Books and tea go together. I know this and I’m guessing you do, as well. Celestial Seasonings has also figured it out, with their multi-million dollar ad agency learning that 70% of tea drinkers consider “reading books” as a favorite pastime. In fact, part of their new marketing includes giving you a book club guide and providing a website for a virtual discussion if you purchase their teas and Random House books. Hmm…I bet they spent a lot of money to set that all up. I’m pretty skeptical when it comes to Big Business trying to grab the market-share. As I commented at Tea Guy Speaks this morning, it reminds me of the prizes offered in cereal boxes. After all, bloggers can set-up a book club anywhere with whatever tea they want, we don’t need Celestial Seasonings to spend all that money to do it for us. But that’s another post…

Amy at Earnest Parenting tagged me for a Book meme earlier this week. I don’t always participate in these fun, community-building blogging activities, but since books and tea do go together, I thought I’d share. And since I had to look it up, I thought I’d let you know a meme (pronounced meem) is defined as a a cultural item that is transmitted by repetition in a manner analogous to the biological transmission of genes. Now you know. Watch, I may tag you at the end.

  1. How many books do I own? Hundreds. In reality, I have no idea, but books are in almost every room of our house, despite my clutter phobia. I give lots of books away. I sort through my books at least once per year. But we’re a homeschooling family and consider reading in the top three of our family’s recreational activities.
  2. What was the last book I read? Probably a better question for me is what was the last book I finished. I just finished the book I wrote about recently, Rebecca, and loved it. (Did you know Alfred Hitchcock made a movie of Rebecca, his only film that won Best Picture? I must try and see that). The last book I read was this morning, The Message// Remix: Solo: The Uncommon Devotional. This book, my first cup of tea, and I try and start our day together without the children; something I really, really need to keep centered and focused.
  3. What was the last book I purchased? The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I had to wait an extra few weeks for it to arrive from Amazon, because I wanted a version that didn’t have the words “Oprah’s Book Club” on the cover so my man would read it. Shhh…don’t tell Plays with Fire it’s an Oprah choice. We always exchange books at Christmas. I love this little rhyme about gift-giving and try to follow it:
    • “Something to eat, something to read, something to play with, and something they need”
  4. What five books are the most meaningful to me?
    1. The Book of Job
    2. Gift from the Sea
    3. Wuthering Heights
    4. The Journey of Desire/New Way to Be Human
    5. A Severe Mercy
  5. What is my most obscure favorite book? Miss Rumphius. It always amazes me how many lovers of literature have never heard of this children’s book. It is my absolute favorite.

Do you read while you drink tea? Even if I don’t tag you, I would love to hear your answers to some of these questions in the comments below. And remember, if you want to learn more about my favorite TEA-related books, be sure to visit my “Tea Reads” page.

Let’s see, I tag: Stephanie at Steph’s Cup of Tea, Jamie at Tea on Tap, and Karen at Scraps of Mind.

And think of Mz. Rita tomorrow, hosting her tea for 50 women! She left a great comment on this post outlining the games she has planned. Good for you, Rita!

I hope you are finding time to read a good book during these short almost-winter days with a cup of tea in hand.