Books

I saw this over on To Make Love Stay and since I love reading, I thought it would be fun to do. You are supposed to post your favorite book cover. Here is a dorky little collage of the books I read over and over:



What are you reading right now?
Brave Story by Miyuki Miyabe and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt. I've actually misplaced the John Berendt book and it is killing me! I want to finish it!

Do you have any idea what you’ll read when you’re done with that?
I have a pile of about 20 books in my "to read" stack by my bed, but I'll probably find something else to read.

What 5 books have you always wanted to read but haven’t got round to? 
I really want to read 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith. I have a vague memory of listening to the book on tape when I was little. I also want to read An Education as it is the only Nick Hornby book I haven't read, and I would like to to more Kurt Vonnegut, we have almost all his books, and Travis has read them all.

What magazines do you have in your bathroom/lounge right now?
The only magazine I get is BUST, Persepolis is in the bathroom I think, I love to read in the tub.

What’s the worst book you’ve ever read?
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulker. I had to read it for school in 9th grade and hated it. I decided to pick it up again, because most of the books I hated reading for school I actually like now, but it was still terrible. I just couldn't get through it.

What book seems really popular but you actually hated? 
I can't stand Chuck Palahniuk. I've tried multiple times. Travis LOVES his books, they just annoy me.

What’s the one book you always recommend to just about everyone? 
St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell and The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly are what I've been recommending lately. If they like biographies, I will usually say My Life in France by Julia Child or Still Hungry After All These Years by Richard Simmons. Seriously, I LOVE that book.

What are your 3 favourite poems? 
I'm not going to pretend I'm into poetry at all. I like the poems Travis wrote for me in high school. One is called "My Rae of Sunshine":)

Where do you usually get your books?
Every once in a while I'll hear a really good book review on NPR and get the book on amazon. Other than that I get lots of books at goodwill, and I'll send Travis to the library. We also used to do a lot of paperback swap, but I'm over it.

Where do you usually read your books?
In bed before I go to sleep,  in the bathtub, and on my breaks at work.

When you were little, did you have any particular reading habits? 
I've always been a big reader. I loved it when the book fair came to school, and when we got the little scholastic booklets to order books from. My parents would always get me something, because I loved books so much. My grandmother used to buy me books too. It was so fun to go to Barnes and Noble and pick something.

What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down?
I have a bad habit of staying up to finish books. The last one was Lirael by Garth Nix. It is part of a YA series from the 90's and it was SO GOOD. The audiobooks were done by Tim Curry and they are fantastic.

Have you ever “faked” reading a book? 
I'm sure I did in school. I can't think of a specific book though.

Have you ever bought a book just because you liked the cover?
All the time. I have lots of books from Goodwill based solely on the cover.

What was your favourite book when you were a child?
I loved the Babysitter Club books, I was in the club and they sent you three books a month. I always read them in a few days. I also LOVED Roald Dahl, Brian Jacques (the redwall books), the Bunnicula series (I have a Bunnicula tattoo!) and this book Catherine Called Birdy by Karen Cushman.

What is your favourite passage from a book?
A few:

“In one of those stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night. And when your sorrow is comforted (time soothes all sorrows) you will be content that you have known me. You will always be my friend...I shall not leave you.” 
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

“Animals don't behave like men,' he said. 'If they have to fight, they fight; and if they have to kill they kill. But they don't sit down and set their wits to work to devise ways of spoiling other creatures' lives and hurting them. They have dignity and animality.”
― Richard Adams, Watership Down

"Tell  me one last thing," said Harry. "Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?"
"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean it is not real?"
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

“She might even be your lovely school-teacher who is reading these words to you at this very moment. Look carefully at that teacher. Perhaps she is smiling at the absurdity of such a suggestion. Don't let that put you off. It could be part of cleverness.

I am not, of course, telling you for one second that your teacher actually is a witch. All I am saying is that she might be one. It is most unlikely. But--here comes the big "but"--not impossible.”
― Roald Dahl, The Witches (The Witches scared me AND thrilled me when I was a kid, I LOVED it)

Who are your top five favourite authors?
J.K. Rowling, Nick Hornby, Roald Dahl, David Sedaris, Neil Gaiman. I'll buy any book that comes out any of them.

What book has no one heard about but should read? 
The Abhorsen series by Garth Nix that I mentioned earlier. If you like fantasy/magic based books they are so good! I can't think of anything else off the top of my head.

What are your favourite books by a first-time author? 
St. Lucy's Home for Girls Made By Wolves by Karen Russell. It is amazing! I need to get her second book, Swamplandia

What 3 books are you an “evangelist” for?
Still Hungry After All These Years by Richard Simmons, for real, it is really inspiring and funny! Also the Harry Potter books of course.

What is your favourite classic book? 
I read Jane Eyre last year and LOVED IT.

This book didn't really fit in up there, but I had to tell you about it. John Waters is my patron saint, and this is the book I go to when I'm having a bad day. Just reading his essay 101 Things I Hate makes me cackle every single time, and lifts my mood. The audio book is ever better. I could listen to him talk for hours, i watch his movies all the time, and turn on the commentary most of the time. Did you see the story about how he got picked up hitchhiking in Ohio? Haha, I'm so mad I wasn't the one to pick him up!

He has some great quotes about reading:

“You should never read just for "enjoyment." Read to make yourself smarter! Less judgmental. More apt to understand your friends' insane behavior, or better yet, your own. Pick "hard books." Ones you have to concentrate on while reading. And for god's sake, don't let me ever hear you say, "I can't read fiction. I only have time for the truth." Fiction is the truth, fool! Ever hear of "literature"? That means fiction, too, stupid.” ― John Waters,

“It wasn't until I started reading and found books they wouldn't let us read in school that I discovered you could be insane and happy and have a good life without being like everybody else.” ― John Waters

So there it is! What are your favorite books? Are you on goodreads? Add me if you are!