Wednesday, October 2, 2013

A to Z Book Survey

I'm providing my answers to the A to Z Book Survey! Check it out and answer them on your blog, too--it's a fun one!

Author You’ve Read The Most Books From

K.A. Applegate. I read the entire Animorphs series and there were over sixty of them, so. . . .

Best Sequel Ever

Catspaw by Joan D. Vinge. I read Psion when I was a kid and when I discovered it had a sequel I almost peed myself. Then I read it. And also, almost peed myself.

Currently Reading

In the Belly of the Bloodhound by L.A. Meyer.

Drink of Choice While Reading

Need you even ask? Coffee.

E-reader or physical book?

I don't own an e-reader, I'm afraid, so I'll go with physical books, but I think e-readers are fantastic.

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated in High School

This is not a very good question for me because I don't date, but to be honest since I DID date a couple people in high school I guess I should answer. Let's go with Stargirl (from Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli). She was my kind of person.

Glad You Gave This Book a Chance

I heard a lot of stuff about how The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins was overblown and nowhere near as good as everyone said, and plus a very close friend disliked it and said some bad things about it. I read it anyway and it became a favorite.

Hidden Gem Book

The Antrian Messenger
by G. Clifton Wisler. Not only is it out of print, but it was written by a guy who usually writes westerns and historical books. This one is, weirdly, science fiction, about a boy who finds out he's an alien and has to make heartbreaking decisions. I read this as a kid and if I read it now maybe I would find it silly, but I guess I related to the outsider experience a lot. . . .

Important Moment in Your Reading Life

Finding the science fiction section in my public library when I was in middle school. As a child I was always "reading up" and it wasn't long before my little ten-year-old self was wandering around in the YA section being disappointed by how consistently everything focused on romance and kept telling me I was supposed to start wanting a boyfriend. (YA was not then what it is now.) And then I found the SF/F section for grown-ups--Oh man, there's fantastical stuff written for older people? HOT DOG!--and yeah, that was it.

Just Finished

Pink Smog by Francesca Lia Block.

Kinds of Books You Won’t Read

I'm not a huge fan of erotica, high-heat romance, straight-up detective-style mystery, traditional high fantasy, war-oriented science fiction, Chosen One trope stories, steampunk, or talking animals. There are exceptions. Exceptions usually depend on exquisite character-writing.

Longest Book You’ve Read

Probably the unabridged version of The Stand by Stephen King. It's about 1200 pages.

Major Book Hangover Because of

I guess The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale counts because I ended up blogging extensively about All My Feelings, rambling about it to my BFF and my sister, and then buying the book for a friend.

Number of Bookcases You Own

Nine?

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

Preferred Place to Read

I usually read lying on my bed or sitting sideways in the loveseat.

Quote That Inspires You

"Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way." --E.L. Doctorow

Reading Regret

Not documenting my reading exploits starting earlier in my life. I have gone back and written reviews for just about every book I can remember reading, but I bet some have fallen through my net.

Series You Started and Need to Finish
(Completed Series Only)

The Dark Tower by Stephen King. I read the first three when I was in high school and then Stephen King decided to take a decade-long vacation from writing it after ending on a cliffhanger. I need to go back and re-read the first three in order to properly appreciate the later volumes, and that's intimidating.

Three of Your All Time Favorite Books

The Wizard's Dilemma by Diane Duane, The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw, and Princess Academy by Shannon Hale.

Unapologetic Fangirl Filthy Stalker Of

Shannon Hale, I guess. I'm not a stalker type but I must admit I have sent her fannish e-mail, read her blog, and retweeted her tweets. I have sent maybe four fan letters in my life.

Very Excited for This Release More Than All the Others

I don't currently have any books on my to-read list that haven't been published yet except for Meg Rosoff's book Picture Me Gone. I'm not really in a rush to read it because I want to read all her others too, and have only read one title.

Worst Bookish Habit

Being excited enough about things to buy them in hardcover and then not reading them until long after the softcover comes out.

X Marks the Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book

Deep Wizardry by Diane Duane. (Arbitrarily chose one of the bookshelves, you know.)

Your Latest Book Purchase

I recently bought The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb. It was in a crop of several other used books I bought, though.

ZZZ-Snatcher Book (last one that kept you up way too late)

I extended my reading time by a lot to finish The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale, then cried all over everything in sight.

You! Go take the A to Z Book Survey!

8 comments:

  1. I haven't updated my blog in forever, and this seems rather fun :D

    Plus, since you've spoken so much about The Actor and the Housewife, I want to see if I can read it now XD

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    1. I would recommend that to anyone who likes strong character books with nuanced relationships!

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  2. You don't own an e-reader?! But really, they're handy, I swear. I'm with you on the erotica thing. I enjoyed reading your A-Z survey. Have a great weekend! :-)

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    1. Nope, I don't! But I'm horribly behind on reading all the books I own, so I haven't felt pressured to get an easy way to acquire new content. I'm remedying that now--reading every day except when I have other engagements (like right now: houseguests, bahaha).

      I actually own and enjoyed all of one erotica book, but it was by an author I already had good experiences with and they were mostly sort of fantasy stories as well as having explicit sex. The first story was about a guy who falls in love with a mermaid, for instance. :)

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  3. I totally forgot about Animorphs!! I think I read at least 40 of them. Dang.

    Also, Stargirl is a fantastic choice. This survey is so much fun. :)

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    1. Indeed! Yeah, Animorphs is super great. I own them all and even made a fansite once. They're so much better than people give them credit for.

      I never dated any girls in school and I wonder whether I would have dated someone like her if she had been around. I dated two boys, but bah.

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    2. Animorphs was a seriously fantastic series, and always so well done.. I mean, who can write that many books and have the majority of them be legitimately awesome?!

      Hahahaha "but bah." School also isn't the greatest time to date anyone period. But Stargirl would have been an awesome girlfriend.

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  4. The Stand. Right?! LONG book, but so good. :) (I read the unabridged, too.)

    I love your answers! You have listed so many books I haven't read that I have to go research now! :) ...I'm going to be spending a lot of time in the library in the foreseeable future. Good grief.

    Thanks so much for the linkback! :) It's a fun survey, hey? :)

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