Since I love books, and several of my blog friends do as well, I’ve been mulling over some questions for creating a book meme. And here it is!

1. Do you remember how you developed a love for reading? I think it began in school: I don’t really have a memory of reading before that.

2. What are some books you read as a child? A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, A Child’s Garden of Bible Stories by Arthur Gross, Little Golden Books and Dick and Jane readers.

3. What is your favorite genre? Biographies and Christian fiction.

4. Do you have a favorite novel? It’s hard for me to have just one favorite. 🙂 A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens and Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.

5. Where do you usually read? Um…in the bathroom. 😳 But evidently that’s not uncommon. I sometimes read at the table while eating (though I know they say not to do that) or on the loveseat in our family room. I also take a book any time I am going to have to sit and wait, like doctor’s offices. I just can’t stand to sit and stare at walls or look through old magazines. Plus reading helps reduce nervousness of some of those waiting times by helping to get my mind off of whatever I am waiting for.

6. When do you usually read? Well, besides whenever I go to the bathroom 🙂 I love to read on Sunday evenings after church. I read some weekday evenings as well. Reading is a relaxing way to end the day or to take a break. And, as I said before, I love to pass waiting times with reading.

7. Do you usually have more than one book you are reading at a time? Yes, one for each bathroom. 🙂

8. Do you read nonfiction in a different way or place than you read fiction? Yes. Fiction I can usually get into any time anywhere. Nonfiction in the form of a story I can usually read most anywhere. But most other nonfiction takes more concentration. I can “get” the “lesson” in a story easily and retain it easily (which is one reason why I love Christian fiction and one reason why I believe Jesus told parables). But for nonfiction written in an instructive form I need to be without distraction to get anything from it, and I often read it with a pencil in hand to mark key points. I sometimes incorporate Christian non-fiction into my devotional time, though I try to keep that primarily straight Bible reading. I also need to read in defined sections (chapters or smaller divisions) whereas fiction or a biography I can put down and then get back into at any point.

9. Do you buy most of the books you read, or borrow them, or check them out of the library? Most of the classics I check out of the library, and then if I really like them and think it’s something I’ll treasure and reread, then I’ll buy it later. Most Christian fiction I buy: the local libraries carry some of it, but not much and not what’s current.

10. Do you keep most of the books you buy? If not, what do you do with them? I keep a few, but most I pass on to my mother-in-law. The ones I don’t think she would be interested in I give to Salvation Army.

11. If you have children, what are some of the favorite books you have shared with them? Were they some of the same ones you read as a child? I did specifically look for some of the books I mentioned on question 2 when my children were smaller. I also sought out The Little Engine That Could. the Little Bear books were favorite as, were, of course, Dr. Seuss. With my youngest two we also discovered the Jesse Bear series by Nancy White Carlstrom. I loved it for the sweet stories and rhymes and beauitful art work, but then when we named my youngest Jesse (after a former pastor, not after the bear) it was especially fun. I also book a Bible in pictures book because I remember being awed and fascinated by one when I was younger. We used it for family devotions when they were preschoolers.

12. What are you reading now? The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and South Carolina by Yvonne Lehman.

13. Do you keep a TBR (to be read) list? Yes. I have a list on the computer where I can easily add books that I see other people recommend. I also list classics I want to read.

14. What’s next? The next classic I want to read is To Kill a Mockingbird. I am not sure about the next Christian fiction. I don’t think any of my favorite authors has anything new coming out just now.

15. What books would you like to reread? Les Miserables, Jane Eyre, The Becky Miller books by Sharon Hinck, the Little House series, some of the Anne of Green Gables series, Little Women, Changed Into His Image by Jim Berg, Amy Carmichael of Dohnavur by Frank Houghton, By Searching and In the Arena by Isobel Kuhn, Goforth of China and Climbing by Rosalind Goforth. Some of these, particularly the last several, have already been read more than once, but I could still reread them several times.

16. Who are your favorite authors? Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Amy Carmichael, Isobel Kuhn, Rosalind Goforth, Sharon Hinck, Terri Blackstock, Lori Wick, Beverly Lewis. (Writer2be reminded me of Elisabeth Elliot. How could I have left her off??!! I probably quote her more than anyone else.

I am going to tag some specific people who I know love to read: Alice, Susanne, Barb, Katrina, Deena, writer2be, Cindy, and Bet. But I also want to leave this wide open to anyone who would like to do it — let me know if you do and I will be glad to come and read your answers! I’d love it if you’d link back here, too.

(Photo courtesy of the stock xchng.)