Today's Booking Through Thursday question is more like several: "What’s the last book you were really EXCITED to read? And, were you excited about it in advance? Or did the excitement bloom while you were reading it? Are there any books you’re excited about right NOW?"
Oooh, good questions! To the first couple, the last book that I was all "omg why is this book not in my hands RIGHT MEOW" about was One of Our Thursdays is Missing, which feeling was only heightened by the fact that I saw it come into the library about a day or two before it made it into my grubby little hands. And it was totally worth it.
The last book that I was excited about while reading it was A Visit from the Goon Squad, which I was vaguely familiar with as "that awesome book that won some schmancy prize or other" but otherwise clueless about. Then I started reading it, and I was just so smitten with the way Egan built the book that I couldn't put it down. Love.
What am I excited about right now? Well, I have a whole stack of books sitting here at home, but none of them are really crying out to me. And I am terrible at keeping track of when books come out, so I'm not sure what's out in the near future. I did hear the other day that there will be another Flavia de Luce mystery coming out for the holidays, and while I won't quite be first in line to get that book, I am definitely planning on reading it!
What are you guys excited about? What should I be excited about, if only I had any idea it was happening?
Showing posts with label memes: booking through thursday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label memes: booking through thursday. Show all posts
04 August 2011
09 June 2011
Booking Through Thursday — To Own or Borrow
Today's Booking Through Thursday asks, "All things being equal (money, space, etc), would you rather own copies of the books you read? Or borrow them?"
Well, I imagine that if I had more money and more space, I would buy more books. Because I like books, and I like authors, and I like supporting the books and authors I enjoy. And I do quite like owning the books that I love because a) I get to see them on a regular basis and b) I can easily loan them out to friends (read: force them upon unwitting victims).
But of course, I am also a longtime lover of the library, as you would know if you saw the shelf my husband just cleared out for me today just for my library books. I have a problem. But it's a good problem, I think, in that the books are free and when I go to read one and I don't like it or I realize that I no longer have an interest in reading it, I can go give it back to the library without hard feelings. And if I like it, I can wait a little longer to get the trade paperback (which is cheaper and lighter, which is good for my wallet and shelves) because I don't usually have an intense need to re-read things immediately.
So, all things being equal, I'd say that I still like my current method of obtaining books — checking millions out of the library, loving a handful, and showing off that handful on my shelf. If only I could afford bigger hands...
Well, I imagine that if I had more money and more space, I would buy more books. Because I like books, and I like authors, and I like supporting the books and authors I enjoy. And I do quite like owning the books that I love because a) I get to see them on a regular basis and b) I can easily loan them out to friends (read: force them upon unwitting victims).
But of course, I am also a longtime lover of the library, as you would know if you saw the shelf my husband just cleared out for me today just for my library books. I have a problem. But it's a good problem, I think, in that the books are free and when I go to read one and I don't like it or I realize that I no longer have an interest in reading it, I can go give it back to the library without hard feelings. And if I like it, I can wait a little longer to get the trade paperback (which is cheaper and lighter, which is good for my wallet and shelves) because I don't usually have an intense need to re-read things immediately.
So, all things being equal, I'd say that I still like my current method of obtaining books — checking millions out of the library, loving a handful, and showing off that handful on my shelf. If only I could afford bigger hands...
19 May 2011
Booking Through Thursday — Age-Inappropriate
Today's Booking Through Thursday question is... "In contrast to last week’s question–What do you think of censoring books BECAUSE of their intended age? Say, books too “old” for your kids to read?"
There are two components to my answer. The easy one first — I absolutely do not believe in blanket bans on books that are "too old" or "too young" for a certain age group. Kids should have the opportunity to read what they want.
The second one is in regards to my own hypothetical children, or even my kid brother who is twelve these days, which is astounding. As I've mentioned before, I take a lot of care in picking out books for William, largely because I want him to like what I get him and thus like reading. Which he seems to, so excellent. He's not the best reader, and reads a lot of things I would have been well past at his age, so I try to strike a balance between things that are written for kids his age and things that he is capable of reading without giving up on. I won't buy him the little-kid books he loves because I think he can do better, but I do try to find similar stories in a higher reading level.
On the opposite side, you can take my reading habits as a kid — I started reading The Baby-sitter's Club books in kindergarten and was reading Sweet Valley University when I was ten or eleven. I bring up this latter because I distinctly recall asking my mother what condoms were after reading about them in an SVU book, because from the context I thought they might be snack food and maybe we could get some. Yeah. Gross. I am certainly glad that my parents never kept me from reading whatever the heck I wanted, because I read a lot of great books that way, but I know that my hypothetical children will not be getting books with sex in them for Christmas when they're eleven. And if they're reading them on their own, they will be informed that I expect to be able to a) read that book and b) discuss it with them after they read it. It's not that I want to keep my kids from reading things that are above their age-appropriateness; I just want to make sure they understand what they're reading, because that's really the important part.
My poor, poor, hypothetical children.
There are two components to my answer. The easy one first — I absolutely do not believe in blanket bans on books that are "too old" or "too young" for a certain age group. Kids should have the opportunity to read what they want.
The second one is in regards to my own hypothetical children, or even my kid brother who is twelve these days, which is astounding. As I've mentioned before, I take a lot of care in picking out books for William, largely because I want him to like what I get him and thus like reading. Which he seems to, so excellent. He's not the best reader, and reads a lot of things I would have been well past at his age, so I try to strike a balance between things that are written for kids his age and things that he is capable of reading without giving up on. I won't buy him the little-kid books he loves because I think he can do better, but I do try to find similar stories in a higher reading level.
