Too Much Free Time: A to Z Blogger Book Survey

Wednesday, 23 October 2013

A to Z Blogger Book Survey

This has been floating around a few different blogs lately, saw it on Lead Warrior, who saw it over at Glue in the Carpet who saw it. . . and so on and on. I quite enjoy these wee quizzes and I enjoy reading other peoples lists even more. No real logic behind that, but this one is for the avid readers out there.

Just fyi, I mainly read history, fantasy and sci-fi nowadays; years of reading serious literature has left me feeling entitled enough now to only read stuff I genuinely enjoy!

Author you've read the most books from:

A rather boring answer. Both in terms of words and books, it would have to be Dickens.

Best sequel ever:

Not sure about best sequel ever, but Raymond E Feist's Silverthorn is one of the best second books I've ever read.

Currently reading:

The Plantagenets by Dan Jones

The Civil War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote

Drink of choice whilst reading:

Reading in the bath? A crisp, cold beer, something European preferably.

Around the house? A cup of tea, steeped for two minutes and a sploosh of milk.

E-reader or physical book:

Physical books still. You can't scribble on an E-reader, fold the pages over, fall asleep and drool on them. Plus there's no proper smell. I managed recently to finish an audiobook for the first time, so, that barrier crossed, in time I may succumb to an e-reader too.

Fictional character you would probably have dated in high school:

Err, as a teen Tess Durbeyfield, later Anna Karenina and most recently, Fire (from the eponymous Kristin Cashore book)

Glad you gave this book a chance:

The first Discworld book, The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett. I was a very late convert to Pratchett, he seemed a bit too twee for my tastes. Also, lots of people told my I just HAD to read them, so, obviously, I avoided them for years. However, once I'd read the first one, I kind of understood what people saw in Pratchett; British wit and humour, irreverence, farce, biting-BITING dialogue. Glad to have given it a go, although I'm reading them very slowly in case of burnout!

Hidden book gem:

The Painted Man by Peter V Brett. When I started reading, I thought it was a shallow, teen fantasy novel. However, it turned out to be one of the best modern fantasy novels I've read in recent years. The fact it is easy to read disguises how skilfully the characters, world and plot have been put together. The series is onto the third book now, the second was excellent, but I'm delaying reading the third until I'm ready (I've a funny feeling about one of my favourite characters in the next book.)

Important moment in your book life:

Reading The History of the World by J M Roberts as a teenager. We had next to no history taught at my school. In summary, we were told: the Romans were in Britain, Anne Frank complained a lot, people in London during the Blitz somehow won the second world war. J M Robert's books single handedly changed that.

Just finished:

Ice Forged by Gail Z Martin. God this one was drivel.

Kind of book you won't read:

Biographies and any self-help, pop-psychology based nonsense. Also, anything by Dan Brown.

Longest book you've read:

Couldn't really say specifically. Three of the longest are surely War and Peace, The Count of Monte Cristo and The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F Hamilton.

Major book hangover because of disappointing endings:

First off, an ending should never ruin a book for you. If the last few pages leave you feeling unsatisfied, think instead of how you enjoyed the days and weeks of reading to get there instead.

So the ending to the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks didn't ruin the series, but it wasn't really that satisfying. Minor spoiler alert: there's an essentially immortal character (well two actually) who tells the reader what happens to the rest of the cast after the last book ends. It was so Hollywood, it was horrible. However, until then, the series was outstanding, I can still quote bits from it!

Number of bookcases you own:

I left all my furniture behind with my ex when I moved back home this year, so technically, none. Most of my books are boxed up in the loft. At the last count (in 2005,) I was sitting at a nudge over two and a half thousand books.

One book you've read multiple times:

Agatha Christie (allegedly) said "Reading a book once is like taking a dog to the theatre." I try to read the majority of my books at least twice. A notable read? Dune, must had read it through a dozen times or more.

Preferred place to read:

My sadly departed comfy leather chair (still traumatized by its loss,) the Duthie Park in Aberdeen (on a very sunny day of course) or the bath.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you've read:

I was going to go all serious and take the literary high ground with my teenager book, The Great Gatsby "here was a new generation. . . grown up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought, all faiths in man shaken." But instead, I'll have to go with "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn."

Reading regret:

I can't think of anything serious or trivial for this one. Can't say I've ever regretted reading or not reading a book. Gun to the head, I'd have preferred to avoid any of the Song of Ice and Fire sequels. The first book was immense though.

Series you started and need to finish:

The Godless World trilogy by Brian Ruckley. Read the first two, but need to get to the third. Not because it's a struggle to read or they're poorly read though; it's an outstanding series of books. So good in fact, that I'm holding off reading it until I'm in the mood for a really good book. This is something I do a lot, so many mediocre series out there, when I find one I like, I try and prolong the satisfaction as much as possible.

Three of your all-time favourite books:

Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

The Player of Games by Iain M Banks

Damn, can't commit to a third, I'll just say War of the Worlds by HG Wells (poor ending though, see above.)

Unapologetic fanboy for:

Hmmm, wouldn'y say I'm a fanboy for anything other than Star Wars and Star Trek. That said, I've read some rubbish Star Wars books and thought they were great.

Very excited for this release:

Again, nothing I'm really looking forward to. I'd have to say the Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch, mainly because it's been so long in coming out. More cautious than excited though, the second book in the Locke Lamora series was entertaining, but had some serious flaws. This one had better be better.

Worst bookish habit:

Not lending books out. I'm a bit of a hoarder, but I do try and give out books when I can.

X marks the spot - Start at the top left of your bookshelf and pick the 27th book:

No bookshelves at the moment, but I have a few arranged in stacks on the floor. Starting at the top left and working down: The Crusades Through Arab Eyes by Amin Maalouf.

Your latest book purchase:

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks. It's been a while since I finished his last book, so time for the next one. It's got a lot to live up to, so it had better be good. If not, I'll be writing smack about him on the internet.

Zzz snatcher book (the last book that kept you up waaay too late:)

One of my bad habits, I stay up far too late reading. The last notable book to keep me up properly was In the Shadow of the Sword by Tom Holland, good, but not great.

So that was my A-Z. I'd love to see more bloggers put up their lists and link back to whose they have seen. For ease, here are the 26 questions all together: