Day 336 - The Bookworm

Miss Berry has an awesome [to me!] meme this Monday, all about books! I just absolutely couldn't resist this one! Let's get to it! And of course since it's me, this is all rambly and long.





1. Are you a bookworm?

I really am. I started reading a few days shy of my 3rd birthday, surprising my parents my reading billboards while on a family vacation. They had no idea I could read! Since then, I have been surrounded by books. My family had a hard time keeping me supplied in books because I would race through everything so quickly and I'll admit, they totally let me read things FAR above my maturity level as a kid. But I don't think that's a bad thing, really.

2. Which do you prefer: hardcover, paperback or electronic?

God, there is NOTHING like cracking open a new hardcover book. But I love paperbacks because I don't have to be as careful with them and I can read in tubs or outside. I held out on getting a Kindle for a longggg time because for me, part of the whole reading experience is the feel of the book in my hand. But I have to admit, it's pretty awesome to be able to tote around my Kindle and have access to my current library...about 560 books! I use my Kindle Paperwhite for most of my reading, since my Kindle Fire is really more for Netflix and games, although I do read on it on occasion, too.

3. Which book is your favorite?

Berry. Really??? LOL! I just don't know what I could possibly choose. I guess I'd have to say Gone With The Wind because it's the one that has a place in my heart as my first real "grown up" book. I read it when I was 9. I totally didn't understand everything in it, and it took me a while, but I did it. Since then, I've re-read it pretty much yearly. I'd have to also say that The Color Purple, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Maggie-Now are jostling for position as second favorite, although really, Maggie-Now is more of a guilty pleasure book.

4. Which children’s book is your favorite?

Oh my goodness. So hard! I think I'd have to pick Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, All Of A Kind Family, and Sideway Stories From Wayside School. But there really are just SO FREAKIN' MANY.

5. What’s the last book you’ve read?

I'm currently reading Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin but it's been slow for me for some reason. I re-read The Girlfriend by Abigail Barnette this past weekend because I was in the mood for a little smut. LOL! Whaaat????

6. Name your top five favorite writers:

Hmmmm. JK Rowling, John Steinbeck, Jen Lancaster, Alice Walker, and.... probably Shakespeare, just because I truly believe he told some wonderful stories, not because I'm trying to be pretentious. *laughs* It's hard to think of your favorite favorites when you love so many books, you know? Whoever I'm reading at the time, that's my favorite.

7. Name a book that had a strong impact on you:

This actually wasn't a book, but a short story in a high school literature book that belonged to my sister and is now in my possession. The story was called Waiting For Her Train and it was about an older woman who was quite ladylike, but didn't have a home, and she learned how to basically survive on her own just taking things day by day.

8. Favorite & least favorite book genres?

I am not a huge fan of science fiction or fantasy. I find it very hard to read for some reason. Some fantasy I can do, such as the Harry Potter books [huge Potterhead here!] because it seems like regular fiction to me even with magic. But I've been attempting to read Game of Thrones and I just can't. Same with all those Anne McCaffery and Robert Jordan novels that a lot of people in my circle go nuts for. I love Young Adult novels, contemporary fiction, historical fiction/romance, biographies, memoirs, comedy, chick lit, etc. But really, anything with a good story and semi-normal named characters can draw me in.

9. Favorite & least favorite book-to-movie adaptions?

I loved the movie adaptation of Memoirs of a Geisha! I thought it was so beautifully done, even though I know people were all "Wah! Geisha are nothing like these fashionistas!" I didn't care, I thought it was awesome. I really loved The Hunger Games and all of the Harry Potter movies as well, although I do think they left out a little much in the HP movies. I thought the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic was wayyyy less fun than the book.

10. Have you ever bought a book based on the cover alone?

Not that I can remember, but I'm sure it's happened. I've picked up a lot of books just because the cover was interesting.

11. Where do you usually buy your books?

Amazon, these days. LOL But I love going to Half Price Books and browsing sometimes, too, because I still buy regular paper books. I like the smell. I have a paperback copy of Beverly Cleary's Fifteen from the early 60s and it smells divine.

12. Do you go to the library?

Definitely not as often as I used to, I'm sorry to say. I used to go all the time, but convenience has trumped everything and it's so much more convenient now for me to just find what I want to read online.

13. If you were to write a book about Second Life, which topic would you focus on?

I always thought it would be fun to write a Second Life based fiction book. I read one [and did a review of it] a couple of years ago and it was pretty silly, but I enjoyed that SL was the main part of the story. I'd love to do a Second Life story like that sometime.

You know...if I ever finish reading the 560 books in my Kindle first.