Friday, October 5, 2018

The Bibliophile Sweater Tag


I wasn't tagged with this specifically -- I found it at The Book Hound, and RM Lutz tagged anyone who wanted to steal it, so... here I am, stealing the tag.  Like a year after it was posted.  Because that is exactly what my life is like right now.

I'm not just busy these days, I am STUPID BUSY.  Like, so busy it makes me stupid sometimes.  I hate it.  I need to unload something from my pile of life, but every time I try, something else jumps on the haywagon and I'm overloaded again.  GRR.  ARGH.

Anyway, here are the rules of the tag, which I am merrily disregarding because... I can.  (Just like I'm ignoring my laundry today...)

1. Give the person who tagged you an endless supply of cookies. (If I knew where she lived, I would.)
2. Answer the questions and use the blog graphic. (Check.)
3. Pass along the tag. (If you want to steal this from me, go ahead.)
4. Wear a sweater. (I only own one sweater, and while it's been cold-ish here again lately, I really don't want to wear it.  I don't like sweaters.)

Fuzzy Sweater -- The Epitome of Comfort

I turn to Rex Stout's mysteries starring Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe whenever I need cheering up.  They always do the trick.  I've collected all of them over the years, but only read about a third so far.  They get their own shelf in my library -- all the ones to the right of the Nero Wolfe Cookbook are the ones I've read and the ones to the left of it are the ones I haven't gotten to yet.



Striped Sweater -- A Book You Devoured Every Line Of

I can't help inhaling The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery when I read it.  I simply can't read it slowly!  I chomp my way through it as quickly as possible because it's soooooooooo delicious.



Ugly Christmas Sweater -- Book with a Weird Cover

I took a pretty picture of it for #AustenInAugust on Instagram, but this copy of Persuasion by Jane Austen has a very weird cover.  Look at the person on the cover!  I assume it's supposed to be Anne Elliot, but WHAT is going on with her clothes?  Her butt seriously cannot be that huge, and bustles weren't a thing during the Regency, so why is this even on this cover?  The more I look at it, the more it bothers me.





Cashmere Sweater -- Most-Expensive Book

I just ordered a used copy of My Lost City: Personal Essays 1920-1940 by F. Scott Fitzgerald on Amazon for $29.95.  I am CRAZY excited about this!  This is probably not the most money I've ever spent on one book, but it's close, cuz I buy a lot of my books used.  But the reason I'm putting it here (and the reason I'm excited) is that used copies of this book usually go for between $70 and $200.  I've been wanting to read this book for ages and ages, but cost prohibited me.  Well, thanks to meandering around my Amazon wish list yesterday, I saw that there was an affordable copy on offer and snatched it up.  I should get it this weekend.  SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Hoodie -- Favorite Classic

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte... but you probably knew that already.  If you've been reading my blogs for more than like a month, anyway.  I even led a read-along of it a couple years ago.

Cardigan -- Book Purchased on Impulse

I'm not a big impulse buyer for books UNLESS I'm at a library book sale or yard sale where books are only a dollar.  This is why I have such high ratings for books on Goodreads -- I don't read books I don't already know something about and think I'll like.  I don't have time to read all the books I WILL like, so why waste my very limited time on books I know I won't?  

But anyway.  I bought Holiday Grind by Cleo Coyle at the library's semi-annual book sale last year, not knowing anything about it except what the cover told me, namely that it's a mystery that involves coffee and takes place around Christmas.  It's been languishing on my TBR bookcase in the basement ever since.  I'm hoping to read it this winter.



Turtleneck Sweater -- Book from Your Childhood

The Black Stallion by Walter Farley was my favorite book from age 7 until I was in my early 30s and finally admitted to myself that I like Jane Eyre and The Count of Monte Cristo better.  It's still my 3rd-favorite book, though.  HUGE part of my childhood.  I used to spend so much time imagining I was Alec Ramsay, marooned on an island, with a horse for my best friend.  Days and days and days living in that world in my head, while my parents just saw me doing my schoolwork and chores.



I re-read The Black Stallion as an adult a few years ago, and while I now can see that much of it is wildly implausable and hinges on massive coincidences... I don't care.  At all.  I still adore it.  And to be honest, my other two favorite books have lots of coincidences in them too.  I don't mind coincidences!

