The Bookish Tag

I recently started following Annie Hawthorne at her new blog: Curious Wren. She posted this tag for anyone who is following her to do...So I will:) I confess that I've been wanting an excuse to do a tag, but I haven't specifically been tagged by anyone yet. So, yes, I did jump on this opportunity.

1. What was the last book you read, and would you recommend it?

That would be Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse. Yes, I would definitely recommend it. It is a children's book, but it didn't feel like one. I loved its style. Novels in verse are some of my favorites.

2. Describe the perfect reading spot.


I can read just about anywhere. But - this may come as a surprise - I have always loved reading in the car. I don't know what it is, but I feel more involved in the book when I read while we're driving somewhere. Maybe it's because I'm more focused on the book and not getting distracted by the internet (yes, I am guilty!), or by little siblings coming into my room and asking for things;) That's the only thing I don't like about being able to drive on my own now - I can't read while I'm driving. Like, what will happen when I move out and have to drive myself everywhere?


3. Favorite book beverage? Tea? Coffee? Hot chocolate? Tears of your readers?


I love that last question, but my answer is coffee. It's warm and a little sweet with a bit of earthy flavor mixed in...And if you're propped up on the bed with fluffy pillows...And if it's a rainy day...


4. Share favorite quotes from four books.


Pretty sure that this is the hardest question. Don't do this to me:P

(All quotes were found on goodreads)


“Sometimes I come up here at night...just to look at the city. I like to imagine that the world is one big machine. You know, machines never have any extra parts. They have the exact number and type of parts they need. So I figure if the entire world is a big machine, I have to be here for some reason. And that means you have to be here for some reason, too.” - The Invention of Hugo Cabret


“...there would be punishment and pain, and there would be happiness, too. That was writing.” - The Book Thief

Howl said, “I think we ought to live happily ever after," and she thought he meant it. Sophie knew that living happily ever after with Howl would be a good deal more hair-raising than any storybook made it sound, though she was determined to try. "It should be hair-raising," added Howl.

"And you'll exploit me," Sophie said.

"And then you'll cut up all my suits to teach me.” - Howl's Moving Castle


“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?” - Alice In Wonderland


5. What is your most loved fantasy read? Dystopia? Contemporary? Sci-fi? Classic?


I'm going to say fairytale fantasy. I haven't read many books in the other types of fantasy.


6. List three authors you’ve collected the most books from.


Well, I confess that I...don't really...collect...books. There, I've said it. I love books; I am a book nerd. But I don't collect books. The thing is that I feel like if I own a book, it won't be hard to get, and therefore, it will make my interest in it dwindle. It's the same about a lot of the things I love, like TV shows and movies, for instance. If I can have something at my finger tips, it seems less special to me, somehow. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? So, I don't have a large collection of books that I can hold in my hands, BUT my kindle does have a pretty wide collection...the fact that I haven't read all of them yet is irrelevant. 

• Charles Dickens (19)

I have only finished three of his books (A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations), and Oliver Twist is one of my favorite books ever. In all of Dicken's works, I love his characters; how he has an abundance of them; and how he ties them all together somehow in the end, in a way you didn't expect.

• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (11)

Oh, I love Holmes. I love his brilliance and the suspense that he puts us all through. The Hound of the Baskervilles... Oooh, I was actually scared. And I liked it. 

• Mark Twain (7)

I've read Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the abridged version of The Prince and the Pauper, and I read most of Joan of Arc. I love his humor, and just his storytelling ability.

7. What are your thoughts on magic in literature?


I've actually been wanting someone to ask me this question.  

I love magic in literature - if it's used in a fantasy world. If an author uses it in our world, I usually won't read the book. Why? Because the only way anyone in this world would be able to work magic is if they got the ability from the devil. In another world, if magic is a part of their culture or their everyday lives, it could only be that way because God would have set it up that way for them. Or maybe not "could only be", but that's usually how I feel it is presented in that genre.

So, that is my thought on that.

8. What types of book covers capture your imagination most strongly? Feel free to include images.


I think that when I choose a book at the library, or any book anywhere, it is usually for the title. I have picked up a few books before because of the cover, though. The two that I can remember having done so to are:


                    

And these are some that I didn't read for the cover, but I do love the covers, anyway.

                            

                                                   

9. Mention the first book character that comes to mind. Elaborate on this.


Can I cheat? Some characters have come to mind, but I don't have much to say about them; mostly because I've watched the movie and haven't read the book. Hmmm.... Dencey. Dencey Coffyn from Downright Dencey by Caroline Dale Snedcker. I read this book a few years ago, and reread it this year with some friends and my sister. I love this book. I love Dencey's stubbornness, and how she is usually that way because she thinks she is doing the right thing. I love her care for Jetsam, and how her passions are what get her into trouble - she usually is not trying to be bad, but is trying to do what she thinks is right.


