Bookish Survey

1. Favorite childhood book?
When I was about 6 or so I read The BFG by Roald Dahl, and at that time I was teased a lot about my height because I was (and still am) very tall for a girl, so I felt a kinship with this kindly giant. Then when I was in my teens I discovered Harry Potter, and like many other people I was enamoured from the get go, I still love those books ten years later.

2. What are you reading right now?
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, and despite reading various opinions about it, I'm mostly enjoying it :)

3. What books do you have on request at the library?
I don't often use the library, but I have Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins pre-ordered at the moment, so I'm excited for that to be released so I can get started on the series.

4. Bad book habit?
Buying too many and not reading them all quick enough, so I now have a fairly hefty amount of books waiting to be read (around 250 or so) and it's pretty daunting.

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
Nothing at the moment.

6. Do you have an e-reader?
No, but I'm considering buying one.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
One at a time, I prefer to concentrate on just one story.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
I guess so, I think more about what I'm really liking and disliking as I'm reading, and I never did before.

9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)
I think probably Beastly by Alex Flinn.

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
This is really tough because I've had a pretty great year for amazing reads. I think it's a toss up between Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, The Forest Of Hands And Teeth by Carrie Ryan and If I Stay by Gayle Forman.

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
Before I joined the Book Club Forum at the end of '08, I read 90% thrillers. In the past 18 months though, I've expanded my reading so much, I read lots of different things now, and have found some great books I never would have dreamed of reading. Also, since becoming a reviewer I've read some things that are out of my comfort zone and really enjoyed them. So overall, I'd say fairly often now, I'm not afraid to try new things.

12. What is your reading comfort zone?
Thrillers, young adult and books about supernaturals. I will always fall back to one of these if I'm struggling to pick up a book.

13. Can you read on the bus?
I can, but never do, I walk everywhere.

14. Favorite place to read?
Snuggled up in bed, late at night when it's cold outside, and usually drinking a cup of hot chocolate. Nothing beats it for me :)

15. What is your policy on book lending?
I don't know many people that read in real life, so it doesn't come up too often. I recently lent out a book to one my boyfriend's friends though, and it came back in a right state, there were big dents and marks, and there was even a food or drink stain on the cover to my horror. So no, it won't be happening again!

16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
No, not anymore. When I was a young teen I did, but it was something I grew out of by the time I was around 15, and now I have lots of pretty bookmarks that I use.

17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Never.

18. Not even with text books?
I don't ever read text books. I only ever wrote in one book, and that was a poetry text book when I was at school and we had to make notations in it for our exam. I would never willingly chose to do it.

19. What is your favorite language to read in?
English, as it's the only language I can read in!

20. What makes you love a book?
Usually the characters. If I fall in love with the characters, I'm so much more likely to enjoy the book. But of course, it also depends on a good plot.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
If I really love it, then I will, or I will recommend to a specific person if I know it's something they'd like.

22. Favorite genre?
Probably supernatural, as they come in all different forms. But I really love thrillers and YA books too, and those are the three genres I read most of.

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
Historical fiction/old classics. I really just hate the language, and so it puts me off.

Favorite biography?
Marley and Me by John Grogan, had me laughing one minute and crying the next, a great book.

25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
I did review one about losing and controlling weight, but other than that, no. I'd not rule it out though.

26. Favorite cookbook?
I really like the BBC GoodFood range of cookbooks. I have a few, my favourite of them is probably 101 Cakes and Bakes, I've made quite a few of the recipes, and they've always been lovely.

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
Hmm, that's a tough one. Probably If I Stay by Gayle Forman, I thought it was a fantastic book.

28. Favorite reading snack?
Always crisps. At the moment my favourites are ready salted ones, but I also love wotsits and doritos, yum!

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
I try not to let hype affect what I think about books, but I guess the only case I can think of is when Harry Potter was released. The massive hype put me off big time, and it was a few years before I even wanted to see what they were about.

30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
I'm not sure, I don't ever read professional reviews. I prefer to look at reviews from my peers, and from my friends. Sometimes I will agree that the 'hype' surrounding a book was right, but it doesn't bother me if other people think it's great and I don't.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
Like most people I don't like giving bad reviews, but I owe it to myself and to people who listen to my reviews to be honest about my personal thoughts on a book, whether that be good or bad.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
I would love to read Japanese.

33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. The book is huge, and with a tiny font, and also it's very different to the normal 'western' kind of books I read, so I was definitely intimidated, but I really enjoyed it.

34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Everyone I know loves it, I'm kind of worried I won't think it's as great as everyone else.

35. Favorite Poet?
Rainer Maria Rilke. Falling Stars is lovely.

36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
As I said above, I don't take out from the library often, but when I do it's usually around 8-10.

37. How often have you returned book to the library unread?
Not often at all.

38. Favorite fictional character?
Henry DeTamble from The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I actually love the whole family, but Henry is special.

39. Favorite fictional villain?
Voldemort, hands down.

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
Usually thrillers, or books that don't need too much thinking about.

41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.
Hmm, I'm not sure. My reading was pretty sporadic during my young teens, so easily a few months. But since I've started reading regularly again, probably no more than a week.

42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
All The Things We Didn't Say by Sara Shepard. I just found it so dull, that it was a chore to pick up, so I decided to not bother with it.

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
My boyfriend typing on the computer keyboard, it's just so loud, and it irritates the hell out of me.

44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
The Notebook, the book is great but the film is fantastic. It just adds that extra depth to the story and I just love it.

45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
Twilight, I love the books, but the film just lost something in translation. Kristen Stewart is just not the Bella I imagine, in fact most of the characters aren't. The only ones I felt had been cast perfectly were Emmett and Carlisle.

46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
Hmm, probably around £30-40 or so I guess. I don't buy in shops that often, and when I do I often only buy a few at a time, not in big bulk.

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

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
If I'm losing the will to live. I don't often stop a book, even if I'm not enjoying it that much, so it has to be terrible for me to stop.

49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
I do, they are all shelved neatly, or boxed away due to lack of space.

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
I keep most of my books, if I don't think I'll ever want to read it again then I usually swap them or give them away.

51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
The Hunger Games trilogy, they came to my attention about 6 months ago, but I knew it wasn't long until the release of the third book, so I decided to just wait and read them all together at once. I bought the first two books last week though, and have pre-ordered the third, so as soon at it comes, I will be delving in!

52. Name a book that made you angry.
Not angry as such but The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom left me in a permanent state of 'wtf!?' mixed with being utterly repulsed and baffled to be quite honest. Not an author I'll ever try again.

53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
The Da Vinci Code, I was aware of all the controversy about the religious-ness of the book and it put me right off. I never intended to read it until my boyfriend's aunt insisted that I did, and forced her copy upon me.

54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
There have been a few as I'm sure there are for everyone, but I guess the one that comes to mind in recent times were The Vampire Diaries books, I love the vampire genre, and expected to fully enjoy these, but I really didn't at all.

55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
The Twilight saga and the Sookie Stackhouse series. They're both comfort reads that are just easy to sink into and relax with.