Halee tagged me for the blogger book tag yesterday, and it looks like so much fun! 🙂 There are lots of questions, so without further adieu…

1. Name a book you’re embarrassed you haven’t read. All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Pretty sure every bookworm who doesn’t live under a rock has heard of this one, but for those who haven’t, it’s a Pulitzer Prize winning WWII novel and I neeeed it. Now. I feel like it’s probably one of those heavy books that takes a bit to get into but is incredibly moving and gripping. I need a freezing cold Saturday in December (to sit by a fire with hot chocolate, obviously) to read it all day long, ya feel?

2. What is the strangest thing you’ve ever used as a bookmark? A dirty tissue? An empty chip package? There’s nothing I wouldn’t use as a bookmark.

3. Look at your bookshelf. What is the first yellow-spined book you see? Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary. 😉

4. If you could have one new book from a deceased author, who would it be? Jane Austen, without a doubt.

5. Name an author who deserves more readership. Rachel Coker. I don’t think I’ll ever get over how talented she is! My biggest writer crush for sure. 🙂

6. Bookmark or random piece of paper? Whatever is closest at hand! Though I’ve been keeping a tin full of bookmarks near my bed since I was ten, so I have quite the collection going. I’m never short of bookmarks.

7. Can you stop anywhere in a book or do you have to finish the chapter? It kind of drives me crazy to stop anywhere in a book, but if reality calls, I make do. Haha!

8. One book at a time OR Several? Several! School required (I’m finishing up Tom Sawyer for school), buddy reading (I’m reading Jane Eyre with Brooke at the minute), and leisure ones (I’m eating up Prisoner of Night and Fog!) I always have a tall stack of books by my bed.

9. Do you read ahead or skip pages? SKIP PAGES? READ AHEAD ?? NEVER. If I’m into a book, I make sure to thoroughly enjoy it. And think about how much work authors put into every single word of their novels! Never ever ever. Like, ever.

10. Breaking the spine or keeping it like new? Like new! In elementary school I was notorious for spine bending, but I have since broken that horrid habit. I liked reading the pages one at a time, but the cracked spines drove me crazy. My books were practically falling apart! *hides face in shame*

11. What books do you regret reading? Off the top of my head, I can think of two books in the YA genre that were hyped up for months. So many people were raving over them so I picked them up but was sorely disappointed. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (hated the ending and disliked the main character, shockingly enough) and Passenger by Alexandra Bracken (way too many details, info-dumps, and insta-romance.) It’s a shame I didn’t like these, too, because their COVERS ARE SO PRETTY. (cover judger right here.)

12. On average, how many books do you read per year? 2015 was the first year I kept total track of the books I read; my goal was 50 and I read 70. This year I went crazy and decided to reach for 100! Heh heh… yeeahhh… this year has been much busier than the last, and I’ve only read 50 books thus far. *weeps* I started the first handful of months off spectacularly, though! 7-10 books a month! Now, it’s more like… 3.

13. What book can you read hundreds of times and never get tired of? Interrupted: a Life Beyond Words by Rachel Coker, The Fences Between Us by Kirby Larson, Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, and Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson. They’re all either childhood favorites or have worlds that are so enamoring it’s easy to get lost in them!

14. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from a book? What a question! I think this question deserves its own post! In a nutshell, books have taught me what living life to the fullest is. I think it’s why I’m so in love with reading people’s stories, because I’m fascinated by how humans live life. As an Albert Camus quote goes, “Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.” I’ve always been a people-observer, and fiction has only encouraged me to want to understand humans better.

15. What is the most recent book you’ve read? Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse. It’s a shocking WWII mystery and I finished it in 24 hours! (The first book in many months that has kept me up at night.)

16. Name a book quote you’ll never forget. “Words are life.” – The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

17. How many books do you own? I’d say… 300-350? My parents have always encouraged me to buy books and even provided me with book baskets when I was little. My whole family has shelves full of books everywhere in our house. I take great pride in my beautiful books!

18. Of the past year, what is the greatest book you’ve read? Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys. Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein. Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin. The Winner’s Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski. In that order. Too many to choose from!!

I tag everyone who is reading this post to feel free to participate on their blogs. What are the greatest books you’ve read in the past year? What have books taught you? And what are your opinions on spine-breaking? Dog-earing? What book did you last read? Tell all!