Bookish ABC’s
Book Questions? Yes, of Course I’ll Answer Them…
Apparently there are weirdos out there who like alphabetic lists. I’m usually too disorganized for that shit, but this is about books, people. Books. I have to answer questions about books, even if the person asking them is overly infatuated with their ABC’s. Everyone has their strange book fetish, and it’s up to me to help indulge it. It’s my book tax after all.
My answers might be boring to you, but you’re the sucker sitting there reading a list of stuff about someone else’s reading life. Besides, I think my answers are fascinating. I’m probably the only one who thinks so but it’s my list so that’s what you get. If you don’t like the answers to the questions, I won’t be butthurt. I also don’t give a flying fuck what you think of the answers, and in case you were wondering, I don’t give a stationary fuck either to be honest.
I’m one of the boring motherfuckers who reads predominantly nonfiction. Not because I’m a book snob but because I have a lot of interests that aren’t covered in fiction and at least there isn’t a bloody romantic relationship in most nonfiction. I’m asexual and aromantic, and I don’t want to read romance, it makes me want to gag. I’m a little more open to LGBTQ+ relationships but there has to be more to the story.
Anyway, I shall quit waffling on and answer the questions.
Author you’ve read the most books from — hell, fuck if I know.
Best sequel — Honestly I don’t read many series these days except reference books.
Currently reading — I tend to read several books at one time.
- When God was a Woman by Merlin Stone
- Jaws of Death: Gate of Heaven by Dietrich von Hildebrand
- Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages by Jeffrey Burton Russell
- The Growth of Mysticism by Bernad McGinn
Drink choice while reading — water or coffee.
E-Reader or physical book — yes.
Fictional character you probably would have dated in high school — I wasn’t allowed to date in high school, and I wasn’t allowed to read decent books.
Glad you gave this book a chance — Member of the Family: My Story of Charles Manson, Life Inside His Cult, and the Darkness that Ended the Sixties by Dianne Lake.
Hidden gem — Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown.
Important moment in your reading life — the moment people stopped censoring what I read.
Just finished — The Wonder of Guadalupe by Francis Johnston. It’s a fabulous book about the appearance of Mary to Juan Diego. It was full of information I didn’t know. This particular apparition was one I was drawn to learning more about.
Kind of books you won’t read — Christian fundamentalist bullshit, Amish romances, any other romances, Elsie Fucking Dinsmore (okay, that’s one set of books that actually would be much better if Elsie was fucking almost anybody).
I won’t read almost anything from the Christian Book catalog, although I read lots of Christian books. I just don’t read the insipid evangelical stuff, besides, they are still promoting the same tired authors from when I was ten, for fucks sake. Can’t they find anything new? Oh, that’s right, they are stuck in the dark ages…
Did I mention romance?
Longest book you’ve read — I’m really not sure. The Bible is pretty long, but so are a lot of college textbooks and I’ve read my fair share of those. The Bible technically isn’t a book, either, it’s a library of books, but I have read it from cover to cover many times, so I guess that counts.
Major book hangover because of — not having the self-control to put the book the fuck down and go the fuck to sleep.
Number of book cases you own — three, but one is for homeschooling. I also have my Kindle bookshelves of course. There are zero books in my house that teach crap like young earth creation. I’m not a fan of censorship, if my kids want to read that shit they can find it on Google. My kids are too smart to want to read nonsense like that.
I just prefer not to have it taking up valuable bookshelf space since I live in an apartment and can’t just stack it with books. Isn’t that a damn shame? I actually like apartment life, though. Not too big, and not too small. I’m content.
One book you’ve read multiple times — I warned you that I’m boring. The books I’ve read the most in my lifetime is the Bible, and as a child it was the King Jimmy because it’s the only true word of God in the English language. Okay, I can’t even make shit like that up. I own plenty of Bibles, but I threw my King Jimmy’s in the trash years ago.
Preferred place to read — wherever I happen to be at the time.
Quote that inspires you, or gives you all the feels, from a book you’ve read — from a book I just finished, Caesar and Christ, by Will Durant: to men and women imprisoned in the prose of poverty and toil it brought the poetry of the sacraments and the Mass, a ritual that made every major event of life a vital scene in the moving drama of God and man p. 602)
Reading regret — Created to be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl, anything else by Mike and Debi Pearl, the King James Version of the Bible, anything under the heading of “creation science,” can you tell I did my time stuck in the cult of fundamentalism.
I also regret the fact that nobody thought it important to teach Donald Trump to read, my kids don’t like reading (they are weird), the fact that I fought against using Kindle for so long, and that I have very little money to spend on books (so be a dear and use my tip jar).
Series you started and need to finish — The Presence of God: A History of Western Christian Mysticism by Bernard McGinn.
Three of your all time favorite books — I think this is the toughest question of them all.
- The Awakening by Kate Chopin
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
- The Book of Common Prayer (yes, really).
Unapologetic fanperson for — Jesus, Mother Mary, oh…wait…this is about books…
- My own writing work. I’m almost done with writing a really damn good book about the rosary.
Very excited for this new release — I can’t purchase any new releases due to funding issues, so I try not to look at the awesomeness I’m missing out on. However, Nobody Crosses the Wolf by Lisa Nikolidakis releases tomorrow, September 1, 2022, and it’s definitely worth reading. I got it as my free read from the First Reads program from Amazon Prime. Lisa was one of my professors in my graduate degree and when I saw something of hers pop up I decided to read it.
Worst bookish habit — smelling the physical books I read.
X marks the spot (start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book) — Fields of Blood by Karen Armstrong.
Your latest book purchase — Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World by Tara Isabella Burton.
Zzz-snatcher book (the last book that kept you up late) — The Bible, only because that’s what I tend to read late at night or at 3:00 AM.
Well, those are my answers. I hope you enjoyed them. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have books to read (if you feel like adding to my book fund, there’s a tip jar below).
