Tator Tuesdays

Every week we ask our Tators bookish questions. This week's question is 

What book have you read that you weren't looking forward to, but ended up liking it a great deal? 

Angie

Brave New World

Heather

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. I was attending an informal book discussion group a year or two ago where it was on the list. One of the members said that, when she read it, it scared her so much she couldn’t sleep. That, coupled with the fact that the book talked a lot about architecture -- a topic I knew little to nothing about and had no interest in -- turned me off. However, while reading, I enjoyed learning about architecture, the World’s Fair, and H.H. Holmes. The research that went into the novel as well as the narrative Larson was able to weave together makes for a very compelling story that shouldn’t be missed!

Jared

 Life of Pi

Jeane

Life of Pi and Pride and Prejudice

Karena

 Life of Pi. I was not looking forward to that one at ALL, but ending up liking it a lot.

Laura

The Age of Innocence. I was about to give up on it and if it weren't for CWAtC, I would have stopped reading it early on. I ended up enjoying it very much, and this experience made me realize THAT is the reason why I joined CWAtC.

Do you have any books that surprised you?

Tator Tuesdays

Every week we ask our Tators bookish questions. This week's question is:

What is your all-time favorite quote?

Angie

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." 
-F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby

Heather

 I don’t have one but a quote that’s been resonating with me lately is Mary

McCarthy’s “We are the hero of our own story.”

Jared

Hundreds. None of them jump to my mind. I love how authors can put shit together.

Karena

“In omnibus requiem quaesivi, et nusquam inveni nisi in angulo cum libro.

(Everywhere I have sought peace and not found it, except in a corner with a book.)” 

― Thomas à Kempis

Laura

“Since you embrace this indiscriminate vice, 

Your friendship comes at far too cheap a price;

I spurn the easy tribute of a heart

Which will not set the worthy man apart:

I choose, Sir, to be chosen; and in fine,

The friend of mankind is no friend of mine.”
- Alceste from The Misanthrope

What's your favorite bookish quote?

Tator Tuesday

Every week we ask our Tators bookish questions. This week's question is:

Who are three authors you'd most like to have dinner with (living or dead)? 

Angie 

Alive: Patrick Ness, George R.R. Martin, Sherman Alexie

Dead: Carson McCullers, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dorothy Parker

Heather

Samuel Clemens, hands down. There’s no way there would be a dull moment. Nate Silver because then I could pick his brain about politics and statistics. And Mary Roach because she’s charming, funny, and deeply curious.

Jared

 Malcom Gladwell, Nate Silver and Clive Cussler

Jeane

Christopher Moore, Anne Rice, and Barbara Kingsolver

Karena

Jenny Lawson, Kevin Hearne and Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens). There would be booze and curse words involved and that spells great dinner party. I wonder what Twain would say to alcoholic Otter pops?

Laura

V.C. Andrews, Edgar Allen Poe and ... hmmm Marquis de Sade to keep the conversation interesting.  

Who would you have dinner with?

Tator Tuesays

Every week we ask our Tators bookish questions. This week's question is:

What was the first chapter book you remember reading? 

Angie

Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Bloom

Heather

I don’t quite remember, but I do know that Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins is the first book I ever read more than once.

Jared

Charlotte’s Web. There are others, but I don’t remember.

Jeanie

The Boxcar Children

Karena

Honestly, I don't remember the first. I remember really loving the Fudge series.

Laura

Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff 

What was your first chapter book?

Tator Tuesdays

Every week we ask our Tators bookish questions. This week's question is: 

What is the best book you’ve ever received as a gift? 

Angie

The Art of Racing in the Rain

Heather

Every gift of books is the best, don’t you think? Most recently my favorite was the gift of At the Abyss: An Insider’s History of the Cold War by Thomas Reed. My mother saw him speak in my hometown, purchased the book, and had it signed just for me because she knows how much I enjoy history and politics. The best book-related gift I’ve ever received was a Kindle from my husband -- it was his wedding present to me. He wanted me to be able to read while traveling overseas on our honeymoon without the burden of physical book size or weight.

Jared

How Far Will You Go? It is a book of questions that’s great for parties. I have a lot of fun memories because of it.

Jeane

The People of Pern autographed by Anne McCaffrey

Karena

1001 Books to Read Before You Die from my parents. It's not really because of the content, but because it got me interested in the classics again which led me to cofounding CWAtC.

Laura

To Be a Pilgrim by Joyce Cary. I found it for .99 in a deli when I was nine years old and my mom went back and bought it for me.

What is the best book you've received as a gift?

Tator Tuesdays

Every week we interview our Tators and ask them bookish questions.  This week's question:

Who do you credit for your love of reading?

