A to Z Survey

A to Z Survey

• Aug 16, 2013

This awesome graphic and survey was created by the lovely and incredibly talented Jamie from The Perpetual Page-Turner. She never fails to amaze me with her creativity and passion for reading and blogging! You have no idea how excited I am to go spend time reading everyone else's surveys and how much fun I had writing up my answers to all these awesome questions. Have fun reading!

Authors I've Read the Most Books From

Author You've Read The Most Books From:

According to Goodreads, that would be Robin Jones Gunn. She writes Christian fiction, and I had no idea I'd read 38 of her books already! Dee Henderson (15) and L.M. Montgomery (13) round out the top three.

Best Sequel Ever:

I don't even know how to choose! I think I'm going to go with Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery. I love all of the Anne books, but the first three are definitely my favorites. I adore seeing Anne start to grow up and mature in this sequel.

Currently Reading:

Right now, I'm in the middle of re-reading Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. I'm actually going through it with my cousin. As I've mentioned before, we love reading books at the same time so we can discuss them together! I first read this one back in middle school, so it's really interesting to revisit it as an adult.

Drink of Choice While Reading:

Hands down, 100%, always and forever: Diet Coke. It is my drug of choice, and I'm addicted.

E-Reader or Physical Book?

E-reader Or Physical Book:

Both! Why would I choose? I buy plenty of books in both formats, and I love them each for different things. Numerous e-book deals and the ease of carrying around so many books at a time makes me love my e-reader. But I also love buying physical books to add to my shelves! One of my biggest bookish pet peeves are people who act as though it has to be all or nothing. Look, I love physical books as much as the next reader but I also appreciate the finer qualities of owning an e-reader. Each has their own positives and negatives on the pro/con list.

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School:

I think I'd say Warner from... Haha! NOT. I actually didn't date in high school, so the real answer is that there isn't a fictional character I probably would have dated. However, if I had dated, I would have been most likely to date someone similar to Cricket from Lola and the Boy Next Door. It's just the whole adorable dork thing...

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance:

I'm going to say Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. I wasn't really interested in reading Cinder, but I was swayed by all the crazy love for it around the blogosphere. And then I didn't really love it. It was just okay for me. I decided to give Scarlet a chance anyway, and I'm so glad I did. It was a book that completely changed my opinion of the series as a whole, and now I can't wait to read Cress in 2014.

Hidden Gem Book

Hidden Gem Book:

Oh my goodness, I'd definitely say Nowhere but Home by Liza Palmer. This book was just amazing! It's one of my favorite reads of 2013, and I finally tried to put my love for it into words yesterday. It's adult contemporary fiction, and it absolutely wowed me. I would love to see this book find its way to more readers!

Important Moment In Your Reading Life:

I think that creating a Goodreads account was a big moment because it was my first experience with the online book community. I never interacted on there, but I was able to see that there were so many other readers all over the world discussing books together... which led me to create my blog! Obviously, that had a huge impact on my reading life. It affected big things (like how much I read) but it also changed smaller things (like I started to pay attention to book release dates, etc.). And that doesn't even begin to cover getting involved with the book blogging community and making new bookish friends!

Just Finished:

I'm just finished The Passing Bells by Phillip Rock, which is the first book in a trilogy originally published in the 1970s. It was recently reissued - I'm assuming in light of the Downton Abbey craze. From the gorgeous cover to the writing inside, I loved everything about this one! The large cast of characters and thoughtful detail reminded me of all the reasons I love adult historical fiction.

Kinds Of Books You Won't Read:

I try to keep an open mind about what I read, and I don't typically dismiss an entire genre outright. For example, I'm not a huge science fiction fan, but I would pick up a book from the genre if someone who knew my reading taste specifically recommended it to me. I won't read romance or erotica, but that's just a personal thing. I like my love stories to be more on the "leave it to the imagination" end of the romance spectrum.

Longest Book You've Ever Read:

At 1,329 pages, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo definitely takes the cake on this one. However, I've also read a large number of books that were more than 500 pages long. Big books for the win!

Major Book Hangover Because Of:

From this year, it's definitely Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. For quite a while after reading it, I'd be reading something else but still thinking about Lou and Will. It's just that good.

