Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Off with the old, on with the new

And the winners are: (drumroll please) Scotty &Emily and M. Gray.  Send me your wish list of five or more LDS FICTION books along with your mailing address.  Please include the words "Wish List" in your subject line.  Send to bhansen22 at msn dot com   Congratulations!

With the conclusion of one contest, the next one begins.  This time let's talk about books, ones that left a lasting impression for good or ill, the price of books, e-reader books, favorite genres, favorite children's book, the Whitneys, and any book-related topic.

To begin I'll admit my most treasured possession as a little girl was a ratty copy of Mother Goose.  It was minus a cover, probably my fault.  Another book I adored was an eqully worn book simply called 365 Bedtime Stories; I have no idea who the author was.  When my parents went to town and brought me back a treat, my favorite was a Little Golden Storybook.  In a few years my favorites became too numerous to list, but they included The Bobby Twins, Tiger Tiger, Heidi, Anne of Green Gables, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Trixie Beldon, Old Yeller, The Black Stallion, Cowgirl Kate, and more. 

I've read something from every genre and have gone through preference phases where I couldn't seem to get enough of one particular genre, then as I've grown and my life interests have changed, so have my reading tastes.  The same can be said for my writing.  I've dabbled around in many types of writing and genres.  I just finished the first book in a pair of historical/western/romances.  (Sometimes it's really hard to fit a book into a particular genre in a nice tidy fashion!)  I'm waiting for my test readers to finish picking it apart before I submit it.  And I have a murder mystery coming out next January.

My fiction To Read stack right now consists of:

Borrowed Light by Carla Kelly
Honeymoon Heist by Anna Jones Buttimore
Independence Rock by Debra Terry Hule
Shadows of Brierly by Anita Stansfield
My Double Life by Janette Rallison
The Blade of Shattered Hope by James Dashner
Matched by Allie Condie

This is a new month so there will soon be additions to the stack which will move the three bottom ones (Whitney contenders) to the "if I have time" stack.  Oh, and I'm currently reading Abish: Mother of Faith by K.C. Grant.

Back to the Wish List contest.  Any time this month, you can comment on any of my March blogs on any book related topic.  I've decided to include comments made on my reviews over at Meridian too. And if I stray off topic, you can too.  Each comment counts as an entry.  One prize goes to someone who makes a comment and one goes to a name drawn from commenters and followers combined. Good luck!
 

6 comments:

Austin Stevenson Owens said...

YAY, YAY! I won! If you REALLY want to send a book to me, here's my wish list, IN ORDER.

1. Shudder (I have been DYING to read it--LOVE the cover)

2. Any of The Bracelet books

Do I need to send you my address, or is it an e-book? And now that I've taken care of this, I can go back and read your post!! :)

Jennie said...

It's a real paper book so I need your mailing address!

Austin Stevenson Owens said...

Jennie!

I just sent you an e-mail! I feel so silly for being as excited as I am! (Just look at the exclamation marks as proof!)

For THIS post. I love that you list the books in your reading pile! I have a reading pile... and these days, I pick up a handful of books, bring them home, set them in my reading pile... and then I'm lucky if I get to read one of them over the course of the next three weeks!

My favorite books when I was a youth...

* Anne of Green Gables. The whole series was one book with separate bindings for me. I love Anne's story, what she experienced when she was young, the different things she dealt with in self-perception, and reading about her path to becoming an amazing person, wife, and mother. She inspired me in so many ways--she made me want to be good.

* No Coins, Please by Gordon Korman. I. LOVED. THAT. BOOK. I checked it out more times than I care admit. It's about a feisty, brilliant kid who can earn money in a million different ways and it was SO FUNNY!

* Fifteen by Beverly Cleary. I loved that old-fashioned love story that was a break from my also-favorite Beezus and Ramona stories.

I could go on....... Maybe another day! :)

Cassandra said...

I think the books you have to read sounds so cool. I read My Double Life and really liked it.

Elizabeth Morgan said...

I think Borrowed Light sounds like such an awesome book.

battraws said...

I LOVED Trixie Belden when I was younger! I had the entire series and once I got married, decided I was too old for them and gave my entire, carefully preserved set, away to Goodwill or DI. I could kick myself now! I have recollected them all - except for #38, but they are not in nearly as nice condition as my originals! I still go back and read them again occasionally.