001) What book are you currently reading? I have a tendency to have several books going at the same time. Right now, I’m down to 2 (I just finished two others over the last two days) plus one audio book. I’m reading Batman: Year One, the reboot of Batman in Graphic Novel form and Beyond Reach by Karen Slaughter. The audio book is one our whole family is listening to, The 39 Clues: One False Note by Gordon Korman.
002) How many books, on average, do you read a year? If I had to guess, I’d probably say close to a hundred, maybe more. I’m actually keeping track this year through book reviews in my blog and I’m up to somewhere around 60 since October (I’m a bit behind on that too. :))
003) Do you belong to any book clubs? No, but I’d like to. The problem is that my husband teaches and tutors in the evenings and I neither of my kids are in school right now, so that shoots out daytime meetings as well.
004) What genres do you read (EX: fantasy, romance, biography)? If it’s well written, I’ll read any genre. And I actually go through phases where I’ll be in the mood for a specific genre for awhile and then switch to something else. Right now, I’m in the paranormal romance/mystery/graphic novel cycle. But if you were to look at my bookshelves or my reading log at the library, you’d find a lot of fantasy as well.
005) Do you order books online? Sometimes, if it’s something that I know I’ve been looking for. More often, I get books out of the library or browse at my favorite UBS or the library’s monthly book sale.
006) Do you own an e-reader? Which brand? Nope. I haven’t had much desire to. I like the feel of a book in my hand.
007) Do you prefer your books to have happy or sad endings? I actually enjoy both. Any book that makes me feel some kind of strong emotion is one that I want to read over and over again.
008) Do you read mostly at night or day? Lately, it’s been at night before bed. It’s hard to focus on things when my 2 year old and my 5 year old are fighting. But over the last couple of days, I’ve been sick in bed, so I’ve gotten a lot of reading time.
009) Do you ever trade books? If so, at a store or online? I do sometimes, usually at my favorite UBS (Used Book Store... forgot that above). They give a decent amount of money and/or store credit.
010) Do you like classics? Have a favorite? Classics is a tough definition. I think of SE Hinton’s The Outsiders as a classic, but I’m not sure if others do. However, I do like Shakespeare’s comedies.
011) Name your 5 favorite authors. Kelley Armstrong, Kay Hooper, Karen Marie Moning, Keri Arthur, Neil Gaiman and Peter David. Yes, it’s 6. But I honestly couldn’t narrow it down more than that.
012) Do you own a current library card? Do I ever! It’s currently maxed out at 25 books. Granted, several are audio books from the 39 Clues series, and some are my kids’ because they forgot theirs in the car... but most of them are still mine. :)
013) Ever had to pay a library fine? Sadly, yes. Sometimes I’ll be a bit late getting things back, and my kids have managed to lose 2 different CDs they’d taken out. Still not sure how that happened. But we had to pay for those.
014) Do you frequent used bookstores? Yes, yes, yes! As I mentioned above, I often get books from either my library’s monthly book sale (and you never know what you’re going to find from month to month) and a local used media store by the name of McKay's. They’re about warehouse sized and over half of their store is dedicated to books.
015) Have an Amazon "Wishlist"? Actually, about 6. :) One is for books that I want, another for DVDs, another for music, another for ones that don’t fit in any of those categories, another for things my husband and I jointly want and the final one for things for my boys.
016) Do you keep your books in shelves? Yep. And in boxes under the bed and in piles that haven’t made it back to the shelves. I have books EVERYWHERE.
017) Have any books on your coffee tables? Not at the moment. It’s too dangerous of a place with a two year old around.
018) Ever wrote an author or publishing company? Not really. Though I have mentioned things to authors on their Facebook or Twitter feed.
019) Do you subscribe to any magazines? Which ones? Parents and GameInformer. I’m a big reader of both.
020) What are your favorite magazines? Probably GameInformer. I’m also a big computer gamer and I like to know what’s happening in the world of gaming.
021) Do you read the morning paper? What section do you read first? Nope. I used to get the paper but I found that, rather than reading it, it was piling up in my apartment. I didn’t need to waste the money.
022) Name your most favorite childhood books. Books from my childhood? Umm... We Can Jump by Barbara Williams (this one is so far out of print, I had a hard time finding the author) and the Little House on the Prairie series. Of the ones that I read to my boys, Where’s My Cow? by Terry Pratchett, Raindrop Plop by Wendy Cheyette Lewison and anything by Sandra Boyton.
023) What 5 books would you take to a deserted island? Tough one. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, because it’s a long read. Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong because it was the first of her books I’d read. Absolute Sandman by Neil Gaiman, because I’d have a long run of excellent graphic novels to read. And I think the other two would be new books that I’d had someone recommend to me. That way, I’d have a chance to read both old and new.
