The Challenge
Thank the blogger who nominated you!
Answer the 11 questions that the blogger gives you!
Nominate 11 blogs that you think are deserving of the award!
Let the bloggers know you nominated them!
Give them 11 questions to answer!
First of all I would like to say thanks to Book Owly for the nomination – a great blog and I loved her answers to the challenge.
So, diving right in!
- What was your favourite book when you were a child? How do you feel about the book now?
Just the one? Too difficult, when I was little I loved the Animal ark collection of books, Hamster in a Hamper, that sort of thing. My two favourite books in High School were “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck and “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.
I am and always have been a bit of an eclectic reader, I used to love the “new in” shelf at the library and would go through everything from fantasy to crime. I adored John Grisham and had read most of his books by the age of 13 but I had also read every Anne Rice novel! - Are you going to library for books? Do you ask for suggestions? How did you find your current library, if you have one?
If I am completely honest, I don’t use my local library often, or at least as often as I should. I have sadly converted to the convenience of ebooks and discovered a site called Bookbub where amazing authors come up really cheaply. I also follow quite a few authors on WordPress such as Sue Vincent and Alienora Taylor, which has lead me to read their amazing e-books too (highly recommended).
I do intend to start using the library more with a recent discovery of the world of audiobooks. I have a fairly long drive to and from work and realised I could be enjoying an extra book a week and most libraries have a reasonable stock of CDs to borrow. - Old and used book smell or new and freshly printed book smell?
Both? Nah, that’s probably cheating. I would lean towards new book smell, only because this is a double pleasure with both new books and also new blank notebooks. - Do you use bookmarks when reading? What kind of bookmarks (paper, fabric, magnetic) do you use and how do they look? I currently have a Hay Festival cardboard book mark. My bookmarks are almost always paper usually from something adhoc; such as a flight ticket, cinema ticket or a post-it with a note on.
- Name your favourite fictional character and tell why (s)he has earned your infine love!
Hmm…. I kinda need to cheat on this one too. One of my favorites’ is Matilda Lady of Hay from Barbara Erskine’s stunning novel of the same name. However she actually existed in real life. This novel itself is now 25 years old and I think it should be considered a modern classic. - If an author gave you the chance to rewrite or to change the fate of a book character, who would you chose and why?
I’m not sure I would change the fate of a character in a book, however there are some characters I would love to see in a sequel. A recent example of this is the character Tomasso who I adored in the novel “The Witch of Napoli” by Michael Schmicker. - Have you ever borrowed a book and not given it back?
Shamefully, yes. I borrowed “No Mean City” by H. Kingsley Long and Alexander McArthur. A novel written in 1935 that chronicles the difficult life for working class city dwellers in Glasgow. I did mean to give it back but my grandfather had replaced it as I had had it so long so let me keep it. - Do you read books while you eat? While you bathe? While you watch movies or TV? While you listen to music? While you’re on the computer? How do you do it?
Yes, all of the above. Although the main one is in bed I find it incredibly difficult to sleep without reading at least a few pages of a book. I have also recently discovered the world of audiobooks in the car now too. I’m a book addict. - What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down (or just wanted to know what will happen)?
I get this feeling a lot, but one of the latest was 1929: Book 1 by M.L. Gardner, review coming soon. 🙂 - Name a book that you have read and reread at least three times! Why so? Is that your favourite book?
Barbara Erskine is one of my latest favourite authors and I have re-read several of those books. There are so many I will re-read at somepoint, Phil Rickman, Elly Griffiths, James Herbert, Kate Ellis, too many. I also really enjoy re-reading classics; at the moment on my bookshelf to read I have Edgar Allan Poe and Arthur Conan Doyle. - Kindle or a real book? What do you choose now? What will you choose after five years?
Both. For different reasons.Hard copy is amazing, particularly for classics, research and I also receive these as gifts from friends. I am also a big fan of keeping local bookstores going so when visiting a town, if it has an independent bookstore I will buy something from it. Two recent discoveries are the Hedgehog bookstore in Penrith and Cogito Books in Hexham.
However, I am now a big fan of e-books and have found many new and interesting writers this way; such as Sue Vincent, Alienora Taylor,, Michael Schmicker, M.L Gardner and Micheal Siemsen.
It’s Over To You….
The Questions are:
- What was your favourite book when you were a child? How do you feel about the book now?
- Are you going to library for books? Do you ask for suggestions? How did you find your current library, if you have one?
- Old and used book smell or new and freshly printed book smell?
- Do you use bookmarks when reading? What kind of bookmarks (paper, fabric, magnetic) do you use and how do they look?
- Name your favourite fictional character and tell why (s)he has earned your infine love!
- If an author gave you the chance to rewrite or to change the fate of a book character, who would you chose and why?
- Have you ever borrowed a book and not given it back?
- Do you read books while you eat? While you bathe? While you watch movies or TV? While you listen to music? While you’re on the computer? How do you do it?
- What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down (or just wanted to know what will happen)?
- Name a book that you have read and reread at least three times! Why so? Is that your favourite book?
- Kindle or a real book? What do you choose now? What will you choose after five years?
My Nominees are…
Chronicles of an Orange-Haired Woman
Imperfectioninanutshell/Bookworm with opinions
The Library Lady and Rosie Bear
Good Luck Everyone and Enjoy 🙂
New2Writing 
This was a complete surprise when I logged on after dinner and found a pingback! Thanks so much for the nomination, KL. 🙂 I accept and will try to post a follow-up in a couple weeks. (Trying to finish up a couple in-progress posts first. *winks*)
Also, I don’t think we’ve “met” before, or that I’ve visited your site in the past. So, hello!
Like you, I still love hardcover books. I haven’t ventured into the world of e-readers yet, only because I spend so much time on the computer for work that when I sit down to read for the night, I don’t have any desire to look at another screen. And funny you had a library question. Someone just asked me today why I prefer to buy books instead of borrowing them for free from the library. *lol*
Thanks Sara, I have followed your blog for a little while and thought you would be ideal for this challenge. Quite a few of the questions really got me thinking and although it took some time I did enjoy doing the challenge, hope you do too. 🙂
Animal Ark – that brings back lovely memories of reading those books aloud to my daughters at bedtime. My own childhood books were Enid Blyton – Famous Five & Malory Towers.
Thanks Sally, you are completely right! Enid Blyton also brings back lovely childhood memories. I was delighted to find out my little niece who is 6 has come across these stories and adores them, so they do seem to have survived the generations.
Oh, I do love the questions you’ve asked. I’ve accepted this award in the past, so I’m not sure it’s good form to accept it twice. 🙂 Even so, I’d love to answer your questions.
Perhaps at some point I’ll do a blog post addressing them and link to you. I’m such a read-a-holic, and I love discussions about books. Sometimes ‘award questions’ can be goofy, but the questions you’ve posed are great and sure to spark other readers’ interest.
Incidentally, I like the list of books you’ve posted on your Goodreads banner. There are several listed I would enjoy reading, especially Slaughter’s.