All About Books #2

Second half of all things about me and books!  (Here's the FIRST.)  Let's pick up where I left off!


28. Favourite reading snack? Anything I can eat with one hand, doesn't drip, and won't leave my hands really messy.  Maybe chips or popcorn.

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience. Well, I didn't actually read it but I saw The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in theaters before I read the book.  After the movie I figured that it wouldn't be my kind of book.

30. How often do you agree with critics about a book? I guess I don't read a lot of reviews and such.  But if we count suggestions from friends and family then I can't remember not agreeing in some way.  They know me too well.

31. How do you feel about giving negative reviews? Generally, if I don't think that it's fantastic then I won't write a review for it.  I'd be honest if I were asked but to make a post just to say how much I disliked it would make me feel bad.

32. If you could read a foreign language, which would you choose? Hmmm.  That's a tough one.  I'd like to be able to speak Spanish or French.  But if it's to read then I think I would like one of those fancy ones that look pretty on the page.  Chinese?  Russian?  I like their patterns.

33. What was the most intimidating book you've ever read? Intimidating?  I'm not sure what that means to be honest.  If I had to give a guess I'd say Gregory McGuire's Wicked.  (Hope I'm not just saying that because I'm watching Once Upon a Time right now.)  It was maybe a little over my head, but I really wanted to finish it.

34. What is the most intimidating book you're too nervous to begin? I don't know.  Maybe some of the really old classics my parents got with the encyclopedias forever ago.  Still want to read them but haven't yet.

35. Who is your favourite poet? Shel Silverstein.  I don't read a lot of poetry and, yes, I know he was a children's poet, but even so I'd have to say Shel Silverstein.  All the way.

36. On average, how many books do you have checked out of the library at any given time? At least always three.  Don't know the most I've ever gotten.  Right now though?  I have eight...  That's not even counting the ones for my roommate and her kids.  I'm kind of a book mobile.  Lol.

37. How often do you return books to the library unread? Not often.  If at all it's because it's over due and I can't renew it any more.  

38. Who are your favourite fictional characters? Hmmm, I don't think I have one overall favorite character but I can pick at least one from the books that come to mind.  There's Mr. Tumnus from the Narnia series.  I remember him being a sweet character.  Then Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter.  Her off the wall mentality was pretty hilarious.  And also Dustfinger from the Inkheart trilogy.  I don't remember a lot about the books but I remember that I liked him.

39. Who is your favourite fictional villain? The 'bad guys' from Mira Grant's Newsflesh trilogy.  (Excuse the vagueness, but I think naming them would be a little spoiler-y.)  It's the first book that comes to mind that had me literally gaping at the page sometimes.

40. What are the books you are most likely to take on vacation? Probably just whatever I happen to be reading at the time.  I'm not picky.  But I would definitely take two or three if it were a road trip.

41. What is the longest you have gone without reading? Hmmm.  Had to have been at least a couple day stretch that I may not read for pleasure if I'm think when I was in school.  Or when I finished a book quicker than I thought and couldn't get to the library till the next day.  *shiver*  Tough times.

42. Name a book that you could not or would not finish. I can't even remember the name of it now but it was a Mystery with a male MC and he lived with his dog far away from people.  In an RV type of thing perhaps?  I think he was a retired detective and of course someone found him and talked him in to helping them.  Couldn't do it.  Just couldn't finish it and I don't know why.

43. What distracts you easily when you're reading? People.   I can read when I'm around people but I find that when I do I feel like I'm being antisocial and no one wants to 'bother' me.  Or they think I'm not having any fun around them or something.  But really I'm doing the same as the other people who are checking their phones.  Mine is just a little thicker and not seen as often in social settings.  I'm not trying to be antisocial...  I promise.

44. What is your favourite film adaptation of a novel? The Help was really good.  I'm surprised we didn't buy it actually.  It's been awhile since I read or watched it but I seem to remember that it kept to the basic structure of the book and was well done.

45. What is the most disappointing film adaptation? Eragon.  My favorite took some thought.  This one did not.  Eragon, the film, disappointed me so much.

46. What is the most money you have spent in a bookstore at one go? Not counting for college I'm assuming?  I only buy books every so often.  So maybe just however much one costs?  Between 15 and 25 dollars?

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it? I don't.  I might pick up a book and read the first couple pages just to see if I'd get in to it but other than that I'm too afraid I'll see something spoilery.

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book halfway through? Very rarely I find that I feel like I 'have' to finish a book instead of 'wanting' to finish the book.  That is when I tell myself that it's OK to put the book down.

49. Do you like to keep your books organized? No way.  Lol.  I have one small shelf that I put my favorites on.  The ones in a series are all together and that is close enough to organized for me.  My others are scattered on different shelves or in my tried and true plastic crates, which I've had since childhood, in the top of my closet.

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you're done with them? If I bought them then I usually keep them.  I'll lend them out but I expect them back.

51. Are there any books you've been avoiding? 50 Shades of Grey.  I've heard that it's great but a bunch of sex in a book makes me a little uncomfortable.  I'm just saying.  Also, Girl With a Dragon Tattoo.  The movie was enough for me.

52. Name a book that made you angry. Hmmm.  Angry?  I can't remember one particular book that made me angry but there has been numerous times where I'd be reading a scene and be like 'Noooo.  No.  No no no.  WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT??'  For some reason Kiera Cass's The Selection comes to mind.  I did get really in to that book.  Lol.

53. A book you didn't expect to like, but did? My sister once got me a book from either a garage sale or a thrift store simple because it looked like one of those books that people find and, I don't know, turns into magic or something.  Lol.  I didn't know what to think of it but I remember ending up liking it quite a bit.  Now I can't even remember it's name though.