On the opposite side, you can take my reading habits as a kid — I started reading The Baby-sitter's Club books in kindergarten and was reading Sweet Valley University when I was ten or eleven. I bring up this latter because I distinctly recall asking my mother what condoms were after reading about them in an SVU book, because from the context I thought they might be snack food and maybe we could get some. Yeah. Gross. I am certainly glad that my parents never kept me from reading whatever the heck I wanted, because I read a lot of great books that way, but I know that my hypothetical children will not be getting books with sex in them for Christmas when they're eleven. And if they're reading them on their own, they will be informed that I expect to be able to a) read that book and b) discuss it with them after they read it. It's not that I want to keep my kids from reading things that are above their age-appropriateness; I just want to make sure they understand what they're reading, because that's really the important part.
My poor, poor, hypothetical children.
12 May 2011
Booking Through Thursday — Age-Appropriate
This week's Booking Through Thursday asks... "Do you read books “meant” for other age groups? Adult books when you were a child; Young-Adult books now that you’re grown; Picture books just for kicks … You know … books not “meant” for you. Or do you pretty much stick to what’s written for people your age?"
Well. Let me do a bit of a longitudinal study here... -examines Goodreads-
Okay, so. I was going to say that I read a lot of YA and children's books, because they are short and quick and usually delightful, but it turns out that I read way more adult-age-group (as opposed to "adult," which sounds skeezy) books in general. But I suppose I read more books for young'uns than the average 25-year-old? I don't know what the average 25-year-old reads. Nothing?
Anyway. Back to the point. In high school, I read a lot of YA, of course, but I also read a lot of adult-age-group books, including some that I still love today. Excellent. Then, in college, I didn't read, like, at all for the first few years, except to re-read The Phantom Tollbooth, continue A Series of Unfortunate Events, or read through A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels. Those were some fun library trips!
So the first three or so years of college were about kids books. The summer before my senior year, though, I tried really hard to actually read books over summer break instead of working myself to death, and so I managed quite a lot of adult-age-group books, and then I read lots of stuff for classes during my senior year, and then when I got out of college I continued on that path.
The reason that I think I read all of these YA books is that after I got laid off and started reading ALL of the books, reading more book blogs, and going to library school, I found a lot of cool YA books I had never heard of and therefore devoured. Especially last year, when I took a whole class on YA services and had to read 21 books for it... a lot of my reading time after that class was spent reading the rest of series and other books by the same authors.
So far this year my reading is back to where it was a couple years ago, probably because I've burned myself out on YA books, and because I don't have people constantly recommending new awesome ones to me! And on the flip side, I have lots of people recommending excellent adult-age-group novels to me every day, and my list is just so full! Of course, there's plenty of year left and this could still change — got any books to recommend me? :)
Well. Let me do a bit of a longitudinal study here... -examines Goodreads-
Okay, so. I was going to say that I read a lot of YA and children's books, because they are short and quick and usually delightful, but it turns out that I read way more adult-age-group (as opposed to "adult," which sounds skeezy) books in general. But I suppose I read more books for young'uns than the average 25-year-old? I don't know what the average 25-year-old reads. Nothing?
Anyway. Back to the point. In high school, I read a lot of YA, of course, but I also read a lot of adult-age-group books, including some that I still love today. Excellent. Then, in college, I didn't read, like, at all for the first few years, except to re-read The Phantom Tollbooth, continue A Series of Unfortunate Events, or read through A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels. Those were some fun library trips!
So the first three or so years of college were about kids books. The summer before my senior year, though, I tried really hard to actually read books over summer break instead of working myself to death, and so I managed quite a lot of adult-age-group books, and then I read lots of stuff for classes during my senior year, and then when I got out of college I continued on that path.
The reason that I think I read all of these YA books is that after I got laid off and started reading ALL of the books, reading more book blogs, and going to library school, I found a lot of cool YA books I had never heard of and therefore devoured. Especially last year, when I took a whole class on YA services and had to read 21 books for it... a lot of my reading time after that class was spent reading the rest of series and other books by the same authors.
So far this year my reading is back to where it was a couple years ago, probably because I've burned myself out on YA books, and because I don't have people constantly recommending new awesome ones to me! And on the flip side, I have lots of people recommending excellent adult-age-group novels to me every day, and my list is just so full! Of course, there's plenty of year left and this could still change — got any books to recommend me? :)
24 February 2011
Booking Through Thursday — New and Used
This week's Booking Through Thursday question is, "All other things being equal–do you prefer used books? Or new books? (The physical speciman, that is, not the title.) Does your preference differentiate between a standard kind of used book, and a pristine, leather-bound copy?"
This is an interesting question. A quick look at my bookshelf shows a preference toward new books, which makes sense since I generally don't buy books unless I'm going to keep them. And I've learned from experience that you can't keep an older used book indefinitely unless you have a lot of patience and tape. But I do have a few used books that I'm planning to keep; for these I looked specifically for the least used-looking of the bunch, and they have worked well for me.
And I do have a decent collection of last-legs, or nearing there, used books, largely come my way by giant booksales. These I buy because they're 14.7 cents or whatever and I'm not terribly concerned about liking them or reading them a second time, and I know that if I don't treat them too terribly I can always take them to a used bookstore where someone else can worry about their cracking spines. Of course, some of them turn out to be really awesome books, and so I try to touch them as little as possible so I don't have to buy a new copy, but of course eventually they will fall apart and the new books will inhabit my shelves again. :)
This is an interesting question. A quick look at my bookshelf shows a preference toward new books, which makes sense since I generally don't buy books unless I'm going to keep them. And I've learned from experience that you can't keep an older used book indefinitely unless you have a lot of patience and tape. But I do have a few used books that I'm planning to keep; for these I looked specifically for the least used-looking of the bunch, and they have worked well for me.
And I do have a decent collection of last-legs, or nearing there, used books, largely come my way by giant booksales. These I buy because they're 14.7 cents or whatever and I'm not terribly concerned about liking them or reading them a second time, and I know that if I don't treat them too terribly I can always take them to a used bookstore where someone else can worry about their cracking spines. Of course, some of them turn out to be really awesome books, and so I try to touch them as little as possible so I don't have to buy a new copy, but of course eventually they will fall apart and the new books will inhabit my shelves again. :)
18 November 2010
Booking Through Thursday — Borrowing
Today's Booking Through Thursday asks... "Who would you rather borrow from? Your library? Or a Friend? (Or don’t your friends trust you to return their books?) And, DO you return books you borrow?"
