The Bookish Q&A Tag

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Hello again! I’ve been tagged by Aria E Maher (https://ariaemaher.com/) and Azelyn Klein (http://www.azelynklein.com/), to join in the Bookish Q&A tag, which is a great way to push our opinions of certain books on unsuspecting bystanders…er, I mean, a great way to encourage others to love reading!

Q1: What books do you remember reading that kick-started your bookworm habit?

Definitely Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien and Bunnicula by James Howe. I read both of these several times in my youth (and used them as the standard by which to measure all other fiction, until I hit my tweens and really got into fantasy).

Q2: What genre, or genres, would you normally choose?

Fantasy, historical fiction, sometimes contemporary depending on the subject. I can be picky when it comes to fantasy, too, though — not really a fan of epic, more of urban and of fairytale retellings.

Q3: Do you eat while you read and if yes, what exactly?

No! Well, sometimes. If I’m really hungry, and can’t wait to find out what happens next in the story. But it’s usually stuff that can easily be eaten while avoiding ruining the paper — like anything not runny that requires a fork.

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Q4: Are there any scenes from your favorite novels that you remember vividly?

Yes! When Mort and Death go head to head in Mort; when Puck and Finn escape a killer seahorse on their farm in The Scorpio Races; when Susan Sto Helit rides Binky for the first time as Death’s fill-in in Soul Music; when Vimes defeats the demon trying to consume him in the climatic scene of Thud!. There are more; I have a pretty good memory, but I won’t make this post too long.

Q5: Were there any least favorites?

Any least favorite books? Hmmm…well, if you didn’t like something, then surely it wouldn’t go on your list of favorites…? For me, generally I either like it or I don’t. But I guess I can relate this question to Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor, which was a book that terrified me to my very core after about page 175, and I barely finished it with my heart intact. But the first 100 pages were absolutely spellbinding, and I was completely enthralled until then. It all went downhill after that for me.

Q6: So, as you’re a bookworm, what are you reading currently today?

At the moment, I am working on finishing Thirty Million Words by Dana Suskind, which I’m reading for a book club at the local library. Other than that, I’m re-reading Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, and pretty soon I plan to polish off the rest of my Warriors TBR. (I’m behind on the novellas and the new series, “A Vision of Shadows.”)

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Q7: How’s it getting along for you?

Overall pretty well! Thirty Million Words is the most challenging, because it’s nonfiction with a fair amount of jargon and terminology, and a time limit, but I have read through all the chapters we’ll be covering this week. And the one thing I don’t like about Warriors is how MANY books there are now. I’m about caught up, apart from the ones I just listed (though with all the recent super-editions and at least 2 new books being released in the series this year, I’ll probably soon fall behind again).

Q8: Have you then got a large bookshelf, or do you plan to?

I do have a large bookshelf…but at the moment, only one shelf of it is mine. I’m sharing with Muffin until he gets his own. White Fang’s shelves put both Muffin’s and my collections to shame. The indignity. So, yes, one day I truly hope to have more books on my shelves than I presently do.

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Q9: Do you have a liking to indie or traditional books?

Both. Whether a book draws me in or not depends on the quality of the story, and whether it’s trad or indie pub makes no difference to me in that regard. I own some of both. I’m just as likely to try a new indie title as I am a new trad one.

Q10: And lastly, do you plan to promote reading in some way, or already are?

I certainly already am promoting reading, in that my boys are strongly encouraged to find genres and styles that they like, and I think literacy and reading being seen as fun needs to have more focus in our culture. Also, now that my blog mostly focuses on reading and writing, I am indeed promoting everyone opening those covers and discovering the magic within.

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