Do I Have That Book Challenge

April 9, 2022

Throughout February & into March on my social media pages, I completed the Do I Have That Book Challenge.

Feel free to follow me on these pages, or pass along the links to family and friends. But be warned: posting will be very infrequent. Scrolling takes too much time away from writing…
The links to my pages: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

Books are the one thing I buy on impulse.

I collect stories.

Whether its books lined in neat rows or precarious stacks, tales dug from historic newspapers and journals, or pieces of my own creation that linger in my head.

Reading drove me to write, and good books keep me writing.

As I make space on my shelves for my latest haul, I will reacquaint myself with my books. The old standbys tucked into a forgotten corner and the new ones, yet to be read.

Throughout February, in honour of I Love to Read month, I will complete the “Do I Have That Book” challenge, answering the question with a book from my shelves. I guarantee there’s a story of some kind behind every one of them.

(And a disclaimer for those who need one: I did not create this challenge. I give credit wherever credit is due, from one book lover to another…)

Do I Have That Book Challenge No. 1
A book with deckled edges? *

Quite a few of my books have deckled edges and they’re all historical fiction, but there’s only one novel that started my love of the genre – The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

I bought it on a whim about four years ago and I’m glad I did! The Alice Network showed me the wonderful, realistic writing of Kate Quinn and her stories of women in war, while opening me up to the world of historical fiction.

Until I read The Alice Network, I rarely read historical fiction. It should have been a no brainer for me (especially when I call myself a writer and a historian…). Now it’s my most read genre and I’ve even tried writing it. Thanks to The Alice Network for sparking that off…

*That’s those uneven edges, see 2nd photo

Do I Have That Book Challenge No. 2
A book with three or more people on the cover?

The first to come to mind is The Flight Girls by Noelle Salazar.

I saw this book while passing through a Winnipeg pharmacy and, afterwards, couldn’t get the cover image out of my head. With the women and WWII planes, I needed to know what this story was about. Before driving home, I went to the Kildonan Place Chapters and bought it.

I was not disappointed. This novel combines two of my favorite things: history and aviation, so The Flight Girls will always have a place among my favorite WWII era novels.

Do I Have That Book Challenge No. 3
A book based on another fictional story?

I don’t believe in retellings (I’ll stick to the originals) and find I rarely enjoy spinoffs (why do they follow characters I didn’t like?), so there aren’t any on my shelves.

The closest I can come is Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
J.K. Rowling wrote this “reproduction textbook” from the Harry Potter world in 2009 and all profits went to charity. I bought it at the time because it’s Harry Potter, and I needed all things Harry Potter! (Proud Gryffindor)

Currently, the “textbook” author, Newt Scamander, has his own Fantastic Beasts film series, which I also quite enjoy…

Do I Have That Book Challenge No. 4
A book with a title ten letters long?

This was harder to find than it should have been…
So many just under or over, but exactly ten…I did eventually find one: Under Water by Casey Barrett.

This book always gets interrupted. I’ve picked it up a couple times and didn’t finish it. Not because of the story, Under Water sucked me right in. It’s just because circumstances were against this book.

My last attempt, I took it to read on my flights to and from Vancouver in 2019. It served its purpose, but when I came home it was forgotten among the chaos of normal schedules.

It’s been on the shelf long enough. Maybe this will be the year I read Under Water all the way through?

Do I Have That Book Challenge No. 5
A book with a title that starts and ends with the same letter?

That’s a rarity, at least among the 200+ books on my shelves. The only one is The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

This copy was my Dad’s, then my Mom used it while teaching her English classes, and I’ve read it twice, so this book has definitely been around!

I enjoyed The Hobbit, though I still prefer the Lord of the Rings trilogy. And, for the first time ever, I will admit that I liked the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies more than the books…

Do I Have That Book Challenge No. 6
A mass market paperback book?

My library training tells me that these are the shorter, “pocket sized” ones. I have many books like this, but I’ll go with Never Go Back by Lee Child.

I bought this at the University of Winnipeg bookstore during my last year. When I was bored between classes (and avoiding assignments…) I’d wander the university library, the bookstore or walk down to The Bay.

At the time, I had recently discovered the Jack Reacher novels and bought this one because I’d heard about the upcoming movie.

I started reading Never Go Back on the bus home that afternoon. I put off as much as I could to finish it, glad for the break.

Never Go Back is still my favourite Jack Reacher story (the book, not the movie).

Do I Have That Book Challenge No. 7
A book written by an author using a pen name?

Definitely The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith, aka J.K. Rowling. This is the first of the Cormoran Strike series, and I have them all (next one already pre-ordered).

I was in McNally Robinson shortly after it leaked that J.K. Rowling wrote The Cuckoo’s Calling and, even though I didn’t like her other foray into adult fiction, I decided to take a chance.

I was not disappointed. The Cuckoo’s Calling is a mystery that has an intricate plot that twists you around right up until that very satisfying end when everything suddenly makes sense.

And the Cormoran Strike series is only getting better!

Do I Have That Book Challenge No. 8
A book with a character’s name in the title?

I have a couple of these, but the one I’ve actually read is Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher.

I discovered Giovanna in about 2014 in a very round about way: through Tom Fletcher and his band, McFly. Tom, in one of his YouTube videos, mentioned that his wife, Giovanna, was an author. Turns out Giovanna was also making YouTube videos, which I was soon watching more than Tom’s. I became so interested that I had to find her first book, Billy and Me.

