Book meme

Thank you megan_moonlight for this great book meme!

1. Favorite childhood book?
Why am I unable to remember one childhood book in particular, even though I always loved to read? Vaguely I remember enjoying “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe”. Am I that old that I can’t remember specifically loving any other books as a kid??


2. What are you reading right now?
As of today, I’m reading “Alice in Bed” by Judith Hooper and “A Language Older Than Words” by Derrick Jensen.


3. What books do you have on request at the library?
Too many to list! I’ll just write the name of the first one that shows up on the list: “Daughters of the River Huong” by Nhu Nguyen Duong.

4. Bad book habit?
I’m not sure. Maybe sticking to too many of the same genres?

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
Too many to list, so again I’ll pull up my online account and just list the first one: “Circling the Sun” by Paula McLain.

6. Do you have an e-reader?
I do, but I mainly use it when I have trips to go on and can’t/don’t want to bring a lot of paper books with me.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
I have stuck to the same pattern for years. I read two at a time, plus I also listen to an audio book in the car so technically I read two at a time and listen to a third as well.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
Not overall, but I love when friends recommend stuff to me. And I read nytshd3’s book reports too, to get ideas for books to add to my lists.

9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)
Hmmmm….Okay for 2015, only looking at books I actually finished, I’m going to go with The Newlyweds by Nell Freudenberger, on account of it being boring and feeling pointless. As I wrote in my review of it, if it hadn’t been an audiobook, I wouldn’t have finished it. (And am still not sure why I did).

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
Best books of 2015 for me were “Station Eleven” by Emily St John Mandel and Girl in the Dark by Anna Lyndsey.


11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
I could do this more. I will say that in the past few years since I started listening to audio books, that has forced me out of my comfort zone more because of the limited selection of books on CD available.

12. What is your reading comfort zone?
I once did an LJ post on this. Let me see if I can remember it. Historical fiction and memoirs seems to be king. I read a lot of books about farming, suffering Asians, um LGBT people, people doing challenges such as eating only local food for a year….

13. Can you read on the bus?
No, makes me ill

14. Favorite place to read?
The sofa

15. What is your policy on book lending?
I’m willing to do it but rarely does anyone ever ask me.

16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
No way.

17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Very, very rarely and of course only if I own it

18. Not even with text books?
Of course I did that, but given that it’s been almost 20 years since I was in school, this is kinda a moot point

19. What is your favorite language to read in?
Sad to admit that I am fluent in only 1 language

20. What makes you love a book?
For fiction, I need three things to love a book: setting, plot, and characters. All of these have to be on point. For non-fiction, it’s harder to sum it up but probably the same factors apply, though in a different way.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
Not much. I mean, anything in my book reports with a grade of B or better means I liked it and would recommend it.

22. Favorite genre?
Historical fiction and memoir I guess.

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
I can list some genres I rarely read, but I don't wish I read them more. I mean, if I wanted to read a particular genre more, I would!

24. Favorite biography?
I’m stumped with this one, so instead I’ll list one of my all-time favorite memoirs which is “Red Azalea” by Anchee Minn.

25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
Well I love books that describe how to do something, but I don’t think those technically are self-help books. For example, “The Sharing Solution” talked about how to share more with friends and neighbors, “The Lifelong Activist” talked about how to incorporate activism into your daily life. But those aren’t self-help books in the way the term is usually defined.

26. Favorite cookbook?
“One Dish Vegan”. The author read my mind for exactly what I was looking for. I don’t like “frou-frou” recipes. I’m never going to make rosemary hemp-crusted tofu or truffled potato and fried onion pierogies (actual recipes from a cookbook I own). “One Dish Vegan” has solid, nutritious, simple recipes that are complete meals in one dish.


7. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
“Strangers Drowning” by Larissa MacFarquhar (and again, needless to say, I am defining “this year” as the year that just ended since 2016 is pretty new right now).

28. Favorite reading snack?
I don’t snack while I read but I used to do that when I was younger and heavier. Because I’d kind of never stop eating. I remember as a pre-teen I’d scarf toaster waffles with butter, Chex Mix, all sorts of crap while I read books.


