This questionnaire is courtesy of Book Binge.
Which book has been on your shelves the longest?
I’m going to have to cheat here and say the entire Georgette Heyer collection.
What is your current read, your last read and the book you’ll read next?
- Current Read: Whisper of Warning by Laura Griffin
- Last: Lover Avenged by J.R. Ward
- Next: Hard & Fast by Erin McCarthy
What book did everyone like and you hated?
The Runaway Duke by Julie Anne Long. The hero’s Irish dialect totally threw me as it was not accurate.
Which book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read?
Moon Called by Patricia Briggs. I’ve heard such good things about her books and I’ve had this one sitting on my TBR pile for almost a year. One of these days, I must overcome my prejudice against werewolves and other furry things and give it a chance.
I’m also ashamed to admit that I’m one of the very few who hasn’t yet read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Which book coming out in 2009 is top priority to read?
So far, 2009 is shaping up to be an excellent reading year, so I’m not sure which one to pick. Of those books which have yet to be released, the paperback edition of Julia Spencer-Fleming’s I Shall Not Want is a highly-anticipated read. I’m also looking forward to Karin Slaughter’s Genesis (US Title: Undone) and Chelsea Cain’s Evil at Heart. Despite my negative reaction to Nalini Singh’s Angels’ Blood, I’m planning to read Covet, the first book in J.R. Ward’s new series featuring biker angels. If Ward can make me enjoy reading about vampires, she can probably persuade me to like angels.
Last page: read it first or wait ’til the end?
I wait to read it. I also avoid detailed reviews or spoilers until after I’ve finished the book. If it’s a book I know I want to read, I generally stick to the first and last paragraphs of reviews, then I go back and read them in full after I’ve finished the book in question.
Acknowledgements: waste of ink and paper or interesting ?
I like them, if only for the potential amusement factor. Some romance authors really go over the top gushing about their husbands and this always makes me skeptical about the true state of their marriage. I also find author bios interesting. The funniest I read recently was the one Karin Slaughter has on her website:
Karin Slaughter is the number one international bestseller of several novels, including the Grant County Series. A long-time resident of Atlanta, she divides her time between the kitchen and the living room.
Too funny! A pisstake on all those pompous gits who “divide their time between New York and Paris”, and so on. I notice, though, that the powers-that-be at her publishers didn’t let her use that bio in her books…
Which book character would you switch places with?
At the risk of sounding totally boring, none. I like my life. I’m also not a reader who inserts herself into whatever story she’s reading. I’ve heard a lot of readers do this, particularly when reading a romance.
Which Authors do you want to read that you haven’t yet?
As mentioned above, Patricia Briggs.
Which books are still on your shelf from when you were in school?
Quite a few, actually. I rather liked many of the books which were required reading, with the notable exception of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. That one sucked. The usual suspects are on my shelves, including The Great Gatsby, Catcher In the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and Pride & Prejudice. My absolute favourite school-read was the little-known Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson. Set in the 1940s, it’s about sibling rivalry between twin sisters growing up on a small island in Chesapeake Bay. I think I’ve read it about ten times.
Which book has been with you to the most places?
My Georgette Heyer collection. I’m meticulous with my books but the Heyer ones are beginning to look a tad dog-eared.
Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad ten years later?
None that I can think of. Please don’t make me re-read Roll of Thunder to test the theory!
Stephen King or Anne Rice?
Anne Rice, before she found Jesus and went batshit crazy.
Used or brand new?
I’ll take both, especially when it comes to a book I know I’ll only read once. Unfortunately, I have to buy most of my books new as I don’t live in an English-speaking country.
Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?
The Notebook, without doubt. I also thought the movie of Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca was superior to the book, even if it omitted the lesbian undertones in the original story.
Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?
KristieJ, particularly on historicals. Keishon on mysteries. My mother has some interesting recommendations, as long as they don’t involve India or Welsh mining pits – I’m still recovering from the childhood horror that was My Bonnie Pit Laddie, and I think I have permanent wrist damage from the Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy. My friend, Andrea, has passed on some great literary books.
Recommend a series/ or book:
There are so many to choose from! Julia Spencer-Fleming’s Clare Ferguson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery series is excellent. I’m planning to review it soon. The early Stephanie Plums are great; the newer ones, not so much. Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs books are wonderful. I loved Pat Barker’s Regeneration trilogy. C.J. Sansom’s historical mysteries featuring Matthew Shardlake are excellent.
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