024) Ever play the card game, Authors? No. I need to look it up, though.
025) Do you know what manga is? Do you read any manga? I know what it is, but I’ve never gotten too much into it.
026) Name your favorite mangas. N/A
027) Do you read poetry? Yep. And write some occasionally.
028) Name your favorite poets. Robert Frost, ee cummings and Laura Redden-Searing.
029) Do you read biographies? Yep. I love to find out the person behind the profile.
030) Do you prefer autobiographies to biographies (or no preference)? No preference, really. I’ve read some great autobiographies (Sean Astin’s There and Back was very enjoyable to me) and some great biographies (nothing coming to mind at the moment) so I read both.
031) Do you prefer to see the movie or read the book first? Generally read the book, though it has a tendency to ruin the movie for me. Reading Starship Troopers before watching the movie had me fuming by the end of it. I regularly say it should have been called Bug Mutants from Outer Space because it sure wasn’t Starship Troopers. And I hate the way they butchered Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. Grrrrr.... But occasionally, I’ll see the movie then realize that it was based on a book and go looking for it.
032) Shakespeare: Do you prefers his sonnets, histories, comedies, tragedies or pastorals? Comedies. Twelfth Night is one of my all time favorites.
032) Do you read in language other than English? No. I can read a very little spanish, but not enough to read mroe than a children’s book.
033) Have you ever stolen a book? From the store, library or other? Never intentionally. There’ve been times when the book didn’t catch on the check out machine and I didn’t realize it. And there are times when I’ve borrowed a book from a friend and lost touch with them before getting it back to them.
034) Do you remove the dust jackets when reading a book? Not generally. They make good bookmarks, depending on the size of the book.
035) Do you read fan zines? Nope. Don’t even know what ones might be out there.
036) Have you ever written a book? Are you writing one now? No. I’ve tried and failed. I learned that my forte is more in short stories or poetry than novels.
037) Is the "smell" of the book important to you? To a certain extent. If it’s been in a house with smoke or is moldy, I can’t have it around. I’m asthmatic and it makes it hard for me to read a book when I’m concentrating on breathing.
038) Do you ever write? What genre? I used to write quite a bit of poetry. Right now, most of my writing is in the form of online role-playing game posts. I’m part of two games that keep me pretty busy and help keep my writing form up.
039) Do you buy books for gifts? If I know that the person I’m giving them to will appreciate them, definitely. And for baby showers, I almost always buy books.
040) Do you loan out books to others? Had a bad loaning experience? I do, though really only to my best friend, Becca. We even go so far as to loan each other library books, trusting that they’ll be returned in time (and there haven’t been any problems yet). I got burned on two loans - once when I let a good friend my first two hardcover Harry Potter’s and the second when I loaned a friend my first Wild Cards novel. But I don’t really hold it against them much. In both cases, we drifted apart.
041) Do you take books with you when you're out and about? If I’m without my kids, yes. I will usually bring a book to read when I’m waiting for an appointment. And when I walk, I usually have an audio book keyed up on my MP3 player. The only exception is when I go to Starbucks. Then I bring my netbook so I can get some online work done.
042) Have you eBayed any books? A long time ago, I think. I bought one that I couldn’t find anywhere else. But generally, I prefer Abe or Half.com for used books.
043) Name your favorite literary characters. Morpheus from Sandman, Paige Winterborne from Women of the Otherworld, Hercule Poirot by Agatha Christie, Riley Jensen from Keri Arthur’s Riley Jensen series... I’m sure there are more, but those were the first that came to mind.
044) Do you buy bookmarks? How many do you estimate you own? Generally, I don’t buy them. I come from the “use what’s around” school of bookmarking - the hold slips from library books, cards that I got for birthdays or mothers day, receipts. I do have a few bookmarks - maybe 10? But most of the time they’re already in use of something I’m reading.
045) Do you use bookmarks or other items to keep your place when reading? As I mentioned above, I usually use other items. Because I read anywhere, I use whatever’s handy.
046) Do you own any pop-up books? Which ones? No, because my youngest son is too hard on books. Pop-ups often get the pop-up portion torn off when I’m not looking.
047) Have you ever tried making a book yourself (book binding)? No. Honestly, I don’t know if I’d have the patience for it.
048) Belong to any online groups like LibraryThing or Title Trader? I’m on GoodReads as adpaz, but that’s it. (I think.)
049) Do you keep a list of books you own? I’ve tried, but I usually have books in so many different places that I can’t get them all.
