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Booking Through Thursday asks:

Do you read books written for children or teens? Or do you stick to books for adults?

I read books written for non-adults all the time.  In fact, that's mostly what I read!  When I started this blog, I was reading mostly YA and MG... and then I added in more picture books.  I have read and reviewed a few adult titles, but they make up a very small percentage of my reviews.

I really feel like I should read more adult titles, though, especially since I haven't been all that thrilled with some of my YA reads lately.  I have a few adult novels in my TBR pile; maybe I'll get to them next year.

Do you read books written for other age groups?  Tell me in the comments!

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Booking Through Thursday asks:

How much do you actually read? Few of us get as much time as we’d really LIKE for reading, but do as much as we can, so... how many books do you read? How many hours a day?

I really don't spend a lot of time reading fiction.  Maybe a couple of hours a day?  I guess that's why I don't get through very many novels these days.  In the past, I'd get through a book in a day or two; now, I'm lucky if I get through one in a week.

How much do you read?  Tell me in the comments!

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Booking Through Thursday asks:

If you could change the ending of any book you’ve read, which would it be and how would you change it?

Ooh... this is a fun one.  Okay, let's see.  Heh... I have just the book:

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

In my rewrite, the Volturi would come to Forks and kill all the vampires because they went ahead and made a baby vampire.  No, wait... we'll have to back up, because there shouldn't even have been a baby vampire, based on the rules that Meyer laid out earlier.

Edward is supposedly like marble... so the story really should have ended on their wedding night.  Bella dies from massive hemorrhaging after having sex with the equivalent of a well-hung stone statue.  Oh, wait... vampires don't have blood flowing through their veins, so sex wouldn't even be possible in the first place.

Darn it, Meyer!  Why'd you have to make this so hard?

Okay, let's back up even further.

At the end of Twilight, Edward would realize that his presence in Bella's life only serves to put her in danger, so he gallantly bows out of the equation, leaving Bella free to fall in love with Jacob, who, without Renesmee in the picture, believes for the rest of his life that it's actually Bella he loves and imprints upon... and not just her ovary.  They end up living happily ever after, eventually marrying and having a litter of babies who all tend to smell like wet dog (because it's the Pacific Northwest and it's always wet and raining, according to Arizona-based Meyer).

Oh, wait.  If Jacob was in love with Bella's ovary, that means he might imprint on his own kid!  Darn it...

Okay.  James kills Bella in the ballet studio.  The end.  (Sorry... but that's the only logical conclusion to this series.)

What book's ending would you like to change?  Tell me in the comments!

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Booking Through Thursday asks:

What’s the most helpful book you’ve ever read?

I think that would probably be one of the books on writing I've read over the years... though I'm not sure I could pick just one.  And, also, you'd have to define what you meant by "helpful".  These books have been great for honing the craft of writing... but they haven't been so great for my reading life; now I tend to nitpick and I'm really hard on the books I read because I tend to spot the "errors".

Some of the books that I've found "helpful" are:

You Can Write a Novel by James V. Smith, Jr. - It's a great one for getting everything together so you can sit down and get something on the page.

The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler - It uses Joseph Campbell's work as its basis and builds on it with concrete examples from popular culture.  This is also an interesting book for readers, since it teaches about story structure.  (You'll never be able to read a book or watch a movie the same way after reading this one!)

Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg - Its little snippets of wisdom are great for inspiration!

On Writing by Stephen King - It's funny that I've yet to read one of his novels, but I've read his book about writing novels!  He's got some great advice in here, along with some biographical material that makes for interesting reading.  Every writer should have a copy of this one!

What's the most helpful book you've ever read?  Tell me in the comments!

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Booking Through Thursday asks:

What’s the scariest book you’ve ever read?

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick.  Hands down.  I couldn't even finish it, I was so freaked out.  Those zombies and that whole situation scared the crap out of me.

As for books that I've actually finished... maybe something like John Marsden's Tomorrow, When the War Began series.  I find that premise far scarier than most "horror" books.

What's the scariest book you've ever read?  Tell me in the comments!

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Booking Through Thursday asks:

What’s your favorite genre that other people might not read? I mean, mysteries, romances, real-crime … these are all fairly widespread categories. But real readers don’t usually limit themselves to just the “big” genres … so what’s your favorite little-known type of book? Books on dogs? Knitting books? Stories about the space race? Mathematical theory?

I haven't read any books like this in a while, but I went through a phase a few years back where I was reading a lot of physics books.  Not classical physics, either.  I'm talking about the weirder-than-fiction worlds of quantum mechanics, holographic theory, and the vacuum state.

Then I was really into Spiral Dynamics for a while (which is, I guess, sort of in the realm of psychology).

And then I went through a really crafty phase, and my non-fiction reading was all about collage, crochet, and mixed media art.

Plus, I will read books on writing from time to time.  For fun.  On the down side, that sort of reading has taken some of the fun out of reading fiction... because now I'm picking out the weaknesses rather than just going along with the story.  (It's hard, though; how do you ignore the mistakes once you know they're there?)