10. Do you lend out your books? Or is that the equivalent to giving away your babies?


Actually, I don't think I have ever lent out a book, ever. No one's ever asked to borrow one of mine because, like I said, I don't really have any. I would probably lend you a book if you asked me, though. Just as long as I'm not currently reading it, and I know you'll give it back;)


So, do you agree with me about magic in literature? Do you like the book covers I chose, too? Should I create my own tag? This was really fun to do! If anyone wants to tag me for another one, go for it;)


auf wiedersehen, darling

-Maddie

What's Up Wednesday

I missed last week, but I'm back:) I know it's Thursday, but I wrote most of this yesterday.

What I'm Reading

I finished a few books since I posted last. They were: Ivanhoe, Moon Over Manifest, Out of My Mind, and Out of the Dust. Moon Over Manifest and Out of the Dust were my favorites out of these. I am still reading Ella Enchanted, because I'm reading it with my sister, and we haven't had much time to read together. I haven't even started reading Amos Fortune again.... I got distracted with books my siblings brought home. So, I am in the process of reading The City of Ember and Island of the Blue Dolphins. Is it bad that I've only been reading children's books? I don't think so:)

What I'm Writing

Well, I got a little bit more of my character bio done:) I also wrote a childhood memory of mine in story form. I wrote my MMC story yesterday and today. I wrote one poem. And I worked on a children's story. So, I think I'm finding an adequate amount of inspiration, compared to last time. I hope to work some more on my children's story, and on my character bio this week.

What Works For Me

I always have to work on the balance between simply starting on writing something, and waiting until I'm ready to write it. Sometimes, it helps me to just begin. If something doesn't work yet, I'll fix it later. But other times, if I'm really excited about an idea that I have and I do start writing it right away, if it doesn't come out the way I want it to no matter how hard I try to fix it, I get discouraged. Sometimes, I won't ever go back and try to work with it again. So, I think that you have to follow your instinct when it comes to writing: Should you start right away, or wait until you're ready? I usually have a feeling about it. I need to learn to trust my instinct.

What Else Is New

I don't think much has changed this week. Which, in my opinion, is a good thing at this time. 



So what's up with you?


auf wiedersehen, darling

-Maddie

Prisoners - MMC (September 14, 2015)

Here's another Monday's Minute Challenge story. You can find out more about the challenge at Christ Is Write. 

I tied for third place last week, and won third place the week before that:)

I used the picture prompt this week, and it's a continuation of the week before last's story. It's 300 words.

Greg dug his palms into his eyes, and muttered to himself. Things like, "I should have known this was going to happen," and, "I can't believe what we just did." Completely useless things. Things that didn't make up for what he'd done.

It was bad enough that they had already been gone months without their daughter knowing where they were. But now.... Now they would never get back. She would never know that they really were still alive, and.... That thought brought another to mind. They would never know if she was still alive. 

"Greg. Greg," Dina begged. "For the love of my own sanity, please, just stop. You can't make this any better. You're only making it worse." She heard a sharp intake of breath.

"Dina. Oh, I'm sorry. I can't do anything right, I can't-"

"Shh."

"Dina, please understand that I tried to do what I thought was best-"

"Shhhh."

There was a certain tone in her voice that made him realize something else was going on. He lifted his hands from his eyes and moved to the bars, straining to see around the corner to her cell. Suddenly, her hand appeared, reaching through her bars, something in her grasp. She held it out to him as best she could.

"Greg," she said, as if to get his attention.

But as she said it, he took the crumpled paper that she had been holding.

"Don't open it," she said, and her warning came in time. "Just look."

It was a dollar bill. A very badly folded dollar bill. He could not see its relevance at first. Then he saw the message contained there.

The kids are alright.

"Where-"

"I found it- in my pocket. Remember the guard who brought us down here? I think she slipped it inside."


auf wiedersehen, darling

-Maddie

Top Three Books On My Fall TBR

This is a thing called Top Ten Tuesday hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. Every Tuesday, there will be a new book related topic. I'm not sure how often I will participate, but I liked this topic. I changed the number to three instead of ten, because I don't have much time to write this.

Also, sorry! I took a break from posting last week, because I wasn't getting much else done other than posting:p

So, anyway, here you go.

(Images found on Google)

3. Peter Pan

I love classics, and have never gotten around to reading this one. I know they have it at our library, and I might check it out the next chance I get.

2. Book of a Thousand Days

I saw this at the library the last time we were there, but I already had so many books to read that I didn't bring it home. Next time, however, I think I will.

1. Navigating Early

I just finished Moon Over Manifest, and I loved it. It was one of those books that I don't realize I love so much until the end. Anyway, I can't wait to read another book by Clare Vanderpool.

This post wasn't very long or interesting, but I felt like I needed to post today. 

