Do I Have That Book? Challenge

One of my friends just completed a blog challenge to hunt down and photograph books in one's collection that meet the criteria listed in this blog post. I thought this looked like fun, and since quarantine has provided me with more free time than I've had since 2011, I decided that I might as well do this immediately. Here are my results. I thought about sharing fewer books when one met multiple criteria, but I decided to do the full twenty to not cheat and to share a broader range of recommendations with anyone who might be interested.

As I looked through my personal library, I kept thinking of other prompts that would be interesting, but I kept myself to the official list, and all but two of its categories are represented in my collection. At first, I thought that I didn't have anything for "a book based on another fictional story," but then I realized that my Narnia pop-up book would count. Here's one of my favorite pages:

 

1. Do you have a book with deckled edges?

              Personally, I don't care for deckled edges, because it's harder to turn textured pages, but I do love this book. The twisty mystery involves Victorian schoolgirls covering up their headmistress's murder so that their parents won't fetch them home, and even though I avoided this book at first because of its morbid premise, I'm very glad that I read it. It's extremely well-researched and accurate to the time period, has lots of suspenseful and funny moments, and is full of fantastic surprises as the girls try to avoid discovery and ultimately unravel the case.

             2. Do you have a book with 3 or more people on the cover?

             I do indeed, and this book also has deckled edges. I got this like-new copy for $2 at a library book sale, and would like to thank Darlene, a homeschool mom friend, for the recommendation.

             3. Do you have a book based on another fictional story?

              This pop-up book is delightful. I don't know where I heard about it, but I've looked through it many times, and have enjoyed showing it to friends.

               4. Do you have a book with a title 10 letters long?

              I have several, but this is the one I want to spotlight. This well-researched young adult novel was my favorite read from 2014, and it is my go-to recommendation whenever someone wants an exciting book to read. It's set in Munich, Germany, prior to WWII, and involves a girl who is essentially Hitler's adopted niece meeting a Jewish reporter and beginning to question her assumptions. It's suspenseful and fascinating, rich in historical detail, and has a totally believable character arc.

              5. Do you have a book with a title that starts and ends with the same letter?

               I do! This book is about a little girl's toys, and since one of my fictional characters has an attachment to a plush buffalo, I was thrilled to find this book at the library several years ago. It's a sweet and charming book with a sequel and a prequel, and there's also a spin-off picture book that I love.

               6. Do you have a Mass Market Paperback book?               

               I don't have many, because I'm picky about book editions, but I picked up this mass market copy of Anne Frank's diary at a library book sale for a dollar.

               7. Do you have a book written by an author using a pen name?

               This book changed my life. I sometimes get emotional thinking about how grateful I am that it took me the exact amount of time that it did for me to read all of Agatha Christie's other books, because I read this on the right week of the right month, when I most needed its push for how to deal with overwhelming self-reflection. I wrote more about this book's impact on me here.

               8. Do you have a book with a character’s name in the title?

               This book is the first in a series of six, and it is another one of my go-to recommendations. It's written for a middle grade audience, but also appeals to adults with its witty humor and fun adventure story. All of the books are fractured fairy tales, and this one begins with Harriet rejoicing over the fact that her Sleeping Beauty curse makes her invincible until she is sixteen. She goes cliff-diving and fights ogres without any risk of death, but must also deal with the climactic events of that fateful birthday. This is wildly entertaining, and my siblings and I love the whole series. If you're not a pink and purple sparkles kind of person, don't let that turn you off!

               9. Do you have a book with 2 maps in it?

               Nope. All of my books with maps in them cap out at one.

               Edit: My mom suggested that my C.S. Lewis picture book biography might have different maps in the front and back end-papers, and she was correct!

               10. Do you have a book that was turned into a TV show?

               I could have picked any of several books for this, but decided to share a picture of this Miss Marple book. I really liked the TV adaptation, and I am extremely fond of my first edition copy, which I got for about $4 at a used bookstore.

               11. Do you have a book written by someone who is originally famous for something else?

                This book seems to qualify best. I'm not sure how much of this was Reagan's prose versus ghost-written, but these are his memories from his perspective, so it definitely counts. I found this autobiography immensely entertaining and educational, and wrote more about it here.

               12. Do you have a book with a clock on the cover?

 

                At first, I thought that I didn't, but then I realized that I should check all of my Agatha Christie covers. I had the feeling that there was a clock face on Taken at the Flood, so I looked at this one first, and behold, a watch!

               13. Do you have a poetry book?

               This was a gift from Emily C., the same friend who gave me the idea to do this post. I enjoyed it immensely. This collection is written for kids, but as the subtitle notes, immature grown-ups can also enjoy these playful and silly poems.

               14. Do you have a book with an award stamp on it?

               I have several, but I chose this one because it has the most interesting award stamp. For whatever reason, the embossed Newbery Medal stamp only has some of its gilding, and I appreciate its crescent shape and uniqueness. I am also sentimentally attached to this copy, because I got it at a local indie bookstore when I was hanging out with my friend Sophie years ago, and associate it with our friendship.
              
               15. Do you have a book written by an author with the same initials as you?

               Nope. Absolutely no. NOTHING. Looking for my initials in my giant collection of books brought back the same feeling as looking for my name on personalized keychains in 2005.

               16. Do you have a book of short stories?

               This is my favorite short story collection ever. I highly recommend it!

               17. Do you have a book that is between 500-510 pages long?

               I decided not to be that specific, and just looked for a book that was over 500 pages. I'm currently rereading this favorite fantasy trilogy from high school, since I've wanted to for years and quarantine makes it easier for me to commit to reading thousands of pages by one author. I'm pleased to report that so far, I love this as much as I did when I was fourteen, and since it's rare to be able to return to a series like this in adulthood and still think that it's amazing, I'm thankful for the experience.

               18. Do you have a book that was turned into a movie?

               I have several, but I chose this one, because this book has the dubious honor of having the WORST-EVER movie adaptation made of it. I watched the movie with my cousin in 2009 and was amazed by how horrible it was. The book, however, is one of my childhood favorites, and it played a significant role in my life at the time, especially since Ella's obedience curse had many similarities to my undiagnosed Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. It did me a world of good to see some of my strange symptoms portrayed in literature, and I'm very thankful for that, even aside from my great appreciation of this book as a novel.

               19. Do you have a graphic novel?

               I love reading graphic novels, but I only have one in my personal collection. This Ms. Marvel comic is my favorite from the series, and because I really appreciate the friendship dynamic in it and would often reread my favorite parts when I came across it at the library, I decided that I wanted to own a copy.

               20. Do you have a book written by two or more authors?

              It surprised me to see how few coauthored books I own, but I still had a few to choose between. This is one which I haven't yet read, but I am hoping to get to it soon. I enjoyed reading other books about the Scholls and the White Rose resistance movement last year, and focused my final history project on the subject before I graduated.

               I enjoyed looking through my book collection and creating this list, and even though it wasn't the way that I planned to spend part of my evening, it's fun to have the flexibility to do something like this during quarantine. I hope that those who made it to the end of this post enjoyed it, and perhaps have some new reading recommendations. If anyone is interested in doing this challenge on their own blog, or in a Facebook album, I would love to see other people's books as well.