54. How about a book you expected to like, but didn't? Pure by Julianna Baggott.  I didn't hate it but for some reason I couldn't really finish it.  I have every intention of going back to give it another try.

55. Favourite guilt-free pleasure reading? Kids books.  I have to say that since I've been getting some books for my roommates boys I've been enjoying them maybe just as much.


That's the end!  I kind of like these kind of things.  Perhaps if I find another like it I will do it too.  But for now we'll call it quits.  Here is the FIRST one, in case you missed it.  Feel free to take the questions and give them your own answers!  :D

All About Books #1

I saw these questions on Elisabeth's blog over at The Second Sentence.  They're all questions about your favorite books and reading habits and everything. I liked reading her answers and thought they were fun questions so I thought why not answer them too?  I think I'll break them into two parts though.  Let's get started!

1. Your favourite book as a child? My favorite book as a child probably had to have been I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.  I believe I have the version that says retold and illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott.  I still have that thing committed to memory.  When I got a little older I was stuck on The Kids in Ms. Colman's Class by Ann M. Martin.  I read them until I was way past their reading level.  I remember my mom taking me to the book store to buy one for me and being done with it before we got home!

2. What are you reading right now? I just started Deadline by Mira Grant, the second book in the Newsflesh Trilogy.  The first one, Feed, was great.

3. What books do you have on request at the library? Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (And now I have a couple of the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.)

4. Bad book habit. Getting library fines.  I have a bad habit of doing that.  I've even had to pay for books outright sometimes because I kept it or lost it for that long...

5. What do you currently have checked out from your library? The whole Newsflesh trilogy by Mira Grant and Fangirl  by Rainbow Rowell.

6. Do you have an e-reader? Kind of.  I have the Kindle for PC and have a few books on there but I completely forget about it.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or do you tend to read several at once? One at a time.  Sometimes I put down a book for another one that I've been waiting on but that still feels like one at a time.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog? I can't say that it has.

9. What was your least favourite book this year? Well, I've only read three books so far this year and I'm pretty fond of them so I'm going to go for one I read last year.  I'd have to say Pure by Julianna Baggott. I don't know if I was just really excited for another book or what but I just couldn't get in to it.  I will go back to it because I liked the story.  It just seemed that I couldn't get excited about it.

10. What was your favourite book this year? For 2014?  I would have to say Feed by Mira Grant.  That thing was an emotional roller coaster.

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone? Not as often as I should.  I would probably find something I liked if I branched out a little.

12. What is your reading comfort zone? Young Adult I think.  It's the first section of the library that I go to when I go to browse.

13. Can you read in the car? Yes.  I love reading in the car.  Otherwise, I'm either sitting there staring at nothing (unless we're on a road trip or something) or driving.  *shudder* I hate to actually drive.  It's boring.  Lol!

14. Where is your favourite place to read? The car.... or the bathroom.  Wait, wait!  Before you judge, I will have you know that my bathroom is the most comfortable and quiet place in the house.  I'm just saying.

15. What is your policy on book-lending? You can borrow books from me, but I will bother you about it after a week or so and keep doing it until you give it back...

16. Do you ever dog-ear in books? Nope.  Though I have used the dust cover for a book mark before.

17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books? No.  That's kind of a pet peeve.

18. What about text books? Hmmm.  I think I can remember writing in text books before.

19. What is your favourite language to read in? Has to be English.  I don't know any others well enough.

20. What makes you love a book? Humor.  It doesn't have to be a 'funny' book but I do appreciate a character who I feel like I could understand.  Like someone that I could be friends with.  Perhaps I mean a good character voice in general then?  Not necessarily just humor.

21. What would inspire you to recommend a book? Sometimes I read a book that I just have to talk about.  Like I actually can't help but to talk about it as if the people were real and whatever just happened was said and done right in front of me. (Just ask my sister.)  THAT is when I recommend the book (to my friends that read, that excludes my sister) because I can't talk about it if it will spoil the ending and I MUST talk about how funny/stupid/ridiculous/horrible whatever happened just was.  Therefore said book is given as assigned reading to everyone and is due ASAP.

22. What is your favourite genre?  Hmmm... *looks up a list of genres*  I believe that I'm more into Fantasy and Dystopian.  I've been reading a lot that I would call that these days.

23. What is a genre you rarely read but wish that you did? Mystery.  I would love to try my hand at figuring out who did it and with what (My bets are on Col. Mustard with the candlestick) but I tried once and just couldn't get in to it.  I need to give it another go.

24. Favourite biography? That's a tough one because I will admit to not reading many of those.  I do however remember having to do a project for school awhile back that I had to read one.  I can't remember the name of it but I'm pretty sure it was about Charles M. Schulz, the man who wrote the Peanuts comic strip, and liked it quite a bit more than I thought I would.

25. Have you ever read a self-help book? If self-help includes books that are kind of like text books then yes.  I tried to teach myself sign language once.  Didn't last long by myself.

26. Favourite cookbook? There's a couple from America's Test Kitchen that I like looking at.  And for whatever reason I'm fond of the cookbooks that come with kitchen appliances like blenders and such.  However, there is a cookbook that my school made when I was in kindergarten and it has a pretty good looking recipe for I believe they were Pizza Squares by yours truly. (However, I could not find said cookbook to make 100% sure that's what I did.)

27. What is the most inspirational book you have read this year? I was going to have to say none, but come to think of it I would have to say Mira Grant's Feed.  Strangely enough, reading a story about a group of bloggers success, how much more seriously blogging is taken in their day, and the kind of change that they made by doing it made me want to post more on my own blog.  It really did inspire me.


That's enough for now.  I'll post the other half of the questions some other time.  Feel free to grab the questions from me and make your own answers!