(Just a quick warning - I am posting pics of book covers, and one is to do with human remains... be prepared to scroll if you are sensitive)
What book are you reading now?
Redemption Alley - Lilith Saintcrow is my main squeeze at the moment but I am also (inactively) reading:
The Vampire Lestat - Anne Rice
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke
What are your favourite books? [You can put specific books or genres or both.]
Mostly the come under the heading of Fantasy: Epic Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Dark Fantasy and Paranormal Romance, etc. However I also love Classics, Gothic Romances, Science Fiction and Mysteries.
How did you learn to read?
My dad started reading to me at a very young age. Books like Brer Rabbit's A Rascal and Black Beauty are some of the earliest books I both remember having read to me, and learning to read.
What foreign languages do you read?
Anglo Saxon (Old English). I also know enough German to know if you are talking about cats and dogs.
What's the funniest book you ever read?
Probably something like Terry Pratchett.
What books have changed the way you look at the world or the way you live your life?
Bog Bodies: Mummies and Curious Corpses when I was in Year Four at school. I had that book out of the library for most of the year, and constantly reread it. I was absolutely facinated by the cultures preserving their dead, the practices they performed, and the biology behind the preservation. I pinpoint that as one of the turning points in regards to choosing archaeology as a career and discovering it was my vocation.
What books have affirmed what you believe about life or the way you look at things?
Um... I am not sure. I don't really read books about affirmation. Reading Charles de Lint's books has made me more accepting of my own inviduality, but that is because his characters are so interesting.
What books have you changed your mind about?
Anne Rice. I hated Interview With A Vampire, but I am liking The Vampire Lestat.
What are some of the scariest books you've ever read?
Books on genocide for "The Anthropology of Violence" subject I took at uni. It wasn't scary as in thrills, but scary how sensible the thought behind terror as a political tool can be made to seem.
About how many books do you think you have you read in your life?
Too many to number. Sometimes I read 100 books a year, sometimes its 300. When I was a 10 year old I was reading about 50. I am now 26, and I don't see this abating any time soon!
About how many books do you own?
I have no idea. Well into the hundreds.
How many books per month do you usually borrow from the library?
None. I used to borrow 5-10 a week but the libraries rarely have anything I haven't read that I am interested in reading.
How much would you say you've paid in library fines in your life?
A lot!
Do you read in bed?
Yes, it is my favourite place to read.
Do you ever read while walking or driving?
Not whilst driving, but I do walk and read quite a bit. There are times when I am working to or from the trainstation, and I just can't bear to put my book down.
OK, let's get real. Where is the strangest place you've read a book?
In lines for metal gigs, in lines at theme parks, in a canoe...
Do you listen to audio books?
No, they seem to defeat the purpose of a book. I am a very tactile person.
Has anyone ever read aloud to you or you to them? Tell us more.
My dad used to read to me when I was little. I think that is what started off my love affair with fiction. We didn't see a lot of Dad back then - he worked a LOT of overtime. So Mum would wake us up at 4am to say goodbye every morning, and wake us up late at night to say goodnight. Then he would sit snuggled in my bed and read to me.Those are some of my earliest and most treasured memories.
What book was the most difficult to read?
Wuthering Heights when I was 14. I put it down and said I would never read it again. I broke that promise, because I am now working my way through it again - when I am not reading anything else LOL
Do you read every word of a book, or skip parts that don't hold your interest?
Every word.
What books do you keep intending to read but put off?
George Orwell's 1984.
Do you buy new or used books, paperbacks or hardbacks, leather or collector's items?
All of the above! I prefer hardcovers for non-fiction, and I rarely buy collectors items. Ideally, new paperbacks. But I have no problem with buying second hand books - they have helped feed my addiction for the last 20 years LOL
What is the first book you remember reading?
Dad reading Brer Rabbit's A Rascal or Black Beauty. The first book I read myself was also Brer Rabbit.
Do you lend your books? Ever had to hire Large Louis to get it back for you?
I am no longer lending books. I have had too many things happen to my preciousouses in the last 6 months.
What were your favourite books when you were a child?
Enid Blyton, Tamora Pierce, Roald Dahl, Libby Hathorn, Gary Crew, David McRobbie, CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, Ann Martin, L.M. Montgomery, Jackie French, Paul Jennings, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Louisa May Alcott, Isobelle Carmody, John Marsden, May Gibbs, Victor Kellher, Gillian Rubenstien, Sonya Harnett, Catherine Jinks, Francine Pascal, Christopher Pike, Garth Nix… etc
What children's books do you most enjoy as an adult?
Tamora Pierce, JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, PC & Kirsten Cast, Richelle Mead, Rachel Caine, JK Rowlings, Libby Hathorn, Isobelle Carmody, etc.
What books would you especially recommend to young people?
All of those mentioned in the last two questions.
Do you ever read the ending first?
No.
DUELLING BOOKS
Did you ever agree to read the book somebody was pushing on you if they would read one for you in exchange? What were the books?
No, but I have a suggestions exchange with friends quite a bit.
Have you ever read a book more than once? If so, mention them and why you read them more than once, please.
A better question would be which books I haven't read more than once! Most books I read at least twice.
What frequently recommended books have you been unable to finish?
Dan Brown. Need I say more?
Which of these world classics did you actually plow through at one time or another in your life?
[x] The Iliad
[x] The Odyssey
[x] The Aeneid
[ ] Dante's Inferno
[ ] Paradise Lost
[ ] Goethe's Faust
[ ] War and Peace
[ ] Ulysses
[ ] Les Miserables
[ ] Atlas Shrugged
[x] Moby Dick
[ ] Gone with the Wind
[ ] Remembrance of Things Past
[ ] Churchill's History of England
[ ] Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
What other favourite books of yours are extremely long?
Off the top of my head, I would say Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien and The Painted Man by Peter V Brett. This is just from visualising my bookshelf - I have a lot of thick books, but I couldn't pinpoint which without physically standing in front of my shelves.
