a list of questions about books

via

{I found this tag on Arda Nessimava and decided it was magnificently appropriate for the atmosphere of my blog; as it is a list, and I particularly enjoy lists, if you haven't already noticed.}

1.  Your favourite book as a child? There were so many, but probably either The Hobbit by John Tolkien or Mossflower by Brian Jacques.

2.  What are you reading right now? Far too many titles. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, The Hobbit (again), The Return of the King & The Silmarillion by Tolkien, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and White Fang by Jack London to name a few.

3.  What books do you have on request at the library? None. My library generally has everything I need.

4.  Bad book habit. Reading so many books at the same time that it takes me quite a while to finish them all.

5.  What do you currently have checked out from your library? Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie, The Castaways of the Flying Dutchman by Brian Jacques, and a particularly lovely gilt volume of assorted short stories and novellas by Jack London.

6.  Do you have an e-reader? Yes, and it's quite convenient although I still prefer a book made with ink and paper and history.

7.  Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or do you tend to read several at once? See #2 and #4.

8.  Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog? If by blog I can insinuate Tumblr, then yes. It has sporadically both stifled and encouraged my reading habits.

9.  What was your least favourite book this year? That would have to be Uglies by Scott Westerfield. Although I thoroughly enjoyed it, I read so many books this year that I enjoyed more.

10.  What was your FAVOURITE book this year? Either Lord of the Flies  or The Great Gatsby.

11.  How often do you read out of your comfort zone? My comfort zone is reasonably wide, although I sometimes consider reading teen romance novels a sort of rare adventure.

12.  What is your reading comfort zone? It encompasses quite a bit. I generally read all genres.

13.  Can you read in the car? If there is no music and multiple people in the car so that I don't feel obligated to continue conversation, then yes. 

14.  Where is your favourite place to read? I have a tree in the park where I go to read in the late summer and listen to the warm winds and watch the detached humans watching the strange girl reading under the tree.

15.  What is your policy on book-lending? You dent you die.

16.  Do you ever dog-ear in books? *researches definition of dog-ear* Not if I can help it.

17.  Do you ever write in the margins of your books? No. The words printed in the books are the only words that should be there.

18.  What about text books? A completely different story. A textbook is not merely a book of words that I will most likely forget soon after I read them; a textbook is a wonderful white canvas designed for the expulsion of my teen angst and wayward thoughts.

19.  What is your favourite language to read in? English, as it happens to be the only language in which I can read.

20.  What makes you love a book? There is so much to this answer as it's not really specific elements that make me love books, but rather, all the books that I love are made of little pieces of my soul.

21.  What would inspire you to recommend a book? I would generally recommend different books to different individuals; considering what I know of the individuals and what they might be able to find of themself inside the books in question.

22.  What is your favourite genre? ALLL THE GENRES. But if I had to choose just one, I would probably have to choose fantasy. After all, I couldn't exactly function without The Lord of the Rings.

23.  What is a genre you rarely read but wish that you did? Probably science fiction, although I'm currently reading The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis and it's brilliant.

24.  Favourite biography? It's not exactly a biography, but probably Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis.

25.  Have you ever read a self-help book? Other than The Bible, no.

26.  Favourite cookbook? Hahahahahahaha. I don't cook things.

27.  What is the most inspirational book you have read this year? It wouldn't be inspirational to most people, but most likely The Catcher in the Rye, although I would definitely not recommend it to anyone. (Don't read Catcher in the Rye, kids.)

28.  Favourite reading snack? All the food. 

29.  Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience. I am generally unaffected by hype.

30.  How often do you agree with critics about a book? Very rarely, unless they are John Green.

31.  How do you feel about giving negative reviews? I don't review books very often, but I can't imagine myself having qualms over conveying my opinion.

32.  If you could read a foreign language, which would you choose? Greek or Hebrew, as I would be very interested in reading The Bible in the languages in which it was written.

33.  What was the most intimidating book you've ever read? Les Miserables, which I have been mildly attacking for about two months. It's beautiful.

34.  What is the most intimidating book you're too nervous to begin? I've been wanted to read The Iliad & The Odyssey by Homer for quite a long time, but have never worked up the willpower to actually commit to the prospect. Whoops.