That's a lot of questions! First, I tend to prefer borrowing from the library, because even though the library lets me keep things for a while it eventually wants them back or I have to start paying some serious fines (it's $0.20 per day, here!). With friends, there's usually not a set date for returning books except "as soon as you're done"... and so unless the book is something I am already interested in reading (like Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, which I read the day I borrowed it), that might take a while.
Second, I'm pretty sure my friends trust me not to, like, lose their books or burn them or something, but I think they know it's going to take me a while to return them. :) I know that's how it is with books I've lent out, one of which I have been itching to read and am thisclose to checking out of the library. And third, of course I return them! I want mine back, so my friends get theirs back. Just sometimes it takes a while. Like how I'm returning a tape next weekend that my friend lent me... a long time ago. I would say possibly two years. And that I still haven't watched, but can no longer even attempt to do so because we got rid of our VCR. But I have kept diligent track of it, so I think that counts for something!
That's a lot of questions! First, I tend to prefer borrowing from the library, because even though the library lets me keep things for a while it eventually wants them back or I have to start paying some serious fines (it's $0.20 per day, here!). With friends, there's usually not a set date for returning books except "as soon as you're done"... and so unless the book is something I am already interested in reading (like Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, which I read the day I borrowed it), that might take a while.
Second, I'm pretty sure my friends trust me not to, like, lose their books or burn them or something, but I think they know it's going to take me a while to return them. :) I know that's how it is with books I've lent out, one of which I have been itching to read and am thisclose to checking out of the library. And third, of course I return them! I want mine back, so my friends get theirs back. Just sometimes it takes a while. Like how I'm returning a tape next weekend that my friend lent me... a long time ago. I would say possibly two years. And that I still haven't watched, but can no longer even attempt to do so because we got rid of our VCR. But I have kept diligent track of it, so I think that counts for something!
11 November 2010
Booking Through Thursday — War
Today's Booking Through Thursday is topical... "It is November 11th, known here in the U.S. as Veteran’s Day, formerly Armistice Day to remember the end of WWI but expanded to honor all veterans who have fought for their country, so …
Do you read war stories? Fictional ones? Histories?"
...Not usually with that aspect of the story in mind. I have read plenty of books that take place during wars, but usually I read them because I've heard they're good stories in general, not because I'm seeking out war. And, looking through my blogged books, I can see that I haven't even read that many in the past couple of years. Perhaps I need to work on this! In case you need to work on it, too, here's what I've got for you:
The Pox Party (Octavian Nothing), by M.T. Anderson — American Revolution plus slavery
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, by John Boyne — Holocaust plus sadness
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak — Holocaust plus intense sadness
The Madonnas of Leningrad, by Debra Dean — World War II in Russia plus Alzheimer's
Got any suggestions to broaden this list a bit?
Do you read war stories? Fictional ones? Histories?"
...Not usually with that aspect of the story in mind. I have read plenty of books that take place during wars, but usually I read them because I've heard they're good stories in general, not because I'm seeking out war. And, looking through my blogged books, I can see that I haven't even read that many in the past couple of years. Perhaps I need to work on this! In case you need to work on it, too, here's what I've got for you:
The Pox Party (Octavian Nothing), by M.T. Anderson — American Revolution plus slavery
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, by John Boyne — Holocaust plus sadness
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak — Holocaust plus intense sadness
The Madonnas of Leningrad, by Debra Dean — World War II in Russia plus Alzheimer's
Got any suggestions to broaden this list a bit?
21 October 2010
Booking Through Thursday — Foreigners
Todays Booking Through Thursday question is... "Name a book (or books) from a country other than your own that you love. Or aren’t there any?"
Oh, there definitely are.
The Shadow of the Wind (from Spain) is a book I read what feels like forever ago, but that I'm still pretty in love with. I need to find the Cemetery of Forgotten Books someday.
Its prequel, The Angel's Game, is also good, if more confusing than its predecessor.
Who Slashed Celanire's Throat is an intriguing book, one of those where there's not much plot but there are plenty of interesting characters.
And of course no list of anything is complete without my beloved Thursday Next series, out of Wales, which is a completely oddball series about a literary detective in an alternate-universe England where time travel is real, people have cloned dodos for pets, and books are not just for reading.
Oh, there definitely are.
The Shadow of the Wind (from Spain) is a book I read what feels like forever ago, but that I'm still pretty in love with. I need to find the Cemetery of Forgotten Books someday.
Its prequel, The Angel's Game, is also good, if more confusing than its predecessor.
Who Slashed Celanire's Throat is an intriguing book, one of those where there's not much plot but there are plenty of interesting characters.
And of course no list of anything is complete without my beloved Thursday Next series, out of Wales, which is a completely oddball series about a literary detective in an alternate-universe England where time travel is real, people have cloned dodos for pets, and books are not just for reading.
07 October 2010
Booking Through Thursday — Travelling
Today's Booking Through Thursday question is, "When you travel, how many books do you bring with you? Has this changed since the arrival of ebooks?"
Well, I don't have an e-reader, and probably won't until they work out the whole DRM issue, so that's not a consideration.
But the number of books I take does depend on where I'm going and what I'm doing and how long I'll be there and how I'm getting there. If I'm headed out for a vacation, where I don't have to do anything in particular while I'm there, I'll bring one book for every day I'm going. Usually that ends up being just enough; sometimes I have to scrounge for more to read!
If I'm headed somewhere where I plan on being busy, and I'm flying there, I'll just bring a couple of books for the flights and hope for the best.
And if I'm driving, I've learned that I can't really get any book reading done because either I'm driving or Scott is driving and I'm talking to him, so I'll stock up on audiobooks. We've been working our way through the Series of Unfortunate Events books, which are good because they're short and easy to take a break from when it's time for a pit stop. :)
Well, I don't have an e-reader, and probably won't until they work out the whole DRM issue, so that's not a consideration.