I should have my MMC story done tomorrow, but that is not a promise, because Wednesdays are very busy for me:)

auf wiedersehen, darling

-Maddie

What's Up Wednesday

This is a weekly blog hop created by J'aime Morrow and Erin Funk. It's meant to help you if you don't know what else to post. It's pretty cool. Gives me an excuse to tell you about my life;)

**I was supposed to put my link in a widget on J'aime Morrow's blog, but I don't see it:( Not sure if this is a thing that people are still doing, but, hey, I will, anyway.**

So here we go. Each week the questions will be:

What I'm Reading

Well, I just went to the library with my sister yesterday and got some pretty good books, in my opinion. I'm pretty excited about them. I've actually read two if them before, and I started the other one and didn't finish it a couple of years ago, but it's making me happy to have them all at home with me at once.

Isn't that a lovely little stack? I read Ella Enchanted in '12, and my mom read Amos Fortune: Free Man to me and my siblings when we were younger. I started reading Moon Over Manifest in '13, but never finished it. It won the Newberry Medal in 2011, so, yeah, it sounds pretty awesome.

Oh, that reminds me. Only after I got home from the library did I realize that all three of the books that I'd borrowed were Newberry Honor winners. If you even care about that:p

What I'm Writing

Well, I wish I had a better answer for this one, but I'm not currently writing anything. I have written four poems this week (two of which are featured here and here), and I wrote three six word stories, but I am not writing anything right now. I should be finishing the bio for my character so that I will be ready to write that story for Nanowrimo (tell me to do it, so that I'll be motivated).

What Works For Me
(Basically, give a writing tip)

Ummmm.... Well, something that I find really helpful is knowing your end. Usually, when I know what happens in the end of a story that I want to write or am in the process of writing, I can write everything better, and am more motivated to write everything else so that I can get to the end and finish it. So, there's a tip for you that might be kind of obvious:)

What Else Is New

I've been up to a few things, lately. First of all, we went to Kansas City for Labor Day weekend to visit our friends. It was really nice to get to see them again. We also had a family get together at my grandparents' house on Monday, which was fun; we haven't done that in a long time.

Today, I babysat a few kids while their mom taught a Religious Education class, called Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. It was definitely a better job than some others that I've done, but it was still tiring. The kids were cute, though:) And tonight, my younger siblings went to COGS, and my sister and I went to a Religious Ed class for teens. It was pretty fun. I met some new people and got to know others better.

I'm also in the process of enrolling for a CNA course for high schoolers. It is tuition free, and I just have to pay for my books and scrubs and things. I'm pretty excited. Now, I finally have an answer when people ask me what I'm going to do when I graduate!

Also, I've finally updated my about page so that you can better see what kind of person I am. Sorry that it took so long! Sometimes life happens, and you don't get to do the things that you would like to.

So, I hope you've enjoyed this! I have;)


auf wiedersehen, darling

-Maddie

Six Word Story Contest

Don't forget who you really are.

It just couldn't end like this.

Was she doing it right? Hopefully.

This is a really cool contest from a blogger I follow, called the Six Word Story Contest. You can get more information here. I actually started following Joy because she would post Six Word Stories, and I thought that it was a really cool idea. I've wanted to try my hand at it, but I felt like that would be stealing her idea. Now she's holding a contest for it, though, so I'm excited! Anyway, here is my entry.

Tell me what you think!

                                                        Are you going to participate?

                                                     


auf wiedersehen, darling

- Maddie

War - MMC (August 31, 2015)

Here's my Monday's Minutes entry for this week. I used the items prompt (Lily, sword, key), and based it off of the sentence prompt ("The fog lifted for a moment, just long enough to see"). It's 160 words long short:) In every way, this is very different from what I usually write. 

The Lily, the Lily 

On his silver chest

Bled with strength unwanted.

Beautiful, beautiful was the color,

But a life it stunted:

His own.

The sword, the sword,

In his limp grasp

Glistened with the same hue;

He had, he had slain many

Others, and had

Stained them likewise, too,

During war.

And the key, the key

Around his neck

Consoled its flower friend.

Hush, hush, it said,

He has kept his promise to her

Until the very end.

Be glad.

And the fog, the fog,

It lifted, 

Just long enough

To see, to see how 

These young lives had

Met an end so rough:

By men.

Her heart, her heart

Would break for those

Who shared in his same fate.

And she, she would praise

Those fallen who 

Would not live to a longer date:

Their sacrifice.

They lay, they lay

There: Lily,

Key, and steel,

And aided, aided the 

Fallen to obtain

A life more real

Than this.

auf wiedersehen, darling

- Maddie

A Tribute To My Summer

We painted that summer

With friends by our side. 

We covered ourselves in colors and smiles and sweat.

And we did great things that summer

With brushes and paint

And tape and plastic

And razors and paper

And buckets and bristles

And water and chisels 

And caulking and singing

And ladders and love.

auf wiedersehen, darling

- Maddie