More “Ask a Bookworm...

16. What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?
       Daisy Jones and the Six. It won a Goodreads Choice Award. Bestseller. I was so disappointed
       in the flat writing. It was a tell not an experience. Ugh!
17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?
       An American Marriage was excellent. Persuasion by Jane Austen surprised me. I was not
        expecting how good this book was. Her best, I think. Flowers For Algernon was better than I
         remember.
18. How many books did you buy?
       I am buying more than I usually do because of the challenges. For example, Mullumbimby an
       Australian book.
19. Did you use your library?
      Yes. The physical library as well as Overdrive which is access to my library online.
20. What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?
       #TheWaterDancer by #Ta-NehisiCoates  Of Course! Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
        Yes. So good.
21. What is the longest book you read?
      American Gods by Neil Gaiman-635 pages
22. What is the fastest time it took you to read a book?
       The LitPRG book I read, Awaken, I think I read in a day. Could not put it down. And I did not
        want to read it!
23. Did you DNF anything? Why?
      I wanted to DNF Cat Woman. But I had to read a super power book. Not my style. I don’t like
       humor books so I could have DNF’d Furiously Happy but I stuck it out.
24. What reading goals do you have for next year?
       Choose carefully. A few books this year I did not like but read them to satisfy a challenge
        prompt.
25. What was your most enjoyable book experience in 2019?
        Easy. Reading along side my teen grandkids. Flowers for Algernon, Monster, Fahrenheit 451
        I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. These kids are so smart and well read. They can discuss!
       
       

Book worm on the porch...

8. What was your very first baby book? The first book I remember reading was Robin Hood. I read it over and over. I was 4 or 5.
9. What is the first book you read on your own? Mrs. Mike. It was way too old for me. Around age 9.
10. How many total books have you read? In my lifetime? Or this year? 2019 I read 81 books. Most years I read between 60-80 books. I have reviewed 880 books on Goodreads.
11. Longest gap between books? I have gone a day or two between books but I need to read. Reading is my crutch.
12. Favorite genres? Literary fiction. Historical fiction or non fiction. Because of  book challenges I have been reading memoirs and have fallen in love. No self help. No true crime unless I have to. Don’t love humor.
13. What books make you happy? Any book well written. I especially like to read a book where the characters have a true human connection. Geraldine and Basil Couts for example.
14. What books have made you uncomfortable? Why? True crime. Violence. Horror. I don’t want to know how inhuman we humans can be.
15. Can you read anywhere? Moving vehicle, roller coaster? Yes. The back seat of a car. In the middle of an airport.

Ask a book worm...

1. What are you currently reading?
     Times Convert by Deborah Harkness and Annie Leibovitz at Work. These are my last two books
      of my 2019 book challenges.
2. How many books have you read this year?  Eighty-one books. But I have two more to finish.
3. How have your reading tastes changed from childhood? I would read anything as a kid. Adventure,
    Romance, my Mother’s book of the month club books.
4. Physical book or ebook? Physical book, of course, but ebook will do in a pinch.
5. Where do you love to read? In the blue wing back chair, in a little nook at the top of the stairs.
6. What is your ideal reading atmosphere? Background noise or silent? Alone or with others? Ideally,
     I like to be alone or with people who do not expect any attention from me. Silent is good but I can    
     tune anything out including the noise of a jackhammer.
7. Are you a writer? I journal. I review everything I read.

      I hopefully will answer a few more questions tomorrow. There are thirty. You know I love this.

December on the porch...

Finishing up #ReadHarder2019 and #PopSugar2019 Book Challenges. Of course I will be reading until midnight on December 31st. It’s how I roll. I read so many great books this year, guided by these challenges. I read a few I did not like. Daisy Jones and the Six, Cat Woman and Furiously Happy. Telling not feeling, super powers and humor. I just don’t get it. So, not the books, me.
I’m listing a few of my five star reads because I want someone to read these amazing books. In no particular order a few of the best books I’ve read in 2019.
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones. Mullumbimby by Melissa Lucashenko, I only read this because it satisfied a challenge, it was exceptional. TheWaterDancer# by Ta-Nehisi Coates netgalley#
Thank you. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Blossoms in Autumn by Zidrou. A French graphic novel. Becoming by Michelle Obama.
The book I most enjoyed reading, because of the enjoyment Ivy got out of reading it with me is, drum roll please, Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.
My Goodreads page lists everything I’ve read this year as well as my review and rating for each book. So far 80 books but I have to finish three more. Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley, Annie Leibovitz at Work and Times Convert  by Deborah Harkness.

                                       Merry Christmas. I need to bake a little more. Shop for two more gifts.
                                       I’ve crossed “clean the house” off my list so I have time to finish my books.
                                       I have a concert to enjoy. Grandchildren to visit. Snow to shovel. A family
                                       dinner to host and one to attend. I mailed a hundred cards. No downstate
                                        party this year. We had Christmas in July instead at our camp...