Attempting the impossible
I was at a dinner party recently, and when the person I was sitting next to found out that I'm reading Classics and English at university, he asked what my favourite Shakespeare play was.
And it made me think about all those questions which, as an ardent book lover, I always get asked, and which are impossible to answer. So I thought it might be fun to try to answer some of them (a decision I may live to regret). Here goes:
1. What do you like to read?
Ok, so the short answer is everything.
My go-to genre is crime fiction (murder mysteries, detective fiction, call it what you will). My least favourite genres are YA, fantasy, sci-fi, and romance, but I have read and enjoyed books in these genres and hope to continue to. Would you understand what I meant if I said that I struggled the most with 'pure' YA, fantasy, sci-fi, and romance? I also don't tend to read contemporary biographies or autobiographies (but am willing to make exceptions). Beyond that, I basically do read everything. And I am always trying to push myself out of my reading comfort zone.
2. How do you find time to read?
I think this is the question that I get asked the most. And also the one that annoys me the most.
I make time to read. My main reading time is in bed, before I go to sleep. And any reading I can get done during the day is a guilty pleasure. But what the people who I talk to don't understand is that reading is my main way of relaxing, and one of the primary uses of my leisure time. So when they tell me that they don't have time to read, but have just watched the entire first season of *insert Netflix series here* in one day, I merely have to shrug à la Dumbledore in this gif.
3. Why do you read?
Do you hear me asking you why you breathe?
As cliched as it sounds, I've just always loved reading. I could read before I started school, reading stories to the other children at my playschool group and showing them the pictures (as I had obviously seen adults do), and no-one I meet who knew me as a child is surprised when they find out that I am pursuing my passion for literature at university. And while I can give all the usual answers to this question, it's not something I can really explain.
4. What's your favourite book?
Picking your favourite book is like picking your favourite child. It's just not possible (or appropriate).
My favourites (plural) would probably be: The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde (1890); The Moonstone, Wilkie Collins (1868); and And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie (1939). But it breaks my heart to think of all the books I haven't mentioned here.
What are your thoughts? Are you constantly being asked questions like these? And do you have any answers for them? Comment below, or get in touch either via Goodreads or Twitter!
And it made me think about all those questions which, as an ardent book lover, I always get asked, and which are impossible to answer. So I thought it might be fun to try to answer some of them (a decision I may live to regret). Here goes:
1. What do you like to read?
Ok, so the short answer is everything.
My go-to genre is crime fiction (murder mysteries, detective fiction, call it what you will). My least favourite genres are YA, fantasy, sci-fi, and romance, but I have read and enjoyed books in these genres and hope to continue to. Would you understand what I meant if I said that I struggled the most with 'pure' YA, fantasy, sci-fi, and romance? I also don't tend to read contemporary biographies or autobiographies (but am willing to make exceptions). Beyond that, I basically do read everything. And I am always trying to push myself out of my reading comfort zone.
2. How do you find time to read?
I think this is the question that I get asked the most. And also the one that annoys me the most.
I make time to read. My main reading time is in bed, before I go to sleep. And any reading I can get done during the day is a guilty pleasure. But what the people who I talk to don't understand is that reading is my main way of relaxing, and one of the primary uses of my leisure time. So when they tell me that they don't have time to read, but have just watched the entire first season of *insert Netflix series here* in one day, I merely have to shrug à la Dumbledore in this gif.
3. Why do you read?
Do you hear me asking you why you breathe?
As cliched as it sounds, I've just always loved reading. I could read before I started school, reading stories to the other children at my playschool group and showing them the pictures (as I had obviously seen adults do), and no-one I meet who knew me as a child is surprised when they find out that I am pursuing my passion for literature at university. And while I can give all the usual answers to this question, it's not something I can really explain.
4. What's your favourite book?
Picking your favourite book is like picking your favourite child. It's just not possible (or appropriate).
My favourites (plural) would probably be: The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde (1890); The Moonstone, Wilkie Collins (1868); and And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie (1939). But it breaks my heart to think of all the books I haven't mentioned here.
What are your thoughts? Are you constantly being asked questions like these? And do you have any answers for them? Comment below, or get in touch either via Goodreads or Twitter!
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