The lovely Sally tagged me to do this post… so here goes!
The 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
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!
The book cover is the one I had copies of to give away for World Book Night!
What are you reading right now?
Mockingjay, the third Hunger Games book, and The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishigo
Do you have any idea what you’ll read when you’re done with that?
I plan to read Gods Own Country – Ross Raisin (awesome name, bet it isn’t real!)
What 5 books have you always wanted to read but haven’t got round to?
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The Sealed Letter. Emma Donoghue (author of Room) |
What magazines do you have in your bathroom/lounge right now?
There is normally a Marie Claire knocking about (we have copies at work so one normally finds its way home) but at the moment the bathroom is the home of ‘Wedding Speeches’ (good toilet reading) and the living room houses a small collection of PC Gamer magazine… which are Sams and not mine!
What’s the worst book you’ve ever read?
Difficult. Very very hard to decide. I am the type of person that always tries to finish a book no matter HOW ridiculously badly written. Cloud Atlas and The Slap come to mind as books I really had to keep on going with just to get them out of my bedroom!
What book seems really popular but you actually hated?
Is it cheating to say the books from my last answer? Both won awards/are highly acclaimed. Both I disliked. Cloud Atlas I just could not get into despite trying bloody hard, and The Slap made me hate every character, EVERY ONE!!! And there are many…
What’s the one book you always recommend to just about everyone?
The Time Travellers Wife, which was the book I chose to give away to people for World Book Night! Some to work colleagues, some to friends and 12 copies to random twitter people, which was amazing! (not for my bank balance in postage costs but all in the name of a great cause!)
What are your 3 favourite poems?
Don’t hate me. I don’t read enough poetry to have favourites.
Where do you usually get your books?
Thebookdepository.com // play.com // charity shops/second hand shops // friends // work (I work in a hotel and people leave books behind a lot!)
Where do you usually read your books?
In the bath, in bed & on holiday.
When you were little, did you have any particular reading habits?
I read all the time. Car journeys, over breakfast and dinner any opportunity. When I was younger I used to listen out for the exact sound of my mums boyfriends van coming down our road after a late work shift and rush to switch the light off, then listen for him to go to bed and then switch it back on again! No wonder I never wanted to get up for School!
What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down?
The Hunger Games Trilogy, and before that Gentlemen & Players by Joanne Harris (READ IT!)
Have you ever “faked” reading a book?
For My GCSEs I faked reading something or other (cant remember!) and managed to get an A so I guess t shows you don’t realllllly have to read the books!
Have you ever bought a book just because you liked the cover?
I admit I am often attracted to a book by its cover, but am not convinced I have purchased one without ever reading the blurb!
What was your favourite book when you were a child?
The Wizard of Oz. My mum gave it to me in my stocking one year and I read it twice before the end of the Christmas Holidays. However I loved anything Enid Blyton-y (much to my parents disgust!) and also love the Babysitters Club books!
What book changed your life?
One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich: A novel, Alexandr Solzhenitsyn. Perhaps changed my life is a little exaggerated, but this book really opened my eyes to the horror and suffering, and I’ve read it 4 or 5 times now. In brief, it is one mans struggle against communist oppression. Now you might think, WHYYYYY did you read it? it is the most touching and intricate book, and sparked my interest in imprisonment and the difference between classes/groups of people.
The book covers one day. This was his life, day in and day out.
What is your favourite passage from a book?
“It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.”
― Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl
(I have been to Anne Franks house in Amsterdam, as well as reading the book too many times to remember)
What are your top five favourite authors?
Joanne Harris, Sue Townsend, Bill Bryson, Jodi Picoult, Zadie Smith,
What book has no one heard about but should read?
It is pure brilliance from one of the UKs best comediennes.
What 3 books are you an “evangelist” for?
The Time Travellers Wife, Audrey Niffenegger.
White Teeth, Zadie Smith
The Queen & I, Sue Townsend (of the Adrian Mole Diaries fame)
What are your favourite book by a first-time author?
A Tree grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith & The Virgin Suicides, Jeffrey Eugenides
What is your favourite classic book?
The Wizard of Oz. Is it a classic? It is in my eyes anyway!
5 other notable mentions?
Junk – Melvyn Burgess, The Girl in Times Square – Paullina Simons, Brave New World – Aldous Huxley, The Lake of Dead Languages – Carol Goodman, When god was a Rabbit – Sarah Winman.
I had such a good time writing this, going through my goodreads books (add me!) and scanning my shelves! I am so lucky to come from a family where reading was encouraged and TV was discouraged. My mum lives in a home where the books pile up so quickly she is in danger of disappearing under a pile, and my dad and wife (who used to work for the British Library, then run a publishing company!) read constantly as well! When I go and stay with them I get through a book a day, if not more! They have a spare room with wall to wall book cases stacked ceiling to floor, double and triple banked in places, and bookshelves in every other conceivable place.
Needless to say I could read from a very early age, and when I started school I used to get frustrated with the speed at which we read as a class, and was excused to read on my own. I was nicknamed ‘speedy’ by one of the mums that used to come in to listen to us read. Without books like would be incredibly boring.
Let me know if you do this tag!
I defy you to tell me a film that is better than the original book. Go on, I dare you…
I love your answers! I completely forgot about Adrian Mole. I reread one of his diaries recently and couldn’t put it down. It was so funny! I’ll definitely add your suggestions to my list. The film I liked better than the book was Breakfast at Tiffanys. I really couldn’t get into Truman Capote. It is a very rare occurrence when the film is better though. They usually butcher the books! Despite a few significant changes, I have to say the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is superb. Not as good as the book of course, but still wonderful 🙂 x
I really enjoyed reading this. I love books and reading :] You mentioned Junk by Melvin Burgees which is one of my most loved books ever. I met him at an event in manchester and he was so lovely. I think I’ll do this tag at some point x
Great post, I love The Time Traveller’s Wife too!
I really liked this post and made me somewhat regret drifting away from reading. I’ve not read any of the books you mentioned (except everything by Enid!!). Maybe one day I’ll return to my bookworm days.
This post musta been your dream come true my favourite bookworm!I’m going to write my post this evening!I don’t ever have as much time to read as id like but am off for ten days so going to ensure reanywhere near as much as theing is a priority.I didnt think the film of hunger games was anywhere near the standard of the books,which I loved so much I couldn’t put down.xxx
Ps thanks again for my WBN book!I love it!!xx
Really enjoyed reading this, I now have a few more books to put on my wishlist xo
Pleased to see another Enid Blyton fan – I think the Secret Of Spiggy Holes was my favourite book for a long time. I was a WBN giver too, I gave out The Remains of the Day – it was such good fun! Are you enjoying the book? I’m also another fast reader – I’d read through pretty much all of the books at my Primary School by the time I left. Seems like we have a lot of coincidences, maybe we’ll share the same taste in books, I’ll definitely be looking up some of these!
Totally adding you on goodreads, I’m so obsessed with that site. Interested to hear what you said about the Alexandr Solzhenitsyn novel, I’ve not read it but my husband bought a copy a while ago and really enjoyed it – didn’t think it would really be my thing but maybe now I’ll have to read it! Be interested to see what you think of Remains of the Day – I like Ishiguro but I pretty much hated that one! Too dry – his other books are a lot better IMO.