Wednesday 18 August 2010

My Reading Habits, Why/What I Read and Similar

I love questionnaires about books, reading habits, that sort of thing. I found this one at Escapism Through Books and decided to give it a try myself.

First, why do I read?

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1. Favourite childhood book? Dinotopia by James Gurney

2. What are you reading right now? The Counterfeit Guest by Rose Melikan

3. What books do you have on request at the library? None.

4. Bad book habit: None, actually.

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library? Again, nothing. I'm trying to read those books that I own and haven't read yet.

6. Do you have an e-reader? No. Not really interested, either.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once? Mostly one at a time, only sometimes two at a time, if they're of different genres, mostly one a novel and one collection of short stories.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog? No, only my wishlist has increased.;)

9.Least favourite book you read this year: The Lady of the Sea by Rosalind Miles

10. Favourite book I’ve read this year: Oh, hard to say. The Girl with Glass Feet by Ali Shaw, The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffennegger (sp?).

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone? Rarely. I pretty much stick to my beloved genres, unless my reading is done for academic reasons.

12. What is your reading comfort zone? Historical fiction, historical/contemporary romance, urban fantasy/paranormal, classics, fantasy, YA.

13. Can you read on the bus? Yes.

14. Favourite place to read: My bed or our garden.

15. What’s your policy on book lending? I only lend books to friends who like to read and for whom I know will return the books to me.

16. Do you dogear your books? Never. That should be a crime.;)

17. Do you write notes in the margins of your books? No, not in books I read for my pleasure. I did in college, though, when I was analysing a book, but I did it in pencil and cleared it later.

18. Do you break/crack the spine of your books? Rarely. I only do it withvery thick books, that makes them easier to read.

19. What is your favourite language to read? English, but I should probably read in my native tongue more.;)

20. What makes you love a book? Honest, deep emotions and an engaging atmosphere, then the characters and an original story.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book? If I couldn't put a novel down, or if I was moved by it, or if I know it's the sort of thing that person likes.

22. Favourite genre: historical fiction

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did): plays and biographies

24. Favourite Biography: I rarely read then, but for now definitely Oscar's Books by Thomas Wright (about Oscar Wilde)

25. Have you ever read a self-help book? (And, was it actually helpful?) I actually did once. It gave me some good tips.

26. Favourite Cookbook: None.

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction): Inspirational? The Time Travellet's Wife, I'd say. Love that transcend everything, even time. I like that notion.

28. Favourite reading snack: I don't eat while reading.

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience: Harry Potter, I stopped reading the series after the third novel.

30. How often do you agree with the critics about about a book? I don't read professional reviews.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews? I don't feel bad. You have to be honest when reviewing a book. Not all books can be good or liked by everyone.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you choose? French, that's a language I'd love to learn.

33. Most intimidating book I’ve read: The Collector by John Fowles. Not excatly intimidating, just creepy.

34. Most intimidating book I’m too nervous to begin: I haven't really thought about it. Maybe The Magus by John Fowles. I'd like to read it, but I'm afraid it'll ruin my good Fowles experience so far. The thing is, the premise sounds boring.;)

35. Favourite Poet: Charles Baudelaire

36. How many books do you usually have checked out from the library at any given time? 2-3

37. How often do you return books to the library unread? Rarely. One or two a year, maybe.

38. Favourite fictional character: The Phantom/Erik from The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

39. Favourite fictional villain: The Joker (DC Comics)

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation: Sometimes new, light and romantic or a mystery.

41. The longest I’ve gone without reading: A week, I think. That was pretty terrible.;)

42. Name a book you could/would not finish: I have one in mind, but I can't even remember the title. I guess it was really that bad.;)

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading? Nearby conversation, music.

44. Favourite film adaptation of a novel: The Lord of the Rings

45. Most disappointing film adaptation: The Scarlet Letter with Demi Moore and Garly Oldman.

46. Most money I’ve ever spent in a bookstore at one time: 110 pounds. Oops...

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it? I don't, I just read.

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book halfway through? A boring story or too much gore.

49. Do you like to keep your books organized? Partly. I like to keep books by the same author together, but it also depends on their size. That determines on which bookshelf a book'll go.

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once they’ve been read? I keep them.

51. Are there any books that you’ve been avoiding? Dan Brown's novels. I haven't read them, but the movies showed me that this is just not my thing. Besides, how could I read novels by a guy who believes his own imagination?...

52. Name a book that made you angry: I haven't read such a book yet.

53. A book I didn’t expect to like but did: Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice. My first vampire novel, I was convinced I'd never like a vampire novel, and now I read them a lot.;)

54. A book I expected to like but didn’t: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

55. Favourite guilt-free guilty pleasure reading: Cecelia Ahern, Charlaine Harris, Jean Plaidy

3 comments:

Blodeuedd said...

Fun :)
Lol, I have been avoiding Dan Brown too, and saw the movies and yes not for me either

Unknown said...

Interesting...my reading habits have definitely changed since I started my blog. I read multiple books at a time now. I am constantly reading and hardly watch TV anymore. I get stressed about reading too which was never something I experienced before. It is the review copy thing.
On the positive side of things, I now read way outside my comfort zone and I have found some great authors to love from doing so.

Irena @ This Miss Loves to Read said...

@Blodeuedd: hehe, I'm glad I'm the only anti Dan Brown person.;)

@Becky: I can understand that, reading for reviewing must be stressful, I can imagine. But as you said, you get to read outside of your comfort zone, which is great. You definitely read interesting books, Becky.