Category: Bookish Question

What's the longest book you've ever read?

Bookish Question #353 | What’s the longest book you’ve ever read?

Probably one of the multi-book anthologies I’ve bought on Kindle. Some of them have included 20 books. However, I think that’s 20 books in one volume, not a single book.

On that basis, the longest single title I’ve read is probably War and Peace. I checked a couple of “longest book” lists online, and War and Peace is apparently 1225 pages long, or 587,000 words.

The longest Christian book I can think of reading is Glastonbury by Donna Fletcher Crowe, which is 1134 pages long. That may or may not be longer than War and Peace: bigger fonts make for longer books regardless of word count.

What about you? What’s the longest book you’ve ever read?

Have you ever stopped reading a series before the end?

Bookish Question #352 | Have you ever stopped reading a series of novels?

I’d like to say I finish every series I start. I’d like to say I finish every book I start, but neither statement is true.

There are three main reasons I don’t finish a series:

1. The Publisher

Sometimes, a publisher decides not to complete publishing a series. I’ve had this happen a couple of times, and it’s really frustrating as a reader. In one I remember, the second book in the series ended just as the Berlin Wall went up, leaving the hero and heroine on opposite sides of the wall. I was so annoyed that I stopped buying fiction from that publisher unless the complete series was already available. They stopped publishing fiction soon after.

I know some readers prefer not to buy books in a series, especially a trilogy, until all the books have been published so they know they’ll get the full story arc. I also know this can become a self-fulfilling prophesy: if a publisher doesn’t see sufficient sales for the first book in a series, they might cancel the contract and not publish the full series.

While I can see the publisher’s point (they need to make a profit), their actions are counter-productive: every time a publisher cancels an incomplete series, they increase the number of readers who won’t buy books in an incomplete series.

(But that’s only for traditional publishers: self-published authors will probably finish the series because they know a book is forever, and they will increase their readthrough and their profits when the series is complete).

2. Boredom

There are, unfortunately, series I’ve stopped reading because of boredom—usually because the series has gone on so long that it’s no longer about the characters who originally caught my interest.

3. Lack of Knowledge

The other reason I don’t complete reading a series is because I didn’t see a new book was available.

An easy way to make sure this doesn’t happen is to sign up for an author’s email newsletter – most authors have a newsletter now, especially self-published authors. Yes, some email too often, but it does make sure I don’t miss out on a book I wanted to read.

What about you? Have you ever stopped reading a series of novels before the end?

Do you remember why?

Have you ever read a series of novels from start to finish?

Bookish Question #351 | Have you ever read a series of novels from start to finish?

This question could be read two ways:

  1. Have I ever read an entire series of novels from start to finish i.e. read all the novels in a series? or
  2. Have I ever read an entire series of novels from start to finish i.e. back to back without reading anything else in between?

I’ve read a lot of trilogies and longer series as they have released.

The longest single series I can remember reading is Karen Kingsbury’s Baxter series, which might not count because it was actually divided multiple series. I stopped reading around halfway through the second four-book series because the story was straying away from the original characters.

Back when I used to buy lots of paperbacks, I would often reread a series from the start every time a new book was released, partly to remind me of where the story was up to, but mostly because I enjoyed reading but was on a budget so couldn’t buy endless paperbacks (there was also the small problem of storage). I don’t have the cost or storage problems so much now I read ebooks, so reread less.

What about you? Have you ever read a full series of books? What series?

Do you ever re-read books?

Bookish Question #350 | Do you ever re-read books?

I do re-read books, although not as much as I used to.

Sometimes I’ll re-read a book because I enjoyed it so much the first time. This is often because I found myself so engaged in an uncommon plot point (for example, Gabrielle Meyer’s Timeless series, which I mentioned last week).

Sometimes I’ll re-read a review copy because I don’t write the review immediately, so have to re-read part of the book to remind myself what to write.

Very occasionally, I will accidentally re-read a book because I forgot reading it the first time.

And while I used to re-read my favourite books regularly, I don’t do that nearly as much as I used to.

What about you? Do you ever re-read books?

Who are your favourite historical fiction authors and why

Bookish Question #349 | Who are your favourite historical fiction authors and why?

I am so glad this question is phrased as a plural, because that means I can have more than one favourite historical fiction author.

There’s no way I could choose just one!

So I have chosen five. I’ve also chosen a favourite book I think you should start with if you haven’t read their work before.

Elizabeth Camden

Elizabeth Camden’s novels are mostly set in the USA during the Gilded Age. I enjoy Elizabeth Camden’s novels because she tends to write intelligent heroines who can think for themselves, and who often have an unusual career for the time.

If you haven’t read any of Elizabeth Camden’s novels, I recommend With Every Breath, in which the characters are trying to find the cure for tuberculosis.

Christine Dillon

Christine Dillon’s first published books were contemporary Christian fiction, starting with Grace in Strange Disguise. She’s now moved to Biblical fiction, which is what she started writing. I love her books because of their depth in terms of plot, character, and Christian principles.

If you haven’t read any of Christine Dillon’s books, I recommend Plagues and Papyrus, a unique take on the familiar story of the ten plagues of Egypt.

Gabrielle Meyer

Gabrielle Meyer is a prolific author who is probably best known for her many Love Inspired titles or her American Brides series. But I discovered her through the absolutely brilliant Timeless series, featuring women who live in two (or three) times at once …

This is a series that’s best read in order, so you will want to start with When the Day Comes.

Carolyn Miller

I have always had a soft spot for Regency Romance (blame Georgette Heyer!), but there were many years where it was difficult to find any good Christian titles. There are a lot more choices now, but Carolyn Miller remains my favourite because her novels have a strong Christian thread.

If you haven’t read any of Carolyn’s Christian Regency Romances, I recommend starting at the beginning with The Ellusive Miss Ellison, the first in her A Legacy of Grace series.

Roseanna M White

Finally, I have always had a fascination for codes and investigations, so I’ve loved all Roseanna M White’s spy and cypher stories, especially The Number of Love, the first in her Codebreakers series.

However, my latest favourite Roseanna M White series is A Beautiful Disguise, the first in her Imposters series.

What about you? Who is your favourite historical fiction author, and why?

Do you like to read retellings of famous novels?

Bookish Question #348 | Do you like to read retellings of famous novels?

Retellings of famous novels, fairytale retellings, and allegory all have the same challenges for authors: ensuring the story sticks closely enough to the original plot to satisfy readers without becoming predictable (or, worse, without having the characters act out of character in order to fit the prescribed plot elements).

The other challenge with retellings of famous novels is that readers are unlikely to read a retelling of a novel they didn’t enjoy.

Perhaps that’s why Jane Austen retellings are so popular: most romance readers enjoy Austen’s stories. The flip side is that makes many of Austen’s tropes overused, and it makes it harder for authors to find that unique twist.

I don’t read a lot of novels that are specifically signaled as retellings.

One I remember reading and enjoying was Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay, a retelling of Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster, which I read and loved as a teen.

I think this book illustrated one secret to a good retelling: choose a story that has stood the test of time, but not one that is so well known that the author can’t find the original twist. I picked up the story was Daddy Long Legs early on, but read a number of reviews commenting on the “original” plot and the unexpected plot twist at the end, which suggests I was in the minority for knowing the story.

What about you? Do you like to read retellings of famous novels? Which stories do you recommend?

Do you like to read fairytale retellings?

Bookish Question #347 | Do you like to read fairytale retellings?

I haven’t read a lot of fairytale retellings.

I don’t have anything against the genre: it’s just they rarely catch my eye.

There are a couple of exceptions:

I have read Unnoticed by Australian author Amanda Deed, and Unhinged is on my to-read pile. Unhinged is an Australian historical retelling of the Beauty of the Beast, and Unnoticed is a twist on the classic Cinderella story.

I have also read Calor and Lumen by JJ Fischer, and am eagerly awaiting Memoria, which will be released in December 2024. This trilogy is described as a fantasy transformation of The Nightingale by Hans Christian Anderson, with echoes of the myths of Hades and Persephone. I don’t know the story of The Nightingale, so I don’t have any expectations about the story.

That is one of the challenges for authors writing a fairytale retelling: when readers know the original story, the author has to find a way of telling the story in a way that readers recognise as familiar, but with enough of an original twist that it is still interesting.

What about you? Do you like to read fairytale retellings? Do you have any good Christian retellings you can recommend?

What's your favourite non-bookmark bookmark?

Bookish Question #346 | What’s your favourite non-bookmark bookmark?

I don’t read a lot of physical books—I mostly read ebooks.

I’m reading more physical books now I’ve moved to Wellington and joined the local library (which I walk past on my way home from work).

So I don’t have a favourite bookmark or a favourite non-bookmark bookmark.

What I do have is the non-bookmark bookmark I use most often … which is the receipt for the books I’ve just borrowed from the library.

What about you? Do you read physical books? If so, what’s your favourite non-bookmark bookmark?

Do you use physical bookmarks?

Bookish Question #345 | Do you use physical bookmarks?

Since moving to Wellington I’ve been making use of the local library. Borrowing and reading physical books means using physical bookmarks again.

I do have a collection of “real” bookmarks, including souvenirs from writing conferences and bookmarks I’ve bought or been given over the years.

However, I don’t have any of my “real” bookmarks in the apartment, so I’m mostly using either library checkout receipts (which make handy bookmarks because they serve the added function of reminding me of the due date), or junk mail flyers.

So I guess that’s a yes … kind of.

What about you? Do you use physical bookmarks?

Have you ever been disappointed by a book everyone else seemed to love?

Bookish Question #344 | Have you ever been disappointed by a book everyone else seemed to love?

There have been a few books from authors I’ve previously read and enjoyed that just haven’t captured my attention.

For example, I bought and Her Mother’s Hope and Her Daughter’s Dream by Francine Rivers. I read the first and while it was well-written, I found the story depressing (which shouldn’t be a surprise: it was set in the 1930s Depression, and ended just as the USA entered World War II). I never even read the second book.

I loaned both books to a friend who loved them, as did most online reviewers.

I’m glad she enjoyed them, even if I didn’t.

There are other authors (more than a few)I’ve tried to read based on reviews and the recommendations of multiple other Christian readers, but I haven’t been able to get into their stories.

One of the culprits might be the attitude of Christians toward book reviews. There’s a view that if reviewers can’t give a glowing five-star review, then they shouldn’t review the book at all (a variation of Thumper’s rule, perhaps?).

So perhaps I’m not the only person disappointed by certain books. Perhaps we’re all ignoring Matthew 7:5, John 8:32, and similar verses because we’re following the Bambi rule, not the Bible.

What about you? Have you ever been disappointed by a book everyone else seemed to love?