Reader Questionnaire

books, books, books!

I���ve been following (and loving) Jackie���s blog for a long time now and when she recently reached out to her readers to find out more about them, I couldn���t resist. By all means answer the questions yourself ��� I (and Jackie, I���m sure) would love to hear your perspective.

What is your favorite book?

I���m the typical ���my answer changes all the time��� kind of person when it comes to this question but Tess of the D���Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy is a failsafe classic for me and in terms of recent favorites, I fell in love with A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.

What are your goals? For the year? For your life?

For this year my main goal is to publish my first poetry collection. For life? Just to be happy.

Are you a writer? If so, tell me about your work.��

Yes, I���ve written two books ��� The Vessel and False Awakening. Both are thrillers, but while the former is a dystopian about a woman in a depleted world trying to expose the truth, the latter follows a teenage girl trying to find out her own truth after waking in hospital with no memory of what put her there. (Wow, I think that���s the most succinctly I���ve ever described them.)

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Iceland, definitely. (And funnily enough, I���ll be ticking this one off my bucket list in March, having recently booked a trip there at long last.)

What was the last movie you saw in the theater and was it worthwhile?

It was Mockingjay. I liked it!

I���m curious, are there any books that you���ve tried to read and simply couldn���t finish? This is a no judgment zone.��

I���m not sure this counts because I never even tried but I just couldn���t bring myself to go near Fifty Shades of Grey. Sorry ��� That���s one bandwagon I���m happy to let roll on by.

Are you currently working on a new book/project right now? If it���s secret, you don���t have to tell me about it. If so, however, I hope it���s going well.

I���m currently sorting through poetry to put together a collection. I���m hoping to have it out in February-March but we all know the bumps that can crop up along the way in the wonderful world of publishing.

If you could live in any of your favorite books, which one would you choose?

Someone book me a ticket from Platform 9�� because Hogwarts, here I come! (That may also be just about the nerdiest thing I���ve ever said.)

Are there any book-to-movie adaptations that you think are just incredible? ��That you absolutely hated?

My last answer was most likely a big clue that I love all things Harry Potter, including the movies.

What do you look for in a book that you want to read? ��What���s the first thing to capture your attention?

Something with enough intrigue to keep me reading but enough answers to keep me satisfied along the way. A solid concept with relatable characters is always good and in terms of initially capturing our attention, we shouldn���t admit it but a pretty cover helps.

If you���re an author, what do you do when you first get an idea for a book?

I just jot down whatever thoughts come rushing to me, however incoherent they seem, and then simply try to make sense of them later by giving it all some structure.

How do you feel about different genres? Romance? YA? Sci-Fi? Poetry? Do you have any favorites? Any least-favorites?

I���m a big believer in branching out when it comes to genres. I understand their importance for official publishing and categorizing purposes but at the end of the day, a good story is a good story. I���m not snobby with literature at all (let���s gloss over the Fifty Shades thing) and really do try to read bits of everything so long as the story sounds interesting.

If you could meet any writer��in the world, dead or alive, who would it be?

Even putting Harry Potter to one side, I think J.K. Rowling is a remarkably talented writer and a fascinating person.

Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?

Definitely fiction ��� but then I do love a good coffee-table book on things like art, cinema, photography and whatnot.

Are there any characters that everyone loves that you can���t stand? Or vice versa?

There aren���t any coming to mind right away, which I suppose is a good thing.

What do you like to do besides reading/writing?

I���m a huge music lover and have a modest vinyl collection. You���ll often find me wasting time with my pets too. Though on second thoughts, I���m not so sure it is wasted.

If you could be remembered for one thing, what would it be?

A grand question that seems to beg a grand answer. I suppose as someone who did their best ��� be that as a writer, friend or otherwise.

What is your favorite guilty pleasure book?

I have the full set of S.D. Perry Resident Evil novelizations from my teen years. They aren���t going to go down as classics by a long shot but I remember them being great for what they are. I haven���t read any of them for years but they are still on my shelves somewhere, so you never know���

Do you have a reading goal set for this year?��

I���m hoping to read at least 40 books this year. It���s the first time I���ve done a challenge or set a goal so I wanted to be a little more modest than some others with my target. It���s early days but I���m at 7 so far, so fingers crossed I���ll get there.

Tell me anything about yourself that I haven���t asked. Random fact. Weird human trick. Whatever.

I have a bizarrely accurate memory of even my very early childhood, to the point that it used to freak my family out a little bit.

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So there you have it; a little more about me. Now I’d like to know more about you guys, so by all means make a post or answer some of the questions in the comments.