Do you read books in an obscure genre?  Tell me all about it in the comments!

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Booking Through Thursday asks:

Okay, show of hands … who has read Shakespeare OUTSIDE of school required reading? Do you watch the plays? How about movies? Do you love him? Think he’s overrated?

I've actually read Shakespeare outside of school... and that was after reading three of his plays that I didn't like as assigned reading.  In school, we read A Midsummer Night's Dream, Julius Caesar, and Hamlet (twice... in Grade 12 and in first-year English in university).  I hated the first, barely recall the second, and am simply tired of the third.  After that, I picked up Much Ado About Nothing (which I loved) and The Tempest (which was just okay) on my own.

I love the movie version of Much Ado About Nothing.  I haven't had much experience with adaptations of other Shakespeare plays.  I do remember some boring movie versions of Hamlet, though...

I do think Shakespeare is a bit overrated.  I wish we hadn't had to study one play every year in high school.  Pick one or two and do them in the same year; that's more than enough.

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Booking Through Thursday asks:

Do other people in your family also like to read? Or are you in this on your own?

In my immediate family, I'm the most voracious reader.  My mom reads fiction when she has time.  My father rereads his favourites over and over (maybe that's why I'm averse to rereading... he makes it look so boring).  My sister reads, but her tastes are more quirky than mine.  Some of the books she likes are ones I've never heard of!  Although, she did brave Fifty Shades of Grey and warned me away from it (for which I will be forever grateful).

I know that some of my cousins are really active readers... though I don't have a lot of contact with them.  So I'm pretty much in this reading thing on my own!

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Booking Through Thursday asks:

If a friend asks you to recommend a really good book — good writing, good characters, good story — but with no other qualifications... what would you recommend?

That's a deceptively simple question.  I think I'd need to know about my friend: what he/she likes, what he/she doesn't like, what triggers he/she might have, how much time he/she has for reading...

I think I'd probably recommend Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver.  It's not my all-time favourite book, and it hasn't gotten my highest rating... but it definitely has good writing, good characters, and a good story, and it's probably less offensive than some of my other favourites (which I've seen called out for various issues that might turn some readers off).

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Booking Through Thursday asks:

We all had to read lots of different things in school—some of which we liked, some of which we didn’t. Are there any authors that you’ve grown to love because you were introduced to them in your English Lit class? Or—the contrary. Are there any you hate because you were forced to read them? Did you ever go back to try them again?

When I was in elementary school, we had to read a couple of books by Geoffrey Trease: Cue for Treason and Word to Caesar.  We read the former in Grade 6 and the latter in Grade 7.  Actually, we didn't even finish Word to Caesar since we started it so close to the end of the school year.  I was enjoying it so much that I asked the teacher if I could borrow it for a few days so I could finish!

I don't think I had another positive experience with assigned reading until I got to university.  That's where I read Jane Eyre for the very first time.  I was surprised at how much I could love an assigned-reading book!

But there's always two sides to every coin.  In the same class where we read Jane Eyre we also had to read Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding.  I never actually did.  It was so awful, so boring and confusing, that I couldn't get past the first twenty pages.  I used Coles Notes to write the essays and got rid of that stupid little paperback as soon as I could.  I have no desire to try reading that book again.  Ever.

I also have no desire to read any more Hemingway, Dickens, or Hardy, thanks to my high school English classes.  In fact, I didn't read a lot for enjoyment throughout much of high school... and I think it's because I was feeling worn out from reading books I wasn't enjoying!

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Booking Through Thursday asks:

Do you still get excited about new books as you did when you were little? In general? New books in particular, like from a favorite author? Or do you look at all new, unread books with the same level of anticipation?

If I'm being perfectly honest, I don't really get excited about new books at all anymore.  I mean, I'm excited when I get them, because it's always nice to have new things to read... but I don't really go crazy with anticipation or fangirlish glee.  I've been disappointed too many times, and often with books I was really looking forward to... so I guess I've gotten a bit jaded.

When I was younger, I read a lot of series books (e.g., The Baby-Sitters Club, Sleepover Friends, Sweet Valley Twins, etc.).  New installments were released regularly.  It was cool to be able to have something to look forward to.  Plus, you pretty much knew that you were going to like the book (because they were all kind of the same)!  Even then, though, I don't remember getting overly anticipatory.  If you missed one, you could always pick it up later and not have missed anything.

Booking Through Thursday (30)

Booking Through Thursday asks:

All other things being equal, what is your favorite format for reading? Hardcover? Paperback? New book? Old book? Leather-bound first edition? E-book?

A few years ago, I probably would have said that a new hardcover was my favourite format for reading... as long as it didn't have deckle edges; I really dislike those.

Now, though, my favourite format is e-book in PDF, with its page-to-page equivalence to printed books.  I'm not crazy about how most Kindle and EPUB books are formatted, with "locations" or a certain number of characters determining the page count.  It's something I still haven't gotten used to.

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Booking Through Thursday asks:

How do you feel about explicit detail in your reading? Whether language, sex, violence, situations and so on … does it bother you? Faze you at all? Or do you just read everything without it bothering you?

