Booking Through Thursday — Wanna Take a Survey?

I got this from Lorette‘s blog and couldn’t resist adopting it for all of you.

1. Favorite childhood book?
Ramona, the Pest (really the entire series and anything by Beverly Cleary)

2. What are you reading right now?
Hyperion by Dan Simmons

3. What books do you have on request at the library?
Far too many to list here, but here’s a few: Mountains beyond Mountains, The Ice Princess, Still Missing, Reversal, Wishful Drinking, Zero History, Packing for Mars.  Let’s just say I keep my local library in business.

4. Bad book habit?
Star Trek tie-in novels

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
The Siege, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, The Cat Ate My Gymsuit, Judas Kiss (audio) and Sharp Objects.

6. Do you have an e-reader?
No

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
Usually about two at a time.  Sometimes three if I’m listening to an audio novel.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
Yes

9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)
Acacia by David Anthony Durham

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
Horns by Joe Hill

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
Whenever I find something that interests me outside of the zone.

12. What is your reading comfort zone?
Science-fiction and mysteries.

13. Can you read on the bus?
Yes…assuming I’m not driving it, of course. 🙂

14. Favorite place to read?
Anywhere I can sneak in a few pages is great.

15. What is your policy on book lending?
Don’t break the spine if it’s paperback, return in about the same condition I gave it to you.  Return it in a timely fashion.

16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
That’s what booksmarks are for, thank you.

17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
No, no, no!

18.  Not even with text books?
I highlight, but don’t write in text books.  That’s what taking notes is for.

19. What is your favorite language to read in?
English

20. What makes you love a book?
Good story, engaging characters, well written.   Surprising me is a good thing.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
If I really enjoyed it and think that someone else will too.  Or if it’s an author I think others need to discover.

22. Favorite genre?
Science fiction or mystery.

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
I rarely read romance novels, but I don’t really wish I did.  LOL

Favorite biography?
It Only Hurts When I Laugh by Stan Freberg

25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
Yes

26. Favorite cookbook?
Fix It and Forget It

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
Re-reading Blue Like Jazz for Sunday School.  Man, that book is great.

28. Favorite reading snack?
None

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
Have Spacesuit, Will Travel by Robert A. Heinlein

30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
Sometimes, I do yes.  I will admit I tend to gravitate toward critics who I know have a similar taste I do.  If they like it, I will generally consider picking it up.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
If they’re honest and you’ve can back-up your criticisms, I think it’s valid.   Just out and out ripping a book for no reason isn’t a good idea.  Nor is ripping or condemning a book you haven’t read.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
Greek (I’d love to read the Bible in the original Greek)

33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
For a sheer page count, I recall being really intimidated by the size of It when I read it as a teenager.

34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
For a long time, it was Hyperion because everyone tells me how great it is and I should read it.  But I’m reading it now, so I guess the next one would be the Pillars of Earth because everyone raves about it and it’s a huge book.

35. Favorite Poet?
Garrison Keillor

36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
At least a half dozen.

37. How often have you returned book to the library unread?
It happens, especially if a book is in high demand.

38. Favorite fictional character?
The Doctor

39. Favorite fictional villain?
Hannibal Lecter

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
Something that’s been in my TBR pile a while.

41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.
A week.

42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
Memnoch, The Devil by Anne Rice.

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

44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
To Kill a Mockingbird

45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
Pet Semetary

46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
Far, far too much.

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
Rarely, if ever.

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
Boredom, lack of interest.  I will give books 100 pages to hook me and if they aren’t doing it after that I will make a decision to keep going or give up.  Sometimes I will skim the next couple of pages, chapter to see if things pick up or skim to the end.

49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
In a system that makes sense only to me…

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
I trade them at a local used book store so I can get more books.

51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
Not really, no.

52. Name a book that made you angry.
The Twilight saga makes me angry.   Not just the fact that Bella is a terrible role model for women but the fact that some people reading nothing but these same four books over and over again.  Come on!  There are tons of other books out there!  Give something new a try!

53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
My Antonia by Willa Cather

54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
Timeline by Michael Crichton

55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
Peter David’s New Frontier novels.