Book Habit Questionnaire

I've found a blog assignment I want to participate in. I found this questionnaire through Ruby Ringz' blog, who found it through someone else. The original source can be easily traced. Feel free to copy questions and answer on your own blog.

1. Favorite childhood book: Any book by Albert Payson Terhune like Lad a Dog, etc. I also loved Mary Poppins, Boxcar Children, and Five Little Peppers and How They Grew. Remember, this is childhood favorites, I don't think I'd love any of them now.

2. What are you reading right now? I just finished The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer last night, so will finish The Spanish Bow and The Name of the Wind, the other 2 books on my Reading Stand (listed in blog).

3. What books do you have on request at the library?

The Lost Cyclist by David Herlihy, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell, The Commoner by John Burnham Schwartz, A Little House of My Own by Les Walker, and Tiny Houses by Mimi Zeigler

4. Bad book habit: Buying books I already own and had forgotten I owned.

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library? The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer, The Spanish Bow by Andromeda Romano-Lax, The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom, The Passage by Justin Cronin.

6. Do you have an e-reader? No, but I want one. I'd like to simplify my life and create some more space in the house. It would be nice to sell my books and put them on an e-reader and then supplement with the library so I get a physical book fix.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once? I prefer one book at a time, but time limits from the library often have me reading several at once.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog? No, not really. I've been using the internet to find books for over a decade now. I think I read more and not less because of this.

9.Least favorite book you read this year: Let the Dead Lie by Malla Nunn

10. Favorite book I’ve read this year: I've read many good books this year, but my most recent favorite is the book I just read: The Invisible Bridge.

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone? I think I read a wide variety of books, fiction and nonfiction, but don't read certain types of books ever.

12. What is your reading comfort zone? Literary fiction, especially international fiction, police procedural fiction, some thrillers, autobiographies, some science fiction and fantasy, some classics, travelogues, literary journalism, especially medical student chronicles, medical specialty chronicles and public health topics.

13. Can you read on the bus? NO! No reading while traveling for me, not even on a plane.

14. Favorite place to read: IKEA chair in yarn room or bed. Any comfortable place with good light.

15. What’s your policy on book lending? I love to, if I can get the book back.

16. Do you dog-ear your books? Only if a bookmark is not nearby, and only the books I own, never library books.

17. Do you write notes in the margins of your books? No - I hate that!

18. Do you break/crack the spine of your books? No.

19. What is your favorite language to read? I can only read in English, unfortunately.

20. What makes you love a book? Characters, getting the time and place right, narration. I like books that are meant to be read slowly.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book? If I like it and know a person with similar reading tastes would like it.

22. Favourite genre: I guess mysteries - I don't really have a favorite genre.

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did): science fiction/fantasy; biographies

24. Favourite Biography: I've read more autobiographies but favorite biography would probably be No Ordinary Time:Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front

Favorite autobiographies: Angela Davis: An Autobiography, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and Shot In the Heart by Mikal Gilmore. I also loved The Long Loneliness: The Autobiography of Dorothy Day

25. Have you ever read a self-help book? (And, was it actually helpful?)

I don't usually like self-help books but made an exception for The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook by Edmund J. Bourne, Ph.D. It gave me some useful background information on the above subject as well as techniques to use when having a panic attack. I don't let panic and anxiety rule my life now, and this book pays a key role in that status.

26. Favourite Cookbook: Laurel's Kitchen

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction): I'll come back to this one

28. Favorite reading snack: I can't eat and read at the same time, so don't.

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience:

This happens all the time, but I can't recall a particular title. It's usually when a first-time novel is compared to a great classic novelist. I like reviews, don't like marketing blurbs.

30. How often do you agree with the critics about a book? About half the time.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews? I don't have a strong feeling about this - sometimes books are poorly written and don't deserve good reviews.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you choose? Spanish, Russian.

33. Most intimidating book I’ve read: Lie Down in Darkness by William Styron

34. Most intimidating book I’m too nervous to begin: Anything by Faulkner.

35. Favorite Poet:

I don't read many books of poetry, but have loved poems by Anna Akhmatova and the poem at the end of The Invisible Bridge called Any Case by Wislawa Szymborska. I think Shelley's Ozymandias is wonderful!

36. How many books do you usually have checked out from the library at any given time? 4 or 5 from each library.

37. How often do you return books to the library unread? About 50% of the time due to time limit of book and inability to renew a book.

38. Favorite fictional character: Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird

39. Favorite fictional villain: I'll have to come back to this.

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation: Anything in paperback.

41. The longest I’ve gone without reading:

The year following 9/11 was a difficult reading year - I couldn't concentrate at all.

42. Name a book you could/would not finish:

Something by Ann Rice - I don't even recall the title.

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?

Someone trying to have a conversation with me, television, puppy needing some direction.

44. Favourite film adaptation of a novel: To Kill a Mockingbird

45. Most disappointing film adaptation: Charlotte Gray

46. Most money I’ve ever spent in a bookstore at one time:

I don't remember and probably don't want to remember! I'm sure it was over 100 US dollars.

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it? Not often.

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book halfway through?

Repetition of ideas and character behavior, too much violence, death of children or animals.

49. Do you like to keep your books organized? Yes, I love to organize by country and subject.

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once they’ve been read? I keep them.

51. Are there any books that you’ve been avoiding?

The Twilight Series, Left Behind series

52. Name a book that made you angry:

Anything by Ann Coulter or Glenn Beck - just the titles make my head explode - I haven't actually read anything by either author and never will.

53. A book I didn’t expect to like but did: The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

54. A book I expected to like but didn’t: South of Broad by Pat Conroy

55. Favorite guilt-free guilty pleasure reading: Southern fiction

Added question:

56. Do you keep a record of books you have read?

Yes, I keep a book journal where I number the books, write the title, author, dates read and a small summary or impression. I have filled 3 journals since I started this process 15 years ago. I also keep a record of books read on my blog and have Good Reads, Library Thing and Shelfari accounts, too. I find the journal helpful in recalling books I've read through the years. Now if I could find the journals!