050) Ever accidentally bough the same book twice? *laugh* On many an occasion. Particularly books by Mary Higgins Clark because I can never remember which ones I own and which I don’t.
051) Do you own any book totes? Do you use them? I’ve got one that we got for our summer reading at our local library. Sometimes I use it, but more often I use grocery totes.
052) Favorite Book chain Store? Barnes and Noble. I like having everything there that I could want, plus having a discount card. And they have a fantastic kids’ section that we like to go to when we’re there, partly because the one that was near us (but was lost in the Flood here in Nashville last May) had a train table that my boys loved.
053) Name 10 authors you feel every child should read. Laura Ingalls Wilder, Sandra Boynton, Anne Frank, Shel Silverstein, EB White, Lloyd Alexander, CS Lewis, George Selden, Robert O’Brien, Roald Dahl... there are more, but these are probably my top 10.
054) Ever had a book autographed by the author? Yep. One was purchased for me by a friend (it was by Diane Carey). The other, I actually got signed by Peter David at Philcon in 2003. Seeing as he’s one of my favorite authors, it was a real thrill for me.
055) Ever go to a poetry reading? Who? Nope. Mainly because I haven’t looked for any/hadn’t heard of any.
056) Do you like to read mysteries? Do you figure them out before the end? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I’ll sometimes just get an insight and other times, the way the story is written gives it away.
057) Have a favorite mystery author? I’m not sure if I have one favorite. I love Agatha Christie, but I also really enjoy Kay Hooper and Karin Slaughter.
058) Do you own any miniature books? Just one - a tarot guide.
059) What type books make up the majority of your library? Probably fantasy. Both my husband and I are huge fantasy fans. But there are also a lot of children’s books, several humor books (my husband’s) and quite a few mysteries.
060) Quote a favorite line from any book. “As I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had two things on my mind - Paul Newman and a ride home.” - The opening line from The Outsiders by SE Hinton.
061) What genre(s) do you dislike reading. I’m not as big of a fan of westerns. I’ve read a couple I liked (Lonesome Dove, for example), but generally they don’t hold my interest. I also don’t care too much for horror because I have an overactive imagination and horror makes it harder for me to get to sleep.
062) Did you ever pay over a $100.00 for a single book? No, and I honestly don’t think I ever would either. I’d worry about reading and ruining such an investment, and I’m a big believer in books being made to read, not look at.
063) Name your 5 favorite books in your collection. Another tough one. I can’t pick one book out of some of the series, so they’ll be named as one. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Tiger Burning Bright by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Mercedes Lackey and Andre Norton, the Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong, the Wild Cards series by George RR Martin and the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling.
064) Do you read non-fiction? Yep. Not as often as I read fiction, but I do like to pick up a good non-fiction book on a topic that interests me. (The Book Lust books by Nancy Pearl are BRILLIANT!)
065) Do you take books with you on vacation? Definitely. Audio books for the drive (usually something kid-friendly) and paper books for me to read at the end of the day.
066) Do you put bookplates inside your books? No. I’ve never really thought about it.
067) Do you prefer gift books from others to be inscribed or not? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. If it’s a particularly thoughtful gift - like the Collected Sherlock Holmes that I got from my best friend in High School, I like having the inscription to look back on and remember.
068) Do you own any bookstore discount membership cards? Not anymore. I let my Barnes and Noble one lapse when the nearby store closed.
069) Do you like to read aloud? Do you? Yeah. I read to my boys at nap time and at bed time. I love to put myself into the stories.
070) Do you look up words in the book you don't know the meaning of? If I can’t figure it out by context clues, I do.
071) What books do you feel influenced your life? The Mists of Avalon. It was one of the first books that I read with a feminist bent and it shaped my pride in being a woman. I know there should be more, but I can’t think of them.
072) What book(s) have you re-read the most? The Tyler series - a Harlequin series that came out about 10 years ago. It’s a mystery/romance series that I actually spent time hunting down the remaining books for. The Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong. The Dragonlance novels by Margaret Weiss and Tracey Hickman.
073) Do you list which books you've read anywhere (like a journal)? On my blog, Sanity's Overrated. I do reviews of them. I also keep a list on GoodReads, though to be honest, I’m behind on both of them (though I need to catch up because I’m part of the Book Log for 1st Quarter, 2011 swap and I use those as my reviews for the books that I read.)
074) Do you think any books should be banned? Which ones? No, I don’t. Even books that are no longer relevant or speak hateful things can teach us something by example - the example of how NOT to be. And books from our history, like Huck Finn are products of our time. As much as we may be ashamed of those times, they are a part of us and we can’t pretend they didn’t happen.
