Booking Through Thursday – Different Kind of Romance

This week the question comes from Ted:

   

Have you ever fallen in love with a fictional character? Who and what about them did you love?

I read a lot of romance, so I come across characters I love often. I’ll just name a few most prominent ones.

One of my earliest crushes on fictional characters was Sebastian from Saddler’s Wells series by Lorna Hill. I loved him because he is funny, always ready to pull a prank, but otherwise well-mannered, kind, and caring. The fact that I read this series some 15 years or so ago and I still remember him should tell you a lot.

I can’t go past The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. But it’s not who you think. Oh, no. My absolute favourite is Carlisle. Zeus’s younger brother’s looks, nearly four centuries of wisdom, and, most importantly, he is so utterly good – what’s there not to love? Fortunately, he’s only a fictional character. Otherwise, I’m afraid Esme would make an exception to her diet and have me for a snack.

I’ve been having a huge crush on Damon from The Vampire Diaries by L. J. Smith for the past year or so since I started reading the series. Now, I’m going to minimize my gushing about why I love Damon to a minimum: he is mysterious, dangerous, smart and funny, but suffering on the inside and ready to do anything for the people he loves.

There are more, of course, such as Michael (gorgeous, decisive, loyal) from Sire by Thomas Galvin, Raphael (waiting for a girl for five centuries makes a guy awesome, don't you think?) from Wake Unto Me by Lisa Cach, pretty much every male protagonist form Immortals after Dark series by Kresly Cole, ...

I could go on, but I will stop here. 

Booking Through Thursday – Fan Fiction

A while ago, I interviewed my readers for a change, and my final question was, “What question have I NOT asked at BTT that you’d love me to ask?” I got some great responses and will be picking out some of the questions from time to time to ask the rest of you. Like now.

Pepca asks:
Have you every written any fan-fiction? If yes, why and for which book(s)? If no, would you like to and for which books(s)?

For that matter, do you ever READ fan-fiction??

Let me first just jump up and down and squee a little because that is my question Deb picked this week. It’s only fair I answer it, right?

I haven’t really written any prose fan-fiction. I wrote some poems inspired by some films and TV shows, but in Slovene, not in English. However, there is quite some fan-fiction in my head – lots of times when I wish something was different in a book or a film I imagine my own version, but I somehow fail to put it down in writing.

Up until recently, I haven’t read any fan-fiction, but lately I sometimes read fan-fiction based on The Vampire Diaries (be it the TV show or the books). 

Booking Through Thursday – Interview, Part 2

        But enough about interviewing other people. It’s time I interviewed YOU.

1.     What’s your favourite time of day to read?

I most likely read in the afternoon or in the evening when I have peace and quiet.

2.     Do you read during breakfast? (Assuming you eat breakfast.)

No. I used to, but then I started going online during breakfast.

3.     What’s your favourite breakfast food? (Noting that breakfast foods can be eaten any time of day.)

Pancakes. But I eat them very rarely because I’m too lazy to make them in the morning.

4.     How many hours a day would you say you read?

I strive for at least one, but depends on how much other things I have to do.

5.     Do you read more or less now than you did, say, 10 years ago?

Ten years ago I was at the university and I mostly read study books and material, which I don’t count as reading. I read much more now.

6.     Do you consider yourself a speed reader?

Not really – I read a book a week. I do have occasional reading flashes when I finish a book in a day.

7.     If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

Teleportation. Wouldn’t that be cool? Not to mention it would save me a lot of time and strength.

8.     Do you carry a book with you everywhere you go?

No, not everywhere. I only take a book with me somewhere if I know I will have time to read.

9.     What KIND of book?

Depends. If I have to carry it around in a bag all day, then a paperback, because it is lighter. But if I go by car, I rather take a hardback because it is less destructible. Mostly I just take whatever I’m reading at the time, regardless of the format.

10.  How old were you when you got your first library card?

If school library counts, then 7. I got my first public library card at the age of 13 or 14.

11.  What’s the oldest book you have in your collection? (Oldest physical copy? Longest in the collection? Oldest copyright?)

Probably, either one of my grandmother’s Bibles, or church songbooks, or cookbooks that she handed down to me.

12.  Do you read in bed?

Yes.

13.  Do you write in your books?

Nooo. Of course not.  

14.  If you had one piece of advice to a new reader, what would it be?

Don’t get discouraged if you don’t like what you read. Keep trying different things until you find something you like.

15.  What question have I NOT asked at BTT that you’d love me to ask? (Actually, leave the answer to this one in the comments on this post, huh? So I can find them when I need inspiration!)

I haven’t participated a lot in BTT for a while, so I’m not sure if this has ever been asked:

Have you every written any fan-fiction? If yes, why and for which book(s)? If no, would you like to and for which books(s)?

