DAY 30: Favourite Coffee Table Book

Holy heart failure, Batman! This is the final day of the 30 Day Book Challenge! Where the heck did this last month go?

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed browsing through my responses, and if anyone out there has been inspired to pick up even one of the books I’ve mentioned, then my job here is done.

But for now, let us round out the Book Challenge with my final response: What is my favourite coffee table book? It would have to be Short and Twisted, edited by Kathryn Duncan.

Short and Twisted is an anthology of short stories that, as you might have guessed, have some sort of twist in them. The endings can leave you laughing, leave you stunned, or leave you weeping openly (if you’re as emotional as I am). Guessing what that twist might be is half the fun. The stories, poems and images that are compiled in the annual book are selected with great consideration, leaving you with a book of fantastic and clever reads.

In the 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011 collections are stories by me.

Now, I want you to go back and read the paragraph prior to that last sentence. Oh yes – I am most definitely tooting my own horn.

You can’t blame me, right? Short and Twisted 2007 was the first time I had ever been published and was an incredible milestone for me. Ever since, I have submitted a story each year, and have been honoured whenever they were accepted.

Short and Twisted isn’t a large organisation; I don’t get paid for my submissions, nor is the book available in local bookstores. But they gave me the opportunity to see my name in print, and for that, I will gladly display their work on my coffee table and let the world know (or at least, the occupants of the world who have access to my coffee table) about these great books.

And if, by chance, this scenario also gives me bragging rights, then I will brag to my little heart’s content, thank you very much.

- Love The Bad Guy

DAY 29: Book You’re Currently Reading

I’ve said before that I’ve been getting into “the classics”, and this voyage continues: I am currently reading Dracula by Bram Stoker.

I was rather keen to read this. After all, you can’t walk into a bookstore these days without seeing an entirely separate stand dedicated to “supernatural” novels, particularly those about vampires, following Twilight’s lead. But this book, Dracula, is where it all began, so I opened it up and began to read.

Imagine my amazement when I found that Dracula doesn’t sparkle. Can you believe that?!

I’m about three quarters of the way through, and so far, I can quite happily say that Dracula was well-worth the read. Thank you, Vintage Classics!

- Love The Bad Guy

DAY 28: Last Book You Read

I’ve been trying to lessen my current mountain of unread books during the holidays; after all, once I get back into the swing of uni, it is difficult to find the time to curl up with a good book and simply read, you know? (“The horror!”, indeed.) Instead of reading what I want to read, I find myself scrolling through e-reserves and flipping through text-books. I must also read the prescribed texts for my English classes, but those can be hit-and-miss; will they be good books, or won’t they? (This semester, I’m taking a Children’s Literature and Fantasy course, so the books should be rather pleasant! Hooray!)

My point is, dear reader, that with all the books I’ve been reading… I actually can’t remember what the last book was. They’ve all blurred together so much that it’s like I read all of them at the same time (…wish I could do that. That’d be sweeeeet!).

But I think the last book I read was Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.

I’ve been trying to broaden my knowledge of “the classics” during the last few months, and seeing as I loved watching Muppet Treasure Island as a child, I figured I’d give Stevenson’s novel a whirl.

And you know what?

…I think the Muppets did it better. Sorry, Robbo, but they did. Case in point:

- Love The Bad Guy

DAY 27: Favourite Fiction Book

Do you ever have deja vu? Because I can’t help but feel that I’ve already answered questions about my favourite fiction book. After all, there was “My Favourite Book” and “My Favourite Young Adult Book” and the “Book By My Favourite Author“… I shan’t complain though, as it allows me to showcase more than one of my favourites (honestly, who has only one favourite book?!).

So today, my answer is Graceling and Fire by Kristin Cashore.

 

This series (which is soon to be followed by a third book, Bitterblue) is set in an incredible world where gracelings — people gifted with ‘grace’ or a special ability of some sort — fight for survival amongst corrupt humans and those who use their gifts for evil. Graceling follows this universe with a story of adventure, fantasy and romance. Fire, it sequel/prequel, explores an area beyond an impossible mountain range mentioned briefly in the first book, where Monsters roam the earth. Monsters are brilliantly coloured versions of regular animals, but have the ability to captivate and seduce others. Fire is a rare and beautiful human-Monster, who must try and prove to the world that her species does not define who she is.

Lovers of fantasy (Ooh! Ooh! I’m a lover of fantasy! Me! Me!) will surely adore these books as much as I did.

Now, if only she’d hurry up with that third book…

- Love The Bad Guy

DAY 26: Favourite Nonfiction Book

We have already covered the fact that the books that make me laugh out loud are those by David Sedaris, and so those, technically, are my favourite nonfiction books. However, I like to think that someone, somewhere, is sitting in the basement of his Mum’s house with his laptop, Red Bull and myriad of books, and is following my blog and my responses to this challenge with the thoughtful remarks of, “Wow. That sounds like a great book. I will seriously consider purchasing that in the near future.”

