By The Book Tag

Good day, all! I'm here to do the By The Book Tag, which I was tagged for by the lovely Raechel @ God's Peculiar Treasure Rae. Thank you, Raechel! ^_^

So without further ado . . .

What book is on your nightstand now?

Honor Redeemed by Christine Johnson. It's the second book in the KEYS OF PROMISE series, and I'm just thrilled to be reading a review copy from Revell!

What was the last truly great book you read?

I finished Valiant by Sarah McGuire about a week ago, and it was splendid! A retelling of The Brave Little Tailor ... clean, adventurous fairy tale!

And I know I've already mentioned Waking Rose by Regina Doman like a hundred times in the past couple weeks, but that was truly a great book. ^_^

If you could meet any writer – dead or alive – who would it be? And what would you want to know?

Goodness, do you really want me to name them all?? It would give me immense pleasure to meet Jaye L. Knight and Tricia Mingerink, both authors of Christian fantasy, because they've been such great online friends and writer mentors ... and I LOVE their books!

Nadine Brandes!!! Just because, I'm part of her ninja team and I love her, and love her books, and ... yes! ^_^

Yet-to-be-published writers ... I must meet Deborah O'Carroll someday! She's just a darling and very wonderful online friend! And Amanda Beguerie, Hannah Williams, & Raechel (who tagged me)!! And Hannah Rhodes!!! <3 And a host of others! :D

Also, Melanie Dickerson, because I think we have a lot of the same likes/thoughts - she said I was a kindred spirit after reading my review for her book, The Golden Braid. :)

Sarah Sundin, Laura Frantz, R.J. Larson, Anne Elisabeth Stengl, ... you know, just to chat, fangirl a little, get my books of theirs autographed and all that! :D

What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?

Um ... I don't know? Some of the Sisterchicks series by Robin Jones Gunn? I usually don't read much for contemporary-fiction, but I read one of these books, and they're really humorous and light. :)

How do you organize your personal library?

I rearrange it often, so it depends ... But right now, I have it organized into genres: Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retelling, Historical, Contemporary, Dystopian, and lastly, Christian Living/Self-Help. Each genre is organized in alphabetical order by author's last name. I've been quite pleased with this arrangement.

What book have you always meant to read and haven’t gotten around yet?

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. I'm going to give it a try sometime!!

Anything you feel embarrassed never to have read?

Not really. I don't need anyone telling me what to read. I know what I like! :)

Disappointing, overrated, just not good: what book did you feel you are supposed to like but didn’t?

I don't know. There's definitely some books I don't like, but it's probably not because they're not good, and just because they're not my kind of book.

Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?

Luther and Katharina by Jody Hedlund. Yeah ... not my kind of book. It infuriated me to no end. And some of the romance content I really don't prefer to read. This is one of those authors I will probably just stick to their YA books.

What kind of stories are you drawn to? Any you stay clear of?

Fantasy, fairy tale-ish-ness! Deep, real, soul-stirring stories of faith & journeying to God's heart. Novels that explore relationships between father and daughter, mother and daughter, brother and sister, and friends are favorites for me. Rich historical, regardless of the era, captivates me. I adore a sweet romance.

My reads need to be clean! It can't have swearing in it (if there's just one or two minor ones, I'll black them out with a marker). No dark magic/witchcraft being portrayed as good. I don't like when romances get too focused on the physical, detailed, or sensual. There are quite a few Christian author I've chosen to no longer read by, or I just read their YA novels.

If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?

Going with Raechel's answer: the Bible! Great answer! After all, I believe it was our first president, George Washington, who said it's impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible!

What do you plan to read next?

Most likely To Love a Stranger by Colleen Coble, which is my next review book! :)

I TAG ...

Hannah @ My Bookcase and I

Natasha @ Looking Through My Lens

Deborah O'Carroll @ The Page Dreamer

Christine @ Musings of an Elf

Marita @ When I Hear Music