King Arthur Movie Tristan

You’ve just dropped your favorite, out-of-print book into a bathtub, ruining it completely … What do you do now?

I'd probably do the following:

Cry. Really, cry and whine...alot. Curse in Spanish. Call hubby and complain. Call my sister to complain. Show my children what happened to my favorite book. Try to dry out the book by laying it out and maybe even taking the hairdryer on a low setting to it. Blog about the whole mess. Then try and find another copy online...ebay perhaps?


But considering I don't read in the bathtub, this is highly unlikely to happen to me. I have gotten a few books wet however, mostly poolside, and I can't stand how crinkly the pages get when they dry.

What about you?

Hi everyone, it's Thursday and that means the weekend is almost here :)

This week's Booking Through Thursday is a fun list of bookish questions.



1. Favorite childhood book?

Green Eggs and Ham was always a favorite when I was little.




2. What are you reading right now?

Alice in Wonderland, Skellig and The Girl Made of Cool





3. What books do you have on request at the library?

none



4. Bad book habit?

Dog-earing pages, breaking spines and just not being able to ban myself from buying books.




5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?

Skelling, Alice in Wonderland




6. Do you have an e-reader?

no





7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
I prefer to read just one, but I tend to read two or three at a time. However, if a book is really involved, I tend to read just that one, or else I'll get plots and characters confused. Or sometimes I find a book that I just cannot put down, so I stop reading everything else until I'm done.






8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?

Yes! I read much more now and have more diverse reading tastes due to being exposed to so many more books and reviews now.




9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)

The One That I Want I just couldn't relate to the central character.





10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?

The Recipe Club, The Road and The Queen's Pawn



11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?

Every once in a while.



12. What is your reading comfort zone?

Historical Fiction, Romance





13. Can you read on the bus?

I can't read while riding on anything that is moving...bus, train or cars.




14. Favorite place to read?

Early Saturday morning on my bed with my cup of tea on my nightstand, the house nice and quiet.




15. What is your policy on book lending?

When I read a book that I love, I naturally tend to offer it to others. But sadly, I'm trying to break that habit, because 9 times out of 10 I never see the book again or get it back damaged.





16. Do you ever dog-ear books?

See my answer to question #4




17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?

No, I don't write in them. But once I borrowed a Koontz book from the library and every few pages or so there was writing and nasty notes. Mostly criticizing the plot and notes comparing different events in the story. :( It was so annoying. It was like they were trying to find mistakes and loopholes in the storyline. I wondered why would someone bother to do that? Luckily it was all written in pencil, so I erased as I read...lol.




18. Not even with text books?

I have written in textbooks that I owned, in pencil, if there were passages I needed to remember and refer back to.






19. What is your favorite language to read in?

English, I can read in Spanish, but unless it's poetry, I prefer not to.




20. What makes you love a book?

Drama, romance, twists and turns and great characters do it for me. I like a story I can talk about and recommend to others.




21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?

Great characters and storyline. If a book keeps me reading into the wee hours of the morning, I'm recommending it.





22. Favorite genre?

Historical Fiction with some romance in it, Horror.





23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)

I really like YA, but don't read it as much as I want to. I also neglect Science Fiction and Biographies.





24. Favorite biography?

I haven't read any, and need to remedy that.




25. Have you ever read a self-help book?

Yes, and it was life changing. A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle.




26. Favorite cookbook?

Cookie and Biscuit Bible has some fantastic recipes in it.




27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
The Shack



28. Favorite reading snack?

Haha, for some bizarre reason I won't snack or eat while reading. Isn't that odd?
If I'm reading and try to snack, I find myself inadvertently putting my book down while I eat.




29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.

None really. But I did read Dead Until Dark because of all the hype and it was a letdown for me.





30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?

Sometimes I agree, sometimes not.





31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?

If I don't enjoy a book, I'll say it as kindly as I can. I don't bash books.
What I didn't enjoy about a book, someone else might love.






