Book Survey

Someone I'm following on Tumblr linked to this book survey on her main blog. These are 65 questions about books and things in books, and I'll try to keep it interesting (ergo, my answers my run a bit long). As I've read a lot of books in my time, I may not be able to think of the best answers for some of these; unless I have a specific example otherwise, I'm going to try to stick to the books I have on my shelf. The rule stated that you couldn't use the same answer twice, so as much as possible I'll try to follow that.

(EDIT: Also, I realized halfway through that I could count my manga as well, but since I'd already filled out most of the answers I decided not to. Just note that if I'd realized this earlier there would have been some Rurouni Kenshin or Death Note references.)

1. What book are you currently reading?
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Apparently this book has exited for twenty years and no one bothered to tell me about it (I happened to pass it in the 'SciFi/Fant' section, saw Pratchett and Gaiman's names on the same book cover, and almost fainted).

2. What is your favorite book?
I'm very specifically answering this question last; every other answer you'll read will mention a book I love very much, but I can't easily chose one book above all the others. Discounting every other book I'll mention though, and choosing only from the books on my shelf, I'll have to say my favorite is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. This is one of those books that I feel like everyone who likes words should read; it's a fanciful tale told using a lot of idioms-taken-literally and other plays-on-words, and it's just wonderful.

3. Who is your favorite character in any book?
There is no way to actually write down who my favorite character is, especially since I've used up a lot of my favorites on other answers (forthcoming). This isn't true by a long-shot, but I'll have to go with either Benedict or Beatrice from Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare (it's not a novel but I do have it in book format, so it counts). This is my favorite Shakespeare play and these characters are unexpectedly wonderful, for being from a writer I don't usually associate with with silly humor and romantic success.

4. What character are you most in love with?
Ser Jorah Mormont from the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin. Ser Jorah watches over Daenerys Targaryen, who is the exiled daughter of the usurped king, after he is banished from the kingdom. I love him because he's so faithful to her even though she isn't really the princess anymore, vowing to protect her even as she's married off to some barbarian horselord, and even as she falls in love with her barbarian horselord husband, and through everything else that happens (I've only read the first two books so far, however, so maybe the nature of their relationship will change?)

5. What character are you most like in personality?
Will Grayson from Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Leviathan. I'm referring to the first Will - there are two Wills in the book, and it's about how they happen to meet and how it changes their lives and whatnot, and I really identified with the first Will. Except for the fact that he was a guy with a crush on a girl, we seemed identical; the things he worried about are some of the same things I worry about, and it was just a little freaky seeing myself on the page so bluntly.

6. What character do you look like?
This is actually an awkward question, as I don't memorize how characters look in books. Doing some quick research I think I might look a bit like Meg Murray from the Wrinkle in Time books. I remember her hair being a sort of unappealing brown color, and while I don't have braces like Wikipedia says she does, I am supposed to be wearing glasses.

7. What character do you wish you were more like?
This is a difficult question, because there are many characters I like but don't really wish to be more like. If I had to chose someone then I guess I could say Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Though it isn't particularly a good thing, Katniss is given this opportunity to do something with herself and she takes it and shines.

8. What book do you think is underrated?
Either of the two Dragon Age tie-in novels by David Gaider (The Stolen Throne or The Calling). I say this because, as tie-in novels, they wont be seen as 'real literature' by sophisticated people, and they actually were very good. The reader doesn't necessarily need to play the video games to understand what's going on, because the books only really concern backstory for the game's setting (it is doubly interesting for those who have played the game, however).

9. Favorite bad boy character?
After much consideration, I've decided on Scipio, from The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke. It's a book I loved when I was younger (still do) and I especially loved this character, his story, and how it was all revealed. I guess he doesn't count as a 'bad boy' by today's standard, but he is a thief, so I'm going to count him.

10. Favorite bad girl character?
Margot Roth Spiegelman from Paper Towns by John Green. By the end of the book I didn't actually like her that much, but I loved how she was presented and how she encompasses the main theme of the story (I wont tell you what that is, because it may ruin the story). My favorite John Green novel, and it centers around this feisty bad girl.

11. Favorite English character?
Phileas Fogg from Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne. Actually the only Verne novel I've read, and it was some time ago, but I just remembered Phileas being incredibly wonderful. I had a hard time trying to think of English characters (I can't remember the nationality of every character from every book) so there may be another contender that I can't remember at the moment.

12. Favorite author?
This isn't a fair question, by a long shot. I really like Cornelia Funke for reminding me to think about the authors as well as their stories, and I really like Brian Jacques for writing such wonderfully fantastic stories, which I essentially grew up on; I really like Oscar Wilde for being so fabulously hilarious and for his one novel and many plays being so perfect; I also really appreciate Neil Gaiman and John Green, not only for being great writers but for not disappearing in the anonymity of authorship. I only discovered Neil Gaiman's Tumblr account recently, but it's wonderful to be reminded that, despite being an award winning famous novelist, he's also a real human being.