And so to you, my most-likely-non-existent-blog-enthusiast, I shall present an alternate answer for today’s topic: Cleo: How A Small Black Cat Helped Heal A Family by Helen Brown.

I will say only this to those of you who may choose to read Cleo some day: Get the tissues ready.

- Love The Bad Guy

DAY 25: Favourite Book You Read In School

Some people are lucky enough to have English teachers who are on the same wavelength as their students, and who consistently provide books that are both intelligent in their literary quality, AND interesting to read. They do exist, people!

I never seemed to have such luck. One year, my class did a comparison piece with Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Weldon’s Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen. For those who of you who have forgotten, I HATE Pride and Prejudice, and Letters to Alice was… odd. ‘Nuff said.

However, there was one book that I am very grateful for having been forced to study, and that was Requiem for a Beast by Matt Ottley. It is a picture book or graphic novel aimed at young adults, with a dark storyline and sinister pictures.

They say a picture speaks a thousand words, and Ottley’s collection of powerful illustrations tell one heck of a story. “It is our memories that makes us.”

- Love The Bad Guy

 

DAY 24: Book That Contains Your Favourite Scene

Well, I am in a pickle, aren’t I? How does one describe a great scene in a book without totally ruining it for those of you who may wish to read it in the distant future…?

Let’s see (she says, cautiously); the book that contains (one of) my favourite scene(s) is Thunderwith by Libby Hathorn.

It truly is a beautiful book. It follows the story of Lara, who, after her mother’s death, goes to live in the Australian outback with her father, his new wife and his four children. Feeling alone and unwanted after her father leaves on business, Lara discovers the companionship of a dog whom she names Thunderwith, a loving creature who seems to arrive with the lightning of storms when Lara needs him most.

My favourite scene is towards the end of the book; it was always memorable to me because it felt, quite simply, powerful. The writing was spectacular, and the emotions that Hathorn weaved into the pages brought me to tears.

I certainly hope that some of you have read it, or may now consider doing so, because it really is a great read.

- Love The Bad Guy

DAY 23: Book You Tell People You’ve Read, But Haven’t

When stressed, some people buy shoes; others buy chocolate; I buy books. A lot of books. As a result, I have approximately (or rather, exactly, because I counted) 57 unread books on my shelves. That’s quite a to-do list, and while I do intend to complete each and every one, there are some books that I tell people I’ve read, even though the truth is that they are quietly sitting on my dusty bookshelf, wondering what number they have moved up to in the queue.

One of these books is The Kite-Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

I have heard from many people that it is rather brilliant, and I swear that I am going to read it…  However, when I say, “Yeah, I’ve read The Kite Runner; it was a good read”…

I’m lying.

- Love The Bad Guy

DAY 22: Book You Plan To Read Next

Sometimes, I don’t plan my next read. It just happens. I could select something and be sure that it is what I shall read next, only to be foiled by my own short attention span.

But for now, the next book I’m “planning” to read is I Kill by Giorgio Faletti. Remember that chat we had about me reading dark and depressing books and writing dark and depressing stories? …Yeah. That’s exactly what this is.

But c’mon – who wouldn’t be intrigued by that cover? I don’t care what anyone says; literally judging books by their covers has not failed me in the past, so I am going to assume that this grungy, bloody, eerie cover is going to bode well for the novel. I’ll let you know how it goes.

- Love The Bad Guy

EDIT: Oh. Oh, yes. I read it, and it was fantastic. I dub thee, book, “recommended”!

DAY 21: Favourite Picture Book From Childhood

When you’re a child, nearly any picture book that is bright and colourful and keeps your attention will be regarded as “your favourite”. But now, looking back, I can pin-point a few of the greatest.

There was And Kookaburra Laughed, which was given to me by my Nanna and Pop and always shines with that lovely memory. There’s Old Man Emu, which also carries the brilliant memory of my cousin and I sitting at our grandparents’ house and reading the book with the accompanying sing-a-long CD. And there’s Wombat Stew, which is hopefully one that someone else will remember, because it would sadden me to think that it is a book that could be forgotten.

But when it comes right down to it, my favourite picture book is The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams.

Admittedly, I may be a little biased. You see, I was in the book when I first read it. It was a birthday present from my mother; she had the book remade with details about my life inserted into the story – my name, my sister’s name, my cousins’ names, and my address. For a little bookworm-ish girl, this was just all that and a bag of cookies. I mean, c’mon: I was in the story! It just doesn’t get much more awesome than that.

It was several years before I read the story as it is meant to be read, but the fact remains that the little Velveteen Rabbit and old Skin Horse get to me every single time.

- Love The Bad Guy