March 20, 2007
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Book Survey
LaDamedeShallot tagged me, and even though I tried to ignore her, guilt prevailed. (Hee hee!) So, here is my book survey. If you are so inclined to take it yourself, by all means, do!
Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback? Ooh, tough. The one which feels best in my hand and has the nicest font?
Amazon or brick and mortar? Amazon, since Schlow Memorial Library was not a choice
Bookmark or dogear?
Dogear, as in deliberately fold the page? AAAAH! I have a lovely selection of bookmarks.
Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random? I don’t alphabetize. I organize by category. All the Civil War books on this shelf, all the Pride and Prejudice sequels on this one.Keep, throw away, or sell? Was this quiz written by a sadist? Throw away books? I tend to keep and loan out.
Keep dust jacket or toss it? I tend to lose dust jackets, but I do mean to keep them.
Read with dust jacket or remove it? Without. Otherwise, it might fall into the tub.
Short story or novel? Novel, but, I’m eclectic. I like short stories, too. Neighbor Rosicky is still a favorite.
Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? Read all the Potters. Gave up on Snicket, although he has wit.
“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”? Once
upon a time, hands down. I love fairy tales, and I’m not too keen on murder mystery, although I just finished a Dean Koontz.Buy or Borrow? Borrow. I buy school reading, P&P sequels, things I’d like to loan out to others, missionary bios, and books my library doesn’t have IF I think they are worth it.
New or used? Whichever is cheaper and in nicer condition.
Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? All of the above?
Tidy ending or cliffhanger? Uh, I’m getting bored with this survey. Are you?
Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading? Evening. I feel guilty reading for pleasure before 9:00 p.m.
Favorite series? Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton, Little House on the Prairie, uh…Stephenie Myers?
Favorite children’s book? The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Thursday’s Child, The Nickel-Plated Beauty, Ella Enchanted
Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? The Family Nobody Wanted. It’s the story of a pastor and his wife who adopt 12 children.
Favorite books read last year? Oh, I don't know. Let me go get my book log.
(Pause while I walk upstairs and return) Okay, here's what got stars.What Jane Austen Ate and What Charles Dickens Knew
Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends
The Historian
The Penderwicks
The Hidden Hand
Twilight
An Elegant Madness
Sheridan: The Track of a Comet
Ishmael by EDEN Southworth
Self-Raised
Ark Angel
The whole Princess Diaries series
Jane Eyre
The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands
Honey for a Woman's Heart
Lost Horizon
Beach Road
All Louise Rennison's books
Evidence Not Seen
Ender's Game
Teacher Man
My Freshman Year: What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student
The Eyre Affair
The Chosen
Captain Cook by Allistair MacLean
My Love Affair with England
The Great Divorce
The Tipping Point
Notes from a Small IslandThat’s a substantial list. Sorry. I don’t give every book a star. I promise! Only about 25% or so at most.
Favorite books of all time? See the favorite children’s books section for most of my favorites. Add Cold Mountain, P&P, Northanger Abbey, and others I forget.
Least favorite book you finished last year? Someday My Prince by Christina Dodd ranks up there. It contains the immortal line, “They had known each other for three days only; they knew each other better than any two people in the world. They had discovered everything about each other that mattered; they had everything to discover about each other.” So, for that abberation alone, it can’t be a least favorite, can it?
Oh, I almost forgot. The It Girl takes the prize!
What are you reading right now?
Mere Christianity
Imagined London
What are you reading next? I might start Jan Karon’s Mitford series. Never read a-one of them. Also, the newest installment of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is in at the library for me. I must know what happens with Kostos and Lena!There. Now you know.
Off to watch a video with TGD. Life is good!
Comments (18)
I did not like the Mitford serious at all. I know that many people like them, but I found them tedious.
So, your husband works at a university?? Hmmm. I’ve been trying to get someone who works at a college to adopt David so we can get him in for free tuition. Any chance? He’s a hardworking, dependable, responsible guy, great conversationalist, and he doesn’t eat nearly as much as you might expect. He does like cookies.
I looked into getting a job at our local university. Turns out I’d have to be there for five years before my children could attend. Oh well. I wasn’t serious about it anyway. Not too serious. Okay, I was hoping just a wee bit. A wee bit.