075) Do you think anyone should rewrite another author's original work? Not generally, no. If the author hadn’t finished it before death and they’d been in collaboration, then I can see a case for it. Otherwise, no.
076) Do you enjoy reading plays? Do you like to see plays on stage? I love to read them and I love to see them. I was a theater minor in college.
077) Have you ever performed "Reader's Theater?" No, it’s not something I’m familiar with.
076) Ever burned a book? Was it because of content or other? Never, ever, EVER. And I can’t see me doing so intentionally in the future.
077) Do you prefer paperback or hardback? Usually paperback. They’re easier to carry around to read and I can snuggle with them in bed easier than I can a hardcover. But there are some books (like the Harry Potter series) that I started in hard cover and continue to get in hard cover so the series matches.
078) Do you have a library room in your house or apartment? I wish! I’m hoping that when I get a house of my own, we’ll have a room or nook or something we’ll be able to turn into a library, but for now, I’m in a two bedroom apartment without a lot of extra space.
079) Do you buy mostly new, bargain, or used books? Mostly used. It’s better for my budget, which means I can buy more books overall.
080) Do you read your library books at the library or at home? At home. In the library, I’m usually chasing around my 2 year old, trying to stop him from getting on every computer in sight.
081) Have you ever defaced a book? What was the circumstance? Only once, and that was because it was a book I used for a class. I loved the book, but it made it easier for me to find things I needed for my reports if I highlighted passages and made notes in the margin. The thought kills me now, though.
082) Do you read folklore/myths? Yep. I love to hear how folklore and myth differ not only from area to area but by author.
083) Favorite mythological figure? Morpheus, God of Dreams. Granted, much of my view of Morpheus comes from the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman.
084) Read any books where an animal(s) is/are the main character? Aside from the children’s books that I read to my boys, there’s a Harlequin series called Fear Familiar. Familiar is a cat detective, incredibly smart and a bit of a matchmaker and wiseguy. They’re part of Harlequin’s Intrigue imprint and they’re so fun to read.
085) Name a favorite animal featured title. Familiar Christmas.
086) Do you believe the adage: "If it's in print, it must be true!" ? Of course not! I’m a big reader of fiction and I can see how easy it would be to nudge things from fact to speculation to outright fiction. It can be like a big game of telephone, sometimes.
087) Do you sometimes stop reading a book? What's the reason usually? Usually it’s because I’ve run out of time to finish reading it and it’s due back at the library with no renewals available. Very rarely, I won’t finish a book because I just couldn’t get into it.
088) If you could own any one rare book in the world which book would it be? I’m not sure, honestly. I don’t even know which ones would be considered rare.
089) As a child were you ever caught reading after bedtime? All the time. My parents regularly came in to tell me (for about the fifth time) to turn out the light and go to bed.
090) Do you own a book light? No. I’ve tried them but haven’t been able to find one that I like. Instead, I have a touch lamp on the headboard of my bed that I put on low when my husband goes to sleep.
091) Estimate how many books you own. 500? At a guess? I’m honestly not sure because we sold a lot before Christmas so we had money for presents.
092) Have you ever borrowed a book from a bookmobile? Nope. Not sure where there are any around here, and I’ve never been in a hospital long enough (or without one of my own books).
093) What book have you recommended the most? A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. This was the one I defaced in college, but it’s one of the best books ever.
094) Is it important to you that your friends are well-read? Yeah. I don’t intentionally refuse friendship with someone who isn’t, but I tend to gravitate toward people who are like me.
095) Do you have a person that you enjoy discussing your reads with? Who? My husband and my best friend, Becca. With Rich, it’s usually trying to get him to read a book I think he’ll enjoy when I’m finished. With Becca, it’s usually comparing notes.
096) What book are you most looking forward to reading next? Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning. It’s the 5th (and last) book in her Fever series and it’s waiting for me at the library. I’m anxious to find out how everything wraps up.
097) Do you read horror/thrillers? Favorite horror/thriller authors? Not generally. As I remarked above, I have too active of an imagination to be comfortable reading them.
098) Have you ever made a dish from a cookbook? Yep. Usually baking dishes. My husband does the cooking and he’s made several from a cookbook as well.
099) Do you ever buy any other "how to" books? Were they helpful? Not really. Especially being in such a digital age, I usually find how to’s online.
100) What question about books should I have asked you? I can’t really think of any. Maybe “is reading a family affair?” I’d have to say most definitely yes. My 5 year old is already reading at a 3rd grade level and my 2 year old never wants to miss story time. My husband reads as much as I do. Or, “when did you start reading?” At about 4. My mom told my kindergarten teacher but back then, early readers weren’t a common thing in my school. She didn’t believe that I could actually read until I was reading over her shoulder one nap time. From that point on, I went to the 2nd grade teacher for reading instruction.
