Books Ahoy! is a feature inspired by Entertainment Weekly‘s “Books of My Life” column. I wanted to go beyond the interview and ask authors (and even readers) about their favorite books. Reading is a personal, but shared experience and what a great way to know someone by asking them about the books that shaped their life.
No author or reader was forced to walk the plank.
I’m thrilled to welcome both Kat and Stone Bastion to Lit, etc! A full review of all four books in the series will be posted once the fourth book is available. In the meantime, help me welcome Kat and Stone!
To celebrate the release of Two Bar Mitzvahs (book 3 in the No Weddings series), Kat, Stone, and I talked about their favorite books.
K & S: Hello, Jessica. Thank you so much for having us on your blog to share our reading secrets with you. It’s great to be here.
Q. Your favorite childhood book?
K: Cinderella. I read it over and over as I learned to read. After that, the first book that stands out in my mind is the fantasy book Split Infinity by Piers Anthony. I borrowed it from the library around age eleven because it had a unicorn on the cover. Then I immediately devoured the next two in the series and all the books in his Xanth Series published by that time. And whoa…I just researched the Xanth series on Wikipedia. The thirty-ninth book is set to release in October 2014 and the fortieth in 2015. {blinks} Amazing.
S: Marmaduke, Family Circus, ’Twas the Night Before Christmas
Q. Favorite book you read for school?
K: 1984 by George Orwell. Loved the creativity of his dystopian world. I also loved the Logan’s Run TV series as a kid. {grins}
S: The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, focusing on “The Inferno.” Great class: Art and Literary Criticism.
Q. Classic book you’re embarrassed to admit you’ve never read?
K: There are many classic books I’ve never read, and I’m not embarrassed by it all. My tastes run toward romance—I took a Victorian literature class in college and fell in love with those classics—so I’m good with it.
S: Not embarrassed about shit. But someday, I may read To Kill a Mockingbird.
Q. A novel you think that is overrated?
K: The Great Gatsby. The characters seemed one dimensional.
S: Wow. I totally don’t want to slam anyone, but Catcher in the Rye. Was supposed to read it in high school, never did. Finally read as an adult. It was okay.
Q. Favorite adaptation of a novel?
K: Does James Bond count? Then Casino Royale
S: Star Wars. Enough said.
Q. A book you wish you had written?
K: There are none. I’m spending the rest of my life writing them.
S: What Man Thinks About Apart from Sex and Star Wars. Both works of genius.
Q. A book that in some way cemented you as a writer?
K: Oddly, no one book did. A few years ago, I’d read a string of so-so romances and a fire ignited inside me. I decided to create the adventurous romances I wanted to read.
S: The Celestine Prophecy. It reminded me that there are stories inside of me that need to be told.
Q. A book that would make a great doorstop?
K: War and Peace
S: War and Peace
K: Jinx! We totally both said that at the same time.
S: Good book…but a thick book. Heavy enough to stop a door.
Q. A book that you always recommend to people?
K: Fictional? There are a few depending on genre: fantasy is Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning (The entire Fever Series is my favorite series of all time), historical/highlander is Ransom by Julie Garwood, and contemporary is Perfect by Judith McNaught
S: Anything Clive Cussler. Enough said.
Q. And finally, you’ve been given the task to host a last minute dinner party. Which authors are on your ultimate dinner invitation list? Alive or Dead.
K: Jane Austen, Maya Angelou, Sylvain Reynard and Dante Alighieri (I’d sit them at a corner near me to overhear their discussions), Karen Marie Moning, and J.R. Ward.
S: Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss), Clive Cussler, Clement Clarke Moore, Alan Dean Foster, George Lucas, Hugh Howey. Wait…I don’t have any females. Kat Bastion. Yeah, she needs to be there.
K: Stone, you are at my dinner party. It’s a given. Okay, I’ll bring along my guests to even things out a little.
A digital copy of No Weddings is up for grabs. Winners will have 48 hours to respond otherwise a new winner will be chosen. Must be 18 years or older and US only. Good luck!
Synopsis: Award-winning author Kat Bastion teams with her husband, Stone Bastion, in this first book in the No Weddings Series about Cade Michaelson, a successful man with his sights set on a new venture in business, and Hannah Martin, the woman who makes it personal.
I think I have my act together as a successful bar owner, my master’s degree within reach, and a list of no-strings-attached women warming my bed. Turns out, I don’t.
Hannah believes she has safeguarded her wounded heart by shunning men and focusing on her new baking business. The thing is, she hasn’t.
When my three sisters and I form an event-planning business with Hannah as our baker, I have no idea how my life is about to change. As Hannah and I work closely together, the attraction between us becomes irresistible. And complicated. I’ve promised my sisters I wouldn’t mix business with pleasure. But I’ve never been one to follow the rules.
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