A fun book meme

Two of my favorite bloggers, Terry Teachout and the Little Professor, posted this meme and I thought it’d be fun to play along…

1. Favorite childhood book?
 Good Night, Moon

2. What are you reading right now? Abarat: Absolute Midnight by Clive Barker.

3. What books do you have on request at the library?
 Because I get so many books from publishers, in addition to the 300+ books I’ve bought and haven’t read yet, I don’t use the library.  <gasp>

4. Bad book habit? Buying too many

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library? See #3.

6. Do you have an e-reader? 
Yes, a Kindle.  It’s got a collection of .pdfs and professional reading on it.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once? I usually have one book that I’m reading in pieces (short stories, essays, etc.) in between the other books I’m reading.  Don’t know that really counts as “several at once”, though.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
 No.  Still voracious.  Still omni-genre.

9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far)? There are eight “one-star” reviews over on GoodReads.  Take any of them as my “least favorite”.

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
Just one?  Can’t do it.  But among my favorite recent reads are The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson, When She Woke by Hillary Jordan and Where She Went by Gayle Foreman.

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone? Because I read to see what would be good for my school and my students (as well as other students, it’s pretty often.  That’s not a bad thing, though.

12. What is your reading comfort zone? It’s a wide one, and I’d rather not commit.

13. Can you read on the bus?
 God no.  Can’t read in a car, either.

14. Favorite place to read?
 In bed.

15. What is your policy on book lending?
 I no longer lend books to students, but I will lend books to friends. If they don’t return them or return them in bad shape, I stop lending to them.

16. Do you ever dog-ear books? No.  <faints at the thought>


17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books? See answer #16

18. Not even with text books?
 I used to, but I haven’t had an official text book in, well…

19. What is your favorite language to read in? English, American and Canadian.

20. What makes you love a book?
 Can it transport me to a new world (fictional or not)?  Am I annoyed when I get interrupted, even to go to the bathroom?  That’s a book I’ll love.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book? I do it for a living, so I guess the response is “when someone asks me to recommend a book”.


22. Favorite genre?
 I love mysteries.

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did)? There really isn’t one.

24. Favorite biography? Robertson Davies: Man of Myth by Judith Skelton Grant

25. Have you ever read a self-help book? Does Dare to Repair: A Do-It-Herself Guide to Fixing (Almost) Anything in the Home count?

26. Favorite cookbook?
 Anything by Susan Branch.

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
 Sorry.  None come to mind.

28. Favorite reading snack?
 Fresh fruit.

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
 Too many to mention (particularly when I’ve belatedly read an award-winning book).

30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
 Maybe 50% of the time, but I don’t let it bother me.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews? I think it’s necessary – people who only write good reviews make me wonder about their critical facilities, and a bad review doesn’t necessarily mean I won’t read it.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you choose?
 French. Well, ok, I can read in French now, but I don’t often get the opportunity.

33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read? What’s an intimidating book?

34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
 See above.

35. Favorite poet?
 Poetry usually eludes me, so let’s go with “no answer”.

36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time? See #3.

37. How often have you returned a book to the library unread? Never. Those I’ve borrowed I’ve read (or read enough of, as when I was in high school and college doing research).

38. Favorite fictional character?
 The one the springs to mind fastest is Puddleglum.

39. Favorite fictional villain? None I can think of.

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
 None – I usually buy while there.

41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.
 Maybe a day or two – I think.  Maybe.

42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
 I’m trying to be better about this; most recently, A.C. Montgomery’s The Rafters.

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
 If it’s a bad book, anything.  If it’s a good book, very little.

44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
 None really.  A good adaptation is something separate from the novel (IMVHO, of course).

45. Most disappointing film adaptation? See #44.

46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time? No idea, but most likely several hundreds.

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
 Skim? There is only read or not read.

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book halfway through?
 Poorly written and poorly plotted.  And I try to stop within the first 50 pages.

49. Do you like to keep your books organized? I am a librarian. What do you think?

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
 I’m trying to give away those I don’t like enough to read again or recommend strongly/loan to others.

51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding? There are 319 of them (“avoiding” isn’t quite accurate, it’s more like they’re not a priority)

52. Name a book that made you angry.
 Any one that is poorly written, poorly plotted (or poorly reasoned).  It’s a long list.

53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
 Not a book exactly, but Durrell’s The Alexandria Quartet. It started slow, but 30-40 pages in and I couldn’t read them fast enough.

54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t? A Confederacy of Dunces. It was recommended by the woman who recommended the books in #53.

55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading? Interpreting that to mean “books you enjoy reading but probably wouldn’t consider for your library’s collection” I’m going to go with “dark mysteries” (like O’Connell, Booth, Hill and Vine)