The Off the Top of Your Head Book Tag 📚

Tag created by @TheLibraryMouseGina 

You are supposed to answer each question with the answer that first comes to your mind. 

1.) What was your favorite picture book as a child?

🥚Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss- 

- One of my RIF (Reading is Fundamental) books in elementary school was an interactive copy of Green Eggs and Ham with flaps that opened up. I loved that book and read it all the time after I got it. I still have my copy in my children’s book collection. 

2.) What series did you love as a child?

🦁 The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis- 

- In elementary school, we had a library class and our librarian would read to us every week. One of the books she read was The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I remember going to Walmart after that and begging my grandmother to get the collection of the books for me. I got the books for Easter and read them whenever I had the chance. It is still one of my favorite series and I still own that bind-up that she got me. I love almost all of the books, well besides The Horse and His Boy. 

3.) The worst book you have read or tried to read?

📖 Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais- 

- We read this book in my European Lit class during my first year of college. I hated every part of it and wish I could forget it. 

4.) Your favorite reading or book memory?

🧛 I vividly remember reading Dracula for the first time in college about ten years ago now. It was so different than what I expected. The scene that stands out the most to me is what I call “the lizard scene,” which is when Jonathan is describing Dracula climbing up the side of his castle like a lizard. It made me laugh out loud the first time I read it because of how unexpected the description was. I’m rereading the book now with Daily Dracula and having just as great a time. 

5.) A book you loved as a movie?

🪴 The Secret Garden (1993 version)- 

- One of my favorite books as a child was The Secret Garden. It was great when I found out that there was a movie version of it. I love both versions of the movie that I have seen but the 1993 version will always by my favorite.   

6.) A book you wish they would make into a movie?

🎭 An Assassin’s Guide to Love and Treason by Virginia Boecker- 

- This book was one of my favorites from 2018 and I still vividly remember it to this day. It is comped as a cross between Twelfth Night and A Knight’s Tale which are two of my favorite works ever. 

7.) A book character that you would like as a friend?

🐴 Hester from A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher-

- Hester would probably be the character I would pick for this question. She is absolutely hilarious and I love her level of sarcasm and snark. 

8.) A place you want to visit because of a book you read?

🏺 Santorini, Greece- 

- In middle school and early high school, I was obsessed with The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares and have wanted to travel to Santorini ever since. It is such a beautiful place. It would be a dream come true to travel to Greece. Also, I adore Greek Mythology with all of my heart and would love to see so many of the sights in Greece, such as Athens. 

9.) A nonfiction book you would recommend?- 

🖋 Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction by Jeff VanderMeer- 

- A great nonfiction book for imaginative fiction writers. 

10.) If you could hang out with an author all day who would you pick and why?

📖 Chris Colfer-

- I have been a fan of Chris ever since I first saw him in Glee back in 2009 and then started reading his books in 2012. He just seems like a nice guy and I think it would be enjoyable to spend a day with him. 

Authors Who Live(d) in My State (Pennsylvania)

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Authors Who Live(d) in My State (Pennsylvania) 

I absolutely love the topic for this week. It was interesting to learn about the authors who lived near me during their lives. Some of these I knew had lived in PA, but there were many I had no clue about. Here are authors who were either born or lived in Pennsylvania during their lives, who I have read at least one written work from. 

1. Lloyd Alexander- Lloyd Alexander wrote over 40 books which were mostly fantasy novels for children and young adults. He was most known for his The Chronicles of Prydain series. The first two books in this series were what the Disney movie The Black Cauldron was based on. I adore The Chronicles of Prydain and have read many more of his books over the years. 

2. Stephen Chbosky- Stephen Chbosky is a novel writer, film director, and screenwriter. I have only read one of Stephen Chbosky’s books but it is definitely a favorite. The Perks of Being a Wallflower was one of my favorite books that I read in college and I also love the movie version with Logan Lerman and Emma Watson. The novel is an epistolary novel told through letters the main character, Charlie, is writing to a friend. It is a beautiful coming of age novel which I adored so much. 

3. Lurlene McDaniel-  Lurlene McDaniel has written over 70 young adults books and is known for writing inspirational stories where young adults are struggling with chronic illness. I read many of her books in middle school and high school, particularly her One Last Wish series. 