Booking Through Thursday – Fluff

 

You’ve just had a long, hard, exhausting day, and all you want to do is curl up with something light, fun, easy, fluffy, distracting, and entertaining.

What book do you pick up?

If I enjoy the book I am reading at the time, I pick up that one. If not, then I go for a reread of one of my favourite books, or just favourite parts of those, which are The Lord of the Rings and The Twilight Saga. It always makes me feel better and relax when I read something familiar, it is so comforting to read about the things I already know and enjoy. 

Booking Through Thursday – Anticipation

 

What’s the last book you were really EXCITED to read?

And, were you excited about it in advance? Or did the excitement bloom while you were reading it?

Are there any books you’re excited about right NOW?

There are a lot of books mentioned below, if you want to find out more about them, click on the picture to find the Goodreads description.

So, here is my answer. I am excited almost about every book I read. Why read it if you are not excited about it? But if we take the counting-the-days to reading it or unable-to-resist definition of excitement, the last book I was excited to read was (you can see my review here):

I just could not let it standing on the shelf, although I was reading another book at that time, but I put that one aside and read Dead as a Doornail. I was looking forward to it since I had read the previous book in the series, so I had to read it as soon as I got it.

I have also been excided in advance about the book I am currently reading:

It is such an exciting read.

There are several books I am excited to read in the future. I cannot wait to read the next instalments of my currently favourite series (yes, I am all about vampires these days, cannot help myself - it will perhaps pass some day):

       

Then there are also other genres:

      

    

I am waiting for the Slovene translation of the last two.

And at last, I am so looking forward to Stephanie Meyer’s sequel to The Host (I hope she writes it soon) and the last book in Kate Mosse’s Languedoc Trilogy, Citadel, although these two will require some patience (but I believe it will be well worth of waiting). 

That is a long enough list, yet still incomplete. You get the idea. Now, I am going to read other BTT posts to find some more books to add to my never-ending excited-to-read list.

Booking Through Thursday – Repeats

 

What’s the first book that you ever read more than once? (I’m assuming there’s at least one.)

What book have you read the most times? And–how many?

I wish I could remember an exact answer to that. I have always been a re-reader, so I don’t know exactly which book was the first I reread. It might have been Heidi by Johanna Spyri, I loved it as a child and reread it several times.

The book I read the most times is without a doubt The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, although I only wish I knew how many times I read it. I lost track somewhere around the fifth or the sixth time, but I reread two or three more times since then. I am rereading it this year, too, and I think this might be the eight time, counting conservatively.  

Booking Through Thursday – Dog Days

 

Since my dog is turning 10 today … what animal-related books have you read? Which do you love? Do you have a favorite literary dog? (Snoopy, anyone?)

White Fang by Jack London is the first book that comes to my mind, then Lassie, naturally. I am sure I read quite some animal-related books; I just cannot remember titles and authors.

My absolute favourite literary dog of all times though is Kazan, the protagonist of Kazan by James Oliver Curwood. Kazan is a tamed half-wolf/half-dog and the book is mostly written from his point of view. Kazan is a loyal and smart dog. His life is very hard as he changes a lot of “owners”, some very cruel, has many adventures and helps many people. It is an amazing, heat-wrenching story which I read several times and it made me laugh and cry every time. I recommend this book to everyone. I love it.

Booking Through Thursday – Soundtrack

 

What, if any, kind of music do you listen to when you’re reading? (Given a choice, of course!)

Usually, I don't listen to music while I'm reading. I sometimes have the radio or the TV on, but it doesn't matter, because I don't register it anyway. When I read, the rest of the world just disappears. So, mostly I prefer peace and quiet while reading.

Booking Through Thursday – Own or Borrow?

 

All things being equal (money, space, etc), would you rather own copies of the books you read? Or borrow them?

Considering all the things are not equal, I borrow most of the books I read. I buy only the books I really love and the books which I know I will keep rereading. Sometimes, it happens that I first read a borrowed book and then I love it so much that I go and buy it.

However, if money and space were not the issue, I would be buying much more books I do now. I enjoy to be surrounded by the books I love.

It is quite a coincidence, this week's question comes right as I am on the lookout for some additional bookshelves (which would suffice for next few years, I think).

Booking Through Thursday - Coming Soon To a Theatre Near You

 

If you could see one book turned into the perfect movie–one that would capture everything you love, the characters, the look, the feel, the story – what book would you choose?

There are a lot of books I’d like to see turned into movies but there is always a fear present that they won’t turned out right. However, if it could be done perfectly, of the books I’ve read recently, it would be Labyrinth by Kate Mosse. The scenery, the characters, the history, the love, all of it would make a great movie.

