About Me A-Z

This is the 500th post to bibliographic manifestations and I felt like I wanted to do something different so I am completing the A-Z Bookish Survey that Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner created.

Author you’ve read the most books from:

Agatha Christie  (31 books so far -- this is only considering the books I have on Goodreads, but that is pretty much all my reading for the past 5ish years.)

Best Sequel Ever:

Nothing comes to mind. Couldn't even come up with a sequel (as opposed to the second book in a series, which seems different).

Currently Reading:

The Mists of Avalon, A River in the Sky, and Doctor Who: Shada. I almost never read only one book at a time.

Drink of Choice While Reading:

Depends on the book, the time, my mood. Tea, coffee, wine, beer are all possibilities. 

E-reader or Physical Book?

I’m strictly a physical book reader. 

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School:

Wade Watts from Ernest Cline's Ready Player One. 

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance:

A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash. It was recommended to me several times but the blurb didn't appeal to me. I did end up reading it and it was excellent. 

Hidden Gem Book:

The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer.

Important Moment in your Reading Life:

As soon as I could write my own name (that was the rule at the library where we lived when I was little) I got my first library card. I have had one ever since (40+ years) and can't imagine how I would survive without it. 

Just Finished:

Compromising Positions by Susan Isaacs

Kinds of Books You Won’t Read:

I can only read English well enough to get much out of it, so foreign language titles are out. Other than that I wouldn't say there are any kinds of books I won't read. 

Longest Book You’ve Read:

Bleak House by Charles Dickens (965 pages)

Major book hangover because of:

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Number of Bookcases You Own:

There is no way to count my bookcases separately from my husband's. Between us we have about 15 bookcases in the house. Just imagine how out-of-hand things would be if I didn't borrow most of my books from the library!

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:

I have read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott many times since I was about 9 years old. I get something different from it every time and it remains a favorite.

Preferred Place To Read:

I have a daybed next to a window in my sewing room that is a favorite spot for reading.

Quote that inspires you from a book you’ve read:

“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking." --Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood

Reading Regret:

I wish I had not read With No One as Witness by Elizabeth George before I read the earlier books in the Thomas Lynley series. I hadn't read George before, this was her new book at the time and it looked good. It was good, but stuff happens in it that changes the way you see the supporting characters in the series and I missed out on meeting these great characters as George developed them. Now I make sure to start new-to-me series at the beginning. 

Series You Started And Need To Finish(all books are out in series):

There are several, including the Phryne Fisher series by Kerry Greenwood (only a few to go on that one), Deborah Crombie's Jemma James and Duncan Kincaid series, and Laura Lippman's Tess Monaghan books (love the Baltimore setting!)

Three of your All-Time Favorite Books:

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

Unapologetic Fangirl For:

Douglas Adams.

Very Excited For This Release More Than All The Others:

The new Margaret Atwood novel. This is usually the case whenever there is one.

Worst Bookish Habit:

I tend to read when I should probably be doing something else (like housework, or sleeping).

X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:

I have a lot of shelves to choose from for this, but I went with the bookcase that mostly has my TBR books on it. Silas Marner by George Eliot.

Your latest book purchase:

I saw Gate City and Split Thirty by Michael Davidow displayed at RiverRun Bookstore several weeks ago when I was visiting Portsmouth and had to have them both.

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):

Not sure what the last one was, but I had this problem with several of the early Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris.