I found this fun survey on reading at a blog that I follow and given my public goal to read 42 books per year I thought it would be fun to complete it myself:
Author you’ve read the most books from: According to my “Read” list on Goodreads.com it’s a tie between Dan Brown and Michael Lewis at four books each. I had no idea I had such an affinity for either author! This narrowly beats out Suzanne Collins, Malcolm Gladwell, Jennifer Haigh and Stieg Larsson each with three books.
Best sequel ever: “Catching Fire” by Suzanne Collins (the sequel to The Hunger Games). I gasped out loud at the ending.
Currently reading: “A Constellation of Vital Phenomenon” by Anthony Marra
Drink of choice while reading: Since I mostly read at night I’ll go with wine
E-reader or Physical Book?: E-reader all the way. I haven’t read a physical book in 3.5-4 years
Fictional character you probably would have actually dated in high school: Hmmm, I have no idea.
Glad you gave this book a chance: “Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen” by Christopher McDougall. I listened to it after seeing a rave review by a fellow non-runner friend. If a runner had recommended it I probably would have passed, but instead I gave it a chance and as a result talk about it all the time.
Hidden gem book: “Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World” by Jack Weatherford. Another book that I talk about a lot because I learned so much.
Important moment in your reading life: My mom says that she read to me in the womb. I’m pretty sure that’s why I ended up as an avid reader.
Just finished: “Eleanor & Park” by Rainbow Rowell (5 stars!)
Kinds of books you won’t read: Romance, sci-fi and generally anything considered a “classic”
Longest book you’ve read: “The Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follet at 972 pages (thanks to reading on an e-reader I had no idea it was that long!)
Major book hangover because of … Hmmm. I can’t think of anything.
Number of bookcases you own: One, and only one shelf of it holds books. The other shelves hold my games, scrapbooks and trinkets
One book you have read multiple times: I generally do not read books multiple times but I did re-read the enter “Hunger Games” series when the first movie came out. That was a first for me for as long as I can remember.
Preferred place to read: Ideally, the beach, but normally in bed
Quote from a book you’ve read that inspires you: I looked for something to put here, but it all felt very cheesy. It’s not that I don’t have favorite passages, but I’m afraid that others won’t have the same experience with them.
Reading regret: That I’m behind (again) on my reading goal for the year. My target of 42 books/year was a maybe over aggressive.
Series you started and need to finish: “The Daughter of Smoke and Bone” series by Laini Taylor. I really enjoyed the first book, but have not gotten back to the second yet.
Three of your all-time favorite books: “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot, “Okay for Now” by Gary Schmidt (I cried!), “The Art of Racing in the Rain” by Garth Stein (also made me cry!)
Unapologetic fangirl for: Young adult fiction.
Very excited for this release more than all the others: The third book in the Divergent series called “Allegiant” by Veronic Roth. It just came out yesterday but I am forcing myself to finish my current book before I can start.
Worst bookish habit: Adding too many books to my “To Read” list. Right now there are 125 books on the list. Thanks to the book review section of Entertainment Weekly I add several books a month to the list.
X marks the spot: the 27th book on my shelf: “The Fear: Robert Mugabe and the Martyrdom of Zimbabwe” by Peter Godwin. (I used my “To Read” list on Goodreads sorted them by best to worst average rating and then counted to #27)
Your latest purchase: A Constellation of Vital Phenomenon. Given my goal to read 42 books a year, I try to checkout e-books from the SL County Library system as often as possible. This was a book that I couldn’t wait for it to come.
Zzz-snatcher book (latest book that kept you up way late): This doesn’t happen to me often because I value my sleep but I had a very hard time putting down “Eleanor & Park” by Rainbow Rowell. I read the first third in one sitting even though it kept making me cry.
