Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Reading Survey

Ashley at The Book Labyrinth posted an awesome book blogger reading survey yesterday. I was in need of a Tuesday post idea and this worked perfectly!


1. Which book has been on your shelves the longest?
I still have copies of all my favourite children's novels but for YA novels it'd probably be The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares. I remember buying it at my cottage when I was 11. 

2. What is your current read, your last read and the book you'll read next?
I'm almost done My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr. Last book I read was The Poison Eaters & Other Stories, Holly Black's fantasy short story collection. I'm torn on what to read next. Probably Getting the Girl by Susan Juby or Unearthly by Cynthia Hand.

3. What book did everyone like and you hated?

Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen. I read this ages ago and really didn't like it, back before I'd even heard of Sarah Dessen let alone read any of her other books. I'm definitely going to read it again this year and see if my opinion has changed now that I'm properly in the YA reading range but for now I still don't like it.

4. Which book do you keep telling yourself you'll read, but you probably won't? 
Little Women. I've tried reading it four times and still can't get past the first chapter without dying of boredom. 

5. Which book are you saving for "retirement?" 
The Hunger Games. Well, I'm saving the entire series for my July read-a-thon but I'll consider it retirement seeing as it came out years ago.

6. Last page: read it first or wait till the end?
Wait till the end. I would never ruin a book, I'm so careful about not reading ahead or reading too quickly to get to the end.

7. Acknowledgements: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?

Wonderful! I love seeing who was influencial in writing in the novel, especially when authors include people or other works that inspired them. I think books should have a "credits" like movies to show appreciation for everyone who worked towards the novel. 


8. Which book character would you switch places with?
Daine from Tamora Pierce's The Immortals series. I love the setting of the series, living in Tortall would be amazing!

9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?

The Host by Stephenie Meyer reminds me of September, walking home from school, and walking that path home always smells like books to me.

10. Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.

I have a few novels I purchased at my local library's book sale a few years ago. It always makes me worry when I see the library seal on the spine on my bookshelf, I think that I've forgotten to return them and I'll get a huge fine!

11. Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?

Not that I recall. I usually just give books to people if they might like it or to get them to read something new and outside their comfort zone.

12. Which book has been with you to the most places?
Harry Potter. I bring each book with me to the movie theatre when I see it's respective film.

13. Any "required reading" you hated in high school that wasn't so bad ten years later? 

I'm about to graduate in a few weeks and I still don't like any of the required reading. I adored Shakespeare and Brave New World but the few classics we read (The Hobbit, To Kill a Mockingbird, Fifth Business) were terrible to get through let alone analyse. 

14. What is the strangest item you've ever found in a book?

Weird cartoon bookmarks from the 90s. I keep finding random coloured bookmarks with messages and appointments written on them. 

15. Used or brand new?
Used! I love borrowing books from the library or friends. The more people that read a single edition, the more impact that book can have on everyone. I encourage a lot of my friends and fellow book bloggers to not buy books as often as they borrow or buy from used-book stores to give them a wider variety. 

16. Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses?

I've never read a Stephen King novel. *ducks*

17. Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This is my least favourite book in the series, understanding that I love them all to death but this one ranks lowest compared to the others, and I thought the movie did an exceptional job of bringing to life my favourite bits. All of the other movies pale in comparison to the books in my opinion.

18. Have you ever read a book that's made you hungry, cookbooks being excluded from this question?

Yes! Flavor of the Week by Tucker Shaw and Love Inc. by Yvonne Collins & Sandy Rideout both made me drool! I loved their descriptions of menus and food, and I'm dying to try recipes from both novels.

19. Who is the person whose book advice you'll always take?

My book club girls': Rachel, Karthy, and Danya. While we each have different favourites and genres we enjoy we usually have a similar taste in contemporaries and paranormals. I love hearing their recommendations and rants/raves on various authors and titles. If they tell me a book is worth reading, I automatically add it to Goodreads, no questions asked.
Enjoy the survey? Fill it out and leave a link to your post in the comments!

3 comments:

  1. Aww, you hated TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD? Sigh. Well, schools do do that one to death...

    Can't wait to see what you think of THE HUNGER GAMES! And if you can't get through the book of LITTLE WOMEN, check out the movie. There are a couple good versions (including an animated one) but Winona Ryder's version is probably the most accessible.

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  2. Ooh, The Hunger Games. I would love to read that book again for the first time, so I'm excited to hear your thoughts.

    You should give 'To Kill a Mockingbird' another shot outside of academia. Books are always so much better when you don't analyze them to death.

    I didn't know 'Love, Inc' had recipes!! Now I'm really excited for it. =)

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  3. I wish I could read The Hunger Games for the first time again, too. I'd trade my first time reading To Kill a Mockingbird for a second first time with that series. :)
    How funny that you liked the Harry Potter 4 movie better than the book. 5 was my least favorite in the series, but I thought the movie was much better.

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