Borrowed from Carrie, who borrowed it from Barbara, who got it from a Booking Through Thursday prompt.
What are you reading right now?
Founding Faith by Steven Waldman.
Oddly, that’s all I currently have going. I expect that to shortly change :-)
Do you have an e-reader?
No sirree, Bob! I’m a paper and ink girl–a semi-Neo-Luddite (as much as one can be while being an avid blogger, that is!)
Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
I’m always reading several books at once–but I like there to be only one fiction title going at a time. I have a harder time keeping fiction plots and characters straight if I’ve got more than one going at a time. So fiction generally gets read in fits and bursts instead of a few chapters a day like the rest of my reading.
Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
Yeah–I started keeping my books out of the library forever so that I could get them all reviewed! I also occasionally wonder “How will this look in my Nightstand post?” But I never censor my reading for Nightstand posts, even though I’ve thought of doing so. What you see is what you get–although it doesn’t always mean what you think :-)
How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
Less often than I’d like. But there are just too many books to be read–and too many IN my comfort zone to keep me busy.
What is your reading comfort zone?
Girlie novels (certain Christian romance novelists, chick lit, stuff that’s all about interpersonal relationships), Juvenile and YA fairy tale adaptions, memoirs, sociological type stuff. Okay–my reading comfort zone is pretty wide. It’s easier to say what ISN’T in my comfort zone than what is.
What ISN’T in my comfort zone is mysteries, suspense, science fiction, smutty romance novels, and fiction that makes you think. (It’s the fiction that makes you think that I’d prefer to read more of, by the way).
Favorite place to read?
In the bathtub.
What is your policy on book lending?
I only lend books I own :-)
and books that I know the library doesn’t own.
Otherwise I direct people to the library.
Christian living/theology/doctrine books, I lend out carefully on a few conditions:
- I have to know who has what
- The person I loaned the book to has to actually read the book
- The person I loaned the book to has to be willing to either write notes in the margins or discuss the book with me once they’re done or both!
Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Of MY books, absolutely. Generally, though, I only write in nonfiction titles–I write arguments, Scripture references, other thoughts, etc. And, as I mentioned above, I beg anyone I loan books to to do the same.
What makes you love a book?
I love a book that I don’t have to work too hard to get into =). And I like if it portrays good and evil as good and evil. I like…
Man, that’s a hard question. I’m not sure what makes me love a book. I just know that I love it.
What will inspire you to recommend a book?
For fiction, if it is well-written, engaging, accurately depicts reality (good and evil, interpersonal relationships, etc.), and has some cross-genre appeal. Otherwise, I tend to qualify my recommendation as to where it fits within the genre.
For nonfiction, if it is well-written, engaging, and addresses a valuable topic in what I deem to be a thoughtful (or at least thought-provoking) manner.
Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
Fiction that makes me think. I tend to want to turn off my brain when it comes to fiction–but from my brief forays into fiction that makes me think, I know that it’s worthwhile. I just don’t take/make the time and mental energy to read them.
Favorite biography?
That’s a tough one. I tend to remember the person being “biographed” rather than the biography itself. The only thing that comes to mind is not strictly a biography–more an autobiography or a memoir. But I love Corrie ten Boom’s Hiding Place
Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
I haven’t read much from the “inspirational” front this year. I’ve been more into the “get down to the nitty-gritty, challenge your faith, figure out what you believe” front. Lots of exercising my mind towards the things of God, not a lot of “heart-warming” stuff.
How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
Not sure how I feel about it. I do give negative reviews. But whether I should, and how I choose which books to review (even though I had a negative impression of them)? I guess I give negative reviews when I think there’s a good possibility that some people could be led astray by the book if they don’t read some truth about it, or if a book had pros and cons, or if I expected a book to be good based on other reviews, book jacket flaps, whatever and was disappointed.
Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
Plato’s Republic. I was in sixth grade. I wasn’t intimidated then. I am now! Then, of course, I didn’t feel the challenge of having to understand it. I read it, but didn’t understand it. Now I’m frightened.
Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
Tolstoy’s War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Despite reading and enjoying everything my library owns by Tolstoy apart from these two titles, I’m still intimidated. It’s a Russian novelist thing. I’ll get over it eventually.
Favorite fictional character?
Elizabeth Bennet
The longest I’ve gone without reading.
Summer 2006, Jacksonville Florida. Two months. Only read the Bible. Challenging. Growing. It was my “Summer of One Book.”
Apart from that? I don’t think I’ve ever gone more than a day since I learned to read. And I’m not exaggerating at all. (Just ask my mother and siblings!)
What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
My sisters shrieking wildly because my brother had just proposed to his girlfriend.
Other than that, I am NOT easily distracted. I was one of seven children, homeschooled, in an 1100 square foot house, remember?
Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
A&E’s Pride and Prejudice
Most disappointing film adaptation?
I’d ditto Carrie and Barbara and say Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story. I don’t know that you can even call that an adaptation.
What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
Absolute boringness or complete and utter heresy. I’ve done it with only a handful of books: Oz Garcia’s The Healthy, High Tech Body, Larry McMurtry’s Books: A Memoir, and Joel Osteen’s Become a Better You. Those are the only books I can remember stopping reading (without writing myself a note to pick them back up again.)
Do you like to keep your books organized?
Yes–but the organizational system varies. My fiction is ordered by author’s last name. My nonfiction is ordered by topic. My Biblical reference/Christian living is ordered partly by topic, partly by last name, and partly by what looks good on the shelf :-). My library books are ordered either by size or by due date, depending on how confident I feel that I’ll be able to get everything read before it’s due back!
=D Fun reading your answers. I think I read the “inspirational” question differently than you – or wrong. I’m not sure which.
Reading in the bathtub. Not an answer I expected.
And I DO think negative reviews are called for when the book is heretical and there’s a chance people can be led astray by it. However, I did read Velvet Elvis and was SO ANNOYED that I couldn’t even get my thoughts together on that one. I just saw red and couldn’t put words down. But yes, sometimes I think negative reviews are CALLED for. Not necessarily when a story is just boring, bad, or “eh” but when it flies in the face of scripture.
The Summer of One Book does not sound like a bad idea. At all. Now I’m wondering if I can really discipline myself to block out everything else and just spend time in the Word. THat’s a hard question to consider. But I’m going to consider it so thanks for mentioning that!