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2024 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (Hosted by Yours Truly)

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My Progress:


9 / 30 books. 30% done!

2024 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama
- Alaska
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- Arkansas
- California (3)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois
- Indiana
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- New York (1)
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- Oregon (2)
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- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (1)
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- Virginia (1)
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.*

International:
- Australia (1)
- Canada (1)
- England (5)
- France (1)
- Ireland (1)
- Scotland (1)
- The Netherlands (1)

My Progress:


12 / 51 states. 24% done!

2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

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10 / 50 words. 20% done!

2024 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge


15 / 50 books. 30% done!

Booklist Queen's 2024 Reading Challenge

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32 / 50 books. 64% done!

2024 52 Club Reading Challenge

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27 / 52 books. 52% done!

2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

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21 / 40 books. 53% done!

2024 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge


13 / 40 books. 33% done!

2024 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

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5 / 25 books. 20% done!

2024 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge

2024 Mystery Marathon Reading Challenge

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17 / 26.2 miles. 65% done!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

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15 / 100 books. 15% done!

2024 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

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34 / 104 books. 33% done!

Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

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31 / 52 books. 60% done!

Disney Animated Movies Reading Challenge

My Progress


32 / 165 books. 19% done!
Tuesday, March 21, 2023

A Top Ten Tuesday Tag


I've been participating in Top Ten Tuesday on a fairly regularly basis for the last ten years. I don't know how many prompts I've engaged since then, but it's been a lot, which makes it tough to find new ones for freebie topics like today's: Top Ten Tuesday Rewind. The idea is to go back and choose a past TTT prompt that you haven't done yet, want to revisit, etc. I scanned through the lists of old prompts and none really jumped out to me, so I'm going to do something different today instead. 

I was curious about my first ever TTT post, so I searched it out. It was on February 26, 2013, and the topic was My Top Ten Auto-Buy Authors. It's interesting to see who I loved to read back then and how my tastes have/have not changed. 

If you want to join in for TTT Rewind, click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl to get all the details. While you're at it, give our wonderful hostess, Jana, some love.

A few weeks ago, Cindy over at Cindy's Book Corner tagged me for The Bookworm Tag. It looked like a fun one and I've been meaning to post my answers ever since. Since there are ten questions, it's perfect for a TTT "list." I'm not sure where the tag orginated, but Cindy was tagged by Sarita at More to Discover. I'm not going to tag anyone. If you want to join in, though, please consider yourself tagged! Leave me a link to your post so I can see your answers.



The (very simple) Rules:

  • Answer the Questions
  • Make up New Ones
  • Tag People
Cindy was asked 10 questions by Sarita, then she made up 10 different questions for the people she tagged to answer. Here are my answers to Cindy's queries:

1. How many books do you have on your physical shelves (best guesstimate)? This answer would have been a lot more embarrassing at this time last year. Before we moved houses, I would guess I owned somewhere around 10,000 physical books. For real! I was living in a 5,000 square foot home and I had lots of room for bookshelves and book piles. In July, we downsized, cutting our square footage in half, which meant donating a large chunk of my book collection. Now, 8 months after moving, I'd say I own about 1500 physical books. Still a ridiculous amount, but so much better than 10,000! It's not hoarding if it's books, right? At least they all fit neatly onto my shelves. For now, anyway...

2. What is your favorite book about books? Great question! I love bookish books (hence, my hosting the Bookish Books Reading Challenge). I would probably have to say The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak for this one, but lately I've also been really loving the By the Book cozy mystery series by Tamara Berry.

3. What is your favorite format to read in (paperback, hardback, e-book, etc.)? I used to be strictly a "real" books reader (preferably hard covers), but when NetGalley became a thing, I bought a Kindle and surprised myself by not hating it. These days, I still prefer paper books. About 40% of my reading, though, is comprised of e-books.

4. What is your favorite genre to read? BBB regulars will not be at all surprised by my answer to this question! Mystery/thriller is my hands-down favorite genre to read, closely followed by historical fiction. I also love compelling adventure/survival stories, interesting memoirs/biographies, riveting narrative non-fiction, and absorbing family sagas.

5. How do you find new-to-you authors? Back in the day, I mainly discovered new authors by browsing through the stacks at the library. These days, I mostly find them through reading book blogs and bookish magazines as well as word-of-mouth from friends and family members. 

