So I saw this on Tumblr (which, really, I don't understand today's youth because when surveys like this go out, you have to ask your followers to ask you these questions. What is that about? Why can't you just post it and answer what you want to answer? I swear, people are just going to forget how to be direct at some point and not offer opinions unless prompted. Now get off my lawn) and figured hey, why not answer it?
1. Favorite childhood book?
The April Rabbits, Dr. DeSoto or any of the Ramona Quimby books.
2. What are you reading right now?
Just One Day by Gayle Forman.
3. What books do you have on request at the library?
Oh, I get it, to be a big-time reader I must be at the library all the time, right? Well, sadly, that is not the case.
4. Bad book habit?
Not finishing a book. I picked this up within the last few years. As I've gotten older, my patience has waned when it comes to giving a s*** about characters.
5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
Why this library obsession? Seriously, I support them whole-heartedly but sometimes people buy books at bookstores, you know?
6. Do you have an e-reader?
No, they hold no appeal for me.
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
I barely have time for one book now, so yes, it's one book at a time. When I have time.
8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
No, but they have changed as my job responsibilities and book-writing have evolved.
9. Least favourite book you read this year (so far)?
Since it's January, I'm going to include 2012 in this... and I can't remember most of the books I read last year. That should tell you something about how memorable they were.
10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I hate that it took me this long to read it, but it's wonderful
11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
I don't read what I don't like. There's not enough time for that.
12. What is your reading comfort zone?
I read fiction. I'm not big on non-fiction because I read non-fiction for a living. So it's not so much a comfort zone as a "leave my job at my job" zone.
13. Can you read on the bus?
I don't take enough buses to know. But I can read on a train or a plane. Even a boat.
14. Favorite place to read?
Oh, I get it. I'm supposed to have like a little window seat or a cozy reading nook or a giant poplar tree that I like to sit under, right? Snark aside, I don't need to be somewhere specific to enjoy a book.
15. What is your policy on book lending?
If I like a book and I know someone else will like it, I lend it. It's one reason I don't like eBooks.
16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
On my own books, yes. On ones I've borrowed, no.
17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Only travel guides.
18. Not even with text books?
Oh, I get it now. This is for people still in school. Well, guess what? IT'S GREAT NOT HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT READING TEXT BOOKS ANYMORE, LET ALONE WRITING IN THEM. Ahem.
19. What is your favourite language to read in?
*Eye roll*
20. What makes you love a book?
Great books (and TV shows and movies) always have what I call "the nugget" - that one little moment where you're like "Okay, I love this thing." It usually has to do with well-drawn characters and moments that are earned and not manipulated.
21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
If I really want to talk about it with someone who I know is a big reader.
22. Favorite genre?
I do love my YA and I'm not ashamed of this in the least.
23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did)?
I find memoirs hard because I sit there and think "How can people remember this much detail from something that happened to them at age three?" and it takes me out of it. Although I have read some really interesting ones which makes me think I should give more a shot.
24. Favourite biography?
I'm not really that intrigued by many people to read a full biography on them, but I did recently read The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, which broke down the rise and fall of the band, including recording sessions and what went into making songs. That's the kind of stuff I'm interested in.
25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
No.
26. Favourite cookbook?
I own quite a few, but I don't know that I have a favorite, per se, because most of my favorite recipes have come from the Internet. I do find the Fanny Farmer Cookbook the one I consult with questions the most. And The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook has gotten a lot of wear.
27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
Dating back to last year? The Book Thief.
28. Favorite reading snack?
I'm usually in bed when I read, so it's not really snack appropriate.
29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
The Lovely Bones and Let the Great World Spin
30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
Feh, I don't really go by reviews of books. Different strokes for different folks.
31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
I rarely put my negative opinions of books out in a public forum, because, see above, but there have been some that really irritated me that I had to blog about just to get it off my chest. If you do it by sticking to what you don't like about a book and not going after an author's character or something stupid like that, it's okay.
32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
I can read a little in Spanish. That has not really helped in any of the foreign countries I've visited that weren't Mexico, however.
33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
The Scarlet Letter - intimidating for sheer boringness.
34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
The Brothers Karamozov. I've tried to start this but the sheer size of it exhausts me.
35. Favorite Poet?
Probably Walt Whitman or Robert Frost. I like my straight-to-the-point Americans.
36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
N/A
37. How often have you returned books to the library unread?
This is half the reason I can't do library books. I can't have a deadline when I'm reading for pleasure since I have one for work.
38. Favorite fictional character?
Ramona Quimby
39. Favourite fictional villain?
Lila Fowler? I don't know, I don't usually like antagonizers.
40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
Travel guides. For real, they've been tremendous helps.
41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.
If I'm devoting my free time to writing, I can go weeks without reading a book.
42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
Oy, there are too many. I couldn't get through The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, A Confederacy of Dunces, to name two critical darlings.
43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
If it's a good book, I'm not easily distracted, period.
44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
Of a book I've read? The Perks of Being a Wallflower, but then I didn't totally love the book. I liked the Harry Potter movies too, but nowhere NEAR as much as I liked the books. Book I didn't read: Either Gone With the Wind or Sense and Sensibility. I don't read books after seeing movies first anymore because it's really not exercising my imagination, which, for me, is the best part of reading.
45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
Oh, too many to count. One Day comes to mind as a recent one. Circle of Friends, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist are two major offenders that hurt. It's the reason I can't bring myself to see Life of Pi, which I loved as a book.
46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
I don't usually keep track of that sort of thing because I only usually buy one book at once. But I know I spent close to $60 last year buying travel guides and some fiction books.
47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
It depends. If it's a tough "literary" book or one I'm skeptical about liking, I'll glance at the Amazon preview of the first few pages.
48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
It's happened more times than I'd like to count. Mostly because I'm bored with it or I don't "get" it.
49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
They're organized by genre and then author/height on my shelves.
50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
I keep the ones I like. I do give a lot of books I don't love to the local church book sale. I live in an apartment and space IS limited.(No, I still don't want an eReader.)
51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
Eh, I'm not going to read the rest of the Twilight books.
52. Name a book that made you angry.
Oh goodness, did Something Borrowed irritate the s*** out of me. Also, the ending to Mocking Jay.
53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
Revolutionary Road. Depressing subject matter, but completely elevated by fantastic writing. I don't mind being put through the wringer if something is evocative/thought-provoking.
54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.
55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
It's my goal to eradicate "guilty pleasure" from my vocabulary because no one should be made to feel guilty for enjoying something - unless it's morally reprehensible, of course. And books usually aren't.