It’s another rainy summer morning so we’re hiding inside with our library books and I figured this was a good time to participate in the What’s On My Bookshelf tag that I saw at Rachael’s blog, Beach Bookworm. She didn’t technically tag me, but then she wrote those magic words: “If I didn’t tag you, and you would like to do this tag, then consider yourself tagged,” and that was pretty much all the encouragement I needed. Ready to play?

The Rules:

1. Link back to the original creator, Naty @ Naty’s Bookshelf
2. Also link back to the person who tagged you!
3. Name one book for each category. Try not to repeat books to make this more fun!
4. Tag at least 5 people.

Shall we begin?

A Library Book

I actually just finished reading this last night but I haven’t returned it yet, so that counts right? My book club is discussing A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout this month. It’s about a freelance journalist from Canada who is kidnapped while reporting in Somalia and held hostage for over a year. So, you know, a light and fluffy read. [/sarcasm]

A Book You Got as a Gift

The Everyday Poet by Deborah Alma | My aunt gave me this book around Christmas if memory serves and it’s a pretty cool assortment of poetry to fit every mood or occasion. Featuring classic poets like Wordsworth, Tennyson, Dickinson and more contemporary poets like John Agard, Jo Shapcott and Roger McGough.

A Childhood Book

Dawn and the Impossible Three by Ann M. Martin | Pretty much the minute I stopped reading picture books exclusively, I stumbled upon my childhood library’s very impressive assortment of Babysitter’s Club books. This was back in the early 90’s when the series was all the rage. The heyday as it were. Of course it only took me a minute to read all the copies at the library so my dad had to fill in the gaps with his salary so that I could read all billion of them. In my attempt to get my daughter equally addicted, I somehow only managed to really sell her on the handful of graphic novels that have been recently made – but it might be just as well because the libraries and bookstores today only seem to carry three or four random titles at best.

A Magical Book

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling | Is it a cop out to list a Harry Potter title when the person I was tagged by also listed Harry Potter? Or is this just a sign that we have good taste? Or that the series has quickly become a modern classic that pretty much everyone has read at this point? Either way, when I think of magic, I think of Hogwarts, pretty much immediately.

A Romantic Book

Save the Date by Morgan Matson | This is the book literally on my nightstand right now. It was actually published this month – I don’t normally get my hands on a book that early but in a moment of weakness I pre-ordered the hardcover because I’ve loved all the other books by Matson that I’ve read and I’ve been craving easy, sweet stories to go in between all the heavy books that my book club has been picking this year. Matson is great at writing a coming of age story that has real emotions but doesn’t make you drown in them. It’s got realistic family life stuff, a little drama, and a heroine who means well but is by no means perfect. And of course a sweet love story is developing on the sidelines.

A Steamy Book

Level Up by Cathy Yardley | I had to turn to my kindle for this one because this story takes the cake for most unexpectedly steamy read in recent reading for me. My review of the book pretty much says it all: “a lightning fast read that made me blush. gratuitous geeky references, file this one under guilty pleasure.”

An Old Book

I found this copy of When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne in my local bookstore and had to take it home. I know it looks pristine but that’s because the dust jacket it was wearing was practically in tatters. I was delighted to find a very well preserved book underneath it.

A Book That Makes You Happy and/or Laugh

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows | This is the story of Edward, the King of England who is only sixteen and also dying. In an attempt to save the line of succession, he marries off his cousin Jane to Gifford or G who also happens to sometimes be a horse. Seriously. This book takes historical fiction to a very different place. It is a book which is impossible to describe without the other person looking at you like you have a third head but it’s also one of the best books I read in 2016. The authors have a new book out recently called My Plain Jane and I’m fairly chomping at the bit to read it (see what I did there?).

A Book That Makes You Emotional

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green | I mean obviously right? I’m assuming you already know all about this book and I don’t need to explain it to you. It has become so popular that it veered into annoyingly everywhere territory – to the point where I have to sometimes remind myself that I loved it. It’s truly one of John Green’s best novels. But I also get a kick out of this SNL sketch which is pretty much the first place my husband’s mind goes if you mention the book.

A Book Whose Ending You Dislike

The Cafe by the Sea by Jenny Colgan | I love Jenny Colgan forever and ever amen but the ending of this book surprised me. To put it simply, she ended up with the wrong guy. I understand that this is clearly what the author was going for – that maybe I’m a minority here and have my ships crossed, but really? Really?

A Book You Wish Had Illustrations

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell | I think the little illustration on the cover is adorable and I want more. I think it would have been really fun to have the cover artist do little illustrations throughout the story. I’d also really like to erase this book from my mind completely so that I can read it again for the first time. Just saying.

A Book or Genre That You Love Reading When It’s Raining

This feels impossible to answer because truthfully any good, absorbing book will do – but, in an effort to be a good sport, I picked out a handful of books on my shelf that looked like they’d be fun to curl up with on, well, a day like today. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen for the kind of moodiness of the tone; Sailing Alone Around the Room by Billy Collins because good poetry always goes well with bad weather; and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle because a classic mystery compilation seems like the perfect thing to tackle on a rainy day.

I Tag:

• Kate @ Ex Libris
• Birdie Bookworm
• Alison @ Hardcovers & Heroines
• Michelle @ The Writing Hufflepuff
• And anyone else reading this saying, “Oh tag me! Tag Me!”