4. Madeline Miller- Madeline Miller is a writer, teacher, and director of Shakespearean plays. She is most famous for her takes on classic Greek Mythology stories such as The Song of Achilles which is about the Trojan war and focuses on Patroclus and Achilles, Circe which tells the life of the sorceress through her own voice, and Galatea which is a novella that reimagines the myth of Galatea and Pygmalion. Her books are some of my favorites in Greek Mythology retellings. I look forward to her take on Persephone and Shakespeare’s The Tempest. 

5. Louisa May Alcott- Louisa May Alcott was a novelist, short story writer, and poet who was best known for her semi-autobiographical novel Little Women and its sequels. It is loosely based on her own childhood experiences with her sisters, Abigail May Alcott Nieriker, Elizabeth Sewall Alcott, and Anna Alcott Pratt. She published over 30 novels, along with short story and poetry collections. 

6. Gertrude Stein- Gertrude Stein was a novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. She was famous for experimental writing, patronage of the arts in Paris, and also for her unique literary style. Along with her writing, she was known for coining the phrase “Lost Generation” to describe the intellectuals of the time who rejected the values of the world post World War 1 and moved to Paris from America to live a more bohemian life. I read many of her works in some of my favorite classes in college. 

7. Kate DiCamillo- Kate DiCamillo is an author who has written over 30 books for young readers. Some of her most famous books are Because of Winn-Dixie and The Tale of Despereaux, which have both been andapted into movies. I remember Because of Winn-Dixie being one of my favorite books as a child. The librarian at our elementary school read it to us in our library class. It is still a book I fondly remember to this day. 

8. Edgar Allen Poe- Edgar Allan Poe was a writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who was best known for his macabre writing and mysteries. Poe has been one of my favorite writers ever since middle school. I will always remember the first time I read one of his stories “The Tell-Tale Heart” and how creepy it was. My favorite poem is his “Annabel Lee” which is a poem about a man mourning the death of his beloved. It is so beautiful and enduring. 

9. Walt Whitman- Walt Whitman was a poet and essay writer best known for his poetry collections: Leaves of Grass and Song of Myself. Leaves of Grass was considered revolutionary because he wrote in a free verse style and celebrated American spirit and the individual. Some of his most famous poems are “O Captain! My Captain!” (which he wrote after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln) and “I Sing the Body Electric.” 

10. Hannah Nicole Maehrer- Hannah Nicole Maehrer is the writer of the series Assistant to the Villain. I thought I would pick an author I read for the first time this year on this list and saw that Hannah was from Pennsylvania. Last month, I read both books that are out in the series and enjoyed them quite a bit. I’m looking forward to picking up the third Accomplice to the Villain when it comes out later this year. 

May the 4th Be With You!

    Happy Star Wars Day! This year, I decided to rewatch Revenge of the Sith for its 20th Anniversary. What a great time. 

    I remember the first time I saw Revenge of the Sith on June 17th, 2005. We went as a family to the movie theater and to this day it is still one of the best experiences I have ever had at the movies. Revenge of the Sith is one of my favorite Star Wars movies. It is definitely the best out of the prequels. 

    My favorite scene will always be the one when Anakin and Padme have the silent exchange from across Coruscant during the sunset. Anakin is hearing Palpatine tell him that if the Jedi destroy him Anakin will have no way of saving Padme. It is an almost silent scene and the acting is perfect from both Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen. 

    Revenge of the Sith is even better after watching the Clone Wars show. I’ll forever recommend watching the show because it really is brilliant. Dave Filoni did an incredible job adding to the overall story and fitting it in with what we had in the movies already. There are so many great story arcs. It’s definitely one of the best pieces of Star Wars canon. 

    John Williams music is spectacular in this movie, like always. It goes along perfectly with Anakin’s story. Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor are so great in these roles. Ewan is the reason why Obi-Wan is one of my favorite characters in the entire series, along with James Arnold Taylor, who voiced Obi-Wan in Clone Wars.  Ewan’s delivery brings so much to the character and I love the bits of humor. I’m glad Hayden is finally getting the recognition he deserves in the fandom. 

My Star Wars Movie Ranking:

✨ The Empire Strikes Back

🌟 A New Hope 

✨ Return of the Jedi

🌟 Revenge of the Sith

✨ Rouge One

🌟 The Force Awakens

✨ The Phantom Menace

🌟 Solo

✨ Attack of the Clones

🌟 The Last Jedi

✨ The Rise of Skywalker

May 2025 TBR