35.  Who is your favourite poet? There are so many, but most likely either Tennyson, Poe or G.K. Chesterton.

36.  On average, how many books do you have checked out of the library at any given time? Usually more than seven.

37.  How often do you return books to the library unread? Too often.

38.  Who are your favourite fictional characters?  This is an impossible question. I would sooner decide among my own children. (Not that I currently possess my own children, but it was a metaphor.) But to list a few: Éowyn, Gandalf & Faramir (TLOTR), Holden Caulfield (The Catcher in the Rye), Death (The Book Thief), Scipio (The Thief Lord), Dustfinger (The Inkworld Trilogy), Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Gabriel Syme (The Man Who Was Thursday), Sherlock Holmes, Murtagh & Nasuada (The Inheritance Cycle), Percy Jackson & Nico Di Angelo (PJO/Heroes of Olympus), and Lucy (The Chronicles of Narnia) are some of the characters whom I felt the most when reading about them.

39.  Who is your favourite fictional villain? Again, an impossible question. But it would have to eventually come down to either Melkor (The Silmarillion), Ungatt Trunn (Lord Brocktree by Brian Jacques) or Taj from an unpublished work in progress by my friend Ashley Tahg.

40.  What are the books you are most likely to take on vacation? The Hobbit, as it always reminds me of home and familiar things, or Inkspell from The Inkworld Trilogy as it's thick and pretty and full of faeries.

41.  What is the longest you have gone without reading? About a week, I must admit. But it was a painful week without words. And I was in Disneyworld.

42.  Name a book that you could not or would not finish. I could never get very far in Watership Down by Richard Adams. Definitely not because it was poorly written or uninteresting, because it was really a brilliant story. But there was always so many other books to read. I must take a third attempt.

43.  What distracts you easily when you're reading? Is that a crack in the wall? I wonder if it leads to another dimension. Lee Pace has very nice cheekbones. Do you remember that terrible thing you did when you were eight that caused mass embarrassment and ruined lives and probably killed small children? Yeah. Well. Now you do. You haven't practiced guitar in almost three weeks; you should probably do that now. Maybe The Doctor's name really is John Smith. You're hungry now, aren't you.  Also, you have to go to the washroom. Five times. You could also very much use a seventh cup of tea.  Thank you for the commentary, Loki, it's not at all distracting. Remember when you tried to do that thing and failed miserably? Whoops, about thirteen eyelashes just fell into your eyes and are now currently causing you intense pain as they float under your contacts. This is the story of how I died.  I wonder if that cute guy liked you or was just cute without trying. What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

44.  What is your favourite film adaptation of a novel?  There are quite a few, although I particularly enjoyed The Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter films. Both versions of Pride & Prejudice were also lovely, not to mention the adaptions of Jane Eyre. The first two Narnia films also have a very special place in my heart, and How To Train Your Dragon was very enjoyable, although completely different from the books.

45.  What is the most disappointing film adaptation? There have been so many. But the Percy Jackson & the Olympians movies have been pretty bad.

46.  What is the most money you have spent in a bookstore at one go? Around $40, but I was in possession of a $25 gift card.

47.  How often do you skim a book before reading it? Always.

48.  What would cause you to stop reading a book halfway through? It's usually only been boredom or graphic sex/language.

49.  Do you like to keep your books organized? I do. But they're not. And it's slightly depressing.

50.  Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you're done with them? I keep them, but I also enjoy giving them away if I can bear to part with them and I am confident the recipient will enjoy them.

51.  Are there any books you've been avoiding? I'm not particularly interested in Cassandra Clare's novels as I have always been slightly repelled by generic teen romance novels.

52.  Name a book that made you angry. Inheritance by Christopher Paolini was kind of a disappointing finish to an otherwise amazing series. The end was passionately unsatisfying; not even because it was sad, but because it was weak and inconclusive. 

53.  A book you didn't expect to like, but did? Waterfall by Lisa Begren.

54.  How about a book you expected to like, but didn't? Nothing in particular comes to mind, although I didn't enjoy the newest Ranger's Apprentice volume as much as I thought I would.

55.  Favourite guilt-free pleasure reading? When I'm feeling nostalgic, I always return to the Redwall books by Brian Jacques as they defined most of my childhood.