A Meme Stolen from The Scrabblequeen Knits, Too

1. Favourite childhood book:
I have absolutely no idea how to go about choosing one. There were the Laura Ingles books, The Wrinkle in Time series, The Narnia series, The Nancy Drew Mysteries, etc. etc. etc. There are so many fabulous books out there for kids that I could never choose just one, especially as I may have forgot a few of them in the interim. I love rediscovering those!

2. What are you reading right now?
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morten. It’s about a little girl who was “left over” from the passengers of a ship which arrived in Australia from England. That’s really just the starting point as the story engulfs the lives before and after the event. It’s turning out to be very good indeed.

3. What books do you have on request at the library?
I don’t go to the library because I lack the time to go to the only one with a good English selection (and I really don’t like reading in German for pleasure)

4. Bad book habit:
I cannot pass up an Audible sale and Amazon really knows where to get me too. I have enough books to keep me for a while and yet I still buy more.

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
See #3

6. Do you have an e-reader?
NO. I dislike reading books off a screen and only do so when there is absolutely no alternative.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
I would say I prefer one at a time, but there are many exceptions. I usually have one audio book going and one DT version for pre-bedtime reading. Sometimes I will switch audio books at the weekend when I'm feeling like something for frivolous than the book I already have on the go.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
Yes and no. I read more and I think more about it. I also get a lot of great ideas about new books to read from other's blogs. So rather than change my habits, it's gotten me to branch out a bit more and read genres I otherwise wouldn't have.

9. Least favourite book you read this year:
Don Quixote hands down. I didn't actually finish this one. 2/5ths of the way through I was ready to scratch my eyeballs out at the stupidity of it all and gave up. I've just never found stupidity funny and this book was no exception.

10. Favourite book I've read this year:
Again with the favourites! How to choose?I loved The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay. There were also a few good YA books like The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and The Maze Runner by James Dashner which I really enjoyed. Then there was Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett which is a new favourite.

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
I do try and make the odd foray out. It doesn't do to be stuck in one zone and be nice and comfy when it’s possible that there's a lot out there you’re missing. Reading other people's blogs has helped with this immensely as have audio books which give me more reading time so I’m less miserly with that time and am more willing to take a chance on something I may or may not like.

12. What is your reading comfort zone?
Mysteries, crime and some fantasy

13. Can you read on the bus?
I could if I ever rode the bus.

14. Favourite place to read:
On my couch or in the hammock on the balcony in summer.

15. What's your policy on book lending?
I loan more books than I should, but never anything I'm not willing to risk losing because they so seldom get returned.

16. Do you dogear your books?
No, but I used to. I will always remember what my mother told me about dog-earing in reference to library books: You may do what you like with your own books, but never cause any damage to a book which isn't your own. I live by this. I don’t dog ear because I want my books to live as long as possible, which is silly because I regularly break the spines when necessary to my comfort. I like being able to read in comfort, which one cannot do when one constantly has to peer into the dark fissure the words in the middle of the book disappear into. If only the publishers would get a clue and print them properly! Sheesh! :P

17. Do you write notes in the margins of your books?
Not unless I’m planning on discussing the book with someone or writing an essay on it. Even then, post its are more helpful.

18. Do you break/crack the spine of your books?
See #16

19. What is your favourite language to read?
English. I could read in German, but don't often as it's not as relaxing as in English. Plus I get German all day and want the comfort of English when I read. That said, I won’t read a book which was originally written in German in English because that would just be silly. I do read some French now and again for learning purposes. My vocab goes down hill so fast since I don’t often use it. I haven’t even tried to read in Italian for years so I don’t know how well that would actually work nowadays.

20. What makes you love a book?
The characters and the language. It must be well written and I have to care about what happens to the characters. Plot is important too since there’s no point in having great characters who spend the whole book sitting at the kitchen table eating cheese sandwiches (or doing something else equally mundane).

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
If I liked a book and I think someone else would like it, I'll recommend it. That said, reading taste is very personal and individual, so I'm careful about my recommendations.

22. Favourite genre:
Mystery and sci-fi and classical lit.

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did):
There isn't one that's applicable here. If I wish to read something, I do, end of story. See the next question for more.

24. Favourite Biography:
I would love to want to read biographies, but I don't. They don't interest me in the slightest. This probably screams that I'm anti-social and uninterested in people, but there you have it. Wish I weren't, but I am. Forcing myself to read something I'm not interested in is not going to change this.

25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
I was probably given books to read on how to lose weight when I was a teenager, but they never did any good so I've disregarded the whole genre ever since.

