Well, good evening! As it turns out, I have been tagged by the lovely Jenna who runs the quaint Bookmark Your Thoughts blog! (What a cool name, am I right?!) She posts book reviews, nifty bullet journal posts, and the neatest book tags! I love reading her work and you should totally go check her out! She’s down to earth, a candid, relatable gal! Here is a link to the specific post Jenna did with this particular tag–go read it! She had some spot-on answers! And thanks again, Jenna, for the neat tag. I’m super excited about this one!

(Sidenote: I have no idea who to give proper credit to for the photo. It looked awesome, so I borrowed it from Google and added the tag name to it. Thank you to whomever you are!) 

Rules of the tag:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and add a link to their blog.
2. Answer the questions asked on this post — don’t stress it’s quick!
3. Nominate and notify some peeps — 5 preferred.

Book Blogger Test Tag

Question One. What are your top 3 bookish pet peeves?

1. Okay, I’ve got to go with Jenna on this one! Stickers on covers is probably my number one pet peeve! I cannot stand those horrid stickers that leave an eternal, sticky residue behind–that is, if you manage to pull them off entirely to begin with! I’ve been told to soak the spot in oil, and truthfully, that helps some, but the book is still forever tainted by the horrid sticker. God bless you amazing bookstores that spend the money on book-friendly stickers! (Y’all know our pain!) I cannot tell you the absolute satisfaction I get from pulling off a good sticker all in one piece and then holding a pristine book in my hands afterwards! And y’all quit puttin’ stickers in the oddest places too–like the middle of the front cover…oh, and don’t ever peal a bad sticker and then rub the spot on your jeans or a hand towel–I’ve made that mistake one too many times.
2. Shout out to Jenna’s move poster book covers! Those drive me nuts, but even more so than that, I truly hate it when companies change book covers in the middle of a series! I don’t mind if the series gets an update, but when the update happens before the series is complete…then my poor shelves suffer the consequences of mix-matched covers. 
3. Clearly Ima lil OCD when it comes to my books. I really don’t like when people don’t take care of books I loan them. Wow. That sounded really harsh. But listen, I’ll cringe silently when you mistreat your own books, but if you borrow one of mine, please, please treat it like gold! Cause that’s what it is to me. Don’t eat and leave crumbs in my book. Don’t set it on a wet, sticky counter. Don’t doggie ear my pages or write on them. And for all that is good in this world, please don’t bend the covers back so far you can touch the front cover to the back! 

Question Two. Name a perfect reading spot.

Oh man. In the winter, I love curling up in my grandpa’s great big gray chair, swaddled almost entirely in my fluffiest blanket with a steaming mug of hot cocoa nestled in my lap. 

In the summer, I best like to read on my grandparents’ front porch. The nice warm sunshine is all around, lighting up the world. There’s a steady, light breeze that comes through that spot to keep me cool. And I just listen to the creak of the porch swing shifting slowly back and forth, just barely propelled by my bare feet as I lean against the pillow I’ve brought out. 

Question Three. Give 3 reading confessions.

Hmm…I’m not sure what exactly to put here. Let’s see…

1. Oh, I guess I’ve committed to never DNFing a book. There are only two books I’ve ever started that I didn’t finish, and one day, maybe I’ll go back to those. (I was young and got bored with these two particular books–and one I was 3/4 the way through!) Now, there has to be something major to cause me to put the book down and I do a lot of up front research–thanks in part to Goodreads–before I pick up a book to ensure that it doesn’t cross a line I’m unwilling to follow.
2. I feel like this might be a cop-out answer, but I’m one of those with several books on my shelves that, of course, still need read, and yet I’ve just gone out and bought the newest [insert favorite author, series, book that I just had to have here]. 
3. Oh! I still read children’s books XD By which, I mean, I still elementary level and middle grade fiction just for the fun of it. I still love books like the Nancy Drew series, the Hardy Boys series, the Boxcar Children, the Animorphs, and the Magic Tree House books–as a few elementary examples. Some of my favorite authors like Haddix, Hale, and Levine write a lot of middle grade fiction, so I still read those. And, yes, yes I do still read picture books…and no, no I do not have children to read them to. XD (On occasion I have kids to babysit or younger siblings who are at that age, but…the majority of the time, I’m just reading for me and stockpiling for future kids XD)

Question Four. When was the last time you cried during a book?

Oh goodness…I don’t know that I could tell you…um…Yes, I have been and often am emotionally affected by reading; however, I don’t cry very often–because of books or other reasons. Hmm…I tell you what, I’ll give you two.

The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis. Yeah, so this may sound cliche, but that book makes me tear up every time I read it. I reread it last year and had to wipe away a few tears there at the end. That one hits me kind of hard. 

I read Heartless by Marissa Meyer back in 2016, and it almost made me cry. I knew it would be bittersweet going into it, but man…that was definitely bittersweet. Honestly, I don’t know that I read a lot of very sad books…it’s not on purpose, though.

Amendment: I just finished the conclusion to Brittany Fichter’s Autumn Fairy Trilogy, and it definitely made me cry, both happy and sad tears. Go check out this trilogy, and thank me later!

Question Five. Number of books on your beside table.

Hehe…um, lots? Let’s see…I have three journals (one for 2019 goals, one for church notes, and one for a non-fic book/more traditional journal), three Bibles (one brand new to replace the one falling apart under it, and one I lend my sister since she lost hers), three devotionals (one I’m doing with the women’s group at church, and two for Sunday school–one old and then the new one we just started), a book of quotes and daily inspiration, the non-fiction book I’m currently reading, and finally, my kindle. I swear it’s not normally so many XD And not usually almost entirely in sets of threes…

Question Six. Favorite reading snack.

Mm, as a general rule, I don’t eat and read. Pristine book-a-holic, remember? XD However, I do love curling up with a steaming mug of hot chocolate–with just a dash of hazelnut creamer–in the winter.

Question Seven. What are three books you’d recommend to anyone?

Goodness. 

In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis.

And…let’s go with The Giver by Lois Lowry.

Question Eight. Provide a picture of your bookshelf.

Hah, you’re funny. No, seriously…which ones? Kay, so I recently moved and have little furniture; hence…a little over half of my books are currently living in copy paper boxes…then there’s the clear yafa blocks I’ve had since I was a kid, and the rest I’ve begun accumulating through the last two-ish years. 

They kind of cut off a little bit–you can’t see the kids books box very well, but there they are! And the two copy boxes stacked by the curtains are all Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books XD

Question Nine. How much do books mean to you in three words.

My whole world. 

Question Ten. Biggest reading secret?

Ummm…fun fact, the average millionaire reads one non-fiction book a month on average. 😀 Not sure how much of a secret it is, but hey! I used to hate non-fiction as a kid, except for Helen Keller stuff. Then I grew to like non-fiction about WWII, the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War. Now, I love it! Personal growth, finance, marriage, business, you name it! Remember that old saying “If you don’t like reading, you just haven’t found the right book yet”? Well, I think non-fiction is the same way. If you don’t like non-fiction, you just haven’t found the right non-fiction book yet!

Nominations

I’d like to nominate Bethany from Shastin’s Notebook, Abby from When Words Fly, Hattush from Daughter of Light, Emma from Letters to You, and The Honest Avocado. I look forward to seeing what you guys do with this one, should you choose to accept! 

Happy reading, y’all! I hope you enjoyed. Leave a comment to tell me how you would have answered some of these!