A Little Celebration: Liebster Award

Dear Friend,

Ruth at A Great Book Study has nominated my blog for the Liebster Award! Thank you so much, Ruth! I love your wise insights about the classics and life and I'm grateful for your friendship and encouragement. 

The Liebster Award is a way of spreading the word about blogs in the vast community of book bloggers. It's somewhat like a chain letter or a slam book, but a lot more fun.

The Rules:

*Thank the blogger that nominated you and link back to their blog.

*Display the award somewhere on your blog.

*List 11 facts about yourself.

*Answer 11 questions chosen by the blogger who nominated you.

*Come up with 11 questions to ask your nominees.

*Nominate 5-11 blogs that you think deserve the award and who have less than 1,000 followers.

*You may nominate blogs that have already received the award, but you cannot re-nominate the blog that nominated you.) 

*Go to their blog and inform them that they've been nominated.

 Eleven Random Facts About Me:
(I've tried to list things I've never shared on this blog before.)

1. My middle name is the title of a Beatles song.

2. I can touch the tip of my nose with the tip of my tongue. (Of my five kids, only one has inherited this unique gift. He's very proud of it!)

3. I was a Bicentennial Baby.

4.When I was born lots of friends and family gave me commemorative bicentennial dollars. I cashed them in when I was seven to buy my first piano.

5. One of my dreams is to become a Tricentennial Lady in 2076.

6. I'm an INFP in the Meyers Briggs Personality Indicator. My type is known as "The Idealist" or "The Healer."

7. Many people -- even some people I've known my whole life -- mispronounce my name. This doesn't bother me, though. Here are some of the names I often answer to:  "Andrea," "Andreanna," "Adri-ON-ah," "Yo Adrian!," "A," "Adri," "Adee-anne," "Adranna," "Drannie," and "Miss A."

 Vince Gill gets it right:

8. When I was four I met my great-great-grandmother before she died. She asked me to pray for her, so I knelt beside her chair and said a little prayer.

9. My husband taught me how to change a diaper. (I think I have a little more experience than he does now!)

10. Last summer I found the grave of my mother's mother's mother's mother's mother.

11. Today is my birthday. I'm 38.

+ + + + +

1.  Share a favorite quote from a book or author.

Who is to be feared but God alone?
What can be seized or stolen from His power?
Soft endearments are intended to arouse love.
But there are no caresses tenderer than Your charity,
And no object of love is more healthy than Your truth,
Beautiful and  luminous beyond all things.
~Confessions of St. Augustine

2.  Is there a book you have disliked immensely? 

Which one, and why? 

If you mean titles on the WEM list, then no. I've liked some much more than others, but I haven't felt immense dislike for any of them yet.

How and when I read a classic can affect the enjoyment factor for me. I did not enjoy Don Quixote because I read it before I discovered blogging! I think I might have enjoyed it if I had had some friends to joke about it with. I read it alone during the winter while living in a basement apartment with two babies who were fourteen months apart. It nearly drove me crazy!

Half way through The Book of Margery Kempe, I started feeling exhausted and constantly nauseated. A surprise pregnancy helped me develop a keen sense of empathy for the physical travails of medieval women! 

3.  Why did you start blogging? Has your purpose changed?  How did you come up with the name for your blog? 

I started Classical Quest to help me process life. Writing in a journal is not enough -- I need conversation! I need to take in many perspectives. The blogosphere is my classroom. I get lots of encouragement, accountability, and even some push back now and then. This feeds me.

Has your purpose changed? 

No, but I think my tone has changed! In the beginning, I probably came across as more of a teacher and now I think I sound more like a student. I have less answers and more questions. At the same time blogging is helping me develop the courage to be authentic. I've crossed through some barriers lately by writing about subjects I was too timid to breach previously.

When I was young there were people who warned  me that receiving an education would make me "wishy-washy" and "too broad-minded." Instead I think it's stripping me of pride. Albert Einstein said it best: "The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know." 

How did you come up with the name for your blog? 

I came up with "Classical Quest" in about two minutes. I was shocked it wasn't already taken!

I've always loved the idea of a "quest." When I was a little girl, I had a swing set in my back yard. I would often hop on the two-seated face-to-face glider (sometimes with a friend; sometimes alone) and go on long journeys to far away places.

I really don't like to hurry! I like to spend time savoring things. This blog is all about the journey. I keep making new lists in addition to WEM, so there's really no end in sight for me!

4.  Have you ever counted how many books you own?  If not, estimate.

Estimate??? You mean use math?!

5.  Which author have you read the most?

Laura Ingalls Wilder

6.  Which book have you reread the most?

The Psalms

7.  Do you have a memorable childhood book? 

Yes. I remember being very proud of myself for reading Sam and the Firefly by P.D. Eastman all by myself.

8.  Have you ever imagined an actor/actress to play a character in a book you were reading?  (For example, I always thought Sharon Stone would make a great Dominique Francon in the Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.) 

Wow. I don't think I've ever done that! Sounds like a fun idea, though. Off the top of my head, I think George Clooney would make a great Rhett Butler from Gone With the Wind.

9.  Is there a book you would like to see in film version, permitting they kept it true to the book. 

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck would make a great family film. 

10.  Name a character from classic lit that you would love to be neighbors with. 

Hester Prynne. We both like needlework; we both like living on the outskirts of town. I admire the way she overcame her social stigma. I think we would benefit from each other's company and perhaps become great friends. Plus, my kids would love to play with her daughter Pearl.

11.  What book are you avoiding, and why? 

The next book on the WEM list, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I'm avoiding it because I've seen the movie (Robert Redford version) and I didn't care for it at all. Plus, I'm a little weary of high-society novels at the moment. A few friends I admire have listed Gatsby as one of their favorites, so I'm sure I'll read it eventually.

While I'm on this subject I might as well tell you, I've decided to take a break from the novel list for a while.  I've come to realize that I really need to be in sync with my friends at A Classic Case of Madness in order to get the most out of my reading. I miss hanging out in the blogosphere with them, making up silly ditties about our reading. So I'm going to coast for a few months -- just read whatever I want and try to write some blog posts about the great books I've read over the past year. When CCOM starts the Autobiography List I'll be leaning forward on the front row with notebook and pencil in hand.

I nominated these great bloggers for the Liebster Award:

Jeannie @ Little House on the Circle

Carol  @ The Well

Sheena @ Tabulyogang

Krista @ She Dares To Voice

Veronica @ Veronica Boulden 

Here's my questions for the nominees: 

1. Why did you start your blog? (If your purpose has changed since you started blogging, share how and why.)

2. Which post did you most enjoy writing? Or, what post is your favorite? (Please provide the link)

3. Which post was the most difficult to write and why? (Link, if you wish.)

4. Share a favorite quote from a book or author.

5. Name a character from classic literature that you would love to be neighbors with.

6. If you were stranded on a deserted island, what five books would you need?

7. What are you currently reading?

8. Where is your favorite reading place?

9. Can you name a book that you thought you would dislike, but ended up liking?

10. What do you do when you're not reading? 

11. You are on vacation in a foreign country. What do you make sure to fit into your itinerary? 

+ + + + +

Thank you for stopping by for my little celebration today! Please take some time to visit the blogs I've nominated.

Love,

Adriana