55 Book Related Questions

1 Favourite childhood book?
Anne McCaffrey's The White Dragon. I loved Ruth and always wanted a time travelling dragon!

2 What are you reading right now?
The Gospel of Loki by Joanne M Harris

3 Do you go to a library? If so, what do you currently have checked out there? If not, is there a reason?
Yes our local library is excellent (especially since my friend works there so the science-fi/fantasy section is always well stocked!) I currently have three books checked out- The Rise of The Nerds by Cory Doctorow, Twenty Trillion Leagues Under The Sea by Adam Roberts and Happy Hour In Hell by Tad Williams.

4 Do you collect any authors/series or certain types of books?
I have pretty much every book by Mark Hodder, Neil Gaiman (including graphic novels and German translations) and Terry Pratchett. I'm currently working on replacing my Anne McCaffrey collection with early editions, I love the art work.

5 Do you have a yearly goal on amount of books you want to finish?
No, I have too much going on in my life to be able to predict how much reading time I can get in.

6 Do you have an e-reader?
No, but I have an e-reader app on my phone. I rarely use it though.

7 Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
I usually have at least one non-fiction, one new fiction and one re-reading fiction on the go at once.

8 Do you have a blog where you post about books? Do you follow any blogs about reading/books? Which ones?
My book and personal musings blog is here- http://phantoms-siren.blogspot.co.uk . I follow bookandbiscuit.com and I've just started reading Perpetual Pageturner too.

9 Least favourite book you read this year (so far in 2014)?
Overcoming Depression by Paul Gilbert, I'm reading it for a study and it's really hard going and upsetting.

10 Favourite book you’ve read this year (2014)?
Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett. I'm liking the progress that Ankh Morpork is making, the Patrician is my favourite character, I really want to see his plans succeed!

11 How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
At least once a year I try to read something different.

12 What is your reading comfort zone?
Quality sci-fi and fantasy, academic books and bizarre humour. I really can't be bothered with fiction writers who don't think outside boring reality.

13 Do you read for enjoyment or to gain knowledge?
Both. I love to discover new things.

14 Favourite place to read?
The bath lol!

15 What are your thoughts on book lending?
I love to borrow books from series that I'm not sure about buying, or I borrow books I won't re-read from libraries that pay royalties to the author.

16 What are your thoughts on pirated books?
Authors earn so little money from sales, it's not fair to steal from them.

17 What are your thoughts on "Banned" books?
Banning book seems to mostly be about pretending kids don't know words/concepts that repressed adults find uncomfortable. It just makes the books more famous and tempting (in some cases undeservedly).

18 What are barriers you have to reading more? (work, family, ect)
I have an 11month old baby and I work from home so there's very little space for leisure time.

19 How many books have you read in the last six months?
Five, I joined Carpe Librum in the hope of motivating myself to read more

20 What makes you love a book?
Characters I can really care about and anything that inspires me to do further research (for example all the classic rock 'n' roll references in Terry Pratchett's Soul Music)

21 What will inspire you to recommend a book?
Either it has to be amazing on a universal level or it should appeal to the specific tastes of the person I'm recommending too. In terms of universally amazing I mean something like American Gods or Years of Rice and Salt that touches on history, science, fantasy, spirituality, personal relationships and global issues.

22 5 of your top read genres
Sci-fi
Alternate history
Science-fantasy
Comedy-fantasy
Historical mystery

23 5 authors you read a lot
Neil Gaiman
Terry Pratchett
Mark Hodder
Alan Moore
Tad Williams

24 Do you read non-fiction? Biographies?
Yes, non-fiction tends to be either historical, art focused or scientific. Biography has to be someone I'm really interested in and I'm usually disappointed.

25 How many times do you read a week?
I try for at least 10 minutes every day

26 Do you feel you read better with or without noise?
Better with something I know well like familiar music or classic TV. Quiet=suspicious

27 What influences your book choices?
I have to admit to being initially attracted to a good cover design but it needs a good blurb to seal the deal. Personal recommendations from people with good taste help too.

28 Favourite reading snack?
Nutella on toast but it can get a bit messy so not with library books!

29 Do you literally judge a book by its cover, title, or author?
I will judge something that looks poorly designed or excessively like a "Mills and Boon" romance novel. I do give some authors more benefit of the doubt that others, some books I've regretted reading the most were by my favourite writers.

30 What is the longest book you have ever read? The shortest?
Les Miserables is probably the longest non-compilation book I've read, though I did read the entirety of Lord of the Rings (including appendices) in a single monstrous volume.

