Thursday, August 19, 2010

Booking Through Thursday

Loads of questions this week!

1. Favorite childhood book?
Drake, The Man They Called a Pirate by Jean Lee Lathem

2. What are you reading right now?
I have two books going right now.  First, The Stolen Crown by Susan Higginbotham.  I'm also reading a chapter a day (or at least I try to) of Alison Weir's nonfiction work Mary Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley.

3. What books do you have on request at the library?
None, currently

4. Bad book habit?
Making obsessive lists of books that actually cuts time from my reading.

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
The Darkest Room by Johan Theorin, The Stolen Crown by Susan Higginbotham, Mary Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley by Alison Weir, Charles Dickens by Michael Slater, People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks,  A Conspiracy of Paper by David Liss, The Glass of Time by Michael Cox, Aiding and Abetting by Muriel Spark, The Anatomy of Deception by Lawrence Goldstone, Masterpieces of Mystery and the Unknown: Stories by Agatha Chrisite

6. Do you have an e-reader?
Nope.  I'm old school.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
I usually have my "main" read and then I dip into a large non-fiction book or a short story collection here and there.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
Not really.  I will say I am exposed to more books, but I've always read the same sorts of books.

9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)
The Devil and Sherlock Holmes by David Gann.  It was a let down.

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
Difficult question!  My first instinct is to say The House at Riverton by Kate Morton.

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
Rarely.  Time is short.  There are too many things I want to read to waste time worrying about getting out of my comfort zone.

12. What is your reading comfort zone?
I like classic novels, literary fiction, well-rounded non-fiction, historical fiction, graphic novels, and short stories.

13. Can you read on the bus?
nope

14. Favorite place to read?
At the coffee shop on a quiet day with a large mug of coffee.

15. What is your policy on book lending?
I do, and I'm blessed by wonderful friends who actually return borrowed books.

16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
Alas, yes.

17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
At times

18.  Not even with text books?
All the time when I was in college!

19. What is your favorite language to read in?
English

20. What makes you love a book?
Good plot, well-drawn characters, vivacious writing

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
If I find myself standing in the shower and thinking about a book I read weeks ago, it is recommendation worthy!

22. Favorite genre?
It is a toss up between

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
I wish I read more essays.  I like essays, but I rarely pick them up now.

24. Favorite biography?
Drake, The Man They Called a Pirate by Jean Lee Lathem.  This is a children's biography, but this book got me hooked on historical fiction and biographies.

25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
Yes.  And it was hilarious!

26. Favorite cookbook?
The Martha Stewart Cookie Cookbook

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

28. Favorite reading snack?

coffee, tea, hot cocoa... you get the idea!

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
The Devil and Sherlock Holmes by David Gann

30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
I try to keep an open mind and read reader reviews, critics tend to dissect a bit much.  I do rely on critics when choosing a translation.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
I feel like if a book is shitty and was somehow published it deserves to be called shitty (Twilight I'm looking at you).

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
French!  I read a bit, but not enough.

33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust

35. Favorite Poet?
Sylvia Plath

36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
I try to limit myself to 5 - 7 per trip, but sometimes I make too many trips!

37. How often have you returned book to the library unread?
Often, but I'm increasing circulation stats which is really great for libraries.

38. Favorite fictional character?
Esther Greenwood from The Bell Jar

39. Favorite fictional villain?
Tom Ripley from The Talented Mr. Ripley

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
The same that I usually read.  My tastes don't really change.

41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.
3 or 4 days?

42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
My husband, my child, and piles of unfolded laundry

44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
The Two Towers

45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince


46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
$75

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
not often

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
twaddle

49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
Do I ever!  It is what we library girls do best!

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
If I think I might want to reread it I keep it.

51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
Not really.

52. Name a book that made you angry.
Twilight

53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
Harry Potter series

54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
The Devil and Sherlock Holmes by David Gann

55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
Graphic Novels!


6 comments:

Thomas at My Porch said...

As usual Amanda, you made me laugh. I espcially liked your answers about self-help and Twilight.

I read recently, I can't remember where, about a bookseller who reponded to a customer looking for the self-help section "If I told you that it would defeat the purpose."

josjottings said...

I loved your answers.

Please feel free to check mine out on my blog.

So many of use do not have e readers!!

I think we have some similar book tastes.

I will pop back again.

catherine said...

love you, love this. love the responses about twilight, and it's so true about harry potter. i was not expecting it to be awesome, but oh how it was.

Bev said...

Great answers! And, by the way, I love your quote by Edna St. Vincent Millay!

nerdybookgirl said...

Thomas, that is hilarious! The best self-help book I've ever read wasn't a self-help book (Fight Club).

everybookandcranny said...

I have the very same bad book habit!!! Right now I'm keeping a Pulitzer list, a graphic novel list, Hitchcock list, and lists of books by favorite authors (which thankfully, I've chiseled down to three authors).