1. Favourite childhood book: Miss Jellytots Visit (published in 1955)
Envious of the treatment her parents give to their guests, a nine-year-old girl arranges to be Miss Jellytot, a thirty-year-old college chum on a six-day visit, but wishes the whole time that she were nine-year-old Katie.
I read this book over and over! As I got older, my favorite book was A Lantern in Her Hand which was about a woman who traveled across the US as a pioneer to live in Nebraska. It was very inspiring.
2. What are you reading right now? Displaced Persons by Ghita Schwarz and The Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia by Mary Helen Stefaniak (both from LibraryThing) and Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink.
3. What books do you have on request at the library? None
4. Bad book habit: Waiting too long to write the reviews which then means I have to go back and read parts of the book over again.
5. What do you currently have checked out at the library? Life with a Star by Jiří Weil and a large number of Interlibrary Loan books - mostly on the Holocaust
6. Do you have an e-reader? The library where I work just got two Kindles, and I think now I have to have one. I love it.
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once? I always have at least two or three going at the same time.
8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog? I think so, I think I am reading more and perhaps even more focused. Especially for my Holocaust Resources for Children books.
9.Least favourite book you read this year: Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard: A Novel
10. Favourite book I’ve read this year: Although it is hard to decide, I think What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt. This is thanks to Amy at The Black Sheep Dances and her Scandinavian Challenge.
11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone? Not sure because I like to read most things - well, not a huge fan of science fiction, but I have read a few over the last few years. And I really want to read The Passage.
12. What is your reading comfort zone? Again, not sure I have one although I prefer good literature and non-fiction.
13. Can you read on the bus? I can read in the car.
14. Favourite place to read: I love to read on the back porch.
15. What’s your policy on book lending? I will lend any book to anyone who asks! Any time, bring it back or keep it.
16. Do you dogear your books? Sometimes.
17. Do you write notes in the margins of your books? Yes, especially non-fiction. The book with the most notes: From Dawn to Decadence: Five hundred years of Western Cultural Life by Jacques Barzun. I loved this book and wrote all over it!
18. Do you break/crack the spine of your books? No
19. What is your favourite language to read? Since it the only language I read well, I think English.
20. What makes you love a book? Different reasons, depending on why I am reading it. I love fiction that takes me away to a different place or time. I like characters that I either love or hate. But I also love non-fiction, especially on the Holocaust years. I like to learn new things - I guess what they both have in common is an emotion that is evoked when reading my favorite books.
21. What will inspire you to recommend a book? If I love it, I hope you will too.
22. Favourite genre: literary fiction, but I will read just about anything.
23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did): Poetry
24. Favourite Biography: I Cannot Forgive by Rudolf Vrba
25. Have you ever read a self-help book? (And, was it actually helpful?) Probably, but I cannot remember. One Christmas, my sister gave everyone The Purpose Driven Life. Not sure I finished it.
26. Favourite Cookbook: Anything Paula Dean or Sandra Lee
27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction): I read large numbers of Holocaust books, especially survival narratives, and they are all inspirational.
28. Favourite reading snack: I don't usually eat when I am reading.
29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience: I don't know about hype, but I have been disappointed by a few of the Newbery winners.
30. How often do you agree with the critics about about a book? I like most books that I finish. But sometimes I do disagree with the critics - usually when I love a book and they just don't.
31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews? I just can't stand it. These books are like babies for the authors and I hate to say anything negative, but I will if I really don't like a book.
32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you choose? Italian
33. Most intimidating book I’ve read: Books don't really intimidate me. Some are just more difficult to read than others.
34. Most intimidating book I’m too nervous to begin: I can't think of anything - maybe War and Peace?
35. Favourite Poet: Pable Neruda
36. How many books do you usually have checked out from the library at any given time? Maybe ten from Interlibrary Loan.
37. How often do you return books to the library unread? Not very often. The only books I really get from the library are Interlibrary Loan books and since they have gone to so much trouble to get them for me, I try really hard to read them.
38. Favourite fictional character: Goodness, I suppose Lisbeth Salander
39. Favourite fictional villain: The man Lisbeth gave the tattoo!!
40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation: I'm not picky, whatever I am reading (or maybe nothing since vacations are usually packed with activities).
41. The longest I’ve gone without reading: To be honest, when my children were young (four kids with ten years between the oldest and youngest) I did not read for myself, but I read to them religiously.
42. Name a book you could/would not finish: The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. I absolutely hated it!
43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading? If I am really intent on reading, nothing will really distract me. Well, maybe the four chihuahuas who insist on fighting over my lap.
44. Favourite film adaptation of a novel: The English Patient
45. Most disappointing film adaptation: I really cannot think of anything other than the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Not because it was bad, but because I wanted every little detail in the film. I wonder how the US version will be??
46. Most money I’ve ever spent in a bookstore at one time: Probably a little over $100 because I had many birthday gift certificates.
47. How often do you skim a book before reading it? Never
48. What would cause you to stop reading a book halfway through? Usually it is because it is boring.
49. Do you like to keep your books organized? I would like to I suppose, but I cannot tell a lie - I just don't keep things organized.
50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once they’ve been read? I prefer to keep them, but will give them away if someone asks for them.
51. Are there any books that you’ve been avoiding? I want so badly to read Faulkner, but I just don't have time to concentrate. Maybe I should rearrange that vacation deal.
52. Name a book that made you angry: Black Like Me by John Griffin. When I was 16 (in 1969 - please do not add this up!), I got my tonsils out and my dad brought me this book to read. The author, a white journalist, colored himself black in 1959 and spent time in New Orleans to see if he was treated any differently as a black man. I am sure you can guess the result. I was furious.
53. A book I didn’t expect to like but did: Okay, I did not expect to like the Harry Potter books. I just read them last year. I really liked them alot.
54. A book I expected to like but didn’t: The Good Liar which is one of the first books dealing with the Holocaust that I really did not care for at all.
55. Favourite guilt-free guilty pleasure reading: I read children's books at my little Curriculum Materials Library. Every time I take a break, I take a book outside with me from our display table. This last month they have been about the oil spill or beach animals. I enjoy them immensely and always learn something.
Do you want to take the quiz? Go ahead and post the questionnaire on your blog! Or, feel free to add questions in the comments! This is all in good fun, but I’m always curious to hear about the quirks and habits of other readers! Answer one or all. Leave a note if you do so I can check out your answers.
3 comments:
Thanks for participating!
I've never read Black Like Me but my mother has told me about it several times, because of how insightful it was (though upsetting, I'm sure). I should add it to my list.
I really wish I could borrow a kindle to check it out. Only I think I would really want one then and that would be bad ;)
LL - you should definitely read this one - it is rather sad.
Zee - you are absolutely right, I work in the library, so I will be able to keep the Kindle for a while, but sooner or later a patron will want it, then I will cry!! I definitely love it, which has been a HUGE SURPRISE!
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