For once I'm not doing a quiz to trick y'all into thinking I regularly post. This one interested me.
Behold! A fully completed quiz.
If there are American typos that I've not picked up on, I apologise profusely.
1. Favorite childhood book?
Agent Angel, by Annie Dalton, and Harry Potter,
by JK Rowling. Both of these series followed me well into my teens.
2. What are you reading right now?
From Notting Hill With Love… Actually, by Ali
McNamara.
3. What books do you have on request at the library?
I don’t have any at the moment, due to awfully high overdue fees. I
liked re-reading my books.
4. Bad book habit?
Starting one, flicking to the middle, and flicking to the end to decide
whether or not I’ll read the whole thing. It was a smart move with Fitzwilliam Darcy: Rock Star, though I
can’t imagine what possessed me to read it to begin with.
5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
Again, none, due to the aforementioned overdues.
6. Do you have an e-reader?
I’ve downloaded the iBooks, Kindle and Bluefire apps on my phone – it makes
for easy reading on the train trips to uni.
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
Several if I’m going to draw them out; if it’s a good enough book, I
usually have it finished in a few hours so there’s no chance to have multiples.
8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
Not really, except I’ve tried branching out a bit more. There’s a lot
more that I’ve found through trawling review sites. My blog isn’t 100% devoted
to books, obviously, so there you have it.
9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)
Fitzwilliam Darcy,
Rock Star by Heather Lynn Regaud, or Unsticky,
by Sara Manning. Can’t figure out why I read them. They were vapid reads, and Fitzwilliam Darcy: Rock Star just ruined
Pride and Prejudice. Ruined it. Unsticky seems to be the book version of
Pretty Woman, and Pretty Woman didn’t appeal to me either.
10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.
11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
Not very often, though a notable exception was The Godfather – and that was awesome. Awesome in all the ways.
12. What is your reading comfort zone?
YA, adult fic, classics, historical fic and chick-lit.
13. Can you read on the bus?
Oddly enough, I can’t read books, but I can read on my phone just fine.
Trains are easier to read on.
14. Favorite place to read?
My bed, or my parents’ lovely corner couch. The hammock used to be great
for reading in too, before the dog claimed it as her own and broke it.
15. What is your policy on book lending?
I share, occasionally. If I like you I share.
16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
Not intentionally, ever.
17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
*gasp* Get thee out of here. Get out. No. You do not do that to books.
18. Not even with text books?
Okay, yes. I do this to my textbooks (well, more highlight). I also do
it to my Bible.
19. What is your favorite language to read in?
English. I’m working on Spanish, I can understand bits but not enough to
make my reading experience smooth.
20. What makes you love a book?
The characters have to draw me in. For instance, I just read The Jane Austen Marriage Manual (Kim
Izzo) and The Wedding Season (Su
Dharmapala). Both very generic chick lit formulas – I needed something very
simple for post-op, and I was sick of slogging my way through big texts
courtesy of uni. JAMM had nothing to
offer in the way of characters – why anyone would go for Kate is beyond me, and
every character was two-dimensional and boring. The Wedding Season, however, was brilliant – because of the
characters. Heck, even the four-year-old was realistic.
21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
Friends, covers, and my old school librarian, Gloria.
22. Favorite genre?
YA, primarily. Chick lit is just not as good as it used to be, whereas
YA just goes from strength to strength.
23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
Fantasy. When I find the right fantasy, I get into it to near Potter
levels, but I don’t know enough authors to keep my reading up.
24. Favorite biography?
David Sedaris, When You Are Engulfed in
Flames. Okay, it’s memoir, but it’s amazing and brilliant and why can’t I
be David Sedaris unghhhhhh
25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
I don’t think so. Self-help books are hilarity.
26. Favorite cookbook?
Marie Claire Kitchen, and
anything Donna Hay. Donna Hay is a complete genius and I want to become the
monster that lives in her kitchen devouring all her baked goods. Sort of like
Cookie Monster, except baked goods are an always food.
27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or
non-fiction)?
The Fault in Our Stars, by John
Green. It made me realise that my gosh, my life is good.
28. Favorite reading snack?
Tomato soup. Odd, I know. Also enjoy two-minute noodles.
29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
Could not understand the appeal of Eragon, nor the Sookie Stackhouse
series. Both of them were boring as anything and, in the case of SS, was filled
with way too much sex for me to consider it normal. Why does vampirism equal
higher-than-average sexytimes, as opposed to the far more rational fleeing?
30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
Very rarely read critical reviews.
31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
If the book is horrifyingly bad, I am vocal. Actually, no matter what, I’m
vocal. Thankfully I’ve not read a lot of books that I openly despise.
32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you
choose?
Spanish, because I want to read Neruda in Spanish. And The Shadow of the Wind (which I actually
own in Spanish but is taking forever to get through). And Marquez.
Spanish-language authors really are magnificent, and that’s reading a
translation. Imagine how they must be in
Spanish, which is an infinitely more beautiful language than English I do believe.
33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
Anna Karenina, because it was
huge. Worth every page.
34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
The Count of Monte Cristo, because I’ve
heard so many things about it that are magnificent and I don’t want to be
disappointed.
35. Favorite Poet?
Neruda. I don’t think I’ve mentioned that before, ever, because – I can’t
keep up the sarcasm.
36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any
given time?
As many as they allow (so for the Richmond-Tweed libraries, that’s 20).
37. How often have you returned book to the library unread?
Never. They all are read, repeatedly.
38. Favorite fictional character?
I’ve covered this here.
39. Favorite fictional villain?
Voldemort. Oooh. I also like Wickham.
40. Books you’re most likely to bring on vacation?
Whatever’s on my phone, and whatever I can afford while I’m away.
41. The longest you’ve gone without reading.
Never more than a week or two.
42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
Beastly. I liked the movie and the book was just blerghhhhh.
43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
My thoughts, and occasionally story ideas.
44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
Atonement, The Notebook, Pride and Prejudice 2005 (I await the rocks and spears)… and Beastly, because it was
awesome and way better than the book.
45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
Goblet of Fire and A Walk to
Remember. GoF was way too rushed (so much awesome they missed). And,
A Walk to Remember? Come on, whoever directed that. The book was amazing
to begin with. Why did you have to make it so… painful?
46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
Probably a hundred or so. Would have been on a box set or just going all
out and buying happiness.
47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
Quite a bit. Voice is important for me.
48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
Boredom. If the characters are just irritating, or the plot is
ridiculous, or the writing is just atrocious, I’m ready to put them away.
49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
I group by category (fiction/non), then by genre, then by author within
genre.
50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
Keep. They be my books.
51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
Right now, just The Great Gatsby.
The film’s coming out soon and I want to enjoy it as a film, before falling
happily into the book.
52. Name a book that made you angry.
Atonement, Ian McEwan. But it was a perfect and
brilliant anger, and I love that it made me angry.
53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
Technically, not a book, but The
Crucible by Arthur Miller. Also Nineteen
Eighty-Four by the brilliant Orwell – dystopian fiction was not my thing at
the time.
54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
Asking for Trouble, by Elizabeth Young. I
read it because it was meant to be the inspiration for The Wedding Date
(Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney I think?), which I adore and have adored for
years. It just wasn’t as punchy.
55. Favourite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
Chick-lit all the way. Apparently, being a media and communications
student/vaguely literature student/writing student, I’m meant to be all
high-brow and whatnot. Genre fic is brilliant though, and shouldn’t be
discounted.