I started the Mitford series before we moved. Haven’t found them yet! lol Somewhere amongst the boxes….. I didn’t get to far, but the first one reminded me of the Miss Read books, if you’ve ever heard of them. My mom lent me those years ago. Quaint stories about her teaching & life in a small village. The book I’m reading now by George MacDonald is similar in style. I like those– they make me feel cozy. Plus they’re not so riveting that I can put them down & get some work done!
RYC: Thanks for the tip, I’ll have to look for that book. Katia is always razzing me about my hair. If I’d let her, she’s tease it up REAL BIG! lol I have to watch myself when she’s around….
Oh, my mom and I LOVE the Mitford books! Toward the end, we both agreed that a couple weren’t as good but 1-4 are great. The characters in the town are really wonderful. I’d be interested to know what you think of them.
Also, a few times you have mentioned P&P sequels. I’ve never read any of them as I just assumed they wouldn’t be as good as the real thing and I would be disappointed. Can you point me to a favorite sequel to try? Another Austen question: for my next read I’m trying to decide between Emma and Persuasion. I’ve seen both of the movies so I know the basic story and characters (love them both!) but am having a hard time picking between them. Any thoughts?
Ah, books – love ‘em!! I’ve read a few of the Mitford series; I liked them.
Mitford series is a cute little story. I enjoyed reading them just for pleasure’s sake. But they can’t really hold a candle to Jane Austin. Do you ever read the Thoene’s works. I LOVE historical fiction!
I have to admit, I love the Mitford series. I’d agree with BobsFanClub that they just made me feel cozy. I’ll have to check out Miss Read.
As for “The Family Nobody Wanted”, I’ve actually heard of this and put off reading it. It might push my husband over the limit if I told him that I didn’t want to stop at five but he seems to have responded well to my desire to adopt number five. He’s planning for the purchase of the Suburban just in case we end up with more than we were planning like what happened last time. So maybe it’s time to read the book and aim for 12?
Ooo, Ender’s Game! I recently finished that one. Amazing book. I felt completely mentally and emotionally exhausted afterwards (perhaps a 4 1/2 hour car ride had something do to with it?). Mike and I are contemplating purchasing the sequels…
Hehe, check out all those sentence fragments above!! *cackles with glee and wanders off in search of something sweet and hi-cal to put in her mouth*
I have to agree with KID, I didn’t enjoy the Mitford series…tedious is the best word to discribe them.
You’re not going to like this too much, but hot tea with or without sugar/cream, etc, isn’t allowed. Mom suggests water or fresh (not pastuerized (hope I spelled that right!)) fruit juice until noon. If you can’t find that, the flash pasteruized stuff by Odwalla or Naked Juice/Fruit might satisfy a craving for something a bit “heavier” than water. (Kind of a cheat for beginners.) It’s 12:25 as I type this and I haven’t had anything more than pineapple chunks this morning and I’m off for some fresh juice now . . . it’ll take a little getting used to, but I think you’ll find it works.
Keep me updated!
wow.. I wish I could have ( or better.. would have) read that many books last year. I love to read but I rarely sit down and do it.
My favorite book as a kid was “We’re Tired of Living in a House” I loved that book and now it is out of print but a friend of mine found it for me! My kids are sick of me reading it to them!
So what did you think of Flyboys? I really liked that movie, despite the generally bad reviews I read.
I enjoyed the first Mitford book. I loved reading through your list. What about Dean Koontz? Are you taken up by the plot and then find yourself swimming in sex or degredation and have to put it down? I think I’ll look up “My Freshman Year”.
So what did you think of “Proper Care”?
Good. I’m glad you did it.
oooh, thank you for the list. there are several on there I’ve never read. (busily taking notes…)
A book log is a great idea. I should start that. It’s now officailly on my list. I tried it once before, but did not keep up with it.
The Mitford series is nice and easy. A cozy quick read. It is well done, unlike a lot of Christian fiction that people expect me to read simply because the writer is a Christian (which does not make one more likely to be an enjoyable author). Not brillant, but I read at least 3, so that tells you where my enjoyment level was. These are to novels what the Sue Graftons are to mysteries or the Barbara Michaels are to thrillers.