But the number of books I take does depend on where I'm going and what I'm doing and how long I'll be there and how I'm getting there. If I'm headed out for a vacation, where I don't have to do anything in particular while I'm there, I'll bring one book for every day I'm going. Usually that ends up being just enough; sometimes I have to scrounge for more to read!
If I'm headed somewhere where I plan on being busy, and I'm flying there, I'll just bring a couple of books for the flights and hope for the best.
And if I'm driving, I've learned that I can't really get any book reading done because either I'm driving or Scott is driving and I'm talking to him, so I'll stock up on audiobooks. We've been working our way through the Series of Unfortunate Events books, which are good because they're short and easy to take a break from when it's time for a pit stop. :)
02 September 2010
Booking Through Thursday — Movies to books?
Today's Booking Through Thursday asks, "Even though it’s usually a mistake (grin) … do movies made out of books make you want to read the original?"
They do! They really do. I commented on yesterday's RIP Challenge post that I've seen the movie version of two of the books on my list, which is part of why I want to read the books. I did the watching first, then reading thing also with Minority Report, Stardust, and The Princess Bride, in recent memory, and that all turned out well for me.
And sometimes I see a movie coming out that I am not that interested in seeing or am too poor to see, but am intrigued enough to read the book... I have the first Scott Pilgrim book on hold at the library for this reason, and I read Shutter Island for it, too. It's sort of nice to know that someone liked a book enough to make a movie of it, and you get to have a little preview of what the book is going to be about, too! Well, most of the time. :)
They do! They really do. I commented on yesterday's RIP Challenge post that I've seen the movie version of two of the books on my list, which is part of why I want to read the books. I did the watching first, then reading thing also with Minority Report, Stardust, and The Princess Bride, in recent memory, and that all turned out well for me.
And sometimes I see a movie coming out that I am not that interested in seeing or am too poor to see, but am intrigued enough to read the book... I have the first Scott Pilgrim book on hold at the library for this reason, and I read Shutter Island for it, too. It's sort of nice to know that someone liked a book enough to make a movie of it, and you get to have a little preview of what the book is going to be about, too! Well, most of the time. :)
19 August 2010
Booking Through Thursday — The Meme
Today's Booking Through Thursday is a big long series of questions, which is awesome 'cause I haven't done one of these in a while. Let's begin!
1. Favorite childhood book?
The Secret Garden — I had three different copies of this book. Sadly, I couldn't really tell you the plot of this book today. I should really go re-read it.
2. What are you reading right now?
Fingersmith, by Sarah Waters
3. What books do you have on request at the library?
-goes to look- Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins (because I hope it's better than Catching Fire); The Lifecycle of Software Objects, by Ted Chiang (that one is for the hubby); Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1, by Bryan Lee O'Malley; and Death Note Vol. 4, by Tsugumi Ohba.
4. Bad book habit?
I am pretty much incapable of reading a paperback book without cracking the spine. I try not to, but it is inevitable.
5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
Let's see... Foiled, by Jane Yolen (which I just finished); Fingersmith, by Sarah Waters; The House of Tomorrow, by Peter Bognanni; One Amazing Thing, by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni; Girls on the Edge, by Leonard Sax; Get Connected, by RoseMary Honnold; The Island of Lost Maps, by Miles Harvey; and finally Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, by Roddy Doyle.
6. Do you have an e-reader?
No, but I may break down and get a Sony Reader someday.
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
I can't really do several, but I often end up taking a break from one and reading another, like I did with Foiled because I wanted to read it and knew it would be short. Or I can be reading a book and have an audiobook going in my car. Once it gets past, like, three books I'm done.
8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
I certainly read a lot more, though I don't know if that's a blog thing or a having-lots-of-time being-unemployed thing. I also don't have as many impulse reads as I used to, because I've got this big long list of TBR books from the blogs I read!
9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)
Cat Breaking Free. Wow, that was a painful one.
10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
I'm going to go with I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President. Highly amusing.
11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
Often, I suppose? Because I get most of my recommendations from the blogs, I'll read pretty much anything that sounds interesting to me.
12. What is your reading comfort zone?
I'm not sure I have one! There are genres I avoid in general, like romances and westerns and epic fantasy, but if someone tells me there's a good book in one of those genres I'll go read it willingly.
13. Can you read on the bus?
Back when I worked ten-hour days, those fifteen-minute train rides were the only time I had for reading! I got through books very slowly those days. Then I got jobs that required car rides. I miss public transit like whoa, especially here in JAX where buses come every hour or more instead of every fifteen minutes.
14. Favorite place to read?
I'll read pretty much anywhere. I do like reading in my comfy brown chair, though.
15. What is your policy on book lending?
I only lend to people I trust to return my books.
16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
Nope.
17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Only if I'm planning on writing a paper about them!
18. Not even with text books?
Especially not textbooks. I resell them as much as possible.
19. What is your favorite language to read in?
Well, English. I am a very slow reader in French.
20. What makes you love a book?
The same things that make me love a person — not that I know what those are. :)
21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
It depends on the book, and the person I'm recommending it to. But if I am madly in love with a book, I'll tell pretty much anyone to read it.
22. Favorite genre?
Anything with a bit of fantasy in it.
23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
Mysteries... I used to read these all the time but have fallen off recently.
24. Favorite biography?
Haha, I don't read those.
25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
Yes. I highly recommend He's Just Not That Into You, if you are a lady with man troubles, which is an entirely-too-large number of ladies, I think.
26. Favorite cookbook?
Um? I have a few cookbooks, but I tend to be a simple cooker — hamburgers and chicken and pasta and every once in a while a really tasty lasagna.
27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
Er... I guess The Game On! Diet, which has inspired me to kick some butt.
28. Favorite reading snack?
I am way too busy reading to eat at the same time.
29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
Catching Fire.