002) How many books, on average, do you read a year? If I had to guess, I’d probably say close to a hundred, maybe more. I’m actually keeping track this year through book reviews in my blog and I’m up to somewhere around 60 since October (I’m a bit behind on that too. :))
003) Do you belong to any book clubs? No, but I’d like to. The problem is that my husband teaches and tutors in the evenings and I neither of my kids are in school right now, so that shoots out daytime meetings as well.
004) What genres do you read (EX: fantasy, romance, biography)? If it’s well written, I’ll read any genre. And I actually go through phases where I’ll be in the mood for a specific genre for awhile and then switch to something else. Right now, I’m in the paranormal romance/mystery/graphic novel cycle. But if you were to look at my bookshelves or my reading log at the library, you’d find a lot of fantasy as well.
005) Do you order books online? Sometimes, if it’s something that I know I’ve been looking for. More often, I get books out of the library or browse at my favorite UBS or the library’s monthly book sale.
006) Do you own an e-reader? Which brand? Nope. I haven’t had much desire to. I like the feel of a book in my hand.
007) Do you prefer your books to have happy or sad endings? I actually enjoy both. Any book that makes me feel some kind of strong emotion is one that I want to read over and over again.
008) Do you read mostly at night or day? Lately, it’s been at night before bed. It’s hard to focus on things when my 2 year old and my 5 year old are fighting. But over the last couple of days, I’ve been sick in bed, so I’ve gotten a lot of reading time.
009) Do you ever trade books? If so, at a store or online? I do sometimes, usually at my favorite UBS (Used Book Store... forgot that above). They give a decent amount of money and/or store credit.
010) Do you like classics? Have a favorite? Classics is a tough definition. I think of SE Hinton’s The Outsiders as a classic, but I’m not sure if others do. However, I do like Shakespeare’s comedies.
011) Name your 5 favorite authors. Kelley Armstrong, Kay Hooper, Karen Marie Moning, Keri Arthur, Neil Gaiman and Peter David. Yes, it’s 6. But I honestly couldn’t narrow it down more than that.
012) Do you own a current library card? Do I ever! It’s currently maxed out at 25 books. Granted, several are audio books from the 39 Clues series, and some are my kids’ because they forgot theirs in the car... but most of them are still mine. :)
013) Ever had to pay a library fine? Sadly, yes. Sometimes I’ll be a bit late getting things back, and my kids have managed to lose 2 different CDs they’d taken out. Still not sure how that happened. But we had to pay for those.
014) Do you frequent used bookstores? Yes, yes, yes! As I mentioned above, I often get books from either my library’s monthly book sale (and you never know what you’re going to find from month to month) and a local used media store by the name of McKay's. They’re about warehouse sized and over half of their store is dedicated to books.
015) Have an Amazon "Wishlist"? Actually, about 6. :) One is for books that I want, another for DVDs, another for music, another for ones that don’t fit in any of those categories, another for things my husband and I jointly want and the final one for things for my boys.
016) Do you keep your books in shelves? Yep. And in boxes under the bed and in piles that haven’t made it back to the shelves. I have books EVERYWHERE.
017) Have any books on your coffee tables? Not at the moment. It’s too dangerous of a place with a two year old around.
018) Ever wrote an author or publishing company? Not really. Though I have mentioned things to authors on their Facebook or Twitter feed.
019) Do you subscribe to any magazines? Which ones? Parents and GameInformer. I’m a big reader of both.
020) What are your favorite magazines? Probably GameInformer. I’m also a big computer gamer and I like to know what’s happening in the world of gaming.
021) Do you read the morning paper? What section do you read first? Nope. I used to get the paper but I found that, rather than reading it, it was piling up in my apartment. I didn’t need to waste the money.
022) Name your most favorite childhood books. Books from my childhood? Umm... We Can Jump by Barbara Williams (this one is so far out of print, I had a hard time finding the author) and the Little House on the Prairie series. Of the ones that I read to my boys, Where’s My Cow? by Terry Pratchett, Raindrop Plop by Wendy Cheyette Lewison and anything by Sandra Boyton.
023) What 5 books would you take to a deserted island? Tough one. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, because it’s a long read. Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong because it was the first of her books I’d read. Absolute Sandman by Neil Gaiman, because I’d have a long run of excellent graphic novels to read. And I think the other two would be new books that I’d had someone recommend to me. That way, I’d have a chance to read both old and new.
024) Ever play the card game, Authors? No. I need to look it up, though.