6. What is a series (or book) you would/have reread over and over again? I'm not much of a re-reader. Reading a book I've already read feels like a waste of time to me when there are so many shiny new ones out there to explore! That being said, besides my scriptures, there are two books I re-read often: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (my favorite novel of all time) and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (to get me in the holiday spirit every December). There are a few others that I re-read occasionally because I love them so much: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, and the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

7. Do you have a book (or author) you are constantly recommending people to read? If so, what is it?  I belong to a conservative family and religious community, so I have to be cautious in what I recommend! Kate Morton is probably the author I recommend most. Her books are clean—without any explicit violence, sex, or language—compelling, and generally appealing. For mystery fans who don't mind a little language, I always go with Louise Penny. Her Armand Gamache series is one of my all-time favorites.

8. What is a genre you would never read? The only genre I can unequivocably say I would never read is erotica. It's just not my thing at all. Other genres I avoid or at least rarely read would be: poetry, high fantasy, anything political, sci-fi, and urban fantasy.

9. Do you prefer long books or short books? I actually prefer medium books, in about the 200-300 page range. I've never been a big fan of short stories or novellas and these days, I find myself kind of avoiding anything over 500 pages as well. I've become a middle-of-the-road reader, apparently!

10. Who inspired your love of reading? My parents. Both of them love to read, so our home was always filled with books. My mom always read us kids bedtime stories, took us to the library, and encouraged us to fill our leisure time with reading. 

How would you answer these same questions?

For anyone who would like to answer them, here are the ten questions I came up with:

1. Where is your favorite place to read? Or, where do you read most often?
2. Who are your top 3 favorite authors? I know it's like choosing favorite children, but try...
3. What is your biggest reading pet peeve?
4. What is something you do in your reading life that might make other readers gasp (writing in books, bending pages to mark your place, reading a book's ending first, etc.)?
5. Have you always been a reader? If not, when did you discover your love of books?
6. What book would you recommend to a reader to convince them to try out your favorite genre?
7. Do you prefer to read new books or used? Why?
8. How do you organize your bookshelves? 
9. In your opinion, what's the best part about being a book blogger/book nerd?
10. Are you part of a book club? Which book that you've read together has sparked the best discussion?

There you go, twenty great bookish questions to ponder! I'd love it if you answered one or two or twenty of them in the comments. If you decide to do this tag, please let me know so I can see your answers. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on yours.

Happy TTT!

35 comments:

  1. Ten thousand books?! Wow. I had a professor whose entire garage was filled with bookcases. How did you have yours laid out?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had several very large, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that held thousands of books just by themselves. Then, I had a couple smaller bookshelves. The rest (which were review books sent to me by publishers) were stored in file boxes in my guest room closet. The closet was big and STUFFED to the gills with boxes of books. I told guests to open the closet at their own risk. I couldn't be responsible for any book box avalanche injuries!

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Stephen!

      Delete
  2. This is a really neat idea for a TTT! Loved reading your answers. I remember when you were downsizing but I didn't realize you had 10,000!!! I have a library in my home now but it's nowhere near that impressive. I'm maybe around 500!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 500 is a much more manageable number! Books just seem to multiply around here. Seriously, it's like they clone themselves during the night. My bookshelves are stuffed again. HOW does this happen??

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Leslie!

      Delete
  3. Fun answers! And no, it's not hoarding if it's books. ;D I prefer medium-length books, too, and you know I love mysteries & thrillers same as you. And the first words I ever learned to read? "And it came to pass..." Have a great day, Susan!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL. The most read words in all of Mormondom! Those and "I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents..."

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Lark!

      Delete
  4. Wow, you have a lot of books! That’s so cool.

    My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-bookish-things-ive-quit-doing/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What I have is a problem! LOL. Seriously, I don't know how I manage to amass so many books. It's crazy.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Leah!

      Delete
  5. 10,000 books is a lot, but I am impressed that you got to downsize that to 1,500! That must have been a tough one. And it's definitely not hoarding if it's books, haha ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You know, it was actually a relief to get rid of so many books that had just been gathering dust in my house. I was able to donate them all to several organizations that were holding book sales to fundraise for good causes, so that gave me a lot of satisfaction as well.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Lindsey!

      Delete
  6. Fun tag! I’m not a rereader either but I did reread Little Women this winter! And rewatched the 2019 movie of course! I just borrowed To Kill a Mocking Bird from the library…I’m way overdue for a reread! So…I guess I can say I do reread but very selectively! Re sci-fi…..How can I convince you to read Project Hail Mary? You must listen via audio format! My husband and I listened together and loved it! And we’re NOT sci-fi readers! ~Carol @ Reading Ladies

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly! I will re-read certain books, but only a select few. Otherwise, it just feels like wasting time when I could be reading books I haven't read before.

