Twenty Questions Book Tag

I first saw this tag on Books, Vertigo & Tea, which is an excellent book blog. You should go check it out.

Twenty Questions Book Tag

1. How many books are too many in a series?

Anything more than 3. I have a terrible memory and have to reread a series before every new book comes out. I can handle doing that with a trilogy. If I have to reread 10 books to prepare for the 11^th? Nope. Not going to happen.

2. How do you feel about cliffhangers?

Mildly annoyed. I’d prefer if books didn’t end with cliffhangers, but if the book is part of a series, I can live with it.

3. Hardback or paperback?

Hardback. If I like a book, I reread it many times. Several of my old paperbacks are held together with glue sticks and rubber bands because I’ve read them to death. Hardbacks don’t usually fall apart.

4. Favorite book?

Favorite book ever? How am I supposed to choose? It’s probably easier for a parent to choose a favorite child than for a bookworm to choose a favorite book. Okay. If I had to choose, I’d pick The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. That book got me interested in dystopias and nonlinear narrative structure.

5. Least favorite book?

This is much easier. I hate everything by James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. I don’t understand why college professors are so obsessed with those authors. I had to read a ton of their work. I found all of it tedious and/or incomprehensible.

6. Love triangles, yes or no?

Yes! Like all readers, I adore love triangles!

No, I’m just joking. I’d rather not have love triangles in my books unless they’re satirical (like in The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich) or they make logical sense (like in Tin Man by Sarah Winman).

 

7. The most recent book you couldn’t finish?

Dome of the Hidden Pavilion: New Poems by James Tate. I could have finished it, but I chose not to. It’s weird and funny, but I didn’t understand why I was reading it. If the author was trying to tell me something, I wasn’t getting the message.

8. A book you are currently reading?

A Clash of Kings by George RR Martin. It’ll probably take me 10 years to catch up on this series, and the next book still won’t be ready for publication.

9. Last book you recommended to someone?

Here are the books I’ve been recommending to everybody lately: This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee; The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock; Scythe by Neal Shusterman; and The Butcher’s Hook by Janet Ellis.

 

10. Oldest book you’ve read (publication date)?

This is hard because I took ancient lit classes in college. I honestly don’t remember the oldest thing I’ve read. I read a bunch of ancient Greek literature. That was old. I also vaguely remember The Epic of Gilgamesh. Isn’t that one of the oldest surviving pieces of literature or something? I don’t think I read the whole Epic. Clearly, my ancient lit classes made a huge impression on me. I don’t even remember what I read.

11. Newest book you’ve read (publication date)?

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland was published a few weeks ago.

12. Favorite author?

My favorite author ever? If I say all my favorites really fast, it might sound like one long name: Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, Gary Paulsen, Rainbow Rowell, Markus Zusak, J.K. Rowling, V.E. Schwab, Marcus Sedgwick, Neal Shusterman.

  

13. Buying books or borrowing books?

Buying. For some reason, I feel the need to keep a book on my shelf for 6+ months before reading it. Then I wonder why I didn’t read it sooner.

14. A book you dislike that everybody seems to love?

There are so many! I’m a very contrary human. Okay . . . how can I cause the maximum amount of shock and outrage with this question? Um, I thought The Lunar Chronicles were boring. *Gasp!* The horror!

15. Bookmarks or dog-ears?

Bookmarks. If you’re going to keep the book, you can do whatever you want with it, but if you dog-ear a book that you plan to trade or sell, I will hunt you down and end you.

16. A book you can always reread?

Harry Potter. Is anyone surprised by this?

17. Can you read while listening to music?

I can, but I prefer not to. I need silence to concentrate on what I’m reading. That’s also why I can’t read in public. I get distracted by all the stuff happening around me.

18. One point-of-view or multiple?

Either, as long as it’s done well.

19. Do you read a book in one sitting or over multiple days?

Multiple days. I’m actually a painfully slow reader. I read for at least 4 hours a day and still only manage to get through 2 books a week. Even short books seem to take me forever.

20. A book you read because of the cover?

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book only because of the cover, but I do seem to be attracted to space-landscape-house photos. I picked up these because of the covers. They look like an army of beautiful clones, don't they?

Do you want to do this tag? Consider yourself tagged.