Another edition of Ten on Tuesday! Also, Chelsea is having another (and final! For now!) giveaway where you could win adorable labels for your mail! I don't send out much snail mail but these labels are enough to make me want to! Head on over to her giveaway post where she has FIVE ways to win. And she's picking 3 winners this week!
1. Favorite book(s) when you were a child and why?
I was probably the biggest fan of The Baby-Sitters Club you could ever meet. Funny thing is, I've only babysat maybe twice in my entire life. But I loved this series because of the characters. After just reading the first novel, I grew close to Kristy, Claudia, Mary-Anne, Stacey (who was sophisticated. Can I just tell you how much I loved that word when I was eight?), Mallory and Jessie. And then Dawn was introduced and later Abby. I loved these girls and felt like they were my closest friends. A part of me really wants to re-read the series!
2. First “grown-up” book you remember reading (i.e. written for adolescents or with adult themes, such as The Outsiders or Catcher in the Rye).
OK. This is weird to admit. And I'm taking the adult theme a little far, maybe. But when I was in middle school, I was over at my dad's house one weekend and didn't have anything to read. So he found a book of my grandma's to read. Only it was an adult book, as in adult themes. As in, kissing and sex and naked bodies. I devoured that book and probably read it 3 or 4 times in the next few weeks. It definitely wasn't a book a 13-year-old should be reading and, honestly, I don't know why my dad ever thought it was a good idea for me to read it!
3. Favorite movie that came from a book (even if you didn’t read the book and just love the movie).
I would have to say The Notebook. I never read the book but loved the movie so, so much that I'm a little scared to read the book. I know books are usually better than the movies but still, this movie was so good! Also, laugh all you want, but The Princess Diaries. Books were AMAZING and the movies were cute as well.
4. Movie that you loved so much that you WISHED there was a book out so that you could find out more about the movie.
Hm...can I say Leap Year? I just saw the movie so it's fresh in my mind. And I thought it was such an adorable chick flick and can't stop thinking about it. Man, this is a bad answer. Moving on...
5. Worst book you’ve ever read?
There are so many! Mostly, those corny chick-lit/romance novels that are so cheesy and use stupid words that nobody uses anymore.
6. Book that everyone raves about that you either a) haven’t read and feel slightly dumb for not having read it or b) have tried to read and hated and so feel slightly dumb that everyone is getting something you don’t.
Twilight. The Harry Potter series. And most of Emily Giffin's books. I only really liked Something Borrowed and Baby Proof. Her other two haven't really done anything for me. She takes so darn long for the story to get started and my attention span just can't stay with a book until Chapter 12, when everything really seems to get interesting.
7. If you were forced to choose only 3 books that you could read for the rest of your life, which ones would they be? (Or if you were stranded on a desert island, which 3 books would you want there with you?).
Miss Match by Erynn Mangum for a fun, pleasure read; Authentic Beauty by Leslie Ludy to keep me centered; and The Bible because it's a pat answer that I should write, right?
8. Name one book that if you could recommend that everyone you know read, what is it?
I don't know about everyone, but one book I would recommend to any girl to read is Authentic Beauty by Leslie Ludy. It's such a radical book that transformed the way I thought of God and a relationship with Him. I've read it multiple times and I could read it again and again. I love it.
9. What is your “guilty pleasure” reading?
I read a lot of trashy romance novels. You know the type: guy meets girl, guy kisses girl, guy takes girl's clothes off, guy and girl have sex, guy and girl realize they're in love with one another, guy and girl get married and live happily ever after. There's no literature value to it but it helps me escape. Ha!
10. What book (excepting the Bible or other major document of your religion/faith) has changed your outlook on life the most?
Refer to Question #8. I can't talk enough about this book! It really transformed my life. The main message of the novel is having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, whom she calls our Prince. And the book focuses on how much God loves us, pursues after us, and desperately wants a close, intimate relationship with Him.