29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
Well I try to not pay attention to hype or critics. Any time I pick up a best-seller, I know that it’s safe to say that some critics loved it and many didn’t (such as with “The Help” or “Gone Girl”) but again I try to just form my own opinion).

30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
I don’t know since I rarely read a lot of critics’ reviews. If I really love a book (or sometimes if I hate it) I’ll peruse Amazon for reviews but that’s the exception.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
If the book has earned it, I don’t feel bad at all. But I rarely ever do so. On the rare occasions I leave a review, it’s almost always a very positive one.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
Wow – I have no idea. I mean I wish I were fluent in Spanish but mainly because my in-laws are Mexican, not because I wish to read Spanish-language books.

33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
Hmmmm…..in terms of length, when I was a teenager I made myself plod through a 500+ page novel whose name I can’t remember. But nothing else is jumping to mind. Even when I had to read a book for school that I wasn’t crazy about, I don’t remember ever really being intimidated by one.


34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
See above,

35. Favorite Poet?
I don’t have a favorite poet but I can say that I did once read a poem I loved. It was called “The Dust of Everyday Life” by Jana Harris, and it’s really a book-length poem. Oh and I loved “The Bells” by Edgar Allan Poe, thanks to a great high school teacher.

36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
Probably anywhere from 8-14.

37. How often have you returned book to the library unread?
Plenty of times – I try to have a few more books at home than I need, so often a book comes due before I’ve had a chance to get to it. No worries. I’ll get to it another time.

38. Favorite fictional character?
I gotta pass on this one. I have many favorite books but to pick one favorite character? A great character is only one aspect of a book I love. I also don’t read a lot of book series, and it’s hard to pick a favorite character when most appear in only one book that I’ve read.

39. Favorite fictional villain?
See above

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
Always a tough one. Before I trip, I riffle through the books I have from the library and the books I own, and I try to divine which ones are most likely to absorb me and make me forget about the discomfort of having to sit on an airplane. I also look for ones which are smaller and can more easily fit into luggage, though fortunately the e-reader is making this a moot point.

41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.
Oftentimes when I get into a new fandom, I read way less. When I was writing a f-ton of X-men fanfic, I didn’t read that much. But fortunately I still read, just not the crazy volumes that I handle today.

42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
There are so many! If I’m not into it by page 30-40, it’s gone. Let me see if I can remember the last book I put aside. Hmmm….oh, “Labyrinth” by Kate Mosse. I listened to it on audio, got through more than 1 CD, and didn’t care about the characters or the plot – so bye.

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
Not much – when I want to focus, I can. Sometimes if I’m driving and the audio book isn’t great, my mind can wander a bit.

44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
No idea.

45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
Ditto above

46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
Probably about $100.

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
Never. I read a bit of whatever info is on the jacket, but I never read that much because unfortunately the jacket always gives away plot spoilers.

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
Well, like I said above, I will jettison a book by page 30-40 if it’s not working for me. By the time I reach the hallway point, I usually am going to keep reading it. But a few books start out good and become dull, and that’ll cause me to put it away.

49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
No, not really.

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
Most books I read are library books. As for the books I buy, if they are excellent, I keep them. If not, off to Goodwill!


51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
Not really. Once I had a book on my ‘to read’ list for a long time, avoided it, and finally just decided to take it off the list.

52. Name a book that made you angry.
Angry? I don’t think I can help you with this one. Hmmmm…I had an English teacher in high school – in whose class we read many books – who made me angry because he was a sexist prick. I often get disappointed in books when they have potential but don’t follow through. I get angry when a book points out an injustice, but I don’t get angry at the book itself but rather at the injustice.

53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
I inadvertently checked out a book by the author of the cringe-worthy “Eat Pray Love”. I didn’t finish reading “Eat Pray Love” but this other book isn’t half-bad.

54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
“Uprooted” by Naomi Novik. It started out so good but then just flatlined.


55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
I don't feel guilty about reading anything I like. Why would I?