My lovely friend Alison did this tag on her blog a while ago and I thought it was a fun little tag to dig my teeth into. I love me some books, even though I always feel I should read more. Perhaps it’s because my first ever job was at my local library, or the fact that I majored in English and love language: I cannot imagine a life without books. Here are my answers to the questions. Check out Alison’s blog to read her answers.
- What is your favourite book?
I still say that is AM Homes – This Book Will Save Your Life. To be honest I read that book 7 years ago so I’m not sure how much I’d like it today, but yeah that book always stuck with me whenever I have to answer this question. - Who is your favourite author?
Edgar Allen Poe. Love the suspense and his play on the dark and mysterious. Also the first ever person to become a professional writer. The fact that he died pretty much the same way as one of his characters (in a gutter with not a penny to his name) only makes him so much more tragic and interesting a person in my opinion. - What genre do you prefer?
I tend to read anything that I deem interesting. I have a preference for classic and modern English literature, Gothic fiction and I sprinkle in some YA for something easy breezy in between all the seriousness. - What is your favourite book series?
Harry Potter. I’ve re-read the series 3 or 4 times and I don’t get bored of it at all. - What books did you hate reading in school?
Anything they told me to read until I started knowing enough English and reading that. I rediscovered my love for reading through the reading of English novels. - What is the first book you remember reading as a child?
My mom keeps telling me stories of wanting to be read a book called ‘Stijn Staat Op’ until she couldn’t take it no more. It was about a boy and his morning routine. I believe I also had the evening equivalent to this. - Bookstores or libraries?
Nowadays bookstores. Just don’t let me loose in one. Especially not if it’s an English bookstore. I’ll be gone for the next 2 hours or so and will come back with a pile too tall to carry. I went extremely crazy when I visited the COOP (the Harvard bookstore) and didn’t know where to go first. I used to work in a library though so I do have a soft spot for them especially if they’re old. - How many books do you own?
I own around 550 books. I used to own close to 800 but I purged my bookcases last winter and got rid of 200 or so books. - Do you read before bed?
Never. I get too invested in the story and will want to read and read and read and read and forget to go to sleep. - What is your most comfortable reading position?
Lying on my couch with my back against a truckload of pillows. Oh and with a cup of tea by my side. There’s always got to be that cup of tea. - What is the most recent book you read?
Cassandra Clare’s The City of Lost Souls. Just when you think you’re read them all, there is another (6th and final) book to be read. Not sure whether I will read that though, but I hate not completing a series. Gah! - What quote from any book will you never forget? Why is it significant?
I don’t quote from books. I do have to say that I was quite taken by Pride & Prejudice when I read it. I wished I wrote down or at least had highlighted my favorite passages as I was reading it. - Science Fiction or Fantasy?
Neither. Though Gothic fiction (my fave genre) can fall into either category depending on the story. - What books do you regret reading?
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. Oh and Saturday by Ian McEwan. I never even bothered to finish those. I thought it was that bad. - How large is your bookshelf?
Bookshelf? Or bookshelves? Cuz I have 3 bookcases of around 8 shelves each. One of them is partially filled up with records though. So 2.5 bookcases filled with books. - On average, how many books do you read per year?
Around 20 and that includes non-fiction. Like I said, I always say I should read more, but I can only read when I’m in a certain mindset which makes it difficult for me to pick books continuously. - What book can you read hundreds of times and never get tired of?
Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger. I must have read that 3 or 4 times already and I never get tired of it. - Do you like to read outside?
I tend to read magazines when I go to the park or something like that. Getting into a novel requires more of an attention investment from me which I cannot get to when I sit outside. - What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from a book?
That life is what you make of it. - Of the past year, what is the greatest book you’ve read?
American Psycho? Though I wouldn’t say that is a ‘great’ book per sé. I really liked Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling’s) Cuckoo’s Calling which surprised me.
Feel free to take over the tag if you’d like! Oh and happy Sunday 🙂