R-rated stuff (language, sex, violence, situations, etc.) doesn't usually bother me.  If it's really extreme, I might put the book down; I do have my limits (especially when it comes to gore).  But it's not like I'll go out of my way to avoid a book just because I've heard it has bad language or violent scenes.

That said, it does bother me when these R-rated things appear in places where it's not appropriate or where I'm not expecting it (because of the genre or reading level of the book).  For example, the last book I read had lots of kissing and an implied sexual encounter... in a retelling of Peter Pan with a cute cover that might attract middle-grade readers.  That's the sort of situation where explicit details bother me.

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Booking Through Thursday asks:

What’s the furthest you’ve ever gone to get something to read? (Think extremes as well as miles—wrangling a ride from a stranger to a distant bookstore just to get the newest book from a favorite author?) If your absolute favorite author (living or dead) was coming out with a brand new book tomorrow, how far would you go, what would you do to get a copy?

I don't think I'd go very far at all.  I don't have to be the first person to read something, so I'm usually content to wait until I can easily access a book.  Putting books on my wish list and reserving them at the library... that's about the extent of it.

That said, I have bought books from overseas sites (because the books weren't available in North America at that time).  But that's about as "extreme" as I've gotten.  I didn't actually go to England or Australia to pick the books up; now that would have been extreme!

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Booking Through Thursday asks:

Which is more important when you read — the actual story or the characters? I’ve read books with great plots, but two-dimensional characters, and I’ve read multi-layered characters stuck in clunky stories, and I’m sure you have, too. So which would you rather focus on, if you couldn’t have both?

I think I go back and forth.  At times, a really good character (or group of characters) is enough to hold my interest.  At other times, I just want a really interesting plot.  Right now, I'm going through a "must have plot!" phase.  The last few books that I've read and liked have had fairly strong characterization.  I guess I'm just looking for something with a really good plot right now.

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Booking Through Thursday asks:

Do you have a favorite book? What do you say when people ask you? (This question always flummoxes me because how can you pick just one, so I’m eager to hear what you folks have to say.)

And, has your favorite book changed over the years??

Actually, I'm not sure if I've ever been asked this question.  Maybe somebody asked me years ago... but I don't really remember.

I don't really have one favourite book.  There are a few books that always seem to show up in my Top Ten Tuesday posts.  The list hasn't really changed that much in recent years; I don't re-read books, so once a book makes it onto my list of favourites, it tends to stay there.

Some of my very favourite books are:

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Fire and Hemlock by Dianna Wynne Jones
Tiger Moon by Antonia Michaelis
Trader by Charles de Lint
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
The Willowmere Chronicles trilogy by Alison Baird

If someone were to ask me this question, I'd probably list the above books and tell them which ones they must read for themselves.  Then the asker would probably regret having asked me in the first place...

Booking Through Thursday (25)

Booking Through Thursday asks:

Do you ever crave reading crappy books?

No.

(Seriously...  Am I supposed to be inspired to write an eloquent essay based on a question that only requires a one-word answer?)

Booking Through Thursday (24)

Booking Through Thursday asks:

Who would you rather borrow from? Your library? Or a Friend?

(Or don’t your friends trust you to return their books?)

And, DO you return books you borrow?

I guess I'd prefer to borrow from a friend.  But I don't have any friends nearby that I could borrow books from.  And of course I would return their books if I borrowed them!  I've had people not return books they've borrowed from me, so I know how annoying that is.

Booking Through Thursday (23)

Booking Through Thursday asks:

I’ve seen many bloggers say that what draws them to certain books or authors is good writing, and what causes them to stop reading a certain book or author is bad writing.  What constitutes good writing and bad writing to you?

How much time do you have?

For someone as pedantic as me, writing is kind of a separate topic from character development or plot.  But there are more than enough common mistakes out there to keep me annoyed.  One thing that will drive me to distraction is the use of "said bookisms".  That's when the author, instead of tagging the dialogue with the simple (and easy-to-ignore) word "said", will use some other word such as "coughed" or "sighed" or "laughed".  I've read books so bad that characters even "shrug" their speech.  In the past year or so I've read two that were awful in this regard (although, in one case, I don't think the author had a good grasp on how to write dialogue at all, since every piece of it ended in a comma, whether it was the end of a complete sentence or not).

In the past, I've done quite a bit of writing.  I have a whole shelf in my bookshelf devoted to instructional/inspirational writing books, and I used to read Writer's Digest magazine religiously.  So when I see errors, they really jump out at me.  For me to consider a book to have "good writing" usually means that the writing is transparent and that I don't notice it at all.  No "said bookisms", no purple prose, no comma splices (unless they make sense in the context of the style).  If I can forget about the writing and just enjoy the story, then I'm more likely to give the book high marks in the writing category.

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Booking Through Thursday asks:

Name a book (or books) from a country other than your own that you love. Or aren’t there any?

Tiger Moon by Antonia Michaelis.  It's a story set in British India, written by a German author, and translated by a British translator.  I'm Canadian... so that's all pretty foreign to me!