Bookish fun

I saw this over at Joyful Reader, who found it at Two weeks from everywhere, and it looked like a fun thing to do. I haven’t done this kind of thing in a while. All links are to my thoughts or reviews.

1. Favorite childhood book?  Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

2. What are you reading right now?  The Fruitful Wife by Hayley DiMarco (actually for the second time in a row. I finished it, but it was so full and I didn’t feel I had really grasped a fraction of it, so I am going back and outlining the chapters), Daniel Deronda by George Elliot, and Overcoming Overeating by Lisa Morrone.

3. What books do you have on request at the library?  None at the moment

4. Bad book habit?  Probably buying too many. 🙂

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?  Gulp! by Mary Roach

6. Do you have an e-reader?  I have a Kindle app on my HP tablet and iPhone. It took some getting used to, and I still prefer an actual paper book, but I have enjoyed some electronically. I especially enjoy finding free or very inexpressive e-books!

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time or several at once?  I usually have 2, sometimes 3 going at once.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?  My To Be Read list has grown quite a bit longer! And I probably read things I might not have otherwise because I saw them recommended.

9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far)?  Probably The Duet by Robert Elmer. It was not a bad book at all – I just couldn’t engage with the characters. I loved his Wildflowers of Terezin, though.

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?  The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield.

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?  Occasionally, usually if a book is highly recommended by someone whose judgement I trust or if the subject matter is really interesting to me.

12. What is your reading comfort zone?  Christian fiction, biographies, classics.

13. Can you read on the bus?  I haven’t had occasion to in many years, but the last time I tried it I could. I can read in the car as well, thankfully. I am not a good traveler and reading is the only thing that makes it endurable.

14. Favorite place to read? Curled up on the couch with a throw blanket and something to drink.

15. What is your policy on book lending?  I don’t mind lending books out generally, but you have to be prepared that something might happen to it or you might not get it back. For that reason I might not lend one that wasn’t easily replaceable or had sentimental value or that I had a lot of notes in that I wanted to keep.

16. Do you ever dog-ear books?  Rarely.

17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?  Sometimes.

18. Not even with text books?  Textbooks were my most marked-up books.

19. What is your favorite language to read in?  English – I can’t read any other language.

20. What makes you love a book?  That would take a while to answer…but I guess I’d say I have to really connect with it in some way. Sometimes it is the plot, sometimes one of the characters, sometimes beautiful writing, with the best  books connecting all of those.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book? Probably any of the elements mentioned above, or if it is non-fiction, if I found it helpful and truthful.

22. Favorite genre?  Christian fiction when it is good.

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did)?  I can’t think of any I wish I did read more of. There are some I don’t read and have no intention of ever reading.

24. Favorite Biography?  That’s a hard one – I have several favorites. But the top ones would be Amy Carmichael of Dohnavur by Frank Houghton, By Searching and In the Arena by Isobel Kuhn, and Climbing by Rosalind Goforth.

25. Have you ever ready a self help book?  Oh, sure.

26. Favorite cookbook?  My old faithful falling-apart Betty Crocker cookbook that I have used for 30+ years and the church cookbook put together at our last church.

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)? Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot.

28. Favorite reading snack?  I don’t usually snack while reading, because I don’t want to get food stains on my books, but I usually do have either a cup of decaf coffee or a decaf Diet Coke nearby.

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.  I know I have had that experience, but at the moment I can’t think of any particulars.

30. How often do you agree with critics on a book?  I don’t usually read the critics, but I do peruse Amazon.com reviews as well as that of several bloggers I follow.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?  I feel it is important to give an honest review, whether it is good or bad, both as a matter of character and because people have told me they have bought a book on my recommendation, so I feel a heavy responsibility in what I say about a book. I don’t usually read books that I am expecting to review negatively, but if I find something that troubles me, I feel compelled to mention it, and my readers can take that information and make their own decisions.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you choose?  I don’t know – I really have no desire to learn a foreign language, despite all the reasons I have heard for doing so. Probably Greek, as I’d love to read the New Testament in its original language.

33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read? The unabridged Les Miserables just because of its size, but I loved it.

34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?  War and Peace or Crime and Punishment. I have heard both are good and not as hard to read as one might think.

35. Favorite poet?  Hmmm…probably Robert Frost or Edgar Allen Poe.

36. How many books do you usually have check out of the library at any given time?  1

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

38. Favorite fictional character?  Oh wow. That is a hard one. Maybe Aslan. Or Jean ValJean in Les Miserables. Or Mr. Peggoty, the old fisherman in David Copperfield. Or…

39. Favorite fictional villain?  Javert in Les Miserables.

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?  Just whatever I am reading at the time, but probably Christian fiction or biographies rather than non-fiction or older classics with older language styles that require more concentration.

41. The longest I’ve gone without reading. I’ve not gone more than a few hours without having read something, but I’ve gone a day or so without dipping into whatever book I am currently in.

42. Name a book that you could/would not finish. The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber. I’ve seen bloggers mention this name for years and I finally decided to check out one of her books. I had to put this one aside due to quite explicit sexual content. I had no idea that would be in a story about ladies coming together over knitting! Very disappointing as I have seen a lot of bloggers favorably mention her books and they look so good.

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?  Other people talking or playing videos on their electronic devices.

44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel.  Anne of Green Gables and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

45. Most disappointing film adaptation? Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story.

46. The most money I’ve spent in the bookstore at one time?  Several hundred dollars – but that was not for myself. 🙂 That was when I was in charge of buying items for our church’s mission closet. For myself – I don’t really know. Maybe upwards of $75…or more….on occasion…

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?  I will usually skim the table of contents and occasionally look at a page or two ahead of time with non-fiction, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise of fiction.

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?  Bad language or illicit sexual scenes. Otherwise, if the writing is poor or the characters uninteresting, I keep hoping it will get better and usually persevere til the end.

49. Do you like to keep your books organized?  Yes, they are organized by genre and some genres are organized by author name or subject.

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them? I prefer to keep them, but one only has so much room, so I have to be discriminating about what I keep.

51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?  I don’t know if I’d use the word avoiding. I haven’t gotten into the Harry Potter books because I just have no interest in them and have stacks of books I do want to read. If my kids had been interested in them I probably would have read them.

52. Name a book that made you angry. There was a book we checked out from the library when my kids were younger that was like a New Age allegory complete with a personal note from the “spirit guide” in the back. Much of it was subversive, and I wanted to destroy it.

53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did? I can’t say I liked The Picture of Dorian Gray per se, but it was fascinating in some respects, and though it wasn’t meant as a book to draw lessons from, I did glean many pertinent observations.

54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t.  Introverts in the Church by Adam McHugh. I did glean many good things from it, but I expected to thoroughly love it, and instead I found many things that troubled me or that I could not endorse.

55. Favorite guilt free, pleasure reading?  I think about all of my reading could be described that way.

Wow….that was a long meme and took a lot longer to do that I thought it would. But if you decide to do it, too, let me know and I’ll come read your answers.

(Graphic courtesy of the stock.xchng)