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Welcome to the next installment of the Alphabet Tag!  (See this post for the introduction to the series and the questions for letter A.)

B is for Bildungsroman. Do you have a favorite bildungsroman (or coming of age story)?

The first book that came to mind was Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger.  Krueger’s writing is so beautiful.  My friend Tabitha also recently reminded me of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.  While it’s been years and years since I’ve read it, I think it could be considered a coming of age story too?  I need to reread that one soon!

B is for Beach.  What would you recommend for a beach read?

What would you consider the go-to genre for beach reads?  Chick lit?  A page turning thriller?  Here’s one of each that I’ve read and enjoyed:

+ My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella
+ Hostage by Clare Mackintosh

B is for Best. What is the best book you have read this year so far?

I just finished the 1928 novel called A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich and it was my first five star read of the year!

B is for Bookshop or Bookstore. Do you have a favorite bookstore?

My first stop is always Better World Books.  (If you click that link, you’ll get $5 off of your first purchase of $30 or more.)  They often have great sales, always have free shipping and the prices are great.  If I need to buy a book brand new, I’ll look at Bookshop first before heading to Amazon.

B is for Bookshelf. Show me your bookshelf/bookshelves.

This isn’t exactly representative of my collection because I have books everywhere.  But here’s a peek!  The first two photos are some of my TBR books that I keep in my bedroom.  When I run out of room on the nightstand, they get stacked on the windowsill.  (It’s a bit of a problem.)  The last photo is one of two Ikea bookshelves that hold all of the ones I’ve read and were worth keeping.  I organized the spines by color with this one, but the other is more of a hodgepodge.

B is for Brazil. Paolo Coelho’s The Alchemist has been translated into 70 languages.  Have you read any Paolo Coelho and if so, what did you think of his book(s)?

I have never read any Paolo Coelho, have you?

What about you?  How would you answer these questions?

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Today is the first installment of a fun new series and I hope you’ll chime in with your answers too!  I stumbled upon this “tag” on Youtube where the creator asked a handful of questions for every letter of the alphabet.  (This is the original source of the tag.)  I thought I’d answer them here on the blog.  Here are the questions for letter A:

A is for America. What do you consider the Great American Novel?

Full disclosure: I had to look up what constitutes a Great American Novel.  According to Wikipedia, it is “a canonical novel that is thought to embody the essence of America, generally written by an American and dealing in some way with the question of America’s national character.”  What a difficult challenge!  How do you condense such a diverse country with only one book?  I found this website with 25 choices and here are a handful that I’ve read:
+ The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
+ The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
+ Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
+ The Call of the Wild by Jack London
+ The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
+ O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
+ My Antonia by Willa Cather

A is for arc. Which character in literature has the most interesting character arc?

Another really hard question!  I can’t come up with a good answer for this one…do you have any ideas?

A is for Australia. What was the last book you read by an Australian author.

It’s been a few years since I’ve read an Australian book, but here are few I’ve enjoyed:
+ The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
+ The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
+ The Dry by Jane Harper
+ What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

A is for Austen. What do you plan to read for #JaneAustenJuly?

Obviously, I’m answering these questions in January, but I would love to incorporate an Austen book into my reading sometime this year.  Maybe Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility?

A is for automobile. What is your favorite literary automobile?

Hmm, this is a tricky one.  Right now, the kids and I are reading Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming as our school read aloud and really enjoying it.  I also browsed around for some automobile-themed books and found Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City.  Sounds interesting!

A is for anonymous. What is your favorite book or poem published anonymously.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book published anonymously!  I did a little research and one of the books I own is written by Elena Ferrante, who happens to be a pseudonymous Italian novelist.  Who knew?

A is for autobiography. What was the last autobiography you read?

I have not read an autobiography in so long, so does a memoir count?  The two last memoirs I read: Sounds Like Titanic by Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman and Ambulance Girl: How I Saved Myself By Becoming an EMT by Jane Stern.

A is for audiobooks. Do you consider listening to an audiobook as “reading”?

I do consider audiobooks “reading” – whatever gets you thinking and learning is fine to me!  For me personally, I do not use audiobooks because I am definitely not an auditory learner and easily get distracted while listening.  I need to read with my eyeballs to really understand and remember.

What about you?  How would you answer these questions?