Day 30 - Your Favourite Book of All Time

Last day of the challenge and I'm still here (and on time!)

I haven't got a favourite book of all time, as I can't pick out just one book from all the favourites that I love for many different reasons and choose due to my mood.  
So (and it might be a slight cheat, but rules are meant to be broken) the books I return to again and again, that can still stand the many revisits and remain fresh and lively are all by Jane Austen.  If I had to be tough and limit myself to three (and that's as far as I'm willing to go) it'd be Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. 

Day 29 - Favourite Book You Read in School

I have a tendency to be a bit contrary (really, moi?) and so if I was made to read something at school it didn't always turn out as well as the books I found for myself.  I don't remember having that many "class reads" in school either, we definitely did a few in middle school including:
The Owl Service
Five Children and It
The Silver Sword
which I remember purely because I loved them...but any others have faded into the dim dusty corners of my lost memories!

At secondary school we were force fed several texts.  I loathe Moonfleet, Great Expectations and Lord of the Flies due to the grim overworking of them by teachers having to teach a class where 90% had probably not read any of the set chapters beforehand anyway.  Although I'm told they are worthy reads they just can't redeem themselves in my eyes.
I did enjoy Wide Sargasso Sea despite being nonplussed by Jane Eyre.  I also loved all the Shakespeare I did (except Twelfth Night for some reason).


However, today's prize goes to a book already mentioned...The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tyler.

Day 28 - Favourite Book Title

Easy one today...

So Long and Thanks For All the Fish by Douglas Adams

Just a brilliant title that sums it all up.
It's ages since I read Hitch-hikers and I feel a re-read coming on!  

Day 27 - The Most Surprising Plot Twist Or Ending

Maybe I'm just a seriously flawed person, but I'm always looking out for the twist/ killer ending and so tend to look out for clues and spot the potential twists as I'm reading.  Although I'm not always right, (oo, that's painful to admit!) I enjoy this aspect when reading.  I can't think of any endings that completely floored me in the past few years, but I might if I mull over a bit longer.

However, when I was a sweet innocent I was shocked by the reveal at the end of The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler.  I loved this book and thank Mr Freeman for being the teacher who introduced it to me!

Day 26 - A Book That Changed Your Opinion About Something

Okay, there's been some days of the challenge that I've found difficult but I've drawn a complete blank here.  I don't really read enough "serious" books that are likely to change my opinions, and so I truly can't think of any thing I can offer today.
Total failure...apologies.  If I think of anything - I'd add it later.

Day 25 - A Character Who You Can Relate To The Most

Well, I'm feeling pretty smug as it's Day 25 and I've managed to stick to blogging every day, on time for this challenge and the end is rapidly approaching.
But today's another tricky one...I tend to want to be other characters rather than relating to them.
After some consideration I think I was a bit of a Hermione Granger when I was growing up and I do see where she's coming from in the books. (I think this was also why I got a bit annoyed, particularly with the earlier films as she wasn't portrayed quite as I imagined her.)
She's swotty, bookish naturally talented.  Her way of trying to solve a problem is to go to the library and research it.  She's annoying, bossy and has an opinion on everything.  She'd be the first to say I told you so.  But despite all that, she is aware of her flaws, she's no beauty (in the book) and she sometimes has a humour by-pass, but she has a spark about her.  Most importantly she is also incredibly loyal, resilient and reliable.  
I didn't go to a magic boarding school and I'm not naturally brilliant like Hermione but I was a hardworking, serious, girly swot with my nose always stuck in a book too and that's probably why I ended up doing the job I do so I had an excuse to channel my inner bossiness to a suitable end (but in a good way!)

Day 24 - A Book That You Wish More People Would've Read

After a few easier days this is a tough one.  Reading choice is such a personal thing, just because I love it doesn't mean it's for everyone.  However, to stick with the challenge, I'm going to go for (and I hope people don't think it's a cheat) the plays of William Shakespeare.  

Why?  Well, I although I haven't read them all (I skipped the historical ones) they offer so much and you gain something new each time.  The various aspects of human nature and the rich, glorious language that has become absorbed into our everyday speech are amazing.

Sadly, I think many people were put off at school by being forced into covering a text in a way that made it inaccessible and I know that I have a personal dislike of Twelfth Night due to the way it was pushed into an unwilling brain at "O" level.  (See, I'm that old!)

However, despite that I persisted and adore Much Ado, and that was before seeing it at the Globe and then David Tennant (honest!), and I particularly love the tragedies...Hamlet and Anthony and Cleopatra.  It is wonderful to see them being performed but you can still get so much from reading them.  

Friends think I'm weird, but I just think they're missing out.

Day 23 - A Book You Wanted to Read For A Long Time But Still Haven't

Oh, no...is this where I have to 'fess up just how big my TBR pile is?!  At least 100 books around the house and a further 120 on the kindle, all waiting for a little bit of attention.  The problem is they will keep publishing books that I want to read and I sadly still have to work and do so many other things that just gets in the way of my dedicated reading time.
There's loads of books I want to read but haven't got around to...yet.  But the one I'm going to tackle over the summer holidays this year because it's been there for eons is...

Anna Karenina

It's a classic, it's on the 100 books you should read and I've been meaning to get around to it since I saw the film with Sean Bean (so long ago) and was underwhelmed and so decided that I ought to give it a real chance.
I'll let you know!

Day 22 - My Guilty Pleasure

Only one guilty pleasure?  Surely a girl is allowed more than that?  Where to start...ummm...

Well, the guilty book pleasure I'm willing to 'fess up to is my love of Regency Romances.  
Not a shocker and I've reviewed several on here on my blog, but they're not the books that I own up to reading to friends.  They're a bit of a comfort read, when life gets pressured and I need an escape.  No particular favourites, although I think I've read most by Julia Quinn.  A further admission is that I bought two Georgette Heyer's from audible purely because they were read by Richard Armitage.  Sad, but blissful listening!