13. Name a character with a psychological problem that you share (be it serious or not).
I'm totally going to go with Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, and his dislike of adventuring (at least at the beginning of the story). I'm totally the type of person who prefers to sit happily at home, in lieu of running about and 'seeing the world' or whatever.

14. Name a character you will/would defend to the ends of the Earth.
Though he almost became my answer to #3 and #11, but I need someone to fill this spot: Lord Henry, from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Lord Henry is one of my favorite literary characters, and the person I think of when I try to imagine what Oscar Wilde must have been like in real life, but he's also the primary instigator of Dorian's change for the worst. I don't blame Henry at all, however, because Dorian is an idiot and deserved what he got; Henry was too busy being wonderful to realize this Dorian figure was just a beautiful idiot.

15. Favorite redheaded character?
Ginny Weasley from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. I loved Ginny right from the get-go because she was the 'forgotten little sister' that I always felt that I was. Looking back she really didn't get much characterization until the later books, but who cares; she was still my favorite character of all the Harry Potter characters.

16. Favorite love triangle?
I'm kind of stretching here, because apparently I haven't read many books with love triangles (and those I have read are listed as an answer for something else), but I'm going to go with the triangle from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. We were assigned to read this is class, and I was surprised to find that I actually quite enjoyed it (this rarely happens with assigned reading).

17. Favorite blue-eyed character?
I actually looked up a few characters from my books to see if there were any immediately apparent who had blue eyes, and settled of Meggie Folchart from Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. Inkheart has always been one of my favorite books (I also enjoyed the sequel, Inkspell, but was less impressed by the trilogy-ender Inkdeath), and as much as I loved Meggie's character what I really enjoyed was the realistic-fantasy setting, and the wonderful idea that characters from books all existed somewhere in a different universe.

18. Name a character people wouldn't expect you to love, but you do.
People who know me know that I tend to steer away from silly romances - or at least I pretend to. My dark secret is that actually I like romances probably as much as anyone else, and a character I like that many other people like but think I would be interested in is Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (and yes, that is his full name; I know because I paid attention). While most 'fangirls' might gush about how sweet Mr. Darcy is, I was impressed by how the character had changed over the course of the story, from aloof to humbled.

19. Favorite book you've read this year?
The Fault in our Stars by John Green. Waited six months for this (would have been longer, but I've only really been a die-hard Nerdfighter for six months), and it did not disappoint at all. Wonderfully written- but I wrote a whole review, didn't I, do I don't need to explain again why I loved it so much.

20. Favorite villain?
Dorian Gray from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Though he's the protagonist, he's also the villain because of how evil he turns through the story. It's a wonderful story, and I loved seeing Dorian's change from the innocent young man at the beginning to the beautiful terror in the end (Yeah I kind of cheated here, using the same book twice, but whatevs).

21. Name a book you could/would not finish.
I don't remember the title, but Anne McCaffery wrote this YA trilogy taking place in her Pern universe (I've never read any of her other stuff, note, but I'm aware that she's a pretty well known writer). I read the first two books in the trilogy and hated the female protagonist, because of how weak she was. I got partway through the third book, which randomly shifted to one of the male romantic interest's POV, and had to put it down forever. I believe that was the first book I ever didn't read all the way through.

22. Name a book that made you angry.
I can't remember the title, but when I was younger (11 or 13 maybe?) I read a book in the Animal Ark series (which is a series of books about some chick who saves animals with her veterinarian parents). There was one book where she was trying to rescue this wild wolf that the local farmers were hunting down, and when the wolf actually got shot and killed I was so furious. That was the first time I realized I could get legitimately angry with something I read.

23. Name a book that made you happy.
The first book in A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. I discovered these books in fourth grade, after lamenting the fact that all books seemed to have the same stock cheery ending. Mom bought me the first, and not only did I love the writing and narrative style, but I loved the fact that the author straight-up told us this wouldn't have a boring 'everyone-is-happy' ending.

24. Name 5 books you're looking forward to.
See, the thing about my reading schedule is I generally don't give a hoot about books coming out soon; I'm focused on trying to catch up with the greats from the past hundred years (especially the last twenty). So, of books that I'm looking forward to read (either on my shelf or on my Book Mooch wishlist, in no particular order): The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin; The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick; Caves of Steel by Issac Asimov; and The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson.

25. A random fact about your book preferences.
Hmm... I don't know, I prefer good books? Sometimes if books become really popular, my opinions of them diminish. 

