WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 3 FAVORITE BOOKS OF ALL TIME?

Impossible to say.  My kids ask me this all of the time but its just not something I can pinpoint.  I can tell you that my favorite books this past year were: Pachinko, Educated and Ask Again, Yes.  

 

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR AND WHY?

Hard to nail one down, but I have always loved true crime writer Ann Rule.  She died a few years ago but up until that point, my family and I would wait anxiously for every new book!  Her ability to weave a story out of facts and minutiae was incredible! 

 

IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND AND COULD ONLY HAVE ONE BOOK WITH YOU, WHICH ONE WOULD YOU PICK? WHY?

This probably changes every few months but today it would be Pachinko, Love in the Time of Cholera and Anne of Green Gables.  Because they each take me to a different far away place and perhaps I might need that if I was stranded by myself and missing my life!

 

WHAT IS THE FIRST BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY?

The Thorn Birds, duh!  It was the first book that I could not put down probably because I was drawn to the unattainable romance!

 

WHAT AUTHOR DID YOU DISLIKE AND THEN GREW INTO?

Glennon Doyle Melton Wambach—Maybe I couldn’t relate?  Maybe I wasn’t willing to open myself up to the possibility of how greatly I related to her?  But either way, Untamed spoke to me from the first page and continues to speak to me.  So much to think about as I navigate life as a mom, wife, daughter, friend and HUMAN.

 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE UNDER-APPRECIATED NOVEL?

Not sure if this classifies as under appreciated, but some friends and I had vastly different opinions on this one.  I really really loved Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro.  I actually read it twice.  I felt so much compassion for her and her situation and I completely understood the journey she had to go on.  Though my life is not the same, for some reason her feelings resonated with me.  

 

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK AS A CHILD?

The Ralph S. Mouse books by Beverly Cleary.  I had a second grade teacher who would leave me notes from a “mouse” in my classroom.  It was incredibly special.

 

WHAT BOOK DO YOU BELIEVE EVERYONE SHOULD READ?

I thought Educated was just a phenomenal story of self discovery, persistence, and becoming.  

 

IS THERE A GENRE YOU NEVER READ? WHY?

I don’t typically read romance (my Danielle Steel days are long gone!) though I just started Outlander after seeing the show and how crazy the fandom is over the books!  Had to see for myself the hype.

 

IF YOU COULD HAVE COFFEE WITH ONE AUTHOR - DEAD OR ALIVE - WHO WOULD IT BE? WHY?

I have to say Ann Rule.  Maybe this is less about her books and more about her experience with true crime?  Either way, her books are engrossing and I would love to hear about her research process.

 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO READ?

I love my screened porch over looking the Blue Ridge Mountains or my bed looking out the window at the same view!

 

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK CHARACTER?

Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice.  Her belief in herself and her convictions even in a world that goes against all of that is so inspirational.  #goals

 

WHAT BOOK WORLD WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE IN?

Pride and Prejudice.  Mr. Darcy.  Nuff said.