      Guess what? I actually have read PROJECT HAIL MARY and I enjoyed it! My husband loved it and kept urging me to read it. I kept putting it off, but then it was selected for my book club so I read it. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it, even though all the math and science did make my eyes glaze over. There was enough else to love, though, that I kept reading and really enjoying the book.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Carol!

      Delete
  7. 10,000 books is a dream (and slight nightmare, LOL). But, I think it would be a little like heaven on earth if you have room for them :) I love the answers to your questions and getting to know you a little better. #7 I don't have a preference, I love the new book smell, but if I can find a great used book, I love it too! #8 ABC order for fiction, by read/unread for nonfiction. I tried to do it by genres but got overwhelmed. #10-since our move I am not a part of a book club, but hope that changes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had a lot of my books on shelves, but there were still thousands packed away in my guest room closet. I wish I could have had all of them out so that I could see them and have easy access to them. It was nice to get rid of the excess. Now, I have all of my books neatly shelved so I can see them. It's much nicer that way, although they're starting to get stuffed again...How does that happen so fast??

      I hope you find a new book club to join. When I moved, I moved across the street from a really good friend so I was able to join her book club straight away. It's been lots of fun.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Cindy!

      Delete
  8. The Book Thief is outstanding! I love that book so much I teach it at my school. So good!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nice! I wish more books like that had been taught in schools when I was younger. We always had to read boring classics. Ugh.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Nicole!

      Delete
  9. Goodness, 10,000! I have 873 on my "own" shelf on GoodReads but that's probably out of date. I think I've purged a lot since then. Right now they're all in storage while we're traveling. The few "real" books I've bought along the way are in a plastic box slightly bigger than a shoebox in a cabinet above our bed. My bookshelves before we were traveling were Ikea cubes. I had two towers on the ends and a lower section in the middle. All my read books were alphabetized by author in the towers and my unread books were alphabetized in the center section. I like the look of bookshelves that are arranged by color but in reality, that would drive me crazy. I would never find anything.

    Fun topic!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Right? I don't understand people who arrange their bookshelves by color. How do you ever find the book you're looking for? Makes no sense. I know alphabetizing seems super anal to some people, but it's honestly the most convenient way to have books arranged!

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Jen!

      Delete
  10. I loved reading this post!! Fun topic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! It was fun to answer the questions and make up my own.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Captivated Reader!

      Delete
  11. Oh wow, 10.000 books sounds like the dream, but also very intimidating. It's impressive how you managed to bring that number down to almost one tenth. How do you keep them organised?

    I own very few books compared to that and it's a struggle to organise them. I do every shelf differently so that they all fit, but I make sure to separate them by genre as best as I can.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good question. I have a very big, floor-to-ceiling bookshelf in my living room. That's where the majority of my books are stored. I have them separated into fiction and non-fiction (the NF section is VERY small) and then arranged by genre. My desk, which is also in the living room, also has a lot of shelf space. I keep most of my review books there, alphabetized by author. The spillover goes on the bigger bookshelf, also alphabetized.

      My bookshelves are all starting to get really stuffed, which makes it harder to keep them organized. I need to do better about reading the books I own and then donating the ones I don't want to keep.

      Thanks for popping in, Nefeli!

      Delete
  12. The Book Tag works perfectly for a Top Ten Tuesday list. I did mine today. It is fun to compare our answers. The biggest similarity between us is how both of us once had lots of books and now have a much smaller collection.

    I like your questions a lot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As much as I love being surrounded by books, it actually feels good to have a smaller, more manageable collection. I'm glad I downsized it and donated so many of the books so that other people can enjoy them.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Deb!

      Delete
  13. I read the first By the Book mystery just the other month and I'm really looking forward to digging into the rest of the series.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's super fun! I love a cozy that isn't too silly and just keeps me entertained. This one does that really well.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Louise!

      Delete
  14. Nice answers, I love these kind of questionnaires where we learn more about other bloggers. Thanks for that, Susan. Oh, and I totally agree, books can never be hoarded. LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me, too! It's always fun to learn more about other bloggers and compare/contrast our reading habits.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Marianne!

      Delete
  15. I reread the Anne of Green Gables series a lot, myself!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's delightful every single time!

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Gypsi!

      Delete
  16. I love hearing about what people like about reading, etc so thank you for the answers! I am also not a re-reader though I have read the HP books a couple times. I'll do this meme

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow, 10,000 books is impressive. I don't think I'll ever own a house with space for that many.

    ReplyDelete
  18. 10,000 books is a lot! I have about 4,000 and I always get a lot of flack for that, for some reason. Only book lovers understand:-)

    ReplyDelete
  19. This is such a fun tag. I love the By the Book Mystery series too

    ReplyDelete

Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.

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