26. Favorite childhood book?
I'll probably want to say Mariel of Redwall by Brian Jacques. I loved all his Redwall books, but this was the first I ever read, and I loved it for introducing me to the series. I actually read this in fourth grade, however, so if I want to go younger, I might say The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. This was recommended to me by one of my older brothers, and not only did I love the story I really appreciated that my brother thought to share it with me.

27. Bad book habits?
Not sure if I have any. I try to stick with one book, so if I don't like it I may take forever to get through it, reading a couple pages before going to sleep. I also like to read in public, while waiting for class or whatnot, and think I put off this air of not wanting to talk with anybody while I do so. I also have to keep myself from glaring at people when they ask what I'm reading while I'm trying to read (I'm reading a book, thank you, not waiting for someone to start small talk).

28. Do you have an e-reader?
I don't, not personally, but my mom does, and I'm not wholly against them, though I like the feeling of a real book in my hands.

29. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
One at a time - do people actually read multiple books at once? How does that work?

30. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
Not since my blog, no, though I guess now I pay more attention to why I feel certain ways about what I'm reading, so I can explain my opinion in my review.

31. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
Lately more often; I generally don't read non-fiction, but I read two last year alone, and I've been exploring different genres I don't often get into.

32. What is your reading comfort zone?
Fiction. Maybe unrealistic fiction, so fantasy, science fiction, or period pieces, to be more specific, but I will read anything as long as it's not real. I haven't read many biographies or non-fiction pieces, because I prefer being told a story.

33. Can you read on the bus/in the car?
Well, not when I'm driving it. Or when the driver is trying to talk to me. On a bus, yes, it's pretty easy, but in the car (if undisturbed) sometimes the shaking will make it hard to see the words.

34. Favorite place to read?
In bed, when it's a bit chilly, covered by my quilt and with my cat curled up at my side. Short of that, alone in my house, on one of the couches.

35. Do you ever dog-ear books?
Eck, no. I once knew a girl who did, despite claiming to 'love' books, and I never let her borrow a book from me again.

36. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
When I have to, but even for class it feels a bit weird.

37. What makes you love a book?
Lovable characters and an interesting story. I'm particularly fond of different stories; I'm at the point in my life where I've almost seen all fiction has to offer, and I'm particularly pleased with stories where I don't expect the ending, or the writer takes a different approach. Beside that, however, I'll love books that aren't a chore to read and get me excited about one thing or another.

38. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
Generally I recommend every book I read, though not always to the same audience. I want people to keep reading so if I see something I think people might like, I try to let them know about it.

39. Favorite genre?
Right now I'd have to say science fiction, but, as I mentioned, if there's a story to it I'll read it, regardless of genre.

40. Genre you rarely read?
Ummm... travel books? That's a genre, right? We read Rick Steves when we went to Europe a couple years back but other than that... nope, never much reason to read travel books.

41. Have you ever read a self-help book?
I don't actually know the answer to this. I read a book about video games that talked about how games could make people happy, but I don't think that counts.

42. Most inspirational book you've read this year?
Halting State by Charles Stross. I might write this even if I wasn't trying to keep from using the same answer twice - while The Fault in our Stars was inspirational in the way people usually think of the word, the setting and technology described in Halting State really inspired me to imagine a real, tangible world that seemed and felt fantastical.

43. Favorite reading snack?
Hmm... Chocolate? I think that goes for everything - though I don't think I eat much while reading, because I'm afraid of getting smudges on the pages.

44. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
Passage to India by E.M. Forster. We had to read this for class one year, and our English teacher was sooo excited about it. She went on about how much she loved it and how much we would love it, and made us answer these questions about the first chapter which all essentially asked "Did you get the amazing symbolism of this one scene!?!" The first chapter was also ridiculously boring and I didn't even finish the book (though I think I got a C on the unit).

45. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
This depends; I think I tend to agree, but I don't actually read critical reviews. It really depends on the book.

46. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
I try to write more positive reviews, but if the book is bad then the book is bad. No matter what type of review, I try to point out some good points and some negative points, but I can't help if my overall opinion of the book was  negative.

47. Most intimidating book you've ever read?
Probably A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar. It's a biography of the famous mathematician John Nash and possibly the only actual biography that I've read (that was longer than a page in a textbook). It was a bit hard to get through at times, mostly because I missed being able to read a story, but having seen the movie I think it was a bit easier to swallow.

48. Books you're most likely to bring on vacation?
The thinner, or thicker, books on my to-read shelf. If it's a long trip, with a long car ride or something, I'll take one or two thicker books, but if it's a trip where I know I wont have much free time, I take whatever I'm currently reading and maybe one other book in case I finish.

