Feb 75 min read

Do I Have That Book? a literary recommendations tag

I have a confession to make.

I stole this tag. From Daniel Amador. But he did give permission, so I guess that counts for something. XD

Alright, enough chit-chat. *claps hands* Let's get to the books.

The Questions

Do you have a book with deckled edges?

I could have sworn I did. 🤔 Unfortunately, my hunt for said book came up fruitless. The closest I have is a pair of ancient copies of the original Robin Hood (Howard Pyle) and Bambi (Felix Salten), both of which I got from my great-grandmother. I haven't made it through Robin Hood, but Bambi is a fantastic read, by the way. ;)

Do you have a book with 3 or more people on the cover?

Yes! The Door Before by N.D. Wilson. It's such a good cover. *chef's kiss*

Do you have a book based on another fictional story?

I figured I wouldn't, then I realized I happen to have a Cinderella retelling. So cheers for Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine! XD

Do you have a book with a title 10 letters long?

Just one (that I know of... I have a whole box that I didn't go through because I'm too lazy XD). It's Fight Write by Carla Hoch - a must-read for any writers with any sort of action scenes whatsoever.

Do you have a book with a title that starts and ends with the same letter?

Another just one! North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson. BTW, if you haven't read The Wingfeather Saga, you are missing out on a gem in your life. The writing is not the best, especially in the first book, I'll admit, but the story. *wistful sigh* I hope to come up with stories like his someday.

Do you have a Mass Market Paperback book?

I had to do a fair bit of research in order to answer this question. XD (In case you're clueless like me, a Mass Market Paperback book is a book that was printed cheaply in order to make a lot of money. They're small, about 4x6 ish, generally made with a poor quality paper and binding, and have a different kind of barcode than regular, larger books. Also the type is much smaller and closer together, making it compact but harder to read.)

I did, in fact, have several Mass Market Paperbacks on my shelves. But the most classic was Little Women. My mom bought it for me for school the year I decided to read and annotate books for writing. I annotated part of one book and decided I couldn't handle desecrating the pages, so that idea went out the window. XD

Do you have a book written by an author using a pen name?

Kinda? The closest I've got is authors using initials, one of which is Structuring Your Novel by K.M. Weiland. But I Googled a lot of my authors and they were all being legitimate. *offended sniff*

Do you have a book with a character’s name in the title?

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart! Not sure if this technically counts, but who's going to stop me? XP

Do you have a book with 2 maps in it?

Oh yes. Many books. That will happen when you like epic fantasy. XD I decided to go with my version of The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien, though. The Appendices have several maps... or so I thought. Upon closer inspection I discovered that it has two maps, and then the first map redrawn in larger chunks over four pages. It's kinda complicated, but there are, in fact, two different maps in there.

Do you have a book that was turned into a TV show?

The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson is currently being turned into a TV show. I have mixed opinions on that show but I enjoyed the first season overall, so I'm excited for the second one. :)

Do you have a book written by someone who was originally famous for something else?

I could put The Wingfeather Saga in here AGAIN for Peterson's music, but I decided to try and be creative and come up with another one. The closest I got was Stand Up, Stand Strong by Sarah Barratt. She's a writer and podcaster over at The Rebelution and I highly recommend her content.

Do you have a book with a clock on the cover?

I have a book a friend wrote and didn't publish with a clock on the cover called This Broken Family. It was a great book and I'm proud to be one of the very few people that has a copy. XD A more official, published book would be The Lost Art of Reading Nature's Signs by Tristan Gooley. I haven't read it all yet (it's a big book) but I really should... hm...

Do you have a poetry book?

I don't know if this technically counts as a "poetry book", but I own an absolutely stunning copy of Tolkien's Beren & Luthien, which contains several large sections of epic poetry. Great book. *firm nod*

Do you have a book with an award stamped on it?

Surprisingly, no. I'm not a big fan of the way those mar the cover so I try not to buy them if I come across an alternate version, but I figured at least one of the dozens of books gifted to me over the years would have one.

Nope. (Unless it's hiding in aforementioned Box of Books.)

However, The Ascendance Series by Jennifer A. Neilsen has "New York Times Bestselling Author" printed on it, so I'm counting that. XD (And in case you were wondering, the picture I used for Ella Enchanted in the gallery at the bottom isn't my actual copy - mine looks the same except for that award stamp. XD)

Do you have a book written by an author with the same initials as you?

Actually, no. It was kinda surprising to be honest. I wouldn't think J.S. would be hard to find. XD

Do you have a book of short stories?

Wingfeather Tales! I actually have two copies of this, one a hardcover and one a paperback. And I have an electronic copy of Tell Me You Love Me (given to me in exchange for this review).

Do you have a book that is between 500-510 pages long?

*slightly evil cackles* I own this marvelous book called The Complete Encyclopedia of Arms & Weapons, edited by Leonid Tarrasuk and Claude Blair. It's 532 pages long, not counting the index, roughly 11x8, and with print so tiny and close together you almost need a magnifying glass. It's wonderful. XD

Do you have a book that was turned into a movie?

The Lord of the Rings (and The Hobbit - it's a boxed set so I can't not include that one XD). LOTR is my favorite movie ever, and while I have mixed views of The Hobbit, it's not super terrible. The first one is definitely the best of the three, though.

Do you have a graphic novel?

Kinda? Wingfeather Tales has one graphic-novel-type story in it, but it's rather short, so... *shrugs*

Do you have a book written by two or more authors?

Multiple! Though I'll have to go with The Emotional Wound Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi. That series is another must-have for authors. My poor characters have suffered so much at the hands of those books. XD