Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Reading Questionnaire


One of my favorite book news sources is Shelf Awareness. I've been subscribed to it for about a month now, and I noticed that bi-weekly they ask an author questions about his/her reading. I've thought about bringing those questions here to my blog--after all, why should authors be the only ones to have fun?--but I noticed that it's already been done by Patti and Lesa. She who hesitates gets to follow! Hopefully, y'all will join with us. Please leave a comment with a link to your responses!

On your nightstand now:
I always feel rather strange when a question like this comes up. Normally I read one book at a time, and the only book I keep on the nightstand is the one I am currently reading. At this point in time it's How Arizona Sold Its Sunshine by Victoria Clark.

Book you've "faked" reading:
I honestly can't remember faking this. I either read the book, or I don't. I guess I've always been apprehensive that, if I lie, someone's going to throw a pop quiz at me!

Book you've bought for the cover:
Here's another one that I can't remember doing. I remember buying books and thinking that the cover was striking, but I can't remember buying the book solely for the cover. An example of buying a book and thinking the cover was striking would be Poised Between Heartbeats: The Art of Steve Hanks.

Favorite book when you were a child:
Wonderful--something I can answer without reservation! I can remember being absolutely crazy about Thorton Burgess when I was five. I would say that my favorite of his books was The Adventures of Mr. Mocker.

Book that changed your life:
Long before Oprah snagged it for her book club, the book that grabbed me by the short hairs was John Steinbeck's East of Eden. It was one of those moments when I read the perfect book for that particular period of my life. I could probably read that book tomorrow, turn the last page and think, "Okay. Well, that was a nice book."

Favorite line from a book:
The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. (The Go-Between, L.P. Hartley)

Top five favorite authors:
This list will probably change at midnight; it's the blessing of always finding new and wonderful authors to read! At this moment in time: Deborah Crombie, Nathaniel Philbrick, Craig Johnson, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles (her historicals, not her mysteries) and F. Scott Fitzgerald. How's that for a mixed bag?

Books you recommend as regeneration when people say, "I'm bored by almost all contemporary American writers":
I have trouble with people who always seem to be saying that they're bored. The last time I remember being bored was when I was thirteen, and that was due to a hormonal tidal wave more than anything else! If I had to jumpstart someone, I'd more than likely choose something like Craig Johnson's The Cold Dish, Cormac McCarthy's The Road, or Timothy Egan's The Worst Hard Time.

Book you can't believe that everyone has not read and loved:
T.H. White's The Once and Future King.

Book you are an "evangelist" for:
Craig Johnson's The Cold Dish. I've fallen in love with his Walt Longmire mystery series!

Book you most want to read again for the first time:
Marguerite Henry's King of the Wind. After I gobbled up all of Thorton Burgess' books, I started devouring all of Walter Farley's and Marguerite Henry's. Yes, I still love horses!






7 comments:

  1. Cathy,

    No wonder you "hesitated"! I thought it was funny that you had a hard time with the first three questions. But, when you finally hit one you could answer, you were rolling! I loved those horse books as well!

    Thanks for linking, and taking time to answer the questions!

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  2. Cathy -- thanks for posting this and mentioning it in the blogger group at LibraryThing. It was just the timewaster I needed on a Monday morning.

    Here are my answers. I also gave you a link on my blog.

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  3. thanks hun, i just posted my answers at

    http://kymmayfield.blogspot.com/2008/09/reading-questionaire-found-on.html

    that was a fun one but boy did it make you think lol

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  4. Thanks for posting this and suggesting it on LT. I've also read everyone's so far and it's really intereting to see the different answers that everyone comes up with.

    (and yes, great minds do think alike ); )

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  5. Four months later, but I posted mine! Actually, it's my first post on blogger and I'm looking forward to many more in the upcoming New Year.

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  6. Thanks for the compliment on my profile! Can I ask you for a bit of technical advice? Is there an easier, or shall I say a direct way of responding to comments that people leave on your page? Under your post, there was a comment box but when I tried to respond to your post, it just came up on my own page. I checked the blogger help section and didn't see an answer there. Thanks!! Oh, and have a wonderfully blessed and safe New Years :-)

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Thank you for taking the time to make a comment. I really appreciate it!