26. Favourite Cookbook:
Backen für Weihnachten (Baking for Christmas). I dislike cooking, so cookbooks are out. Backen für Weihnachten gets used copiously every Christmas.

27. Most inspirational book you've read this year (fiction or non-fiction):
I can't honestly say I've read anything inspirational, but then I tend to be very non-inspired, so maybe I just missed the point.

28. Favourite reading snack:
Jelly Bellies – This is a very, very, very unhealthy habit and not one I often indulge in.

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience:
Well, I just finished Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater and it most certainly didn't live up to the recommendations it got. I’ll be blogging about this one soon.

30. How often do you agree with the critics about about a book?
I don't really care much what the critics have to say. I'm usually only worried about whether I like a book or not. Recommendations I get from other bloggers and the reviews on Audible or Amazon. They’re much more reliable than critics.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
I don’t like railing on books and usually try and point out its positive features as well as the negative. I also always try and point out that it's my point of view and that someone else may find it a brilliant read (case in point, Dan Brown and just about any book he’s written. I don’t like him; he cares all the way to the bank.). However, there’s no point in giving a book a good review if I didn't like it. That would be tantamount to lying. Finally, only books I finish make it into my blog. The really bad ones don’t even get that far.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you choose?
Latin. I really wish I knew Latin (well) since it's the basis for a lot of modern language. Baring that, I suppose I'd choose French. I can read some, but I'd love to be able to read perfectly.

33. Most intimidating book I've read
I'm not sure I've ever been intimidated by a book, unless it was a math book.

34. Most intimidating book I’m too nervous to begin:
See #33

35. Favourite Poet:
Ouch, here's where I have to admit to not caring too much for poetry. *ducks*

36. How many books do you usually have checked out from the library at any given time?
See #3

37. How often do you return books to the library unread?
See #3

38. Favourite fictional character:
Ebenezer Scrooge

39. Favourite fictional villain:
I suppose I could use old Eb for this answer too, but he's really not a villain, or is at least a redeemable one, so in lieu of Eb, Fagin.

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation:
Something light that takes little to no brain power and can be put down at a moment's notice to go do other vacationy things.

41. The longest I've gone without reading:
A day. Maybe three when I was in the hospital. Oh wait, there was the time of the concussion which lasted about a week. So voluntarily maybe 24 hours. Involuntarily, a week.

42. Name a book you could/would not finish:
Don Quixote. See #9

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
Easily? The noise from the kids next door. I'm not JUST a grumpy old woman, they own a vuvuzela and a trampoline which is apparently not fun unless they are screaming at the top of their lungs.

44. Favourite film adaptation of a novel:
As The Scrabblequeen said: Pride and Prejudice, the Colin Firth version.

45. Most disappointing film adaptation:
There is a Mansfield Park adaptation (1999) which should really be renamed Mansfield Park as I would have written it had I been a 21st century woman living in the 1800s. It was so bad it's put me off watching the adaptations.

46. Most money I've ever spent in a bookstore at one time:
$200 when I was buying books for the semester at Uni

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
Never

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book halfway through?
If it’s ridiculous, has become painful to read or just can't hold my attention.

49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
Yes, I have sections like Fiction and Classics and then by author's last name.

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once they've been read?
Keep. I am loathe to relinquish books once they are in my possession.

51. Are there any books that you've been avoiding?
Why would I avoid reading a book? If I want to read it, I do, if I don't, I don't.

52. Name a book that made you angry:
Angry is relative. I wouldnt read a book that was likely to make me angry, or was geared to do so, like political books etc. T'his is mostly because the more they intend to play with your emotions, the less likely they are to be true. The point of playing with people's emotions is to distract them from the failings in a book, so if it makes me angry, I ask myself where I'm being duped. I did, however, get angry reading The Power of One and Uncle Tom's Cabin because of the racist attitudes of some of the characters. That's not really the same kind of angry though, since those are archaic attitudes. (I'm not saying they don't exist today, because I know they do, I'm just saying they are archaic, like believing the god's will strike you dead if you don't sacrifice a lamb to the oracle on St. Peanut’s day kind of archaic. People may still believe it, but those who do are not really playing with a full deck if you see what I mean.)

53. A book I didn't expect to like but did:
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay. I know I keep banging on about it, but it was a good book. I did^'t expect to like it because it’s about boxing and S. Africa, neither of which are subjects that fascinate me.

54. A book I expected to like but didn't:
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. It sounded good but turned out to be mostly teenage romance, which is just not my thing.

55. Favourite guilt-free guilty pleasure reading:
Terry Pratchett and cosy mysteries. Some fantasy.