49. The longest you've gone without reading?
I don't even know the answer to that. Definitely a few days, but a week maybe? A couple weeks? Sometimes I don't read very much, but I generally always have something that I'm working on.

50. What distracts you easily when you're reading?
People talking. Not even necessarily talking to me - I have this strange need to listen whenever I hear people talking, so if mom and dad are talking, or the TV's on, I can't focus on the words on the page. To counteract that, I'll steal the noise-cancellation headphones and hide in my parents' room, which is the furthest from the TV.

51. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
Not counting all the books I've already mentioned, or have yet to mention? Probably The Tale of Despereaux (2008), based on the children's book of the same name by Kate DiCamillo. I much preferred the original book, but even though the movie wasn't the most faithful, it did a really good job of telling the story none-the-less.

52. Most disappointing film adaptation?
Definitely The Golden Compass (2007), based on the first book in the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. The movie was pretty faithful and had wonderful special effects, but very few people saw it because of the stigma when it was announced. Yes the author of the book is anti-Christian, and the book had some anti-Christian elements, but that's just like every other book having some sort of message I don't agree with. Ignoring that, the story itself was fabulous, and I was sad that the other two books wouldn't be made into movies because people were so prejudice against the book.

53. The most money you've ever spent on books at one time?
I don't know how to answer this either; generally when I say I'm 'buying books' what I mean is I'm adding them to my mom's pile of books-to-buy and making her pay. Using my own money (or, more appropriately, giftcards) I don't think I've ever spent more that $30 on a stack of books.

54. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
I don't know how much I skim. Before deciding to buy a book, I generally look at reviews and how many stars it's gotten on Amazon. There are certain author's I'll buy no matter what they write, and there are some books I've picked up at the book store after only reading the synopsis and first paragraph.

55. What would cause you to stop reading a book halfway through?
Really, really hating either the character or narrative. I've only ever stopped reading a handful of books, and those were all either because the story was being more frustrating than I could handle or because I knew if I'd kept going I'd just get more frustrated.

56. Do you like to keep your books organized?
Yes, definitely. All the books I own and have read are organized alphabetically by author's last name on my shelves; everything else is organized in some other manner on my lower shelves. I have a stack on books to read on my desk that actually belong to someone else (I'm keeping them separate so I remember they're not mine).

57. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you've read them?
If I liked the book, which I generally do, I like to keep them. I leave them on my shelf like trophies of battle or something. Books I dislike, in the past, have gone to my mom's classroom library or been shuffled off to a friend somehow; now I can list them on Book Mooch or donate them to my local library.

58. Are there any books you've been avoiding?
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. I have it in my room ready to read and everything, and have had so since my friend (leaving for college) left it with me last September, but I have yet to read it because everything I've heard about it was good and I'm terrified that it wont be. I'll explain why in my answer for #60.

59. A book you didn't expect to like but did?
World War Z by Max Brooks. It's a zombie story and I figured it would be silly and pointless, but it was actually much more well thought out than I could have imagined. I wrote a review on it, so I wont bother explaining why I liked it, but going into it I didn't expect much at all, and was pleasantly surprised.

60. A book that you expected to like but didn't?
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. I saw this book on a list of hilarious comedies. I saw this books rated highly everywhere imaginable online. I saw and bought it in B&N the next time I went. I got 50 pages in before deciding I could not, in good faith, force myself to read any more. Maybe I was just expecting a different tone of comedy, but I could not get into this book, at all. The comedy is really dry, which normally I would like but here felt more depressing.

61. Favorite historical fiction book?
Wolf Hunt by Gillian Bradshaw. It's based on the first known historical story (a French epic poem) to feature a werewolf. I'm a huge fan of werewolves so I already liked it, but the characters were well developed and the writing very clear and interesting, and it was very historically accurate (as far as I can tell) so I can recommend it for multiple reasons!

62. Hardcover or paperback?
Generally I'm a fan of paperback, just because they seem to be easier to read/hold, but as long as it has the book then I don't care much

63. Favorite book nobody has heard of?
I guess I'll have to say The Collectors by Robert Carter. It was weird and interesting, but it went out of print shortly after I borrowed it from a friend, and I haven't been able to read it since then. Luckily I found a used copy so I own it now, though I'll want to go through it again to see if it's as good as I remember.

64. Favorite classic book?
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I finally got to read the unabridged version this year (well, I finished it this year) and I love it all the more. Wonderful story, wonderful character, yes; it's really the intricacy that I love, though. Dumas weaves all these separate plot lines around and something one character will do affects everyone else's personal goals and aspirations and it's amazing!

65. Write something that only people who have read a certain book will understand.
Though it's frown upon to plan your own death, I always kind of hoped that, if I could chose, I would go out as the Hero-without the Traitor part, of course.