A book survey

A while ago, Jay and the Frisky Virgin both did a book questionnaire. I've been wanting to do it for a while, but kept putting it off because I'm a lazy blogger. Here it is, now, in all it's glory:

1. Favorite childhood book?

Harry Potter and The Babysitter's Club series. I'm so proud to be a part of the generation that grew up with Harry Potter. :) The Babysitter's Club was largely what got me into realistic fiction books and obsessive-reading mode, though.

                                                                                                               
2. What are you reading right now?

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe. It's a book about hippies and Ken Kesey, the guy who wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. My English teacher recommended it for me, because he knows I'm fascinated by hippie counter-culture. He was a hippie in his younger years, so it's fitting.

3. What books do you have on request at the library?

 An Abundance of Katherines by John Green is the only one right now, I think.

4. What do you currently have checked out at the library?

I actually just returned my library books yesterday, so I don't have any out right now. I have a few from the school library that have been checked out for half a year or so: Whitman's Leaves of Grass, Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, Grimm's Fairy Tales, The Necromancer by Michael Scott, and The Great Gatsby that I checked out junior year for English and have yet to return because I love it too much.

5. Do you have an e-reader?

I have two! The way I see it, my Kindles are entirely separate from books. About half the books I read now are in book form, half in e-book form. I still love physical books as much as I did before, but I also love e-books. Actual books are special because of their familiarity, but e-books are so convenient for when I want to read in school or late at night when I'm supposed to be sleeping and my lights are turned off.

6. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?

Sometimes I read several at a time, but I mostly read one at a time so I can focus on that book alone. I sometimes lose interest otherwise.

7. Can you read on the bus?

No. :( That's one thing I've always hated: my motion sickness when reading. I'd get so much more reading done if I could read while riding in a car.

8. Favorite place to read?

My bed. If only I didn't fall asleep half the time.

9. Do you ever dog-ear books? 

How abominable! Never. I collect bookmarks, so there are plenty to choose from.

10. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?

Nope. I'm not one who really takes notes in books. Occasionally I'll highlight a line for possible reference, but I prefer to keep books as close to their original condition as possible.

11. What makes you love a book?

Writing style is so important to me. I hate books that aren't written well. Some of my favorite books are those written brilliantly. One of my favorite books, Atonement, is a favorite almost entirely because of how it's written.

12. What will inspire you to recommend a book?

I'm not sure. It depends on the person, I think.What I think they'd be interested in.

13. Favorite genre?

Realistic and historical fiction. Fantasy isn't too bad, either.

14. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?

If I feel I truly hated a book, I won't feel bad giving a negative review. It's rare that I hate a book, though.

15. Favorite Poet?

Emily Dickinson, but I also love many other poets.

16. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?

Usually 4-5.

17. How often have you returned books to the library unread?

This is awful, but it happens a lot. Sometimes I check it out and I simply don't have enough time to read it. It's usually because I find another book that I want to read more, so I didn't have enough time to read both.

18. Favorite fictional character?

Must I pick one? I have too many. I'm just going to say all of the Harry Potter characters, because I love them all too much to simply pick a few. There's also Dean Moriarty, King Arthur, Elizabeth Bennet, Jay Gatsby, and more that I can't think of.

19. Favorite fictional villain?

Big Brother from 1984.

20. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?

Any kind of book. Usually one I'm very interest in reading.

21. The longest I’ve gone without reading.

Hm...a month, maybe? That was at the beginning of junior year, when I didn't have much time to do anything.

22. Name a book that you could/would not finish.

Marley & Me. I really tried to read it, but I couldn't. I mean, the book was adorable, but all I could imagine throughout the book was the Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston. My brain refused to recognize that they weren't the actual people in the memoir, and that frustrated me, so I stopped.

23. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?

Noise. I prefer a quiet atmosphere to read. Music particularly distracts me. I can't read with music. Oh, and TV.

24. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?

Harry Potter, Atonement, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, The Help.

25. Most disappointing film adaptation?

Harry Potter, at some points. I hated the 4th movie because it strayed so much from my favorite parts of the book. The adaptation for Deathly Hallows Part II was also kind of disappointing for the same reasons. I've always struggled with film adaptations. They're nice visuals, but I can never view them as separate entities from the books.

26. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?

It happens rarely. I don't like not finishing a book. When it does happen, it's usually because I get more interested in a different book and temporarily put the original book back on the shelf, promising that I'll read it eventually.

27. Do you like to keep your books organized?

Nope. They're all stacked in no order at all on my bookshelf. The only exceptions are books within a series, and my Barnes & Noble Classics editions.

28. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?

I don't give my books away. Occasionally I'll donate some of my old children's books to the Salvation Army, though.