It seems strange to me now, but I don't think I've ever thought very deeply about what my reading tastes are... outside whether I was enjoying it. By enjoying I don't mean everything I read is light and fluffy, I just mean, "Do I like it?" Even with non-fiction I just kind of consider if it's pleasing me to read it. I've never asked myself the kinds of questions Articulating a Book's Appeal poses of the books I was reading; questions like, "Are there memorable and important secondary characters? Does the story emphasize people or does it highlight situations and events? Does the story take place on more than one level?" Etc. Now that I have read this article, I want to analyze all I've read and see if there are patterns; to see if I look for books with a particular "feel" like Saricks describes.

I have always read a great deal for enjoyment my whole life until recently. I didn't think about HOW much I've read until this assignment. Anyways, I will try to sum up what my reading tastes have been. One author I have enjoyed reading is Christopher Moore. While many books have funny parts, they usually just make me think, "That's funny," but some funny parts in his books have actually made me laugh out loud and I like that. In fact, one time in the lounge at work I had to leave the room because a part in one of his books gave me a fit of giggles. Everyone was looking at me and I just couldn't stop. I really appreciate the way he words things. I love it when a writer words something in such a way that I stop and read it again and think, "That is so cool. Who would've thought to word it that way?" Stupidest Angel and Lamb were two of my favorites by him. Sometimes I wish he didn't get so off the wall crazy with the plot because that probably turns some people away and they may not see that he can be very witty and can word things in such unique ways. That is what I really love about his books. I don't know how many other women like him because I have given Stupidest Angel to three women to try and they have promptly handed it back to me.

J.D. Salinger was my favorite when I was younger but I have not read any of his in a very long time. (My son's middle name is Holden - so I guess I really liked Catcher in the Rye :) What else? My daughter and I have read all of the QwikPick Papers series (and everything else) by Tom Angleberger and we enjoyed the heck out of them. There's a part in the last one, To Kick a Corpse, where they turned weird phrases into ...The Musical. I laughed so hard I thought I was going to pee my pants. It was just hilarious to me.Yikes, I just realized that I am already over two paragraphs and haven't listed many authors or books at all. I am finding this overwhelming because there are just SO many! OK, I will simply make a list off the top of my head of some books, authors and types of books I have really enjoyed or have picked to read and read all the way through recently and not worry about who or what I may be leaving out. Here goes:

All of Christopher Moore's books

Tom Angleberger

Frederick Buechner

nonfiction that either has unusual information or presents old history in a unique, fresh, exciting way

Carl Hiassen

Neil Gaiman

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

books about autism (my son has autism, so reading everything about autism is good for me.)

The Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries by Julia Spencer-Fleming

Mary Kay Andrews ( I like reading stories where the woman was done wrong but she gets revenge :)

Max Lucado

Adam Rex (Has anyone read any of his? He thinks of unusual things and I like that)

Outlander series

Girl on the Train (which I liked even though my supervisors did not. I think maybe some people cannot relate to or understand her character?)

Crenshaw

The One and Only Ivan

Frog Music

Room

Harry Potter

Christian nonfiction

On the Road to Mr. Mineo's

Devil in the White City

Golem and the Jinni

I recently read all of John Green's books (I love the conversations he writes between the characters)

and all of Jo Jo Moyes books

and on and on and on.

I do not know how to sum up what I like... which is why this post is rambling and awkward. Maybe I will learn to understand and sum up my tastes better in this course.