Angie

My dad

Heather

There are two people, really. My mother and her father -- my grandfather. I credit my mother because, as a child, not only did she read a lot, but there was a bookshelf in her old room at my grandparent’s house. Many summers were spent perusing her old bookshelf and reading the books that she read growing up. I also credit my grandfather because he was a prolific reader despite the fact he could see out of only one eye. He read almost primarily nonfiction books -- a good portion of them about the Pacific theatre of World War II, where he fought.

Jared

I don’t have a love of reading, but I don’t hate it. I enjoy reading. I don’t credit it to one person, but three. My parents are two, and my senior year English teacher.

Jeane

My mom and Cam Jansen

Karena

My mother. She took us to the library constantly. I think it backfired on her though when by the time we had arrived back home from the library I had already read all the books I'd picked out. She told me "If you read, the world is yours" and it's been so true for me.

Laura

My parents. They both love to read, and growing up, they gave me much praise and encouragement in terms of my reading abilities.

Source: Jared Fagan

Who do you credit for your love of all things literary?

Tator Tuesdays

Every week we interview our Tators and ask them bookish questions.  This week's question:

What is your all-time favorite book title? 

Angie

Get Your Tongue Out of My Mouth, I’m Kissing You Goodbye

Heather

Chelsea Handler’s Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea -- it always makes me laugh.

Jeane

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal

Laura

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. The title is so funny and somewhat long, and it's probably my favorite.  

Do you have any favorite book titles?

Tator Tuesdays

Every week we interview our Tators and ask them bookish questions. This week's question:

What book always makes you laugh out loud? 

Angie

The Art of Racing in the Rain

Heather

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain.

Jared

Karena read parts of Let’s Pretend This Never Happened to me on a car trip. Otherwise I don’t read a lot of funny books since I lean toward non-fiction.

Jeane

Any Stephanie Plum Book

Karena

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson (The Bloggess). That woman cracks me up. I mean look at the cover, hilarious!

Laura

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

What book makes you giggle, chortle, or guffaw?

Tator Tuesdays

Every week we interview our Tators and ask them bookish questions. This week's question:

What was the first book that made you cry?

Angie 

Where the Red Fern Grows

Heather

I think it was Patricia Hermes’ My Girl.

Jared

Source: Jared Fagan

Nothing

Jeane

Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner

Karena

I have no idea what the first one was, but one that sticks out though is My Sister’s Keeper.

Laura

Flowers for Algernon. I remember crying on the walk back to the library to return the book.

What was the first book you remember making you cry?

Tator Tuesdays

Every week we interview our Tators and ask them bookish questions. This week's question:

What is one book you wish more people would read? 

Angie

The Book Thief

Heather

Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. I feel like a lot of people have opinions about it based on what they’ve heard about the novel but have never read it all the way through -- cover to cover. I think actually reading the book would help bring/ create better understanding and discourse about Ayn Rand, objectivism, and its place in the American economic system.

Jared

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. They have to read it with an open mind and get rid of prejudices and misconceptions.

Jeane

World War Z by Max Brook

Karena

A more recent find of my own, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. The story both broke my heart and warmed it at the same time.

Laura

The Great Gatsby

So what book do you wish more people would read?

Tator Tuesdays

Every week we interview our Tators and ask them bookish questions. This week's question:

What was the best book you read last year?

Angie

The Night Circus

Heather

The Last Resort: A Memoir of Mischief and Mayhem on a Family Farm in Africa. My upstairs neighbor lent it to me -- he’s from South Africa and said it was a good representation of what it’s like there. The author chronicles the struggle his family faces as the country plunges deeper into political unrest after Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe orders the “reclamation” of white-owned farms. This puts a target directly on Drifters, the travel lodge that Rogers’ parents own and operate.

Jared

Atlas Shrugged

Jeane

Ready Player One

Karena

The Night Circus

Laura

The Girl in the Lighthouse

What was the best book you read last year?

Tator Tuesdays

Every week we interview our Tators and ask them bookish questions. This week's question:

Who is your favorite author?

Angie

Source: Goodreads

If I have to only pick one right now, it would be Patrick Ness. 

Heather

Source: Goodreads

I love books that challenge us as readers -- that challenge the way we think and view the world around us. I think that Mark Twain did that brilliantly through his use of satire.

Jared

Source: Goodreads

Malcolm Gladwell. I’m a sucker for statistics.

Jeane

Source: Goodreads

Barbara Kingsolver

Karena

Source: Goodreads

To just pick one? I'm really getting into John Steinbeck lately.

Laura

Source: Goodreads

V.C Andrews. The original author, not the ghost writer.

Who are some of your favorite authors?