The Book Lover's Survey

Marilyn Monroe reading

I've posted a lot of book reviews on this blog, but not a lot about reading. I thought I'd start with the book lover's survey as seen on Emily's blog.

How did you develop a love for reading?

If there were anyone I were to thank for my love of reading it would probably be my mother (hi mum!). She taught me to read at three years old and it was pretty much what I spent my childhood doing. I was an advanced reader for my age and on occasion it led to me being excluded from activities with the other children in my class, and I have quite a few stories from my pre-teens on this topic. My favourite books around this time were often series. I'm a very character driven reader and once a character captures me I really enjoy being in their world and experiencing their life. Series that I remember loving as a pre-teen were Ursula le Guin's Earthsea quartet, Robin Jarvis' Deptford Mice trilogy, Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, The Hobbit / The Lord of the Rings, and of course Harry Potter.

Where do you usually read?

In bed, using the light on my kindle cover. I have this one, and while it's not cheap, it's excellent. It protects the kindle really well and is nice to hold. I also read on the bus/tram when travelling, which I enjoy as it's calming and makes me look forward to the journey.

Do you prefer to read one book at a time or several at once?

I prefer to read one book at a time, but I always have more than one on the go.

What is your favourite genre?

Literary fiction.

Is there a genre you will not read?

As a hard and fast rule, no, as I find that pretty restricting. There are of course some genres I enjoy more than others. Genres I don't particularly enjoy are chick lit, romance, thrillers / crime, horror, and biographies. Having said that there have been books in those genres that I own and really enjoyed.

Do you have a favourite book?

Lord of the Rings.

What is your least favourite book?

I think this is an interesting question. I very rarely don't finish a book, and the books I have given up on I did for differing reasons. They have usually been too cliché, badly written or disturbing. Books that I didn't enjoy at the time but would still recommend are What Maisie Knew by Henry James and Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee.

What is the longest book you have ever read?

Lord of the Rings read as a whole book is pretty long, which is how I first read it as a pre-teen. I initially thought The Wings of the Dove by Henry James was the longest, but apparently Steve Job's biography by Walter Isaacson beats this. Unless you can count the Bible?

What was the last book you bought?

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (review here) and Death Comes to Pemberly by P.D. James, both in the Kindle sale.

Do you prefer library books or buying books?

I much prefer buying books. Owning my favourite books is really important to me, and worth doing as I'm a re-reader. Having said that I will always defend the importance of libraries and book lending in the community.

What are you currently reading?

An assortment. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg, The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe and The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. To see more of what I'm reading you can add me as a friend on Goodreads here.

If you'd like to do the survey, feel free to write your answers or leave a link to your blog post in the comments, as I'd love to give them a read.