Seven Deadly Sins Book Tag

Marguerite by Guy Rose (1918)

My mother and I often joke that if one were to spend Thanksgiving and Black Friday the way the media suggests, one would commit all seven of the deadly sins over the course of two days: pride, gluttony, and sloth on Thanksgiving, and envy, greed, lust, and wrath on Black Friday. So, when I saw Kristina Horner answer the Seven Deadly Sins Book Tag questions on her YouTube channel, I thought that now would be a particularly appropriate time to share my answers!

A quick note: I altered the wording of the questions a bit from the original tag.

1. Greed: What are your most expensive and least expensive books?

The most expensive book I've ever purchased for myself is Amelia Peabody's Egypt, a companion book to Elizabeth Peter's Amelia Peabody mystery series set in Egypt during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It's an oversized hardcover and cost $30, and I paid for it with gift cards.

The least expensive books I own are from Dover Publication's Thrift Editions line, such as their edition of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. They're surprisingly well-designed given the price.

2. Wrath: What author do you have a love/hate relationship with?

I'd have to say Diana Wynne Jones. I've read a lot of her books and I mostly love them, but her plotting can be a little slapdash and therefore sometimes frustrating. For instance, her lengthy novel Fire and Hemlock, which I just read this autumn, left me very confused and unsatisfied at the end.

3. Gluttony: What book have you devoured over and over with no shame whatsoever?

I honestly couldn't say how many times I've read Trojan Gold, a novel in Elizabeth Peter's Vicky Bliss series. It's got everything that I love in a book of its type--adventure, mystery, romance--and as an added bonus, is set in the festive atmosphere of Germany at Christmastime.

4. Sloth: What book have you neglected to read due to laziness?

I'm not the type of reader whose to-be-read pile increases faster than the books can be read, so I don't usually have a lot of extra books hanging around that go unread. I did take a year-long break between reading the first and second books of Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit, since it's long and I wanted some variety in between, but I definitely finished it.

5. Pride: What book do you most talk about in order to sound like an intellectual reader?

Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit. See what I did there?

6. Lust: What attributes do you find most attractive in characters?

I always love an intelligent character with a dry, witty sense of humor.

7. Envy: What books would you most like to receive as gifts?

I've got a whole Pinterest board full of books I'd like to read and editions I'd like to own, but if I had to pick just one right now I'd say the Overlook Press edition of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons. I read this book for the first time this summer and loved it, and the hardcover edition is just gorgeous. Overlook has also released the second book in the series, so I'm hoping the entire collection is to follow!