A - Z Bookish Survey

Tuesday, August 20, 2013



I try not to do too many surveys or memes here on the blog, but this one seemed like a fun and new way to talk about books and authors I am passionate about.

Author You've Read The Most Books From:

Caroyln Keane and Francine Pascal.
What can I say? I was a big Nancy Drew girl, and I loved Sweet Valley Twins/High. Both clock in at 36 books read. I haven't read much from any of those series in years, but I would if I had copies!

Best Sequel Ever:

Hmm, well there are a lot. However, I am still caught up in how freaking fantastic Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas was. Doubleblind by Ann Aguirre is third in a series (so it counts, right?) and it just BLEW my mind. Utterly fantastic. Also Dark Triumph by R. L. LaFevers and Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta.

Currently Reading:

The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo. It's a mix of historical fiction and the supernatural. Also, I am in love with the cover.


(also Infinite Jest, but that's been going on for months with little progress.)

Drink of Choice While Reading:

Summer: Sweet tea
Winter: Earl Grey

What can I say? I am a tea girl.

E-reader or physical book:

Both. All. I have a Nook, a Kindle, and an iPad with apps for both. If I find a book I want on a great ebook sale, I buy it. I am partial to physical copies of favorite books, however. 

Fictional Character I Would Have Dated In High School:

Jonah. Griggs. Freaking Griggs all the way. He is just the best. I loved everything about Jellicoe Road, but Griggs made the biggest impression. Well, him and Jude <3

Glad You Gave It A Chance:

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. I was iffy for the first few chapters, but I soon got what it was all about. The hype was warranted. It's a weird, odd, great book. Also, Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith. It's not a book for everyone, but, to me, it was absolutely beautiful.

Hidden Gem Book:

Grimspace by Ann Aguirre. I can't get enough of these books and wish more of my friends would read them. If you like awesome science fiction, this is the series you should be reading.

And

The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst. As a massive dog person, this book about a man's grief and his struggles to understand his wife's death  really hit home for me. It seems to be sorely overlooked.

Important Moment in My Reading Life:

When I started reviewing and blogging. I've always been a reader - my mom used to punish me by taking away my books - so when I found an outlet for my passion, it really took off. I've read more each consecutive year since I started, and I've found a great community, an amazing co-blogger, and a lot of new books I never would've heard of before.

Just Finished:

Tarnish by Katherine Longshore (YA historical fiction about Anne Boleyn) and The Butterfly Sister (mystery/thriller) by Amy Gail Hansen. Both were great, though Gilt is my favorite of Longshore's novels.

Kinds of Books I Won't Read:

I tend to avoid retellings of Biblical figures/stories, Amish romances (I really don't understand how this is so much of a thing), and most horror. I have been trying to branch out on that last one, due to my love for The Walking Dead, and it's a mixed bag so far.

Longest Book I've Ever Read:

The Great Book of Amber by Roger Zelazy - 1258 pages. However, that may be cheating because it's ten books in one volume. The longest single-story book is probably The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson - 1,007 pages.

Major Book Hangover:

So many.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
Every Single Harry Potter novel
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
If I Stay/Where She Went by Gayle Forman
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Daughter of Smoke and Bone/Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
Finnikin of the Rock/Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta 
Chime by Franny Billingsley
The Distant Hours/The Secret Keeper/The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

...
and those are just the ones that pop immediately to mind. There are oodles more.


Number of Bookcases:

One black one, full of unread books I own. (The shaaaame!)



And one white one, that takes up an entire wall in my library room. (I had another black bookcase for my YA books, the ones you see on the floor, but it broke!)



One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:

Err, a lot. I love to reread. I've probably read A Game of Thrones or The Prince of Tides the most.

Preferred Place to Read:

If I am at home, I'm either at my desk (super comfy chair, also easy to take notes), or lying in bed (super comfy, hard to take notes, but easy to snuggle puppies.) I do a lot of reading at work on breaks and lunches, but the employee break room has a leather couch pretty much made for reading and lounging.

Quote That Inspires You:

"A library is infinity under a roof." 
― Gail Carson Levine

"I realized then that even though I was a speck in an infinite cosmos, a blip on the timeline of eternity, I was not without purpose." 
― R.J. Anderson, Ultraviolet

"You have to know what you stand for, not just what you stand against." 
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Speak

“I am no longer afraid of getting old. Indeed I can't believe I ever said anything so stupid. So childish. So offensive and arrogant. But mainly, so very, very stupid. I desperately want to grow old.”
― Elizabeth Wein, Code Name Verity 

Readng Regret:

Taking so long to give up on books. For years, I refused to DNF any book. Even if I hated what I had read, even if was 700 pages and I was struggling to get past page 110, I thought I had to finish. I was wrong. And I wasted a lot of time on bad books before I figured that one.

Series I Started and Need to Finish:

SO MANY IT'S INSANE. My "series ongoing" shelf has 625 books. Granted, some of those are in the same series, but damn, I need to get going. (My series complete shelf is only 535 books. WHY IS EVERYTHING A SERIES.)