(I read 3 or 4 of the other books in the series and they were meh, in my humble childhood opinion.)

Homemade Knitted Sweater -- Indie Book

Getting so excited for the release of Soldier On by Vanessa Rasanen at the end of October!  I got to read an ARC of it to review for Sister, Daughter, Mother, Wife, and my review will be out in a few weeks!  I'll post about it here too, don't worry.  This book is fantastic -- meaty and deep and about so many of the hard things in life... but the good things, too.



V-neck Sweater -- A Book that Didn't Meet Your Expectations

Longbourn by Jo Baker.  Do yourself a favor and don't read it if you're a fan of Pride and Prejudice and want to keep liking Austen's characters.  Calling it a disappointment is a dire understatement.

Argyle Sweater -- Book with a Weird Format

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, which is told in overlapping circles, like the stories are ripples in a pond, intersecting and widening and changing all the time.  It took me a while to get the hang of it, but once I wrapped my head around the non-linear storytelling, I really dug it.

Polka Dot Sweater -- A Book with Well-Rounded Characters

Middlemarch by George Eliot is breathtaking when it comes to fantastically deep characterizations.



That's all, folks!  Happy autumn to all of you :-)  I'm not tagging anyone with this, so if you want to play, then play!

14 comments:

  1. Ooh, this sounds fun! Maybe I'll have to steal it . . . hmm . . .

    I didn't know you loved The Black Stallion! (Oh, wait . . . I just got that confused with Black Beauty. Ah, well. Still, that's neat. :))

    I'm sorry things have been so busy for you! I do hope you can find a way to cut something out. To quote a version of Father of the Bride, "You need your rahst!" (Rest. ;)) Honestly though you inspire me and give me hope that if I do become a wife and mother someday, I can still make time for the things that I love, like reading and watching and blogging and writing. :) <3 Keep on keepin' on, as they say!

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    1. Olivia, definitely steal it if you like it!

      I've read Black Beauty multiple times too, but I don't love it ;-) Too depressing for me to love, I think.

      I'm glad I inspire you to hope that you can still do what you love when you're an adult ;-) Just takes determination/stubbornness!

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  2. Ahh! Thanks for stealing this tag and linking back! It was a fun one and it was fun to see your answers, too. I also loved The Black Stallion, but I haven't read it in ages.

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    1. RM, glad you had fun reading this :-)

      Nice to find another Black Stallion fan!

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  3. I'm glad I'm not the only one who disliked Longbourn! I gave up on it. I was so sure I was going to love it based on reviews I read and it irritated me so intensely I couldn't get past the first couple of chapters.

    I hope you get a break in your crazy busy life soon and have some time to relax.

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    1. Jennifer, definitely not the only one! I'm always confused by the glowing reviews of Longbourne -- I feel like either they didn't actually read the book, or they don't value the same things in Austen's books that I do.

      I hope that too!

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  4. Yay! I love tags like this and I'm totally stealing this one.

    The first Black Stallion book wasn't ever my favorite but I feel like revisiting it now. I've enjoyed pretty much every other Walter Farley book I've read - some very, very much so.

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    1. Eva, very fun! I see that you did do this one -- hoping to get a chance to read it soon!

      How funny that we're opposites on Walter Farley's books!

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  5. What a fun tag! Loved reading your answers, Hamlette...and absolutely delightful stopping by for a visit again!
    I actually specifically wanted to tell you that I have been reading The Lord of the Rings for the fist time and am completely and utterly in love with it... Why, oh WHY did I wait so long to read this series?!
    Blessings to you!

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    1. Hi, Kelly-Anne! So glad you could drop by :-) And I LOVE that you're reading LOTR for the first time! And that you're loving it <3 I felt that same way when I finally read it for the first time!

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  6. AW, this looks fun! Maybe if I get myself together I'll post it on my blog. (At this point I wouldn't get it together for Youtube.) Either way, I like seeing The Blue Castle as one of your answers since I hear SO much good about this one. :)

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    1. Rissi, it IS a fun one! And nicely non-holiday-specific, so you can do it any time in the autumn.

      Blue Castle earns every rave review it gets. WONDERFUL book.

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