55 QUESTIONS ABOUT BOOKS | PART ONE

I wrote the first half of this post once already, and somehow Blogger deleted it. You have no idea how irritated I am right now.  So this is the second version, which is bound to be nowhere near as good. Just do me a favour and pretend it’s like 10% funnier than it is as you read it. 

I came across this on The Notebook Sisters‘ blog (if you don’t know the blog you should devote the rest of your day to reading up – it’s one of the best and funniest blogs out there). Cait and Mime’s answers are much funnier than mine, so please read theirs after you finish this post, but here’s part one and part two. (There were a couple of questions missing here and there, so I went to The Literary Lollipop’s post for the original list to fill them in.)

I can’t pick just one, but I was definitely a fan of the Trixie Belden, Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mystery series and anything by Roald Dahl.

2. What are you reading right now?

As I’m pre-writing this to go up while I’m on vacation, I can’t tell you what I’m reading in your now, but I can tell you that in my now, I’m reading The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson and The Mockingbird Next Door by Marja Mills. Hopefully I’ll be done with these by the time you’re reading and on to The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and Bonkers by Jennifer Saunders.

3. What books do you have on request at the library?

Don’t hate me, but I don’t really use the library. I’m a big mood reader, so it’s hard for me to plan my reading. And I have terrible impulses to collect, which inevitably means taking out about 5 times more books than I can reasonably expect to get to. Plus the library isn’t near me and I have a fear of bed bugs. Besides, I’ve got more than enough books at home to keep me busy!

4. Bad book habit?

Not sticking with a book until it’s finished if a more exciting one catches my eye. I’m very fickle.

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library? 

See #3.

6. Do you have an e-reader? 

Yep! I have a Nook Glowlight which I find very handy for reading at night. Also traveling. I installed the Moonreader app on my phone, as well, so I can literally read anytime, anywhere since my phone is never far away.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once? 

Oh, hundreds at a time. At least four. I almost never have just one book on the go. 

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog? 

I find that not only am I more likely to pick up books I wouldn’t have found on my own after reading a favourable review, but I’m more likely to finish them. I also read more consistently and more overall because I’ve got motivation to be getting through books at a steady pace.

9. Least favourite book you read this year so far?

I really hate saying bad things about books. I have too much respect for them – even the bad ones. So I do this under protest. But I guess The Library of Unrequited Love, which was dull with a stuck up, unlikeable protagonist and Up A Tree In the Part at Night with A Hedgehog, which was a bit better in that it had some funny moments, but the main character was a cheater, and the way it’s written you’re supposed to root for him to get away with it which I just couldn’t do. It’s a pet peeve of mine. So those two.

10. Favourite book you’ve read this year?

It’s literally impossible to pick one. I’ve read so many amazing, brilliant books this year! The top ones are: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, The Opposite of Loneliness, The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow, Q’s Legacy and The Uncommon Reader.

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone? 

Not very. I know what I like, and I like what I know. I’ll try the odd book if it’s recommended to me specifically as something I’ll like, if it’s a Big Deal book, or if it’s one I’m very curious about. 

12. What is your reading comfort zone? 

I tend towards literary fiction and young adult. I’ll also read current events if it’s a topic I’m interested in and memoir/biography if it’s about a person I like. 

13. Can you read in the car? 

It depends. If it’s on a large, relatively steady vehicle like a bus and I’m facing forward I can usually read a bit. If it’s a car on a highway, 50/50. If it’s a small vehicle on a narrow winding road…

14. Favourite place to read?

Well, reading in bed is pretty much the best. But we recently got a few great reclining armchairs and a reclining couch, so there really isn’t any shortage of comfy places to curl up with a book!

15. What is your policy on book lending? 

No.

16. Do you ever dog-ear books? Break the spines?

I can’t believe you even asked me that.

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

Not really. I think I have in the past a few times, but I prefer to keep my books as virgin as possible.

18. Not even textbooks?

Oh, textbooks are another story. I think they’re kind of made to be written in. Though I didn’t write in them as much as some other people because I had a complex system of post-it notes. I’d put a post-it right on the page and take notes there so I wouldn’t lose focus shifting back and forth to a notebook. It also made it easier to transfer my notes later for studying and encouraged me to be concise so my notes fit on the post it.

19. What is your favourite language to read in? 

Well, considering the only language I’m fluent in is English, I’m gonna go with that. If you want to know which languages I wish I could read in, I’d go with French and Spanish which I have some knowledge of but not enough to read a “proper” book.

20. What makes you love a book?

It has to have characters that I love, that I can root for. But the plot also has to keep me turning pages well past my bedtime. And the writing has to be excellent because otherwise I just won’t be able to take it seriously. So yeah, all that.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?

If it fits the criteria above, I probably won’t stop talking about it.

22. Favourite genre?

Fiction. Is that a genre? Literary fiction? Contemporary fiction? Yeah, somewhere in there, with the occasional thriller thrown in for some suspense.

23. Genre you rarely read but wish you did?

The classics. I mean, on the one hand I want to get all those references. I really do. But on the other hand, they’re just so much goddamn work.

24. Favourite Biography?

This Is A Call, the biography of Dave Grohl. It made me into an even bigger fan of his music, and I have a huge amount of respect for how he has navigated both fame and ensuring that he holds onto his passion for music. Ace guy. I also loved The Outlaw Journalist, which is about Hunter S. Thompson. I actually think reading about his life interested more than reading some of his own work – the guy knew how to live!

25. Have you ever read a self-help book? 

Pfft. Like I need any help. I’m PERFECT.

26. Favourite Cookbook?

I do. not. cook.

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?

I think probably the Helene Hanff books. It was incredibly inspiring to learn that her most successful book (84, Charing Cross Road) wasn’t published until she as in her mid-50s. There’s hope for me yet!

That’s it for the first half of this list – stay tuned for part two! Want to answer the questions yourself? Go ahead, and link up in the comments!