Today is National Read-A-Day Book Day, and we wanted to talk to you about the books we love and enjoy (or that absolutely drove us bonkers). We also want to hear from you! What are some of your favorite books? Answer the questions along with us in the comments. Happy National Read-A-Book Day!
What was your first favorite book or book series?
Jen: Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery, at least as I remember it. In truth, it was probably the Baby-Sitters Club or Sweet Valley Twins. Ooh, ooh, or Encyclopedia Brown! Um, or it could have been Nancy Drew…or maybe the Bobbsey Twins. Is there an option for “all of the above?” I read a lot.
Allie: The first favorites would have been anything by VC Andrews. I probably shouldn’t have been reading them as young as I was, honestly.
Tracy: The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S.Lewis
Tiff: My first favorite book series was The Sleepover Friends series by Susan Saunders. I remember devouring these books one right after the other when I was in elementary school! I couldn’t get enough.
Jacob: Gregor the Overlander by Suzane Collins. I like Suzane Collins’ other books but these are (in my opinion) far and away the best books she has ever written.
What is your favorite book currently?
Jen: I’m getting pretty desperate for the latest in the Will Trent series by Karin Slaughter, but I haven’t had a lot of time to read lately. Some of my go-to books that I’ll read over and over are the Elemental Series by Brigid Kemmerer, the Transplanted Tales by Kate SeRine, Summer Sisters by Judy Blume, and just about anything by Maeve Binchy.
Allie: “From the Corner of His Eye” – Dean Koontz. I’m a huge fan of Dean Koontz, always have been. While he’s usually known for horror, this particular book was more of a supernatural thriller with a good heart. I loved it and have read it multiple times over the years.
Tracy: Other than the Bible, it is still To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Tiff: Since I’ve really been into mysteries and thrillers lately, I’ll say my current favorite is The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. I read it in three days, which is a big deal for me since I usually take my time reading. It was a major page-turner. I’m also a sucker for anything by Sophie Kinsella. I like to call her books “a chocolate milkshake for the brain,” which isn’t a bad thing at all. 😉
Jacob: The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. This one is a close one, with several books both fiction and nonfiction vying for first place. I love the rest of Tolkien’s works, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, The Magician’s Nephew, Gregor and the Code of the Claw, Fast Movers, Harris and Me, and the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, but this is probably my favorite. It’s hard to beat the rich world Tolkien created populated by such interesting beings.
What are you reading right now?
Jen: A book I’m editing for a client. However, I just finished The Guest List by Lucy Foley. It’s a very fun thriller set on a desolate Irish island, filled with crazy characters.
Tracy: I’m doing more writing than reading, but I have snuck in a few thrillers. The last one I read was The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn.
Tiff: I’m currently reading (a.k.a. listening to via audiobook because I have a toddler and can’t find much time for sit-down reading these days!) The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware. I’ve loved everything of hers that I’ve read so far!
Jacob: Right now I’m reading a couple of books. One is Football: Great Writing About the National Sport. It’s a collection of great pieces written by the titans of sports writing. It captures the magic of sportswriters from days gone by, before 24/7 sports coverage and television presentations made such descriptive writing mostly obsolete.
I’m also reading a book called Code Talker Stories by Laura Tohe. I’ve been on several mission trips to the Navajo Nation and the WWII Code Talkers are a part of their proud heritage. I’ve been lucky enough to go to the Navajo Code Talker museum as well. Shelley bought me this book there and the stories from the people who served are incredible.
What is your favorite “classic literature” that you have read?
Jen: I return a lot to To Kill a Mockingbird and The Catcher in the Rye. Of course, I’ll read Anne of Green Gables any time, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I tend to like him better than Huck Finn.
Allie: “Lord of the Flies.” I think I’ve always been drawn to the darker side of fiction.
Tracy: Other than TKaM, I also enjoyed Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. On the other end of the length spectrum, Gone With the Wind was a great book.
Tiff: It’s a tie between A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith and 1984 by George Orwell. Re-reading both brings me so much joy!
Jacob: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. It’s hard to beat the king of mystery novels, and Arthur Conan Doyle’s mystery’s stand the test of time. The mysteries are still riveting and Sherlock’s powers of deduction still feel like a perfectly plausible superpower.
What book series made into movies have you really liked/disliked? (You can answer both or just one)
Jen: Definitely the Lord of the Rings series. I love that they were so faithful to the original work without completely burying the viewer in it. I tried really hard to get into the latest Nancy Drew TV series but I was irritated with the supernatural aspects. Not that I don’t like supernatural stuff; I do! But Nancy Drew’s bad guy was always just an ordinary person, in the end.
Allie: Liked – ”The Green Mile” – Stephen King. Historically, his books to movies have been hit or miss, but this one was so true to the written word and beautifully acted as well.
Disliked – “The Cat in the Hat” – Dr. Seuss. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love Mike Myers… But this was something that should have never happened.
Tracy: I’d have to go with The Lord of the Rings too, as well.
Tiff: So mine’s not a series made into a movie, but a series made into a TV show. My favorite hands-down is Little House on the Prairie. I love all the books. I loved (and still love) the TV show. Even my husband loves to watch the reruns with me!
Jacob: Book to movie adaptation that I liked: The Lord of the Rings. I’ve got to side with Jen on this one. Peter Jackson stuck close to the source material, resulting in a beautiful and satisfying take on an incredibly detailed universe created by JRR Tolkien.
Book to movie adaptation that I disliked: tie between Artemis Fowl and Percy Jackson series. It’s sad because I loved both of these book series, but the movies didn’t follow the books at all. Super disappointing considering how interesting both the series’ could have been on the big screen.
