A-Z Book Survey

An A-Z Book Survey

A fun little A-Z Book Survey hosted by Jamie @ The Perpetual Page Turner.  I love doing these because it allows me to share some of my favorite reads with my fellow bloggers...perhaps they'll discover something they haven't heard of.  I know that I always do! 

Here we go!

Author You've Read the Most Books From

I think that would be Italo Calvino...a brilliant Italian writer.  A close second would probably be J.K. Rowling.  I do love me some Harry Potter!  Oh...wait.  Nora Roberts.  I've read nearly all of her books because they're quick and don't require much thought. 

Best Sequel Ever

This one is so difficult because there are so many great sequels, but I'm going to go with A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin.  It's the third book in the A Song of Fire and Ice series and it's so, so, so good!  So many shocking scenes and twists and turns!  Gah!  Cress by Marissa Meyer is also a fantastic sequel.  Really there are just too many to name.

Currently Reading

I just cracked open the spine of The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante.  I absolutely loved the first book in this series and was stoked to see that the second had finally been translated into English from its original Italian!  Score!

Drink of Choice While Reading

COFFEE!!!  I am an addict...which I openly admit.  If I could have a bottomless coffee cup, I'd be a happy camper...or an IV of delicious coffee...that'd be okay too :)

E-Reader of Physical Books?

Physical books are my go-to.  I love being able to physically turn pages, break the spine, dog-ear where I'm at, and smell their bookish goodness.  While I do enjoy having the convenience of an e-reader, I don't read on it as much as I read physical books.

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Dated in High School

Neville Longbottom.  I love Neville :)  Or Jon Snow...mmmm...Jon Snow.

Glad You Gave This Book a Chance

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.  I randomly picked this book up at the public library one day and I'm so glad I did!  The synopsis sounded intriguing, but it is Ferrante's lyrically brilliant writing that makes this a superb novel.  I am so incredibly glad that I have discovered her work and can't wait to get my hands on all of her English translations!

Hidden Gem Book

Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer.  This is a brilliant and beautifully written book.  It is hilarious and heartwrenching all at the same time. 

Important Moment in Your Reading Live

Oh there have been several.  The Book Thief by Markus Zusak...The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino...Death in Venice by Thomas Mann...Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.  I could go on and on.  So many books have influence my reading.

Just Finished Reading

Belle Cora by Phillip Margulies and Greetings from Somewhere Else by Monica McInerney.  It was a good reading weekend :)

Kind of Books You Won't Read

I am really up to read just about anything, but I'm not the hugest fan of science fiction or christian ficiton books.  That's not saying I haven't read books from either of those genres, they just aren't ones I normally gravitate toward.  Also, chick lit.  I enjoy reading these books, but they're never ones I hit up first in a bookstore.  I'm more of a classics/literary fiction/historic fiction reader. 

Longst Book You've Read

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.  At a whopping 1463 pages (depending on your edition), it's a doozy.  But oh so good!  Definitely recommend it.

Major Book Hangover Because Of...

Harry Potter.  I did not want it to end...EVER!  I absolutely love this series and re-read it nearly every summer.  I haven't done so this summer, but there's still time :)  I also felt this way when I finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

Number of Bookshelves You Own

Two.  They are both six feet tall...and double-stacked.  They also have books piled on top of the double-stacked rows.  I think I might need to buy more bookshelves...getting rid of books is rarely an option :)

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi.  This is one of my most favorite books of all time.  I love going on Charlotte's adventure with her.  So captivating!  It's also the book I've bought the most copies of because they keep disappearing...

Preferred Place to Read

Anywhere that coffee is available.  I love reading in coffeeshops for several reasons.  1. There is an infinite supply of coffee...and snacks.  2.  If I need to take a break, I can people-watch!  3.  Most of the time there is light music in the background, which I rather enjoy.  I also absolutely love reading on airplanes and in airports.  Weird.

Quote that Inspires You or Gives You All the Feels

"Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation" --Walter Cronkite
"Books are a uniquely protable magic" --Stephen King

Reading Regret

Not being as well read in classic American writers as I am in European writers.  I'm not the hugest fan of American writers, I much prefer European authors, and that's something I feel bad about.  I'll purposely skip over works by Faulkner, Hawthorne, Hemingway, etc. and pick up something by Tolstoy or Dickens.  I just find European literature so much more fulfilling. 

Series You Started and Need to Finish (that's completely published)

Oh gosh...most of the series I'm reading aren't completely published!  Um...maybe 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith, but I think he's still writing on the series.  There are so many series that I want to start!  Or The Neapolitan Novels series by Elena Ferrante.  I think there are only three and the final one has been published in its original Italian, but the English translation doesn't come out until September.  Does that count?  I don't know...

Three of Your All-Time Faves

I'm going to go out of the box here and suggest ones that are not on everyone's radar (aka Harry Potter, The Book Thief, The Hunger Games, etc).  Here are three of my faves:  If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino, Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, and Midwives by Chris Bohjalian.

Unapologetic Fangirl For...

Harry Potter...all things Harry Potter.  I make no apologies for this love/obsession at all.  And, yes.  I do have an account on Pottermore and it's awesome!  Don't judge me...

Very Excited for This Release, Above All Others

Winter by Marissa Meyer.  I am loving, loving, loving The Lunar Chronicles and can't wait for the last book to come out.  2015 is way too far away!

Worst Bookish Habit

Breaking the spine and dog-earing pages.  I know, I know.  So bad.  As someone who loves books, and knows the value of and correct way to handle rare books, this should be a no-no.  But I just can't help myself.

X Marks the Spot:  Start at the Top Left of Your Shelf and Pick the 27th Book

Well, since my bookselves are double stacked, these are the four books that are in the 27th spot from the left:  Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende, The Russia House by John le Carre, Passing by Nella Larsen, and Reached by Ally Condie.

Your Last Book Purchase

How about the last eleven books I purchased...haha.  The Friends of the Library booksale was on Saturday, and I hit that up hard-core!  Walked away with the following gems for a total of 6 bucks!:  White Oleander by Janet Fitch, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai, Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson, The Secret Book of Grazia dei Rossi by Jacqueline Park, Goodnight Nobody and Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner, The General in His Labyrinth by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III, City of Light by Lauren Belfer,and  Between Two Rivers by Nicholas Rinaldi.

Zzzz Snatcher:  Last Book that Kept You Up WAY Too Late

Probably A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin, the fourth book in A Song of Fire and Ice series.  They're just so freakin' good!

This was fun!  Feel free to participate and happy reading!