Norrie tagged me back in December, so I figure I’m doing pretty good to have done this within 3 months. Usually I count on 6, ha! That being said, I’m always up for showing off my books. Shelfie posts are awesome, but individual covers of real, live books are just scrum-diddly-umptious!
Just to be clear, these are all actual books on my bookshelves. We’re talking genuine rotting tree carcasses here, with chemicals!
A book or genre I love to read when it’s raining
The Pool of Fire is the final book in the Tripods Trilogy. A great middle grade series that ends on a very dystopian note. Christopher was not a Utopianist. The gloomy ending is best read on a day that the sun is not shining.
A book I wish had illustrations
The Rook was supposed to be a standalone but its success convinced O’Malley (well, more than likely his publishers) that a second book in the Checquy Files was in order. I would have liked to have seen some of the monsters described in this book.
A book that made me emotional
When I read this back in 2001, the ending just got me right in the feelz. Haven’t had the courage to re-read it for fear that I’ll just roll my eyes now.
A book that made me laugh
Good old Rincewind. This SFBC omnibus has the first 2 adventures, The Color of Magic and The Light Fantastic and then 2 more generic Discworld books. I know most people disagree, but I have always found Rincewind to the funniest stuff that Pratchett wrote. After Rincewind he seemed to get a lot more satirical, biting and bitter.
An old book
This is the oldest book I have that has a year on it. I’ve got several other Dickens books that appear to be just as old but don’t have any information inside of them beyond stating they are reprintings from the first edition. Nothing worth any money due to their condition but they sure look cool!
A steamy book
The 4th book in the Green Rider series. I’d waited 3-4 years between each book and while it started out as an awesome fantasy series, it really devolved into a romance writer wish fulfillment thing. This book has some sort of dream sex sequence so I was just done. Considering that Britain (the writer, not the country) has pretty much let this series dribble down into an unfinished mess, well, I think I made the right decision. It is a series that will never be finished.
A romantic book
The Queen of Romance and probably the ONLY books I’d voluntarily read with that kind of association.
A magical book
The original Earth Sea trilogy. While Le Guin has written more in this world, it was of completely different tone and style and never caught my fancy. I did think of putting this in the next category, as I read the first one as a pre-teen. But when I think of “magic” my mind springs to Ged and Tennar.
A childhood book
This was my favorite book in 4th grade. Probably a good thing I read an abridged version as I’m not sure I could have handled MacDonald’s wordiness back then. This was everything a kid could want in a story: a beautiful princess, a brave miner boy, a magical castle, goblins and monsters.
A book I got as a gift
The Cygnet Duology is the book that Mrs B gave me when we first met in real life back in ’06 or ’07. I gave her the Hobbit. Besides both being dedicated Christians, we’re also both readers. Our idea of a good time is sitting next to each other on the couch reading books. I couldn’t ask for more than that!
A library book
Quite a few of my hardcovers are from libraries. It is one of the reasons I stopped buying used hardcovers on Amazon. The sellers don’t have to list that it is from a library. A used library book has a ton more crap in it than just a regular used book. Not worth the hassle so now I buy it new unless it is impossible.
And that sums up that tag post. I’d definitely be interested in seeing books from all of your collections. (hint, hint)