32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
French, it sounds so romantic.






33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?

Good question. I'd have to say The Odyssey.



34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?

I need to read Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, but it does intimidate. I don't want to feel like a dumb ass not understanding what I'm reading...lol.




35. Favorite Poet?

So many. Mostly Emily Dickinson and Pablo Neruda.





36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?


Around 12.





37. How often have you returned book to the library unread?

Too many times! I usually take out too many at a time to possibly be able to read them all.





38. Favorite fictional character?

So many, it's hard to pick just one. I'd have to say I love Elizabeth Bennet from Pride & Prejudice.





39. Favorite fictional villain?

Heathcliff from Brontes Wuthering Heights always stood out as the villain I loved to hate. How could he love Cathy so much, yet be so cold and ruthless?







40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?

I like to bring along a good mystery or something scary, but usually don't get the time to read it. I tend to bring along either King or Koontz when I'm on vaca.





41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.

Hmmm...since I've been an adult and actively reading...1 day maybe 2.






42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.

There's been a few. Sadly enough the last one I couldn't finish was Incactation by Alice Hoffman. She is one of my favorite authors so that was a big letdown.





43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?

The outdoors, housework, my children or a favorite tv program.





44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?

Gone With the Wind. Pride & Prejudice also, both the BBC version and the Kiera Knightly one.



45. Most disappointing film adaptation?

Geesh. Twilight. But only because I had this perfect vision of Edward in my head, no actor could fulfill it. Plus bad acting ;) I think Edward in the Twilight films looks really constipated...lol. But none of that stops me from watching all the Twilight movies, so go figure.






46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?

I tend to spend about $40 a pop. I can never pick just one book....plus there's chocolate at the check out line so you know....





47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?

Never! I don't skim and I don't read the back blurb.





48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?

Poor writing, weak characters, no plot development. Also any kind of disturbing or graphic subject matter. I DNF Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub due to graphic details about child murders. It was really gruesome :(








49. Do you like to keep your books organized?

Yes. I keep them on my shelves by author and genre. I also keep TBR's seperate so I don't get them mixed up and forget to read them.




50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?

I like to keep them.





51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?

I've got Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo sitting on my shelves for many, many years. The pages are yellow. I don't know why I avoid it, I loved the film.








52. Name a book that made you angry.

Funny enough a few reads have made me angry and they were by a favorite author, Stephen King. I read The Cell, which annoyed me a bit because there's a big climax, then no ending. He also wrote a short story called The Library Policeman, which had me throwing the book across the room when I came up to a scene where a young boy was being raped...in awful detail.








53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?

I didn't think I'd like The Road by Cormac McCarthy as much as I did, but now it's a favorite.





54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?

I really wanted to love the True Blood series by Harris, but after reading Dead Until Dark, I was dissapointed in vampire Bill. I found him to be so dry. I haven't given this series another try.





55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?

Anything by Nicholas Sparks. I love how sweet and romantic his stories are.

Happy Thursday everyone. I thought i'd include a few photos with my post today. Here's one of my chicken nugget, Diego, lounging on my daughters bed. I took this photo yesterday, and he just laid there watching me, while I snapped away. Always the little poser.



And here is the view I had while driving home from work today. We are in the middle of another bad snow storm. My kids have a snow day for today and tomorrow as well. So i've got my fingers crossed that my job will be closed tomorrow. I'm soooo ready for the Spring already! Bring it on...please!




Onto my Booking Through Thursday post:

I’ve seen this quotation in several places lately. It’s from Sven Birkerts’ ‘The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age’:


“To read, when one does so of one’s own free will, is to make a volitional statement, to cast a vote; it is to posit an elsewhere and set off toward it. And like any traveling, reading is at once a movement and a comment of sorts about the place one has left. To open a book voluntarily is at some level to remark the insufficiency either of one’s life or one’s orientation toward it.”