025) Do you know what manga is? Do you read any manga? I know what it is, but I’ve never gotten too much into it.
026) Name your favorite mangas. N/A
027) Do you read poetry? Yep. And write some occasionally.
028) Name your favorite poets. Robert Frost, ee cummings and Laura Redden-Searing.
029) Do you read biographies? Yep. I love to find out the person behind the profile.
030) Do you prefer autobiographies to biographies (or no preference)? No preference, really. I’ve read some great autobiographies (Sean Astin’s There and Back was very enjoyable to me) and some great biographies (nothing coming to mind at the moment) so I read both.
031) Do you prefer to see the movie or read the book first? Generally read the book, though it has a tendency to ruin the movie for me. Reading Starship Troopers before watching the movie had me fuming by the end of it. I regularly say it should have been called Bug Mutants from Outer Space because it sure wasn’t Starship Troopers. And I hate the way they butchered Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. Grrrrr.... But occasionally, I’ll see the movie then realize that it was based on a book and go looking for it.
032) Shakespeare: Do you prefers his sonnets, histories, comedies, tragedies or pastorals? Comedies. Twelfth Night is one of my all time favorites.
032) Do you read in language other than English? No. I can read a very little spanish, but not enough to read mroe than a children’s book.
033) Have you ever stolen a book? From the store, library or other? Never intentionally. There’ve been times when the book didn’t catch on the check out machine and I didn’t realize it. And there are times when I’ve borrowed a book from a friend and lost touch with them before getting it back to them.
034) Do you remove the dust jackets when reading a book? Not generally. They make good bookmarks, depending on the size of the book.
035) Do you read fan zines? Nope. Don’t even know what ones might be out there.
036) Have you ever written a book? Are you writing one now? No. I’ve tried and failed. I learned that my forte is more in short stories or poetry than novels.
037) Is the "smell" of the book important to you? To a certain extent. If it’s been in a house with smoke or is moldy, I can’t have it around. I’m asthmatic and it makes it hard for me to read a book when I’m concentrating on breathing.
038) Do you ever write? What genre? I used to write quite a bit of poetry. Right now, most of my writing is in the form of online role-playing game posts. I’m part of two games that keep me pretty busy and help keep my writing form up.
039) Do you buy books for gifts? If I know that the person I’m giving them to will appreciate them, definitely. And for baby showers, I almost always buy books.
040) Do you loan out books to others? Had a bad loaning experience? I do, though really only to my best friend, Becca. We even go so far as to loan each other library books, trusting that they’ll be returned in time (and there haven’t been any problems yet). I got burned on two loans - once when I let a good friend my first two hardcover Harry Potter’s and the second when I loaned a friend my first Wild Cards novel. But I don’t really hold it against them much. In both cases, we drifted apart.
041) Do you take books with you when you're out and about? If I’m without my kids, yes. I will usually bring a book to read when I’m waiting for an appointment. And when I walk, I usually have an audio book keyed up on my MP3 player. The only exception is when I go to Starbucks. Then I bring my netbook so I can get some online work done.
042) Have you eBayed any books? A long time ago, I think. I bought one that I couldn’t find anywhere else. But generally, I prefer Abe or Half.com for used books.
043) Name your favorite literary characters. Morpheus from Sandman, Paige Winterborne from Women of the Otherworld, Hercule Poirot by Agatha Christie, Riley Jensen from Keri Arthur’s Riley Jensen series... I’m sure there are more, but those were the first that came to mind.
044) Do you buy bookmarks? How many do you estimate you own? Generally, I don’t buy them. I come from the “use what’s around” school of bookmarking - the hold slips from library books, cards that I got for birthdays or mothers day, receipts. I do have a few bookmarks - maybe 10? But most of the time they’re already in use of something I’m reading.
045) Do you use bookmarks or other items to keep your place when reading? As I mentioned above, I usually use other items. Because I read anywhere, I use whatever’s handy.
046) Do you own any pop-up books? Which ones? No, because my youngest son is too hard on books. Pop-ups often get the pop-up portion torn off when I’m not looking.
047) Have you ever tried making a book yourself (book binding)? No. Honestly, I don’t know if I’d have the patience for it.
048) Belong to any online groups like LibraryThing or Title Trader? I’m on GoodReads as adpaz, but that’s it. (I think.)
049) Do you keep a list of books you own? I’ve tried, but I usually have books in so many different places that I can’t get them all.
050) Ever accidentally bough the same book twice? *laugh* On many an occasion. Particularly books by Mary Higgins Clark because I can never remember which ones I own and which I don’t.
