Stolen Book Meme

1. Favorite childhood book?

I had several. Little Women. The American Girls (but only Samantha and Molly). I had brown hair and glasses, so obviously I only wanted to read the stories about girls with brown hair and/or glasses. A Little Princess.

Curtain by Agatha Christie. It’s Hurcule Poirot’s final mystery. Very suspenseful. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader since the movie is coming out this weekend. Stay Home, Stay Happy by Rachel Campos-Duffy.

None right now actually.

dog-earring pages.

Hail, Holy Queen by Scott Hahn and Designing Your Own Classical Cirriculum.

No. I like reading real books.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time or several at once?

I usually have two going at once.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?

Not really. Except I read a lot more blogs than I did before I had one!

Mercy by Jodi Picoult.

Second Glance by Jodi Picoult. Render Unto Caesar by Archbishop Chaput.

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?

Sometimes. I try to read some science type things every once in a while. The last ones were The Female Brain and The Language of God. LoG is written by the director of the human genome project who is also a Christian.

Theology, fiction, education, politics.

13. Can you read on the bus?

Sometimes. If I’m hot, then no, I get sick.

14. Favorite place to read?

In bed. On my couch or porch.

15. What is your policy on book lending?

I lend books to friends and often forget. I hope they’ll make it back to me someday, but I don’t get too worried about it.

16. Do you ever dog-ear books?

Yes. Even library books. I am bad.

17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?

Yes. Not fiction. But theology especially.

18. Not even with text books?

Oh yes.

19. What is your favorite language to read in?

English is my default.

20. What makes you love a book?

When I’m sad that its over. When I connect with at least one character. When it makes me think.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?

If I finished it and liked it.

22. Favorite genre?

I like mystery, historical fiction, and stories that are related to a theme. I also have come to appreciate fantasy (LOTR and harry potter) as I’ve gotten older.

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did)?

Science Fiction. It makes me nervous.

I really liked Anne Rice’s Christ the Lord books. I know they were fiction, but they made me really think about what Jesus’ life would have been like as a child and a young man.

25. Have you ever read a self-help book?

Sadly, yes.

26. Favorite cookbook?

Simply in Season. It breaks down all the recipes based on the seasons and focuses on the produce that is in season for each. It’s yummy.

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or nonfiction)?

My Life with the Saints by James Martin SJ. I have a little quote book of Dorothy Day’s. She inspires me.

28. Favorite reading snack?

Grapes and cheese. Or tea and cookies.

Walker Percy. I think I do not understand his books, but people always tell me to read him because he is a Catholic author. The Second Coming was one that people said I would love. I had a hard time with it.

30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?

I only trust my inner critic.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?

Eh. I always try to find something positive to say about a book. Unless it’s written by Christopher Hitchens.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you choose?

Italian. I would love to read Dante in Italian.

33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?

Uh, anything by Faulkner. I only got about half way through Sound and Fury.

34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?

Ulysses. Brothers Karamazov.

35. Favorite poet?

TS Eliot. Gerard Manley Hopkins. I actually really love poetry a lot. It’s hard to pick. I really like Anne Sexton and ee Cummings.

36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?

4-5

37. How often have you returned books to the library unread?

sometimes.

38. Favorite fictional character?

Jo March. Lucy Pevensie. Elizabeth Bennett.

39. Favorite fictional villain?

Lady Catherine (from Pride and Prejudice).

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?

Something I’ve read before. A Mystery.

41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.

Maybe a few months?

42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.

Emma. She is so annoying. I wanted to punch her. Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult.

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading? loud noises.

Sense and Sensibility. They did an absolutely wonderful job with it. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.

45. Most disappointing film adaptation? Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Yuk. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult. They changed the ending. Seriously.

46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?

Too much.

I do it more now, because I don’t like to spend money unless I know I’ll probably like the book.

Boredom. If it starts to get too racy or violent.

I try to, but its an imperfect system.

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?

I’ll give it away if it wasn’t a favorite. Unless I lend it out.

51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?

Brideshead Revisisted. I’m not sure why I don’t want to read this book. Dickens. Believe it or not, I have made it through my life without ever reading Dickens. Sick. I know.

52. Name a book that made you angry.

One time when I worked at the library I picked up one of Glenn Beck’s books…and that was it. He makes me mad.  Unexpected Grief: Healing the Hidden Pain of Abortion by Teresa Burke. That book, which details the physical, emotional, and psychological suffering that women who choose abortion often experience made me so angry.

53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. I don’t usually like war fiction, but this book was great.

Emma. Again, so annoying I wanted to smack her.