Friday, August 9, 2013

A Book Q&A: A Little More About Me

I would like to thank Words for Worms for giving me the idea for this particular post. People seem to enjoy these types of posts as filler for my actual book reviews so I figured, why not?


Book Q&A Rules:
1. Post these rules
2. Post a photo of your favourite book cover
3. Answer the questions below
4. Tag a few people to answer them too (Yeah.....I'm not going to do this one, but feel free to do the Q&A!)
5. Go to their blog/twitter and tell them you’ve tagged them
6. Make sure you tell the person who tagged you that you’ve taken part!


Your Favorite Book Cover: 
I am a straight up bibliophile. I love older books with worn, basic covers, that are filled with that musky smell. For an example, here's my copy of Canterbury Tales. I haven't read it yet, but the book looks like it has been read and loved by many others before me and I love that!



What are you reading right now?
I am currently reading two books right now.  Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (because I promised my mother I would) and Never Go Back by Lee Child, which is the newest Jack Reacher novel.


Do you have any idea what you’ll read when you’re done with that?
Yes, currently next on my list is John Adams by David McCullough.

What five books have you always wanted to read but haven’t got round to? 

Canterbury Tales by Chaucer
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
A Tramp Abroad by Mark Twain
Portrait Of A Killer: Jack The Ripper -- Case Closed by Patricia Cornwell
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen


What magazines do you have in your bathroom/ lounge right now?
Rolling Stone and Sports Illustrated

What’s the worst book you’ve ever read?
Easily The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway. I had to read it in school and every time I started reading it, I fell asleep.  It didn't matter where I was, I was asleep in no time.

What book seemed really popular but you didn’t like?
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  I know so many people who loved this book and I guess I just didn't get it.

What’s the one book you always recommend to just about everyone?
Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick and The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Both books swept me up and didn't let go, even after I finished reading them.

What are your three favourite poems?
The Walrus and the Carpenter by Lewis Carroll
There Once was a Puffin by Florence Page Jaques
 A Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes

The first two poems my dad used to read to me as a kid and he has an AMAZING reading voice for kids. The last one I read as a sophomore in college and then had to write a paper on Langston Hughes.  I have been a big fan ever since. 

Where do you usually get your books?
Either the library or Powell's Books in Portland, OR.  If you have never been there, GO!

When you were little, did you have any particular reading habits?

When I was little, my dad had build us a tree-house in our backyard. He basically placed a platform in the tree resting on and around several branches and never nailed into the tree at all. That's where I loved to read the most!

What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was too good to put down?
Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

Have you ever “faked” reading a book?
Oh yeah, especially in school. Thank you internet!

Have you ever bought a book just because you liked the cover?
Absolutely. Mostly I like old books and if they are beautiful old books, I will buy them.

What was your favourite book when you were a child?
I loved the Goosebump series by R.L. Stine.

What book changed your life?
Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick.  I know what you're thinking, "Stop mentioning that book!" but here's my explanation:  My husband is maniac depressive bi-polar. I have told a few people before but you get a lot of reactions like "Well, you need to watch out for yourself and get out if it gets bad"  or "Wasn't Ted Bundy bi-polar?".  I stopped tell people because I felt like no one understood or that everyone assumed that if he wasn't abusing me yet, he would someday.Or that he was serial killer.

Then I read this book, which was made into an Academy Award winning movie. Quick represented the mental disability in normal, good people.  They struggle with their moods, but they are good people. I wanted to find him and hug him and thank him.  And now I feel more confident saying, who cares if my husband is bipolar; look at how amazing he is!

What is your favourite passage from a book?
"I was raised among books, making invisible friends in pages that seemed cast in dust and who's smell I carry on my hands to this day." -The Shadow of the Wind (Can you see why I loved it so much?)

Who are your top five favourite authors?
John Grisham: I am typically not a fan of super popular authors, but man I love his books!
David McCullough
Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Matthew Quick
Mark Twain

What book has no one heard about but should read?
Playing the Enemy by John Carlin. Its a non-fiction about Nelson Mandela.  Loved it!

What books are you an ‘evangelist’ for?
Hmmmm..... I guess none.

What are your favourite books by a first time author?
Honestly, I am horrible at knowing what else writers have written and whether or not it's their first book.  So I can't help you on this one.

What is your favourite classic book?
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, without question!

Five other notable mentions?
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Animal Farm by George Orwell

There you go! Feel free to take the Q&A to your own blog!

2 comments:

  1. So...Great Expectations. That's been on my list for years too (I love Charles Dickens) but now some friends want to watch the miniseries in a few months for this movie club that I'm in. I really want to read the book before watching the miniseries. Do you want to read this one together? Knowing I'm accountable to someone might motivate me.

    (And Ted Bundy might have been bipolar but he was also psychotic! Not the same thing at all.)

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    Replies
    1. Deal! I really need to get that one checked off my list.

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