31 How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
I feel hesitant about giving some authors negative reviews, especially if it's a first attempt or self published. I once received a free copy of a book in order to review it for a magazine and it really wasn't worth the paper it was printed on, but I chickened out of saying so in the review. Unfortunately our local library bought the whole series on the back of my lukewarm review and I felt so guilty I stopped doing magazine reviews.

32 Do you make up stories, or ever think about an alternate ending for a book because you want to?
Yes, I adore fanfiction but lack the writing skills to commit my daydreams to paper. But Severus Snape is alive and well in my head and that's good enough for me :)

33 Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo, the prose is so dense and he goes off on so many tangents, it was very hard to keep up with what was going on!

34 Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C Clarke, I know I should read it but I fear it'll be as long and dull as the movie.

35 What book do you try to steer people away from?
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. I have a serious irrational hatred of that book!

36 What book do you recommend most to others?
Depending on how serious the person is I recommend either Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett or Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson

37 Do you ever re-read books?
Yes, I re-read Dune by Frank Herbert every year, Lord of the Rings, Jane Eyre and Good Omens every two. I've read all of Pratchett books multiple times too, I have Fifth Elephant in English and German.

38 Favourite fictional character?
Lord Vetinari from Discworld universe. He's phenomenally intelligent, devious, sarcastic and has hidden depths of assassin skills. Stephen Briggs, who voices the audiobooks, has absolutely perfected the portrayal of the character- you can hear the eyebrow raising!

39 Favourite fictional villain?
I mostly like anti-heroes but for villains I'd have to pick Hannibal Lecter, he's so smooth and creepy. I adore his mind palace and his one liners.

40 Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
I used to either pack light and run out of things to read or pack too many books and get nothing done. I try to budget for new books when I plan a holiday now, that way I get to visit fun new book stores. It drives my husband mad!

41 The longest I’ve gone without reading.
The last 18 months have been really hard for me and I haven't really done much reading in the last 10 months or so. I've missed it but my brain hasn't felt like concentrating.

42 Name a book that you could/would not finish.
Blameless by Gail Carriger. I had a lot of trouble with the first two books in this series, the concept of a crime fighting steampunk lady really appealed but it quickly turned to the kind of chick lit tropes I really can't stand.

43 What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
Only my son waking up from a nap and declaring reading time to be over.

44 Favourite film adaptation of a novel?
Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula, best portrayal of Dracula until Richard Roxburgh.

45 Most disappointing film adaptation?
The Gerard Butler version of the The Phantom of the Opera. I've seen every movie adaptation of that book from the classic silent movie, through the 1970s rock opera and the Robert Englund gore fest and I can't find good points about all of them. But a Phantom who ISN'T disfigured and CAN'T sing?!? Ridiculous.

46 The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
£150 ($250, €190) on text books for university (plus a copy of Nick Cave's When The Ass Saw The Angel, cos all work and no play gets you better than a 2:1)

47 How often do you skim a book before reading it?
Rarely, I accidentally spoilered myself skimming through a mystery but didn't realise until I'd read half the book.

48 What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
Sexual assault, anything more than briefly pregnancy related, cats dying will make me bin a book, whilst some violence/supernatural stuff can make me put a book in fridge for a day or two.

49 Do you like to keep your books organised?
I tend to organise by size so I can get the maximum number of books on the shelves, but where possible I buy all the same issue of series so all the books are the same size and have matching covers. My signed first editions and graphic novels are kept separate.

50 Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
Depends on whether I expect to re-read or refer to the boom later. I keep about 80% of the books I buy! I'm locking down carbon and insulating the house honest.

51 Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
The Hunger Games trilogy. I know I'll have to read it eventually but I don't particularly want to.

52 Name a book that made you angry.
The Penultimate Truth by Philip K Dick. I threw it across the room when I read the ending, but you'll have to read it yourself (or read my other blog post on the subject).

53 A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
I actively avoided the Harry Potter books for five years until I found out that Alan Rickman (owner if the sexiest voice known to human ears) would be in the movies and realised I'd have to read the books after all. I borrowed Philosophers Stone from a friend, read it in one sitting, then immediately went out and bought Chamber of Secrets. Now it's one of my favourite series and one of the few occasions that I've gone to a store at midnight to buy a new release.

54 A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, I feel terrible for saying this but it wasn't a real book, it was a short story that got out of hand and really should have been left to grow up into a proper book before it was published. Or it should have had the violence toned down and been released as a kids book.

55 Favourite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
I love classic crime/mystery series like Mrs Bradley, Poirot or Cadfael that I can dip into when the mood takes me. I usually remember who did it but I still enjoy the process.