30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
Well, I generally only take recommendations from people or critics that I have agreed with in the past, so really quite often.
31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
Dude. Castle. I felt even less bad about hating that book when I got an e-mail on GoodReads from someone saying, "I see you read Castle, I bet you'd like this incredibly similar book!" Mmhmm.
32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
I wish I could read better in French. But if I had to pick a new language, I'd pick Japanese. I always feel like I'm missing something in those translations.
33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
Pillars of the Earth. Looooooooong book, and historical.
34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
World Without End, by the same author.
35. Favorite Poet?
William Cullen Bryant. Love me some "Thanatopsis."
36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
Usually about ten, depending on how fast I read and how fast my holds come in.
37. How often have you returned book to the library unread?
Not too terribly often. I usually end up speed-reading them right before they go back, and then loving them.
38. Favorite fictional character?
Thursday Next.
39. Favorite fictional villain?
Hmm, I don't think I have one! I'll have to think about this.
40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
Anything not very heavy (hence the need for a Sony Reader!). Also things that I might not read without all the free time of vacation.
41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.
Hmm. I probably went a month or two at a time without reading anything fun during all those years in school.
42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
Nightlight: A Parody... it was worse than Twilight.
43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
Not much, if I'm really into the book. If I'm not... really anything will distract me.
44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
Stardust.
45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
Any of the Harry Potter movies after the third one.
46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
Goodness. Probably around $50? It's been a long time since I've gone bookstore spree-ing.
47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
Never.
48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
Lack of plot line, terrible characters, poor writing... a lot of things.
49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
My books aren't really organized, though I do keep series together and I try to keep genres together (with varying levels of success).
50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
I only buy books that I've read and loved, so they stay with me unless I lend them out.
51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
The Lord of the Rings series. I read maybe 100 pages of the first one a long time ago, and I have been making excuses for not having read them ever since.
52. Name a book that made you angry.
See my previous note on Castle.
53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
On the Road. You win, Mary.
54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
The Weatherman's Daughters.
55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
Graphic novels. So much good artwork!
1. Favorite childhood book?
The Secret Garden — I had three different copies of this book. Sadly, I couldn't really tell you the plot of this book today. I should really go re-read it.
2. What are you reading right now?
Fingersmith, by Sarah Waters
3. What books do you have on request at the library?
-goes to look- Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins (because I hope it's better than Catching Fire); The Lifecycle of Software Objects, by Ted Chiang (that one is for the hubby); Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1, by Bryan Lee O'Malley; and Death Note Vol. 4, by Tsugumi Ohba.
4. Bad book habit?
I am pretty much incapable of reading a paperback book without cracking the spine. I try not to, but it is inevitable.
5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
Let's see... Foiled, by Jane Yolen (which I just finished); Fingersmith, by Sarah Waters; The House of Tomorrow, by Peter Bognanni; One Amazing Thing, by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni; Girls on the Edge, by Leonard Sax; Get Connected, by RoseMary Honnold; The Island of Lost Maps, by Miles Harvey; and finally Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, by Roddy Doyle.
6. Do you have an e-reader?
No, but I may break down and get a Sony Reader someday.
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
I can't really do several, but I often end up taking a break from one and reading another, like I did with Foiled because I wanted to read it and knew it would be short. Or I can be reading a book and have an audiobook going in my car. Once it gets past, like, three books I'm done.
8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
I certainly read a lot more, though I don't know if that's a blog thing or a having-lots-of-time being-unemployed thing. I also don't have as many impulse reads as I used to, because I've got this big long list of TBR books from the blogs I read!
9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)
Cat Breaking Free. Wow, that was a painful one.
10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
I'm going to go with I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President. Highly amusing.
11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
Often, I suppose? Because I get most of my recommendations from the blogs, I'll read pretty much anything that sounds interesting to me.
12. What is your reading comfort zone?
I'm not sure I have one! There are genres I avoid in general, like romances and westerns and epic fantasy, but if someone tells me there's a good book in one of those genres I'll go read it willingly.
13. Can you read on the bus?
Back when I worked ten-hour days, those fifteen-minute train rides were the only time I had for reading! I got through books very slowly those days. Then I got jobs that required car rides. I miss public transit like whoa, especially here in JAX where buses come every hour or more instead of every fifteen minutes.
14. Favorite place to read?
I'll read pretty much anywhere. I do like reading in my comfy brown chair, though.
15. What is your policy on book lending?
I only lend to people I trust to return my books.
16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
Nope.
17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Only if I'm planning on writing a paper about them!
18. Not even with text books?
Especially not textbooks. I resell them as much as possible.
19. What is your favorite language to read in?
Well, English. I am a very slow reader in French.
20. What makes you love a book?
The same things that make me love a person — not that I know what those are. :)
21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
It depends on the book, and the person I'm recommending it to. But if I am madly in love with a book, I'll tell pretty much anyone to read it.
22. Favorite genre?
Anything with a bit of fantasy in it.
23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
Mysteries... I used to read these all the time but have fallen off recently.
24. Favorite biography?
Haha, I don't read those.
25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
Yes. I highly recommend He's Just Not That Into You, if you are a lady with man troubles, which is an entirely-too-large number of ladies, I think.
26. Favorite cookbook?
Um? I have a few cookbooks, but I tend to be a simple cooker — hamburgers and chicken and pasta and every once in a while a really tasty lasagna.
27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
Er... I guess The Game On! Diet, which has inspired me to kick some butt.
28. Favorite reading snack?
I am way too busy reading to eat at the same time.
29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
Catching Fire.
30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
Well, I generally only take recommendations from people or critics that I have agreed with in the past, so really quite often.
31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
Dude. Castle. I felt even less bad about hating that book when I got an e-mail on GoodReads from someone saying, "I see you read Castle, I bet you'd like this incredibly similar book!" Mmhmm.
32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
I wish I could read better in French. But if I had to pick a new language, I'd pick Japanese. I always feel like I'm missing something in those translations.
33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
Pillars of the Earth. Looooooooong book, and historical.