To what extent does this describe you?

I think this is a great BTT prompt. I'm hoping I understand the quote correctly, but here are my thoughts. I do agree that reading is a form of escape, a healthy one:

to cast a vote; it is to posit an elsewhere and set off toward it.

Being an avid reader is a positive thing. I feel sorry for people who don't enjoy reading. You can visit so many places through books, real and imagined.



As far as reading marking the insufficiency of one's life, I have to disagree. Just because I enjoy reading doesn't mean my life is incomplete. On the contrary, I love winding down at the end of a busy day with a good book and a cup of tea. And many times, my children and I read together, all three of us relaxing on the living room couches reading our books.




What do you think about the above quote?

Booking Through Thursday:

1. Do YOU like books with complicated plots and unexpected endings?


2. What book with a surprise ending is your favorite? Or your least favorite?


Yes, I do enjoy books that have lots of twists and turns in the plot, that's what will keep me hooked. Among my favorite books is the Harry Potter series. There were plenty plot twists and turns and surprise endings at the end of each book to keep me glued to this series, I read it twice.

Booking Through Thursday:

Do you think any current author is of the same caliber as Dickens, Austen, Bronte, or any of the classic authors? If so, who, and why do you think so? If not, why not? What books from this era might be read 100 years from now?

That's a great question.
I can think of a few authors and books that might be considered classics 100 years from now and still be read:

JK Rowling's HP series

Alice Hoffman's The Ice Queen

Anne Rice's Interview With the Vampire


Stephen King's It and The Stand

Wally Lamb's She's Come Undone

Lisa See's Snowflower and the Secret Fan



Philippa Gregory The Other Boleyn Girl



I think all these books can hold the readers interest and have memorable characters and storylines. The Ice Queen reads like poetry at parts. Interview With the Vampire was haunting and beautiful. JK Rowling's Harry Potter books captured the attention of millions young and old, that's not an easy feat. I think Stephen King is on a level all his own, when he's good, he's amazing. Wally Lamb breaks your heart as you read She's Come Undone , it's such an emotional book. Philippa Gregory really writes historical fiction like nobody's business, she takes you to that time and place. Lisa See's Snowflower and the Secret Fan was beautiful and sad.

Books like these are not easily forgotten.

Booking Through Thursday:

“YOU ask the question”

Each participant could ask a question they’ve wanted to discuss with other readers. Perhaps, like me, you’d like a recommendation of a certain author’s best work, or perhaps you LOVE a certain genre or series but no one else you know does and you’d just like to discuss it with someone. Or perhaps you want to try a new genre and would like recommendations from seasoned readers.

I'm a fan of thrillers and suspense. Can anyone recommend some good scary or suspenseful books or authors who I need to check out? I've already read lots of Stephen King and Dean Koontz, those are my two main guys when it comes to the genre, so other than those two, who else would you recommend?

Booking Through Thursday:

Two-thirds of Brits have lied about reading books they haven’t. Have you? Why? What book?


That's a good question, i'm curious to see the responses. No, I haven't lied about reading books. Even when I was in grammar school and high school, i'd always make sure to read the assigned books. And now if there's a book I stopped reading halfway through because I didn't enjoy it, i'll mention that on my blog or to whomever i'm discussing the book with.
What about you?

Booking Through Thursday:

What’s the most serious book you’ve read recently?

A few serious books i've read recently are:





Best Intentions by Emily Listfield.










The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold






Undone
by Karen Slaughter (review coming soon)




I enjoyed all three, but The Almost Moon drained me. It was one of those haunting reads. Undone was fabulous as was Best Intentions.

How about you? What serious books have you read lately?