051) Do you own any book totes? Do you use them? I’ve got one that we got for our summer reading at our local library. Sometimes I use it, but more often I use grocery totes.
052) Favorite Book chain Store? Barnes and Noble. I like having everything there that I could want, plus having a discount card. And they have a fantastic kids’ section that we like to go to when we’re there, partly because the one that was near us (but was lost in the Flood here in Nashville last May) had a train table that my boys loved.
053) Name 10 authors you feel every child should read. Laura Ingalls Wilder, Sandra Boynton, Anne Frank, Shel Silverstein, EB White, Lloyd Alexander, CS Lewis, George Selden, Robert O’Brien, Roald Dahl... there are more, but these are probably my top 10.
054) Ever had a book autographed by the author? Yep. One was purchased for me by a friend (it was by Diane Carey). The other, I actually got signed by Peter David at Philcon in 2003. Seeing as he’s one of my favorite authors, it was a real thrill for me.
055) Ever go to a poetry reading? Who? Nope. Mainly because I haven’t looked for any/hadn’t heard of any.
056) Do you like to read mysteries? Do you figure them out before the end? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I’ll sometimes just get an insight and other times, the way the story is written gives it away.
057) Have a favorite mystery author? I’m not sure if I have one favorite. I love Agatha Christie, but I also really enjoy Kay Hooper and Karin Slaughter.
058) Do you own any miniature books? Just one - a tarot guide.
059) What type books make up the majority of your library? Probably fantasy. Both my husband and I are huge fantasy fans. But there are also a lot of children’s books, several humor books (my husband’s) and quite a few mysteries.
060) Quote a favorite line from any book. “As I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had two things on my mind - Paul Newman and a ride home.” - The opening line from The Outsiders by SE Hinton.
061) What genre(s) do you dislike reading. I’m not as big of a fan of westerns. I’ve read a couple I liked (Lonesome Dove, for example), but generally they don’t hold my interest. I also don’t care too much for horror because I have an overactive imagination and horror makes it harder for me to get to sleep.
062) Did you ever pay over a $100.00 for a single book? No, and I honestly don’t think I ever would either. I’d worry about reading and ruining such an investment, and I’m a big believer in books being made to read, not look at.
063) Name your 5 favorite books in your collection. Another tough one. I can’t pick one book out of some of the series, so they’ll be named as one. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Tiger Burning Bright by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Mercedes Lackey and Andre Norton, the Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong, the Wild Cards series by George RR Martin and the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling.
064) Do you read non-fiction? Yep. Not as often as I read fiction, but I do like to pick up a good non-fiction book on a topic that interests me. (The Book Lust books by Nancy Pearl are BRILLIANT!)
065) Do you take books with you on vacation? Definitely. Audio books for the drive (usually something kid-friendly) and paper books for me to read at the end of the day.
066) Do you put bookplates inside your books? No. I’ve never really thought about it.
067) Do you prefer gift books from others to be inscribed or not? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. If it’s a particularly thoughtful gift - like the Collected Sherlock Holmes that I got from my best friend in High School, I like having the inscription to look back on and remember.
068) Do you own any bookstore discount membership cards? Not anymore. I let my Barnes and Noble one lapse when the nearby store closed.
069) Do you like to read aloud? Do you? Yeah. I read to my boys at nap time and at bed time. I love to put myself into the stories.
070) Do you look up words in the book you don't know the meaning of? If I can’t figure it out by context clues, I do.
071) What books do you feel influenced your life? The Mists of Avalon. It was one of the first books that I read with a feminist bent and it shaped my pride in being a woman. I know there should be more, but I can’t think of them.
072) What book(s) have you re-read the most? The Tyler series - a Harlequin series that came out about 10 years ago. It’s a mystery/romance series that I actually spent time hunting down the remaining books for. The Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong. The Dragonlance novels by Margaret Weiss and Tracey Hickman.
073) Do you list which books you've read anywhere (like a journal)? On my blog, Sanity's Overrated. I do reviews of them. I also keep a list on GoodReads, though to be honest, I’m behind on both of them (though I need to catch up because I’m part of the Book Log for 1st Quarter, 2011 swap and I use those as my reviews for the books that I read.)
074) Do you think any books should be banned? Which ones? No, I don’t. Even books that are no longer relevant or speak hateful things can teach us something by example - the example of how NOT to be. And books from our history, like Huck Finn are products of our time. As much as we may be ashamed of those times, they are a part of us and we can’t pretend they didn’t happen.
075) Do you think anyone should rewrite another author's original work? Not generally, no. If the author hadn’t finished it before death and they’d been in collaboration, then I can see a case for it. Otherwise, no.