34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
World Without End, by the same author.
35. Favorite Poet?
William Cullen Bryant. Love me some "Thanatopsis."
36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
Usually about ten, depending on how fast I read and how fast my holds come in.
37. How often have you returned book to the library unread?
Not too terribly often. I usually end up speed-reading them right before they go back, and then loving them.
38. Favorite fictional character?
Thursday Next.
39. Favorite fictional villain?
Hmm, I don't think I have one! I'll have to think about this.
40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
Anything not very heavy (hence the need for a Sony Reader!). Also things that I might not read without all the free time of vacation.
41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.
Hmm. I probably went a month or two at a time without reading anything fun during all those years in school.
42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
Nightlight: A Parody... it was worse than Twilight.
43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
Not much, if I'm really into the book. If I'm not... really anything will distract me.
44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
Stardust.
45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
Any of the Harry Potter movies after the third one.
46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
Goodness. Probably around $50? It's been a long time since I've gone bookstore spree-ing.
47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
Never.
48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
Lack of plot line, terrible characters, poor writing... a lot of things.
49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
My books aren't really organized, though I do keep series together and I try to keep genres together (with varying levels of success).
50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
I only buy books that I've read and loved, so they stay with me unless I lend them out.
51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
The Lord of the Rings series. I read maybe 100 pages of the first one a long time ago, and I have been making excuses for not having read them ever since.
52. Name a book that made you angry.
See my previous note on Castle.
53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
On the Road. You win, Mary.
54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
The Weatherman's Daughters.
55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
Graphic novels. So much good artwork!
22 July 2010
Booking Through Thursday — Podcasts
Today's Booking Through Thursday question is, "Do you ever listen to book-related podcasts? If so, which ones and why?"
I am not really a podcast person. I'm sure I've mentioned before (in reference to audiobooks) that I'm really good at listening to things when I'm sitting in bed or driving my car, but if I have anything else I could possibly be doing I will try to multitask and then that listening thing goes right out the window. I do love it when the various NPR talk shows have their "summer reading" shows, and I will do my best to listen to them, but I'm not one for seeking out an hour's worth of stuff to listen to.
Of course, since I'm doing my library practicum right now, I should pimp out my host library's podcast, called ABC Book Reviews. My supervisor and another librarian talk about books on a monthly-ish basis, and I even joined in once, long ago — you can hear my voice briefly on the Neil Gaiman podcast. I haven't listened to it, so don't tell me how terrible I sound!
I am not really a podcast person. I'm sure I've mentioned before (in reference to audiobooks) that I'm really good at listening to things when I'm sitting in bed or driving my car, but if I have anything else I could possibly be doing I will try to multitask and then that listening thing goes right out the window. I do love it when the various NPR talk shows have their "summer reading" shows, and I will do my best to listen to them, but I'm not one for seeking out an hour's worth of stuff to listen to.
Of course, since I'm doing my library practicum right now, I should pimp out my host library's podcast, called ABC Book Reviews. My supervisor and another librarian talk about books on a monthly-ish basis, and I even joined in once, long ago — you can hear my voice briefly on the Neil Gaiman podcast. I haven't listened to it, so don't tell me how terrible I sound!
06 May 2010
Booking Through Thursday — I Can't Stop!
Today's Booking Through Thursday question is: "So... you’re halfway through a book and you’re hating it. It’s boring. It’s trite. It’s badly written. But... you’ve invested all this time to reading the first half. What do you do? Read the second half? Just to finish out the story? Find out what happens? Or, cut your losses and dump the second half?"
I am so bad about this! I tend to be a pretty good follower of the 50-page rule, but so often I will get one of those books that totally hooks me for the first 50 pages, but then by page 100 I'm like... why am I still reading this? What went wrong? I don't want to be reading this anymore! But I don't always stop reading, even when I really really should. There are several reasons for this, which I shall enumerate in a list.
Reasons why Alison keeps reading bad books, even when she shouldn't:
1. It's the only book around and I need something to read.
2. I have heard good things about the book and am hoping it will get better.
3. It's a really popular/well-regarded book and I want the experience of reading it.
4. It's a mystery novel and I want to know how the mystery plays out.
5. It's a horror novel and I fear nightmares if I don't finish it.
Really, most of the time it's reason No. 1 ruling the day, which is why I try to carry around enough books to keep me amused at any given time, though clearly this doesn't always work. I'm such a lost cause.
I am so bad about this! I tend to be a pretty good follower of the 50-page rule, but so often I will get one of those books that totally hooks me for the first 50 pages, but then by page 100 I'm like... why am I still reading this? What went wrong? I don't want to be reading this anymore! But I don't always stop reading, even when I really really should. There are several reasons for this, which I shall enumerate in a list.
Reasons why Alison keeps reading bad books, even when she shouldn't:
1. It's the only book around and I need something to read.
2. I have heard good things about the book and am hoping it will get better.
3. It's a really popular/well-regarded book and I want the experience of reading it.
4. It's a mystery novel and I want to know how the mystery plays out.
5. It's a horror novel and I fear nightmares if I don't finish it.
Really, most of the time it's reason No. 1 ruling the day, which is why I try to carry around enough books to keep me amused at any given time, though clearly this doesn't always work. I'm such a lost cause.
18 March 2010
Booking Through Thursday — Sensual
Today's Booking Through Thursday question is, "Which do you prefer? Lurid, fruity prose, awash in imagery and sensuous textures and colors? Or straight-forward, clean, simple prose?"
I can be a fan of both. I think I tend to prefer clean and simple prose, though — not overly clean and simple, like Hemingway, but just straightforward writing. Too often an author can get carried away trying to write "fruity" prose, like in Life of Pi, which I'm re-reading right now. The story is interesting, but every so often I find myself staring at the page and wondering what Martel was smoking when he wrote, "Tell me I'm still happy. Mother, my tender guardian angel of wisdom, where are you? And you, Father, my loving worrywart? And you, Ravi, dazzling hero of my childhood? Vishnu preserve me, Allah protect me, Christ save me, I can't bear it!" Yeah. It's a little much.
