30 Day Book Challenge! The Grand Finale

Thus we come to the final day of the "30 Day Book Challenge" (in quotations, of course. because.)! It has been quite fun for me to review old favorites and hear of yours - thanks for bearing with my obsession. :)

Our final four questions for today are (drum roll, please):

Day 27: What is your favorite genre?

I'm not a great fan of science fiction, self-help, or how-to books. Oh, or vampire stories. Aside from these genres, I pretty much like 'em all. Historical fiction, fairy tales, Christian philosophy/theology - these are probably my top three.

Day 28: What is the first book you can remember reading on your own?

Elsie's Holiday at Roselands. The memory of reading this book is distinctly etched in my mind. I was laying on the sofa, having hurt my ankle, and reading of little Elsie, hurting her ankle, and was suddenly filled with a warm and fuzzy kinship for the similar plights in which we two found ourselves. I remember noticing the cover of the book - the first time I really took the time to notice the cover since I had begun to read in earnest - and thinking it would always be special to me. It is. :)

Day 29: Who is an author you wish was more well-known?

This is another "all of them" question for me. True, Dickens and Austen are well-known, but in name only, and because of the movie adaptation of the their books rather than because people really know them. Most people today are all over the story of Pride and Prejudice, but few know of what I am talking if I bemoan Jane Austen's infuriating tendency toward microscopic denouements. Oliver is known everywhere as a book descrying the plight of a little orphan boy, but nods of understanding are rare when I mention Dickens' elaborate descriptions and similes. Even the well-known authors are unknown.

But if I were to quit soliloquizing, I would say, practically, G.K. Chesterton, Elias Boudinot, Anthony Esolen, and Rosemary Sutcliff. In that order. It would also be cool if people knew who Stratford Caldecott is, but as I have yet to actually read his books, I feel slightly unqualified to mention him.

Yes, that was more than one author. Congrats to the mathematicians who caught that.

Day 30: Which book are you reading right now?

Speaking of Dickens...Our Mutual Friend is at my bedside right now. Although I have already watched the movie (whoops), this delightful tale is living up to every expectation in all the complex layers of Dickens settings and characters. It's going to be a favorite, I know already.

And that, my dear friends, wraps up our 30 Day Book Challenge! Thank you so much for coming along for the ride. Do comment and tell me your answers to these questions, if you care to share! I would especially be interested in knowing your favorite unknown authors!