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I love books and my friend Kim just tagged me with this questionaire:

1)  One book that changed your life?  I have two:  The first book I learned to read was “I am a Puppy” by Ole Risom.  I remember my mom read it to me so many times that when she asked me to try to read it to her, I could “read” it because I had memorized it.  This worked for about two seconds until she started asking me to read specific words out of order.  The first ‘big girl’ chapter book I ever read without assistance was “The Ringmaster’s Secret” (a Nancy Drew mystery) by Carolyn Keene.  I was seven years old and my mom had just bought me a bag of books at a garage sale.  She brought them home and I picked that one because I liked the picture on the cover and I wanted to know what the secret was.  My mom explained that this book was for older kids and encouraged me to pick a picture book instead.  Well, that was all she needed to say because I decided I was going to prove it to her that I could to read it!  I had to ask  her what about fifty different words meant and it took me forever to get through it, but I did it and I was SO proud of myself.  I took off devouring books and never looked back.  Sidenote:  if your kids are reading a book for fun and they come accross a word they don’t know, just tell them what it means.  Dictionaries are not that difficult to figure out after 13 years of school use, and I think interrupting leisure reading with a chore  like dictionary practice discourages a love for reading.

2)  One book you have read more than once?  “Gone with the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell.  This is my favorite book of all time.  I love this book.  I even read “Scarlett” by Alexandria Ripley to try to make the story go on.  Sadly, it was definitely not the same.  Disclaimer:  I know this book catches a lot of fire because of it’s bias and depiction of slavery.  But, I would like to note that it is a work of fiction and it happens to be from the perspective of a very biased fictional character–which in itself can be very interesting and thought provoking.

3)  One book you would want on a deserted island?  Without thinking, I would have said the Bible because of the sheer length, variety of stories, and religious meaning.  But, after reading Kim’s answer of a survival book, I’m thinking I may need to change my answer.  The only survival skills I know are from “Cast Away” and I doubt I would be stranded with an iceskate and a volleyball.

4)  One book that made you laugh?  Any of the Stephanie Plum mysteries by Janet Evanovich.  My sister&mother-in-law turned me on to them and they are hilarious.  Note to Kim:  They are also short (300 pages and large print), pure fun/fluff reading, and can be read with constant distraction due to kids or an odd case of narcolepsy).  In my opinion, she can’t crank these puppies out fast enough–there are currently 12 of them.

5)  One book that made you cry?  Okay, first to mind would be again “Gone With the Wind”, but I won’t say that twice, so instead I will tell you the book that I am most embarassed to have cried about.   Okay, this is actually really embarassing–”Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” by J.K. Rowling.  Don’t worry I’m not the Harry Potter equivalent of a “trekkie” or anything.  I was doing my student teaching for fifth grade and I decided I better know what those Harry Potter books were all about as an informed teacher.  Well, I got hooked and obviously a tad bit over-emotional.

6)  One book that you wish had been written?  I am always thinking of different books to write: some picture books, some mysteries, some autobiographical, some non-fiction.  But, it turns out I am all “talk” and no “action”.  I wish I could/would take the energy/time/motivation to actually write even one of my stories–just to see if I could do it.

7)  One book you wish had never been written?  “Red Dog” by Bill Wallace and “The Call of the Wild” by Jack London.  Now I can’t remember all of the details (I read ‘Red Dog’ in 1991 and ‘The Call of the Wild’ in 1992–both were school assignments) but as an eleven/twelve year old girl with two dogs at home, I remember hating these books so much that I had to strive to block them from my memory.  Obviously, it worked because I can hardly remember what they were about, but I am pretty sure they both included doggie death and I seem to remember one of them had a particularly disturbing scene with intestines being ripped out.  If you know me at all, you know that I love horror movies and I can handle any amount of gore with ease, but I can not stomach (ha ha–puns are funny) any scenes/stories with intestines.  (Incidentally, one movie I wish had never been made: “Braveheart”)

8)  One book you are currently reading?  Two: “Wicked” by Gregory Maguire and “The Rescue” by Nicholas Sparks.  What? No 10 paragraph explanations?

9)  One book you have been meaning to read?  “MEG” by Steve Alten.  Matt recommended it to me and prehistoric sharks sound fun and scary.

10)  Now tag five people: Hmmm…This may prove to be a problem as the only people with blogs (that I know of) are Josh & Kim, who have both taken the survey and Brandon, who is not an avid blog updater : )  But, if I could pick any six people to hear from, it would be my Grandma Sonja, my niece Brooke, my brother-in-law Harry, my friend Katie O, my friend Cheryl, and my mother-in-law Janet.

11)  Name some actual books for adults that you have enjoyed (Okay, I added this question myself after reviewing my responses):  “The Jungle” by Uptain Sinclair is spectacular and gives an eye-opening account of life before the FDA.  Just ignore the socialist diatribe in the last chapter–unless you’re into that sort of thing.  “The Good Earth” by Pearl S. Buck–yes, I read it before it was on Oprah’s book club list.  (Concubines and farming–what more could you ask for?)  And, “A Widow for One Year” by John Irving.  Oh, also, did I mention “Gone With the Wind”?