The library didn’t have it, so I ordered it through Chapters. Almost a year later, thanks to all kinds of delays, Billy and Me finally arrived in my mail box.

I have read Billy and Me at least three times, maybe more. There’s something about this book that keeps me coming back. Maybe it’s that Sophie is a little bit like me. Or maybe it has that small-town feel that I love, albeit British rather than Canadian. Either way, Billy and Me will always be a favorite.

(Plus, it’s perfect for Valentine’s Day)

Do I Have That Book Challenge No. 9
A book with two maps in it?

The first that came to mind was Lord of the Rings, but that’s too obvious. I knew there were way more than two maps without even looking. So, after a bit of a search (putting the challenge in book challenge…) I came across The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks.

I haven’t read this book since high school when I nearly wore out the library’s copy. I bought it not that long ago, just to have. Maybe one day I’ll read the Elfstones of Shannara again to relive some of that joy it gave me so long ago…over ten years…

Do I Have That Book Challenge No. 10
A book that was turned into a TV show?

Plenty, but the one that takes up the most room on my shelf: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.

My second to last term of university, I took a TV writing course. My friend (also a classmate) wouldn’t stop talking about this new show, Outlander. I had seen the commercials, but something about her descriptions of the time travel and the history, and of course the Scotsman in his kilt, intrigued me. I bought the first episode on iTunes out of curiosity (and to meet certain course requirements) and soon bought the whole season, along with the book.

I have read the entire series (except the one that just came out), but the first book, Outlander, is the one I enjoyed most.

Do I Have That Book Challenge No. 11
A book written by someone who was originally famous for something else?

From This Moment On by Shania Twain – this is the first musician’s biography I’ve read that doesn’t list another author, as in the person who actually wrote it.

Shania Twain was the first singer I can remember liking. I had the cassette tape of Come on Over (which I nearly wore out!), the first CD I ever had was her Up! album and, in 2004, I went to the Shania concert at the Winnipeg Arena.

I bought this book as soon as it came out and really enjoyed reading it. I learned so much more than all those Much Music specials combined! I think I like Shania even more after reading this book…

(I suddenly feel really old, realizing how much of what I mentioned is obsolete or demolished…)

Do I Have That Book Challenge No. 12
A book with a clock on the cover?

This took some searching, and there is only one: The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff.

I bought this book soon after The Alice Network. It was another impulse purchase, simply because I was interested in WWII historical fiction featuring women of the resistance and their spy networks. I only read The Lost Girls of Paris once, but its vivid writing has stayed with me.

Do I Have That Book Challenge No. 13
A poetry book?

I have a love/hate relationship with poetry: I rarely understand the hidden meaning and have been told by professors that I cannot write it, so I sold all my required poetry textbooks back to the university bookstore.

I had to dig deep in my shelves, but I did find one lone poetry book: The Best of Robert Service.
The poetry of Robert Service is more my style: I understand his musings of wilderness because I have some of lived them and the Klondike Gold Rush has always fascinated me.

I’ve only ever memorized two lines of poetry: the first, leftover from high school English, is the opening lines of Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy, and the other is one of Robert Service’s more famous lines: “There are strange things done in midnight sun, by the men who moil for gold.”

I don’t think I’ve actually finished reading the book simply because it is poetry…

Do I Have That Book Challenge No. 14
A book with an award stamp on it?

A bunch of books I have won awards after I bought them, so the only one with an actual award stamp is All the Light I Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.
I bought this book five or six years ago, and still haven’t read it. So, I can’t say one way or another if I think it actually deserved that Pulitzer Prize…

Do I Have That Book Challenge No. 15
A book written by an author with the same initials as you?

Out of all the books on my shelves, there is only one: Jessica Shattuck & The Women in the Castle.

I really wanted to like this book, especially since it’s one of the few I’ve found that has a German perspective of WWII. But there was something about it that just didn’t work for me…

Do I Have That Book Challenge No. 16
A book of short stories?

Oh, short stories…I hated them, but now I’m beginning to love them. I could never write a good one: my ideas were better suited to novels, but then something clicked. Now, I turn to short story collections to teach me how to write them. The best of these collections are definitely by Ray Bradbury. I have two of his anthologies, and pick one up every once in a while when I’m faced with writer’s block.

Do I Have That Book Challenge No. 17
A book that is between 500 and 510 pages long?

This was a hard search. Finally, after checking every other large book on my shelf, I stumbled upon The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling, with 503 pages. All I can say is I really hated this book…

Do I Have That Book Challenge No. 18
A book that was turned into a movie?

Surprisingly, I thought I would have more…the first one I found is Labor Day by Joyce Maynard.

I bought this book after I saw the movie trailer and thought it was interesting. I read it before watching the movie, and I will say the movie did a better job of skipping over the boring parts, but I enjoyed both equally.

Do I Have That Book Challenge No. 19
Do you have a graphic novel?

In my brain, these are comic books. I have a lot of those (passed down from my Mom’s vast collection), but only one “graphic novel”: the Red Rising prequel, Sons of Ares. I’ve only flipped through it, but I’ll read it one day…

Do I Have That Book Challenge No. 20
A book written by two or more authors?

The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus. This book amazed me, and I have yet to find anything even remotely like this story. Four years after I read it, I still have no words to comprehend the complexity and realism of this plot, and for that reason, I have avoided the movie. I don’t want to take a chance on ruining that feeling.