Booking Through Thursday:




Reading something frivolous? Or something serious? both actually

Paperbacks? Or hardcovers? paperbacks when i'm on the go, hardcovers for collecting

Fiction? Or Nonfiction? fiction, but I do enjoy non fiction too

Poetry? Or Prose? poetry

Biographies? Or Autobiographies? either

History? Or Historical Fiction? historical fiction

Series? Or Stand-alones? stand alones mostly, I have a short attention span

Classics? Or best-sellers? depends on my mood

Lurid, fruity prose? Or straight-forward, basic prose? straight forward, basic

Plots? Or Stream-of-Consciousness? plots

Long books? Or Short? depends on my mood

Illustrated? Or Non-illustrated? non

Borrowed? Or Owned? I'd rather own

New? Or Used? I'd rather a new book, but used is fine as long as it's not dirty.

Booking Through Thursday:

One of my favorite sci-fi authors (Sharon Lee) has declared June 23rd Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers Day.


As she puts it:


So! In my Official Capacity as a writer of science fiction and fantasy, I hereby proclaim June 23 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Day! A day of celebration and wonder! A day for all of us readers of science fiction and fantasy to reach out and say thank you to our favorite writers. A day, perhaps, to blog about our favorite sf/f writers. A day to reflect upon how written science fiction and fantasy has changed your life.


So … what might you do on the 23rd to celebrate? Do you even read fantasy/sci-fi? Why? Why not?

I'm a fan of sci-fi but for some reason I don't read it as much as I'd like to. I watch the films and tv programs more instead.


One of my favorite Science Fiction reads is
Stephenie Meyer's The Host.







Another very good fantasy read, is Stardust by Neil Gaiman.








And a while ago, when the Star Trek Voyager series first came out, I quickly became a fan. I wound up reading a few of the books based on the series. Don't laugh! They were fun.







I'd like to read more sci-fi, can you recommend any? I've already read Well's 'The War of the Worlds' and enjoyed it too, but I prefer sci-fi with an element of romance in the plot.

Booking Through Thursday:

There are certain types of books that I more or less assume all readers read. (Novels, for example.)

But then there are books that only YOU read. Instructional manuals for fly-fishing. How-to books for spinning yarn. How to cook the perfect souffle. Rebuilding car engines in three easy steps. Dog training for dummies. Rewiring your house without electrocuting yourself. Tips on how to build a NASCAR course in your backyard. Stuff like that.


What niche books do YOU read?

Some of my readers now that I crochet. It's my other obsession besides reading.
I do collect crochet pattern books. Here are a few of my favorites:



Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker





Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet






Creepy Cute Crochet: Zombies, Ninjas, Robots, and More!






Amigurumi!: Super Happy Crochet Cute








Gourmet Crochet



What about you? What niche books do YOU read?

Booking Through Thursday:

This can be a quick one. Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.

Here's the first 15 titles that pop into my head:

1. The Poisonwood Bible

2. Shattered Dreams

3. A New Earth

4. The Ice Queen

5. Interview With the Vampire

6. She's Come Undone

7. Pride & Prejudice

8. Persuasion

9. The Taking

10. The Shining

11. Harry Potter series

12. Twilight

13. Snowflower and the Secret Fan

14. Gone With the Wind

15. The Lord of the Rings




What about you? What are some of the books that stick with you?

Booking Through Thursday:

What book would you love to be able to read again for the first time?

I have a few books that i'd love to read again for the first time:



Pride & Prejudice: The first time I read this one, I fell in love with the storyline and characters. I lived inside this book for a few days and couldn't wait to find out what happened with Elizabeth and Darcy.




The Ice Queen: The writing is poetic. This book had me hooked from page one. I was sad when I was done reading it, I remember wishing it were longer.





Twilight: I know, I know. I think most people either LOVE or HATE Twilight. I loved this book. It would be great to re-discover this story.








Interview With the Vampire: Anne Rice writes like poetry. This book was both beautiful and haunting. I loved her vampires from the start.




Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Another book I devoured quickly and was sad when it ended. I wound up reading the series twice.





What about you? What book(s) do you wish you could re-read for the first time?