But sometimes a little flower in the prose is a good thing, like in my dear The Manual of Detection. I'm still in love with Berry's writing a year later. Check out that link for a delightful passage from the novel.
I can be a fan of both. I think I tend to prefer clean and simple prose, though — not overly clean and simple, like Hemingway, but just straightforward writing. Too often an author can get carried away trying to write "fruity" prose, like in Life of Pi, which I'm re-reading right now. The story is interesting, but every so often I find myself staring at the page and wondering what Martel was smoking when he wrote, "Tell me I'm still happy. Mother, my tender guardian angel of wisdom, where are you? And you, Father, my loving worrywart? And you, Ravi, dazzling hero of my childhood? Vishnu preserve me, Allah protect me, Christ save me, I can't bear it!" Yeah. It's a little much.
But sometimes a little flower in the prose is a good thing, like in my dear The Manual of Detection. I'm still in love with Berry's writing a year later. Check out that link for a delightful passage from the novel.
11 March 2010
Booking Through Thursday — Pretty Pictures
Today's Booking Through Thursday question is, "How do you feel about illustrations in your books? Graphs? Photos? Sketches?"
I don't read many novels that have any sort of illustration, so I guess I'm okay without them, but I do love pictures! My favorites are all of the little illustrations in Roald Dahl's books (Quentin Blake is spectacular), and other similar incidental decoration, but I also highly recommend the illustrations in Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan, drawn by Keith Thompson (a couple images are on Westerfeld's blog). Because the world is so fantastical, I felt like I had a helping hand in figuring out what all those weird machines and animals "actually" looked like!
I don't read many novels that have any sort of illustration, so I guess I'm okay without them, but I do love pictures! My favorites are all of the little illustrations in Roald Dahl's books (Quentin Blake is spectacular), and other similar incidental decoration, but I also highly recommend the illustrations in Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan, drawn by Keith Thompson (a couple images are on Westerfeld's blog). Because the world is so fantastical, I felt like I had a helping hand in figuring out what all those weird machines and animals "actually" looked like!
11 February 2010
Booking Through Thursday — Making Readers
Today's Booking Through Thursday questioner wants some advice: "How can you encourage a non-reading child to read? What about a teen-ager? Would you require books to be read in the hopes that they would enjoy them once they got into them, or offer incentives, or just suggest interesting books? If you do offer incentives and suggestions and that doesn’t work, would you then require a certain amount of reading? At what point do you just accept that your child is a non-reader?
In the book Gifted Hands by brilliant surgeon Ben Carson, one of the things that turned his life around was his mother’s requirement that he and his brother read books and write book reports for her. That approach worked with him, but I have been afraid to try it. My children don’t need to “turn their lives around,” but they would gain so much from reading and I think they would enjoy it so much if they would just stop telling themselves, “I just don’t like to read.”"
I've mentioned before that my brothers used to be non-readers. For my younger brother the elder, it took until he was ten or eleven to get him reading, but it was pretty easy — my grandmother bought him the first Harry Potter book, he grudgingly read a few pages to be polite, and then he devoured the rest of the pages and also got the rest of the family hooked on the series. To this day his primary reading material is epic fantasy, in particular the Wheel of Time series right now.
My younger brother the younger wasn't much of a reader until I left for college, when he was about five or six. He liked his video games much better, but always wanted company while he played them (even if it was a one-player game), so I turned that to my advantage. I told him that I wouldn't watch him play video games, but I'd certainly read a book with him. At first, this ploy didn't work very often, but soon, once we found series that he liked, he wouldn't even ask about video games, going straight for "Will you read this book with me?" It's still hard to get him to read new books (he's a total re-reader), as evidenced by the fact that he hasn't read Alvin Ho or The Maze of Bones yet, even though I've asked him to give them a shot every time I've seen him. Sad face. But he is reading what he likes to read, and I'll settle for that. :)
Also, I would recommend against book reports. As a kid, I read a whole bunch of books on my own and loved them, but as soon as I had to write a book report about one? I didn't want to read it. I would instead stress the fact that kids "don't like to read" when they've only read books they don't like. It may take a while, but someday every kid is going to find a book they love, and the reading bug will take over from there.
In the book Gifted Hands by brilliant surgeon Ben Carson, one of the things that turned his life around was his mother’s requirement that he and his brother read books and write book reports for her. That approach worked with him, but I have been afraid to try it. My children don’t need to “turn their lives around,” but they would gain so much from reading and I think they would enjoy it so much if they would just stop telling themselves, “I just don’t like to read.”"
I've mentioned before that my brothers used to be non-readers. For my younger brother the elder, it took until he was ten or eleven to get him reading, but it was pretty easy — my grandmother bought him the first Harry Potter book, he grudgingly read a few pages to be polite, and then he devoured the rest of the pages and also got the rest of the family hooked on the series. To this day his primary reading material is epic fantasy, in particular the Wheel of Time series right now.
My younger brother the younger wasn't much of a reader until I left for college, when he was about five or six. He liked his video games much better, but always wanted company while he played them (even if it was a one-player game), so I turned that to my advantage. I told him that I wouldn't watch him play video games, but I'd certainly read a book with him. At first, this ploy didn't work very often, but soon, once we found series that he liked, he wouldn't even ask about video games, going straight for "Will you read this book with me?" It's still hard to get him to read new books (he's a total re-reader), as evidenced by the fact that he hasn't read Alvin Ho or The Maze of Bones yet, even though I've asked him to give them a shot every time I've seen him. Sad face. But he is reading what he likes to read, and I'll settle for that. :)
Also, I would recommend against book reports. As a kid, I read a whole bunch of books on my own and loved them, but as soon as I had to write a book report about one? I didn't want to read it. I would instead stress the fact that kids "don't like to read" when they've only read books they don't like. It may take a while, but someday every kid is going to find a book they love, and the reading bug will take over from there.