The most notable:
Sirantha Jax (I own the fifth and last one, but I am not quite ready to say goodbye yet)
Jessica Darling (one book and one prequel to complete)
Discworld by Terry Pratchett (I'm on book 9 of 40)
The Graceling Realm (just need to read Bitterblue -- thankfully it's out in paperback Sept. 17th!)
Chaos Walking (I'm in the middle of book two!)

And then there are the series that need to finish publishing so I can read the next book, like:
A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin
The Gentlemen Bastards by Scott Lynch
The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
Penryn and the End of Days by Susan Ee

Three of My All-Time Favorite Books:

THREE. ONLY THREE? HOW.
Hmm. 
The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Unapologetic Fangirl For:

Anything by Melina Marchetta. George R. R. Martin's books. Dune by Frank Herbert. Harry Potter. Gail Carriger. Kate Morton.

Very Excited For This Release:

Night Film by Marisha Pessl. Just One Year by Gayle Forman. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins. The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski.

Worst Bookish Crime:

Buying more books when I have some from 2010 that I've not yet read. I can't resist a good deal, or an awesome cover, or favorite authors. Also, I try to buy whole series before I start reading the first so I don't have to wait. This is why I have an entire bookshelf of books I haven't read yet.

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

Widdeshins by Charles de Lint

Your Latest Book Purchase:

Adaptation by Malinda Lo. It was the Kindle Daily Deal! Before that? Let me refer you to this.

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):

Graceling by Kristin Cashore. There was no way sleep was happening until I found out how things went for Katsa and Po.

6 comments:

  1. I love your answers :) you're lucky to have such big and full bookcases, I always like to watch those! I also have a problem with buying more books when I have my to-read shelves already full. And I'm still learning to DNF books, I always think maybe a book will get better towards the end, so I keep reading it even if I don't like it. But I did DNF-ed 2 books this year, so that's a progress!

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  2. Ah if I would have kept track of all the Nancy & SVH books I read I think those would be on top too!

    Your current read look so interesting! Never heard of that before!

    JONAH <3333 God I love him.

    Love love love that Laurie Halse Anderson quote. I'm due for a reread on that book. It's been SO long since I read it.

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  3. YOUR BOOKSHELVES ARE SO BEAUTIFUL *.*
    great post(:
    Jackie

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  4. I don't know how I missed Sweet Valley High when I was a kid... I did read a lot of Nancy Drew though. And Goosebumps. lol I'm with you on The Knife of Never Letting Go. I actually DNF'd it at first but picked up the audiobook later and it was vastly better. Oooh you finally got to read Tarnish?? I love your bookshelves. :)

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  5. Ahh, I've heard of the Sweet Valley High novels, but I've never actually seen one or read an excerpt online. I was a Nancy Drew girl too, though I don't think I read 36 of them - you were always a voracious reader then eh?

    Crown of Midnight was great... and !!! I can't wait to start Froi of the Exiles. I'm supposed to be doing a read-along for that one o.O but I am so tempted to start reading that... now. Especially when you say it's one of the best sequels ever.

    The cover for Ghost Bride is beautiful. It's what made me first add the book to my TBR pile o.O. I want to read Infinite Jest sometime too - the author was a professor at my college, and everyone talked about it like it was THE thing to read.

    Ewww tea o.O.

    JONAH GRIGGS. JONAH GRIGGS. Yesss. You might have to fight me for him though :).

    You too! Patrick Ness. I feel so behind on not having read any of his books.

    Ooh, you have me intrigued about Grimspace. I still have to read an Aguirre novel, and even without having read her work, I admire her as an author. Her post on the sexism she faced as an SFF author? *sigh*

    Your mom used to punish you by taking away your books!!! Nooo.

    Gayle Forman. Melina Marchetta. Harry Potter. Laini Taylor. <3. There are some others I haven't heard of on your book hangover list, but I actually have a copy of Chime and am convinced I will like it when I get around to it. It seemed like the writing was very atmospheric.

    I agree with Jackie: Your bookshelves ARE beautiful!!

    YAY I HOPE YOU FINISH THE GRACELING REALM SERIES :). Also, I am definitely an unfinished series reader. I've just learned to give up. If I don't like that first book enough to wantwantwant to read the sequel, it ain't gonna happen.

    ALL THE BOOKS YOU ARE EXCITED FOR.

    Yeah... I continue to buy more books even though I'm all like, "I'm on a book buying ban!" Yes, that is exactly why I just bought a copy of The Queen of Attolia (sp.?) among others.

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  6. Childhood reads totally dominate that first category. Mine came in at 37 and 36, I think: Meg Cabot and Janet Evanovich. I MAY have been slightly obsessed.

    I really want to read The Ghost Bride.

    I do not like tea. It either tastes like lightly flavored water or like licking a tree. Neither is appealing.

    Oooh, I like the sound of this Jonah Griggs character.

    I'm glad I pushed through Knife Of Never Letting Go too. I totally put that knife right down the first time.

    I liked Gilt better than Tarnish too. Connected with the characters more in that one.

    White bookshelf is AWESOME.

    OHHHH, I thought you had read more series than me, but you shelve ALL of the books in the series. Yowza.

    Hmmm, I may look into this Prince of Tides.

    HAHAHA it's a crime to have books you haven't read from 2010. LOLZ.

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