Monday 30 April 2012

Book Quiz

I saw this on Blair's blog and had to do it.


Favourite book cover: There isn't a book that I instantly am drawn to because of its cover, so I have chosen this copy of Moby Dick which I bought the other day, even though I have yet to finish it. I chose to write on it for Uni, so obviously my interest in it waned about halfway through, which I plan on amending soon as I have officially finished uni for the year! 

What are you reading right now? I'm reading Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. I haven't read anything by Welsh before, and I rewatched the film a few weeks ago which made me buy Trainspotting and Porno. I want to finish them before I buy Skag Boys. I'm really enjoying it so far! It's a bit difficult to read at first, simply because it is written in a Scottish accent, but once you get used to that. 

Do you have any idea what you’ll read when you’re done with that? I have a ridiculously long list of books I have bought but haven't read yet. I think the first one I'll tackle may be Moby Dick by Herman Melville, or The Bell Jar, which I have read before but want to re-read, especially as I have chosen to write on it for my dissertation. I'll also read Porno soon too. 

What 5 books have you always wanted to read but haven’t got round to? There are a ridiculous amount! I want to read a lot more Classics than I have done. If I had to list five I would say:



  • Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
  • 1984 - George Orwell
  • The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - J.R.R Tolkein. Another summer project
  • All of The Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
  • The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

What magazines do you have in your bathroom/lounge right now? I generally don't bother reading many magazines anymore. I have a copy of Grazia, and do enjoy reading Elle once in a while.

What’s the worst book you've ever read? If I don't enjoy a book, I don't finish it, so I can't really single one out.

What book seems really popular but you actually hated? Lovely Bones. I just do not understand it. I read it once and half enjoyed it, but didn't understand the hype surrounding it. I reread it after seeing the film and hated it. Also The Catcher in the Rye. I won't go as far as to say I hated it, but I just didn't connect with Holden Caulfield at all. 

What’s the one book you always recommend to just about everyone? The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky. I read it for the first time a few years ago and just really, really loved it. It's written in an epistolary form and is really easy to read. I think most teenagers/young adults will be able to relate to it. It's just lovely to read.

What are your 3 favourite poems? I don't know anything about poetry. I didn't particularly enjoy studying it at school, and haven't enjoyed anything we study at university. I do love W.H Auden, particularly Funeral Blues, and I did love Tennyson at A-Level, as well as Anne Hathaway by Carol Ann Duffy. 

Where do you usually get your books? Amazon. I pretty much buy all of my books, I enjoy owning them, unless it's secondary sources for essays, which I get from the library.

Where do you usually read your books? Anywhere I can. I love reading whilst travelling either on the train or in the car. I read in bed, on the sofa. Anywhere really.

When you were little, did you have any particular reading habits? Not any I can remember. I always read before bed. When I was younger I loved reading Beatrix Potter, and loved being read to. My mum read The Hobbit to me when I was 10. It's just so relaxing. 

What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down? When I read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. It's only the second books of his that I have read (the other being Looking for Alaska) but I adored it. I read it in one sitting. I just could not put it down. 

Have you ever “faked” reading a book? No. I have skim-read books, such as ones I needed to for uni, but more often than not, if I didn't enjoy it, I didn't read it, which made life hard for myself. I haven't ever faked reading one though. Do people actually do that?

Have you ever bought a book just because you liked the cover? Not really. The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson caught my eye because of the cover but if I read the synopsis and don't like it, I won't buy it.

What was your favourite book when you were a child? Anything and everything by Jacqueline Wilson. I also really loved a series of books that were about dogs, I can't remember what they were called, but there were a huge amount of them and had red covers.

What book changed your life? I wouldn't say so. I've read fantastic books that affect me, such as The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, but I can't say anything has changed my life. Yet.

What is your favourite passage from a book? I'm sad to say that nothing immediately springs to mind. There are small quotations that I highlight on my Kindle, such as this from Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption in Different Seasons by Stephen King which really stand out to me
:


'Some birds are not meant to be caged, that's all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild. So you let them go, or when you open the cage to feed them they somehow fly out past you. And the part of you knows it was wrong to imprison them in the first place rejoices, but still, the place where you live is that much more drab and empty for their departure.'

What are your top five favourite authors? I'm quite varied in my tastes so I'm not sure if I have five different authors. I loved to read Jodi Picoult when I was a teenager, although her books can get a little samey. I enjoy how she acknowledges different issues in her books, but they all have pretty much the same format. My favourites of hers are The Pact, My Sister's Keeper, Tenth Circle and Keeping Faith.
I also love J. K. Rowling because she shaped my childhood. I haven't read widely enough in other authors to establish them as favourites yet.

What book has no one heard about but should read? I'm not entirely sure if there is anything that I've read that many others haven't. I know Perks is well known online, but I'm not sure how many people outside of the online world know anything about it. 

What is your favourite book by a first-time author? The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I believe it's Chobsky's first novel? I just love it. 

What is your favourite classic book? Jane Eyre. It's just beautiful.

5 other notable mentions? Wicked by Gregory Maguire, The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory,  Atonement by Ian McEwan, Looking for Alaska by John Green and Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.


Note: I really want to read some Charles Bukowski. Have any of you read any of his works? What would you recommend?

Also, what is your favourite book and why? Leave me some recommendations! I plan on reading my summer away! 

Thanks for reading x

2 comments:

  1. i love bukowski - he was a horrible man, but his poetry and short stories are so real and honest that they always get to me! love is a dog from hell is a really good collection. i don't find enough blog posts about books, thanks for this! xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll check it out, thank you :)! and no problem! xx

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