. It sounded so cool, but ended up being a big disappointment.
2-Last book you reread?
Oh, yikes. I don’t know if I can remember that far back. I mean, I read the Woman’s World graphic novel three times in a row the first two days I had it, if that counts? Once for the story, once for the art, and once for both together. I feel like you have to re-read graphic novels several times over to truly appreciate them. I’ve got a few more graphic novels at home that I need to start on, actually.
3-Last book you bought?
I bought several books off of ThriftBooks, and the last one to arrive was Dancing in the Dark, which I mentioned above. (So disappointing!)
4-Last book you said you read but didn’t?
This is one of the ones for my thesis: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I tried so hard to read it, but eventually gave up and just read a summary on SparkNotes instead. It’s not quite up there with Ulysses in terms of boring, but it’s probably closer to Mansfield Park.
Other than that, there are so many books I didn’t read in undergrad because I got bored, but I still passed the classes and ended up magna cum laude.
5-Last book you wrote in the margins of?
Most likely one of my Vonnegut books from the Spring 2018 semester of grad school. I always wrote in the margins of my school books, because I found that was the easiest way to keep track of important notes, etc. It took me a few years to get used to doing that (mostly because I’m one of those people that has to have her books 100% perfect/looking like the day they arrived, because I’m weird like that), but now I know it’s the best way to go.
For my thesis books, I wrote in a little notebook I dragged around with me everywhere, so I wouldn’t have to keep the rest of the books with me at all times.
6-Last book you got signed?
I have never met one of my favorite authors in person, but I’m hoping to change that at some point in the near future! (I’m looking especially at you, Jenny Lawson!) The last book I bought that was signed was Bridge of Clay (mostly because the signed edition was cheaper than the regular one on Amazon), and I regret it. I can’t stand the book. Anybody want to take it off my hands for cheap?
7-Last book you lost?
Honestly, I’m sitting here trying desperately to think of the last book I lost, or even briefly misplaced. I remember I had to pay for a library book in seventh grade because it disappeared, and once we moved and unpacked we found it sitting in the book box the movers had packed. I guess they hadn’t noticed the library sticker. (It’s also why mom banned me from borrowing library books before we moved, just in case it happened again.) And that’s how I got a copy of And Then There Were None.
8-Last book you had to replace?
I’ve got to replace either A Storm of Swords or A Feast of Crows, from the Fire & Ice (aka the Game of Thrones) series. I lent it to a friend and she never returned it. Which is depressing, but at least they’re easy enough to find, right?
9-Last book you had an argument over?
If I were to take a guess, it’s gotta be To Kill a Mockingbird. I mean, I’ve got some very strong opinions on this one, and they’re not opinions that many people share. Personally, I think it’s time to move away from Harper Lee and her “classic” novel (which isn’t all that well-written to begin with!), and find something else. Please don’t fight me in the comments over this one, because I’m not in the mood for it today…
10-Last book you couldn’t get a hold of?
My mom asked me to track down a book for a library patron a few weeks back (and now I can’t remember the name of the book), but it was published in 1929 and had been out of print for decades. I found a mimeographed copy online (but of course you couldn’t print it), and the only way to get a physical copy would be to pay a collector a lot of money. There wasn’t even an e-book version on Google or Amazon for this book! The customer wasn’t happy, but that’s what you get for trying to find some obscure book from the pre-Depression era.
Well that was fun! It took a little more thinking than I had planned, but I enjoyed it! What about you? Do you have a strong opinion on a book that nobody else shares? Or are you still searching for that one childhood book that you know exists, but you can’t find it anywhere? Let me know in the comments!
And as always, keep reading.
Books are Only the Beginning 