Visible Ink

Day 01 – Best Book You Read Last Year

Hands down, The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy.

Some very notable mentions, though, would be The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks, Room by Emma Donoghue, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping by Paco Underhill, Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder, and The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan. 

Day 02 – A Book That You’ve Read More Than 3 Times

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Day 03 – Your Favorite Series

Can’t really pick one series that is my all-time favorite.

When I was younger I very much enjoyed The Boxcar Children, A to Z Mysteries, P. C. Hawke Mysteries, Harry Potter, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Goosebumps, Magic Tree House, Dear America, etc. 

My more recent favorites are The Ranger’s Apprentice, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, and Private. 

Day 05 – A Book That Makes You Happy

Bossy Bear by David Horvath.

Day 06 – A Book That Makes You Sad

At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks.

Day 07 – Most Underrated Book

The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy.

Day 09 – A Book You Thought You Wouldn’t Like But Ended Up Loving

I don’t think I have any. I usually always start a book hoping I will like it by the end. You can’t judge a book until you read it, you know?

Day 10 – Favorite Classic Book

I haven’t read enough classic books to really decide and know…but as of now I’d go with Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

Day 11 – A Book You Hated

The first book that comes to mind is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. In all fairness, the parts with the zombies and ninjas were cool, and they transitioned well throughout the original text, but I think I didn’t like this book ‘cause I just didn’t like the original text. I tried twice thus far in my short lifetime to finish reading Pride and Prejudice, but I’ve given up both times. Now, I never give up on books—I merely set them aside to read other books first. But that just shows how I just couldn’t tolerate Pride and Prejudice, hence, why I didn’t like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

[And a close second place that comes to mind is The Grapes of Wrath. I did end up finishing the book, but I couldn’t stand the experience. Then again, I was in junior high school when I read it, so maybe I wasn’t ready to read the novel then. I’ll probably read it again someday…]

Day 12 – The First Novel You Remember Reading

I actually don’t remember which was the first. I remember reading thin chapter books but I don’t recall the specific time I started reading (big?) novels. Maybe I can go with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets? [Fun fact: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was the first Harry Potter book I read, around the time it was published. I then went to read the first book, and then followed along with the series chronologically over the years the books were released.]

Another book I recall very well is Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson. I reread that book like crazy. I don’t know why.

And of course, I can never forget reading Dracula by Bram Stoker in the fifth grade. Not particularly because the novel was memorable, but because we read that book, and we watched countless movie adaptations in class, and we even put on a Dracula-themed musical (with songs like Rock the Boat by The Hues Corporation, and etc.).

Yup, those three would be the first three novels that come to mind from my childhood. But who knows? Maybe my first novel was actually not any of these. But that also just means it didn’t leave much of an impact then.

Day 13 – Your Favorite Writer

I don’t really think I have one! 

I can easily name my favorite books than my favorite writers. 

But if it helps, I used to love everything written by Sarah Dessen, Laurie Halse Anderson, and Nicholas Sparks back in junior high school, into high school. And throughout high school I liked the works by Mitch Albom, Amy Tan, Lisa See, and John Green. More recent favorites would be Malcolm Gladwell, Hafiz, and Rumi.