04 February 2010
Booking Through Thursday — Season's Readings
Today's Booking Through Thursday question is: "The northern hemisphere, at least, is socked in by winter right now… So, on a cold, wintry day, when you want nothing more than to curl up with a good book on the couch … what kind of reading do you want to do?"
I don't think my reading moods are defined by the seasons so much as what's going on in my life at the moment... like, right now I am being attacked by work and homework from all sides, so my reading of Pride and Prejudice is going very slowly. I just don't want to take the time to figure out what's going on there! Boomsday, however, is going pretty quickly when I have time to read it because it's just a crazy story that I don't really have to think about, just enjoy. And at the extremes of my book reading, I sat down and read the Cake Wrecks book yesterday in one go, because I needed a break from reading articles and there are like no words in the Cake Wrecks book. :)
I don't think my reading moods are defined by the seasons so much as what's going on in my life at the moment... like, right now I am being attacked by work and homework from all sides, so my reading of Pride and Prejudice is going very slowly. I just don't want to take the time to figure out what's going on there! Boomsday, however, is going pretty quickly when I have time to read it because it's just a crazy story that I don't really have to think about, just enjoy. And at the extremes of my book reading, I sat down and read the Cake Wrecks book yesterday in one go, because I needed a break from reading articles and there are like no words in the Cake Wrecks book. :)
28 January 2010
Booking Through Thursday — Twist Endings
Today's Booking Through Thursday question is in two parts: "1. Do YOU like books with complicated plots and unexpected endings? 2. What book with a surprise ending is your favorite? Or your least favorite?"
I have certainly been known to enjoy a convoluted plot with a delightful twist! But unfortunately, many books that strive to be "twisty" miss horribly and end up at "terribly complicated plot that doesn't make any sense, with a 'twist' ending that I a) saw coming miles away or b) don't even care about anymore or even c) won't read because I've given up on the book already."
Ahem.
Examples! The best example I have of a bad sort of this book is, of course, Castle. The plot was sufficiently convoluted to keep me interested, but then the twist ending was so twisted that it really didn't seem to have anything to do with the rest of the book.
In super awesome twist endings, I would submit for consideration Shutter Island, the whole book of which was fantastic and even though I sort of saw the ending coming, I was still surprised by the details.
What about you guys?
I have certainly been known to enjoy a convoluted plot with a delightful twist! But unfortunately, many books that strive to be "twisty" miss horribly and end up at "terribly complicated plot that doesn't make any sense, with a 'twist' ending that I a) saw coming miles away or b) don't even care about anymore or even c) won't read because I've given up on the book already."
Ahem.
Examples! The best example I have of a bad sort of this book is, of course, Castle. The plot was sufficiently convoluted to keep me interested, but then the twist ending was so twisted that it really didn't seem to have anything to do with the rest of the book.
In super awesome twist endings, I would submit for consideration Shutter Island, the whole book of which was fantastic and even though I sort of saw the ending coming, I was still surprised by the details.
What about you guys?
21 January 2010
Booking Through Thursday — Unknown Authors
Today's Booking Through Thursday asks, "Who’s your favorite author that other people are NOT reading? The one you want to evangelize for, the one you would run popularity campaigns for? The author that, so far as you’re concerned, everyone should be reading–but that nobody seems to have heard of. You know, not JK Rowling, not Jane Austen, not Hemingway–everybody’s heard of them. The author that you think should be that famous and can’t understand why they’re not…"
This is a tough question, not because I don't want to proselytize for my faves but because I have no idea who everyone else isn't reading! I thought everyone wasn't reading Jasper Fforde, but the waiting list for Shades of Grey at my library, as well as the myriad interviews with the man that I read in the couple weeks before the book came out, would indicate otherwise. I thought everyone wasn't reading Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series, but comments to the copy of my post about First Lord's Fury on Facebook indicate otherwise.
The opposite is also true. I thought that everyone was reading Tana French because I first heard about her books on NPR, but mostly when I tell people about her I get blank looks!
But, since "everybody" and "no one" in this case are pretty subjective, here are some more authors you should read: Mary Doria Russell, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, and Susan Beth Pfeffer.
You're welcome. :)
This is a tough question, not because I don't want to proselytize for my faves but because I have no idea who everyone else isn't reading! I thought everyone wasn't reading Jasper Fforde, but the waiting list for Shades of Grey at my library, as well as the myriad interviews with the man that I read in the couple weeks before the book came out, would indicate otherwise. I thought everyone wasn't reading Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series, but comments to the copy of my post about First Lord's Fury on Facebook indicate otherwise.
The opposite is also true. I thought that everyone was reading Tana French because I first heard about her books on NPR, but mostly when I tell people about her I get blank looks!
But, since "everybody" and "no one" in this case are pretty subjective, here are some more authors you should read: Mary Doria Russell, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, and Susan Beth Pfeffer.
You're welcome. :)
14 January 2010
Booking Through Thursday — Flapping
Today's Booking Through Thursday question is... "Do you read the inside flaps that describe a book before or while reading it?"
If I've never heard of a book before, I'll check out the flaps to see if it looks interesting. But mostly I pick up books based on other book bloggers' reviews, and then I try not to read the flaps because I have had bad spoilage moments in the past that I would like not to repeat.
However, I'll admit to sneaking a peek at the flaps while I'm reading a book I'm not sure about; sometimes I just need some reassurance that the part I'm having issues with is not the main focus of the book. And if it is the main focus, then I have a reason to put down the book and walk away. :)
If I've never heard of a book before, I'll check out the flaps to see if it looks interesting. But mostly I pick up books based on other book bloggers' reviews, and then I try not to read the flaps because I have had bad spoilage moments in the past that I would like not to repeat.
However, I'll admit to sneaking a peek at the flaps while I'm reading a book I'm not sure about; sometimes I just need some reassurance that the part I'm having issues with is not the main focus of the book. And if it is the main focus, then I have a reason to put down the book and walk away. :)
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