Number Of Bookcases You Own:

I've got 4 bookcases in my house - 2 downstairs and 2 upstairs. But I love decorating with books and have them scattered all over my house! They definitely aren't contained by bookcases.

One Book I've Read Multiple Times

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:

I love to re-read, but I haven't done it as much since I started blogging. There are a bunch of books that could actually fit in this category, but the first one that came to mind is The Opposite of Love by Julie Buxbaum. I know I've already read it at least four times. There's just something about the book that I just love so much!

Preferred Place to Read:

The bath! It's my favorite place to read - whether I'm reading a physical book or on my Kindle. The only thing I'm too scared to read in the bath are library books because I don't want to pay to replace it if I accidentally damaged one. I also love to read in bed at night before falling asleep. That's probably my second favorite place and where the majority of my reading takes place!

Quote That Inspires Me

Quote That Inspires You From A Book You've Read:

"From that time on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again, never miss the lack of intimate friends. Books became her friends and there was one for every mood. There was poetry for quiet companionship. There was adventure for when she tired of quiet hours. There would be love stories when she came into adolescence and when she wanted to feel a closeness to someone she could read a biography. On that day when she first knew she could read, she made a vow to read one book a day as long as she lived." - A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Reading Regret:

Like Jamie, I think I'd say that I regret not reading the Harry Potter books earlier. I've actually read them at this point, but that was just in late 2011-early 2012 so it's still pretty recent. I wish I could have the experience that many others had - growing up with the series, waiting at midnight for the books to come out, etc. But on the plus side, I never had to wait between books!

One Reading Regret

Series You Started & Need To Finish:

Well, you can see all my series-related reading goals on my post for the Summer Series Challenge. Since then, I've made really good progress on my unfinished series! However, the series I still need to finish is the Infernal Devices. I've got Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess just waiting for me to pick them up! I honestly don't know why I keep putting them off.

Three Of Your All-Time Favorite Books:

I hate questions like this one! How can I choose just three? But, under extreme pressure, I would say: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery and the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Yep, I just cheated and included a series. Too bad.

Jane Austen Fangirl

Unapologetic Fangirl For:

Jane Austen. If a book or movie is in any way related to Jane Austen (whether it be her life or her books), I almost always cannot resist. It's like this crazy compulsion that I try to fight but never win against. My bookshelves are sorted into different categories like adult fiction, young adult fiction, biographies and memoirs, etc.... and yes, Jane Austen is one of my categories.

Very Excited For This Release More Than All The Others:

Okay, I really can't narrow this down to one book. So, I'll choose one book releasing during each of the next three months. For September, I'm most looking forward to Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. In October, I can't wait to get my hands on Just One Year by Gayle Forman. November brings with it The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead, and I am dying for more Sydrian. Those are the three books I've already pre-ordered for the fall!

Worst Bookish Habit:

I think my worst bookish habit is that I rarely, if ever, loan books to other people. I often clean off my bookshelves and give away books that I no longer want to own - so I'm doing okay in that respect. But if it's a book I love, there's a good chance I want to recommend it to you... not loan it to you. I'll tell you to read it, but don't ask for my copy. I didn't used to have a problem loaning books, but a few bad experiences ended up changing my opinion on it.

My other bad bookish habit is that I continue buying books, even though I haven't read many of the books I already own. It's a huge problem - my wallet gets skinnier and my TBR just gets fatter. The worst that I'll often think about how excited I am to read a book and how I "must buy it now" only to let it sit next to my bed for months. I also do this at the library - checking out a ton of books at a time even though there's no way I will be able to read them all.

Latest Book Purchase(s)

X Marks The Spot: 

That would be Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laura Viera Rigler, which I find fitting that I addicted to being a total Jane Austen fangirl.

Your Latest Book Purchase:

Since I had a lovely little coupon, I moseyed over to Books-A-Million and bought two hardcover adult fiction books that I'd been eyeing recently: The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway and The Ashford Affair by Lauren Willig.

ZZZ-Snatcher Book (Kept You Up Late):

Most recently, it was definitely The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes! Alternating between present day and World War I, I loved so much about this book. The characters, the history, and the role art plays in it just made this such a winner. I stayed up so late (on a work night, no less!) because I had to know how it was all going to end.