My Bookshelf

I fell in love after seeing this mini quiz on Nova's blog and had to do it myself. I've been wanting to talk about all of the books I love for a long time, so this seemed like a good place to start. So thanks Nova for having an awesome taste in books and inspiring me to do my own!

Author you’ve read the most books from:
It probably has to be Kelley Armstrong with her Otherworld series. I remember many a long commute to York and back to Sheffield being lost in the books about everything supernatural and spooky. They are a somewhat bizarre mix between fantasy and cheese that I can't help but read.

Best Sequel Ever:
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. I started Northern Lights and within a week I was closing The Amber Spyglass. It is the perfect tale of adventure and I really want a deamon of my own. I love Lyra, she is very brave for a young girl! What deamon would you pick if you could? I would kind of like a penguin to waddle around behind me!

Currently Reading:
I'm currently reading What is the What by Dave Eggers. It is a semi-fictional book about Valentino Achek, a Sudanese man who survived the civil war in the 80s and has made a life for himself in Atlanta. I usually like books that are a little fantastical to use as an escape, and despite the subject being harrowing, I'm really enjoying it. Nick recommended it and as I didn't manage to make it to the book swap last month I decided to give it a go. I'm learning a lot!

Drink of Choice While Reading:
Hot Chocolate or Chai Tea Latte. Yum.

E-reader or Physical Book?
I do love books. Kindles just aren't the same. Plus I've had two kindles in the space of 2 years and both of them have broken. I love the smell of a good old book and having something physical to read.


Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School:
Although I'd like to say Cedric Diggory, I can imagine myself more with Ron Weasley!

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance:
Lots of people mentioned The Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann. I didn't read it for a long time because I thought it would be a bit too chic and cheesy for me, but I absolutely loved it. I loved the characters' flawed desperation to stay swathed in the bright lights of Hollywood.

Hidden Gem Book:
The Mechanique by Genevieve Valentine was a recommendation from a friend. I'd never heard of it before, but as I really like the novel Nights At The Circus by Angela Carter, he said I should give it a go, and I loved it! It's about a circus troupe with their ringmaster who 'builds' her artists to make them perfect for the job. It's kind of Frankenstein meets Moulin Rouge.

Important Moment in your Reading Life:
The day I graduated from university with a degree in English Literature and I could start reading for leisure again!

Just Finished:
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. It is a series of short stories stretching from the past far into the future, and are all somehow intertwined. I liked that one of the pivotal stories is set in current day Korea. It took some getting into, but I found that half way through I was really getting into each story and felt disappointed whenever they stopped! Not to worry, he does tie each story up by the end of the book.


Kinds of Books You Won’t Read:
I don't usually like biographies, nor do I like awful chick lit!

Longest Book You’ve Read:
Ulysses by James Joyce. This was a really difficult book to read. It's written in the style of someone's thoughts, so randomly jumps from idea to idea, without punctuation. We were given two weeks to read it at uni, that was a looong two weeks.

Number of Bookcases You Own:
At the moment in Korea I only have one book case in my room, and that doesn't hold any books. I only keep one or two books at a time and then swap them for new ones. At home in England I have a beautiful white book case that's stuffed with my books.

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I fell so deeply in love with this book that I based my dissertation around it, and have recently bought it again so I can read it for the fourth time.

Preferred Place To Read:
In bed! Or on a long journey where I can be smug that I have nothing better to do than sit and read my book. I did find this little spot and was adamant that this would be my new reading spot, but autumn arrived and the days got too short. It wouldn't be the same sat up there in the dark!

Major book hangover because of:
Sadly it has to be Franny and Zooey by J D Salinger. My friend bought me this as a leaving gift to come to Korea as we had a shared love for The Great Gatsby, so the sentimental value means that I will always keep the book, yet the story itself was pretty terrible. I kept hoping that something would happen and the mundane story line would come to life, but sadly for me that never happened, and left me feeling as flat and uninspired as Franny.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read:
“Oh, please don't go—we'll eat you up—we love you so!” Where the Wild Things Are. It's not so inspirational but whenever I feel a huge surge of love for anything I want to squeeze it really hard, and pretty much feel like this quote sums up the feeling of loving something so much you want to just gobble it up!

Reading Regret:
Reading the Historian by Eizabeth Kostova. It was just a big book of facts veiled with an awful vampire story that leads to an anti-climaz and concludes too quickly for the amount of time spent on a build up. It was a book everyone was raving about at the time, so I stuck with it even though I wasn't enjoying, and really wished that I hadn't.

Series You Started And Need To Finish (all books are out in series):
The rest of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I first read this book in primary school and remember adoring it then, so recently I picked it back up and now I really want to read the others.

Three of your All-Time Favorite Books:
Harry Potter, all of them. I was a snob at first and didn't understand what everyone was going on about, so I picked up a copy of the first book from a coffee table and after the first page was hooked. The Great Gatsby, just because it has lots of tiny little messages woven throughout the book that really speak to me. And The Shadow of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I love the idea of a cemetery of old, forgotten books in the centre of Barcelone just after the civil war.


Unapologetic Fangirl For:
I have to say it, I may have been able to keep it quiet, but I do love the Twilight series. Every year Natasha and I would go and watch the new film when it came out and cringe/swoon the whole way through. Team Jacob for the win!

Very Excited For This Release More Than All The Others:
Well it's not really a new release, but I'm really looking forward to reading J K Rowling's 'grown up' book to see if I like it or not!

Worst Bookish Habit:
No matter how much I'm not enjoying a book, I force myself to read it. There's not enough time to waste on awful books.

X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book: Unfortunately I don't have my bookshelf here with me, so I'm going to substitute a question in here...

Best Bookish Childhood Memory:
The Hobbit. I remember my mum reading this to me before i went to bed at night. I would get so excited about going to bed so I could hear the next part of the journey. This is one case where I am 100% in agreement that the book was better!

Your latest book purchase:
I don't really buy books at the moment, instead I swap books, but the last book I actually paid for was a book about Korean cooking! I haven't got around to reading it yet though!

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. I've never seen the movie so absolutely loved the twist in the book. I kept trying to solve the mystery myself as I read and found it really creepy and eerie. I hate that sense you get when you know a character's trapped before they realise they are.


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What have you been reading lately?

If you do this quiz link it to me in the comments so I can see what you have to say about books and stuff. And you should definitely check out Nova's original post.



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