076) Do you enjoy reading plays? Do you like to see plays on stage? I love to read them and I love to see them. I was a theater minor in college.
077) Have you ever performed "Reader's Theater?" No, it’s not something I’m familiar with.
076) Ever burned a book? Was it because of content or other? Never, ever, EVER. And I can’t see me doing so intentionally in the future.
077) Do you prefer paperback or hardback? Usually paperback. They’re easier to carry around to read and I can snuggle with them in bed easier than I can a hardcover. But there are some books (like the Harry Potter series) that I started in hard cover and continue to get in hard cover so the series matches.
078) Do you have a library room in your house or apartment? I wish! I’m hoping that when I get a house of my own, we’ll have a room or nook or something we’ll be able to turn into a library, but for now, I’m in a two bedroom apartment without a lot of extra space.
079) Do you buy mostly new, bargain, or used books? Mostly used. It’s better for my budget, which means I can buy more books overall.
080) Do you read your library books at the library or at home? At home. In the library, I’m usually chasing around my 2 year old, trying to stop him from getting on every computer in sight.
081) Have you ever defaced a book? What was the circumstance? Only once, and that was because it was a book I used for a class. I loved the book, but it made it easier for me to find things I needed for my reports if I highlighted passages and made notes in the margin. The thought kills me now, though.
082) Do you read folklore/myths? Yep. I love to hear how folklore and myth differ not only from area to area but by author.
083) Favorite mythological figure? Morpheus, God of Dreams. Granted, much of my view of Morpheus comes from the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman.
084) Read any books where an animal(s) is/are the main character? Aside from the children’s books that I read to my boys, there’s a Harlequin series called Fear Familiar. Familiar is a cat detective, incredibly smart and a bit of a matchmaker and wiseguy. They’re part of Harlequin’s Intrigue imprint and they’re so fun to read.
085) Name a favorite animal featured title. Familiar Christmas.
086) Do you believe the adage: "If it's in print, it must be true!" ? Of course not! I’m a big reader of fiction and I can see how easy it would be to nudge things from fact to speculation to outright fiction. It can be like a big game of telephone, sometimes.
087) Do you sometimes stop reading a book? What's the reason usually? Usually it’s because I’ve run out of time to finish reading it and it’s due back at the library with no renewals available. Very rarely, I won’t finish a book because I just couldn’t get into it.
088) If you could own any one rare book in the world which book would it be? I’m not sure, honestly. I don’t even know which ones would be considered rare.
089) As a child were you ever caught reading after bedtime? All the time. My parents regularly came in to tell me (for about the fifth time) to turn out the light and go to bed.
090) Do you own a book light? No. I’ve tried them but haven’t been able to find one that I like. Instead, I have a touch lamp on the headboard of my bed that I put on low when my husband goes to sleep.
091) Estimate how many books you own. 500? At a guess? I’m honestly not sure because we sold a lot before Christmas so we had money for presents.
092) Have you ever borrowed a book from a bookmobile? Nope. Not sure where there are any around here, and I’ve never been in a hospital long enough (or without one of my own books).
093) What book have you recommended the most? A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. This was the one I defaced in college, but it’s one of the best books ever.
094) Is it important to you that your friends are well-read? Yeah. I don’t intentionally refuse friendship with someone who isn’t, but I tend to gravitate toward people who are like me.
095) Do you have a person that you enjoy discussing your reads with? Who? My husband and my best friend, Becca. With Rich, it’s usually trying to get him to read a book I think he’ll enjoy when I’m finished. With Becca, it’s usually comparing notes.
096) What book are you most looking forward to reading next? Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning. It’s the 5th (and last) book in her Fever series and it’s waiting for me at the library. I’m anxious to find out how everything wraps up.
097) Do you read horror/thrillers? Favorite horror/thriller authors? Not generally. As I remarked above, I have too active of an imagination to be comfortable reading them.
098) Have you ever made a dish from a cookbook? Yep. Usually baking dishes. My husband does the cooking and he’s made several from a cookbook as well.
099) Do you ever buy any other "how to" books? Were they helpful? Not really. Especially being in such a digital age, I usually find how to’s online.
100) What question about books should I have asked you? I can’t really think of any. Maybe “is reading a family affair?” I’d have to say most definitely yes. My 5 year old is already reading at a 3rd grade level and my 2 year old never wants to miss story time. My husband reads as much as I do. Or, “when did you start reading?” At about 4. My mom told my kindergarten teacher but back then, early readers weren’t a common thing in my school. She didn’t believe that I could actually read until I was reading over her shoulder one nap time. From that point on, I went to the 2nd grade teacher for reading instruction.
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