The Avid Readers Tag

Today we have a bookish blog tag! I was tagged by Katja (thanks, girl!) for the Avid Readers Award, and it looks super fun, soooo let's get to it!

Rules:

-Display the blog award logo in your blog.
-Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you (don't forget to link to their blogging website)
-List your favorite 5 books
-Answer all the questions they have given you
-Nominate 4 bloggers of your choice
-Ask them 10 questions

My five favorite books:

Dude. Do you have any idea how hard it is to narrow this down?? I'm gonna need Goodreads to help with this one. Sooooo...okay, let's give it a go. In no particular order:

Fallen Angel by Jeff Struecker & Alton Gansky

Angels Walking by Karen Kingsbury

Set the Stars Alight by Amanda Dykes

Defy by Tricia Mingerink

His Watchful Eye by Jack Cavanaugh

*Cries* that was sooooo hard! Just watch, after I post this, I'll think of a different book. *sigh* oh well. ;)

Now off to the questions!

If you could pick one fictional character as your sibling, who would it be? 

Ohhh goodness...hmm. Looking through Goodreads, I keep going "Oh, that's a good choice!" But then it's always something like "Oh wait...they're estranged from their family" or "oh wait...their dad died" or something like that *cringes* buuuuut I think I'll go with...Rafe Sullivan. From A Question of Courage by Jesseca Wheaton. *nods* (Y'all have no idea how long it took me to decide that)

What’s a strong opinion you have about a trope/opinion/anything else lacking in books, especially Christian fiction? 

Oh goodness...something lacking? Um...well, I'll go with depth of story. So many books I read it seems like have a good and engaging plot, but no meat to the story, because that's just what it is: a story. When I read a book, I want to learn, to carry away something meaningful, or to be moved. I don't just wanna close a book and say, "Cool. Now where's the next one?" I want to close a book, just sit there and think about it for awhile, and say, "Duuuuude. What. Was. That?!" And, in my opinion, Christian fiction has become so cliched that it's hard for me to enjoy it. I wouldn't call this a strong opinion, but it's definitely one that I believe in. ;)

What’s a book you didn’t expect to like but fell head over heels in love with?

Dear Enemy by Jack Cavanaugh. Like, seriously. I read it in 2017, before I got into intense, suspenseful books. Like, I don't know if I'd ever read a suspense book before that. So when a friend gave it to me to borrow, she was like, "I don't know if you'll like this...it's pretty freaky." So I started reading with much trepidation. ;) But y'all. HoLY CoW. This...this is the book that hooked me on suspense novels. *clutches chest* *falls over*

What is your dream reading goal?

Uhh...all the books on my TBR? *laughs* for real though, to get all the books read on my physical shelves, kindle, and my Goodreads 'to-read' shelf? That...would be amazing. *Goes to check* On Goodreads alone, I have 186 books on my TBR. I've got over a hundred physical books I haven't read, and probably (maybe) around thirty on my kindle. Soooo it's going to take awhile. Buuuut I've read 60 books so far this year, so I guess I've got a good start? As long as I don't find any more to add to the unending pile...

Favorite quote (or two ;P) about reading? 

I...honestly don't know all that many quotes about reading. If any. So I just looked them up, aaaand my favorite(s) that I found are:

“The person who deserves most pity is a lonesome one on a rainy day who doesn’t know how to read.” 

–Benjamin Franklin

“You know you’ve read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend.” – Paul Sweeney

Your opinion on dust jackets?? 

They're vital, of course! I personally love dust jackets on books. Not when I'm reading the book, though; don't want to mess up that pretty lil' thing! ;) But yeah. I think they look soooo sharp on hardcovers. And there's just something so sharp about dust-jacket-bound hardcovers sitting on a shelf that just...*chef's kiss*

Your favorite book spine(s)?

...Dude. You do realize that I love spines basically just as much as front covers, right? And that to pick just a few favorites is soooo hard, right??? Ugh...I'll just pick from the ones on my shelves at the moment so I can take a picture of them all together. *grins*

I realized when I took this that I...apparently really like neutral/earthy tones. Well, minus the purple one I had picked out...but that one kinda clashed with the others and the decor. So there's that. (Note: I haven't read all of these. But Falls Like Lightning was super good, and Danger Close was really good...and I'm reallllyyyy looking forward to the others. *grins*)

(P.S. this is a picture I took for Instagram—if you're interested in finding me there, you can click on the picture!)

Do you like to eat while reading? 

As far as snacking goes...no, not really. I'm not much of one for snacking. But *cough* I do read at meals. If I'm in a situation where it wouldn't be rude. *hides* Y'all may think I'm insane or breaking a cardinal rule or something, but...rest assured that I'm always very, very careful when I read while eating! *pats head*

Can you read with silence or music in the background?

Both?? Like, it really depends on the setting. I can read just fine with either...but I normally prefer silence when I can. A lot of the time when I'm reading, there'll be people in the room being loud (like siblings de, of course), so I've learned to tune out noise while I read. So if there's music, I either tune it out as if it's not there at all, or I'm so unused to music instead of noise that it just really distracts me. So if I had to choose, I'd go with silence.

What’s your favorite indie book? (‘Cause we gotta spread the love!)

Well yeah, we gotta spread the love, but...do I have to choose just one?! 'Cause I love Questions of War and Freedom and The Torch Keepers and The Blades of Acktar and Stop the Rain and The Divided Nation and Untitled and—*deep breath* Okay. OKAY.

I have to pick just one, huh??

Fine. *huffs* I pick...Freedom by Faith Potts. I'm in denial. It took me sooo long to pick just one favorite, and I'm just over here pouting 'cause this is the only one I could list. (What? That list *points* up there?? That was just under my breath. Y'all didn't hear that.)

*grins* what are your opinions on aforementioned books?? It seriously made me so happy that I got to recommend so many in one post.

I tag:

Ellen

Brooklyne

Rebekah

Eliza

(I didn't realize until now just how few active bookish blogs I follow...anyone ever have trouble finding people to tag? *slowly raises hand*)

So, now ten questions for you tagged people:

-If there was one book whose ending you could change, what would it be?

-Who is your auto-buy author?

-What is the fifteenth book on your shelf—and what is your opinion on it?

-Who are your five favorite indie authors?

-How do you organize your books?

-What is your favorite genre to read?

-What are your three favorite books in that genre?

-What is a book you'd recommend for almost any age?

-What book made you cry (or very nearly)?

-What book (besides the Bible) changed your perspective on life?

Well. That was fun! *scrolls up to check the rules to make sure I haven't forgotten anything*

Thanks for sticking around through that whole post, y'all! (if you actually did, that is...anyone else have a baaaad habit of only reading half of a post unless it's really interesting...or just not reading it at all 'cause you don't want to take the time...? *hides*)

What are your favorite book spines? How many books have you read so far this year??