Reader Spotlight: Carol Thompson

Today on Reade and Write I welcome a dear friend, Carol Thompson. We sing in the choir together and play in the bell choir together, and she and her husband are very special people.

How often do you read?

I read everyday although sometimes it’s just a short devotional.

What is the name of the last book you finished?

The last book I finished was The Covenant by Beverly Lewis.

What are you reading now?

I am currently reading Broken Identity by Ashley Williams.

What is your preferred genre?

It’s hard to pick a preferred genre but I always like Romance or Cozy Mysteries. I stay away from books that are extremely violent or graphic. I always like to read books about the Amish as my mother’s family originated in Lancaster, PA, and many of them still live there today.

How often do you venture outside your preferred genre?

Since I have more then 1 preferred genre I rarely venture outside of it.

What was the last book you read outside your preferred genre?

Since I don’t usually read historical fiction the last time I ventured out side of my preferred genre was several months ago when I read The Red Tent.

Are you in a book club?

I am currently in a book club.

If so, what book did your club read last?

The last book my book club read was The Happiness Project.

Where do you obtain most of the books you read- from a bookstore, online, the library, borrowed from a friend, etc.?

I usually obtain my books online.

How do you decide which books to read?

When I’m deciding on books to read sometimes I go by friends’ recommendations but many times I go by price and the online description of the book.

What is in your To-Be-Read pile?

I have lots of books in my to be read pile. Hester on the Run, Seek Me With All Your Heart, and Dying to Read to name a few. Of course The House On Candlewick Lane is on my to read list and I’m just waiting for it to come out. Please note, I did not pay Carol to say that!! And I’m thrilled to hear it!

Do you pay attention to especially bad reviews of books when deciding whether to buy or read them?

I really don’t pay attention to reviews when choosing a book unless someone I know has read it and gave it a bad review.

Lots of people don’t have a favorite book for a variety of reasons. Do you have a favorite? What is it?

My favorite book is The Bible but in fiction there are too many for me to choose just one.

Where is your favorite reading spot?

My glider in my living room is my favorite spot for reading or on the beach.

Anything else you want me to know?

I think it might interest you to know that I got my love of reading from my mother. She always read to us even after we learned to read. She would read 1 chapter of a book to us each morning before we went to school. Usually it was a chapter from Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, or The Boxcar Children. When I was a child I wanted to live in a boxcar. Lots of mornings other neighborhood children would stop by to hear the story. What a great way to start the day. I agree. What a wonderful memory!

Thanks for stopping in to talk today, Carol. I enjoyed having you here!

Until next time,

Amy

P.S. My publisher is giving away two copies of The House on Candlewick Lane on Goodreads! If you’d like to enter, click here.

Who’s Your Favorite Author?

If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you know I have a war going on in my own mind over the identity of my favorite author. I’ve always told people that my favorite writer is Ernest Hemingway, but the older I get and the more I read, the more I realize that my favorite author really depends on many factors.

One of my new favorites is M.C. Beaton, author of the Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth series. I read her books when I want a good laugh and a quick read. I love finding a new M.C. Beaton book, but I think I’ve now read all of them, and I’m having some of the symptoms of withdrawal. I know she has a couple new books coming out soon, and I can’t wait.

I also really like Elizabeth Peters, author of a number of books about a family of Egyptologists who solve mysteries in and around Egypt and the Middle East. Her sense of humor is subtle and sharp. I read her books when I want a want a really meaty, complex story with lots of subplots. Incidentally, the woman who writes under the name Elizabeth Peters also writes under the name Barbara Michaels. I haven’t read any Barbara Michaels books yet, but I will look into them as soon as I have a chance.

And then there’s Jane Austen, who’s in a class by herself. In my opinion, one of the best books ever written is Pride and Prejudice. I could read it again and again, but I haven’t because there are so many books on my nightstand and Kindle right now waiting to be read. A Jane Austen book is best when I have lots of time on my hands, like on a long car ride or a plane trip.

And the best book by Ernest Hemingway? It’s got to be For Whom the Bell Tolls. There are people who will disagree with me, but no one can change my mind. This is another book I could read again and again, and have done so. I also have a book called By-Line: Ernest Hemingway, which is a collection of dispatches he wrote for various newspapers and magazines over a forty-year period. This book is great because it gives the reader a glimpse of the very rich and full life Hemingway led. I don’t have to be in any particular mood to read Hemingway, but once I’m done with one of his works I usually feel the need to decompress and read something lighter.

And no list of my favorite authors is complete without Dr. Seuss. I love everything he wrote, from How the Grinch Stole Christmas to Oh, the Places You’ll Go! to The Lorax. The illustrations are just as wonderful as the words, and I used to love reading Dr. Seuss books to my kids and their classmates. Anytime is the right time for Dr. Suess.

Mark Twain is another of my favorite authors. I like to read his stories when I’m on vacation because he writes so well about travel and adventure. My son just finished The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and loved it.

How about John Grisham? My favorite book of his remains A Time to Kill. I read John Grisham whenever I want a good legal thriller. For some reason, I only like reading his stories in the summertime. Probably because so many of them take place in the South and I always feel the humidity and heat in his books. You’d think I would want to read his books in the winter, when I want to be reminded of warmth, but it’s the opposite.

The last writer I’ll mention is “Carolyn Keene,” with quotation marks because she wasn’t really one author, but many who wrote the Nancy Drew mystery series. As a child I devoured the Nancy Drew books one right after another and was sorry when they started coming out in paperback. There was just something about that yellow hardcover spine that was thrilling…still is, whenever I see one of the Nancy Drew books in an antique store or vintage shop. I passed on my love of Nancy Drew to one of my daughters, who has my entire collection in her bookcase right now.

I don’t usually say anymore that I have one favorite author. I have many, and my favorite this week might be different from my favorite next week and last month. It depends on where I am, how much time I have to sit down and read, and my mood. The more I read, the more I find that my list of favorite authors is getting longer and longer.

Do you have a favorite author? Who is it and why? Do you have lots of favorites? I’d love to hear what you have to say.

Until next week,

Amy