Booking Through Thursday – Cover

 

CAN you judge a book by its cover?

I certainly DO judge a book by its cover. It is a thousand times more likely that I will pick up a book with a shiny beautiful new cover than one with a dusty colourless cover (and there is plenty of dull brownish/greyish old books in the libraries).

However, the question is CAN we judge a book by its cover. My answer would be most certainly NOT. You can perhaps judge a book by the title or the author (especially if you have read the author before), but not solely on the basis of the cover art. There are plenty wonderful covers around, I’ve picked some and then the content was rotten (I really can’t think of an example right now). On the other hand there are brilliant stories and characters hiding behind plain, boring covers, for example the classics.   

Booking Through Thursday – Personality

 

In a related question to last week’s–

I was reading the other day a quote from JFK Jr who said on the death of his mother, that she died surrounded by family, friends, and her books. Apparently, Jackie’s books were very much a part of HER, her personality, her sense of self.

Up until recently, people could browse your bookshelves and learn a lot about you–what your interests are, your range of topics, favorite authors, how much you read (or at least buy books).

More and more, though, this is changing. People aren’t buying books so much as borrowing them from the library. Or reading them on their e-readers or computers. There’s nothing PHYSICAL on the shelves to tell strangers in your home, for better or worse, who you ARE.

Do you think this is a good thing? Bad? Discuss!

It is true that the books you read reflect your personality. Not only that, the books you read also shape your personality. So, yes, people can find a lot about you when looking through your bookshelves.

If people borrow books from the libraries or read e-formats then other people cannot see what you are reading. But I would not agree that there is nothing physical in your home to tell people about you, judging by myself and the readers I know.

In my case, I borrow most of the books I read. It happened several times I first read the book from the library and I liked it so much or it had such an impact on me that I later bought it because I wanted to have it at home to reread it or parts of it or just to sit there and I can look at it and remember all the wonderful things I got from it. I like the feeling that the stories, the characters I like in a way live with me and continue inspiring me. Therefore, I think borrowing and e-readers will not prevent readers to have at least some of the most important books to them in their homes in a physical form. And what tells more about our personality than our favourite books?

How much you want to reveal about you is quite another issue and it depends on an individual. I am a private person, so I do not want everybody, least of all strangers, knowing a lot of things about me. I can show my books to my friends and we talk about them. Also, the books can be misleading. Judging only by the covers and titles may prompt people to get a wrong idea about your personality.

Overall, I think books will always be there to testify about who we are. And even if they are not it is not a necessarily bad idea if people cannot see them and make opinion about us based upon the books we read. 

Booking Through Thursday – Visual

So … the books that you own (however many there may be) … do you display them proudly right there in plain sight for all the world to see? (At least the world that comes into your living room.)

Or do you keep them tucked away in your office or bedroom or library or closet or someplace less “public?”

I haven’t got much room for books in the living room, so the only book on display there is The Bible (as a statement of principle saying I'm not afraid to show my faith). But I have open shelves in my room with all the books I’ve got in the last decade or so, so my friends can see them there. The most important, however, is that I can see them, they keep my heart warm.

Then, I’ve got a lot of old books, like books I read as a child and fairytales and the most battered up books (not my fault, I’d already got them in a poor, poor state, and I feel sorry for them) stashed away in a cupboard, because there is no space anywhere else. 

Booking Through Thursday – Serial

Series? Or Stand-alone books?

This is a serious dilemma. I read both stand-alone book and series, although I have noticed I have been reading an awful lot of series lately. That is probably because it is difficult to come across a stand-alone book these days. Every decent book I pick up is a part of a series. It has started getting on my nerves.

I have several problems with series.

Firstly, they take a lot of time.

Secondly, I borrow most of the books I read from the library and it takes ages to get a hand on the next book in a series. If I start reading something, I like to read it through. It is unnerving to have to wait to read on, especially when I like the book/series and want to find out what happens next.

Thirdly, some series are apparently written just because the first book in the series was popular and the author wants to milk some more money from it. So, he or she writes some more books, dragging on the subject, not knowing which direction to pursue, just to write another book. A mild case of this kind of a book is Eclipse. Although I love The Twilight Saga, it is obvious to me that Meyer had no idea where to lead the story and how would Bella finish up when writing the Eclipse. There are of course much worse cases, such as the middle books of Benzoni’s Marianne series which could be two or three books shorter. 

Naturally, there exist compelling series, where nothing is redundant and I only wish them to continue. For instance, Iggulden’s Emperor series (the reviews of which you can find listed on My Reviews page) could continue, I would definitely like to read on about Octavian’s rule, etc. Also, short series, such as trilogies, written to actually tell the story are great. I also like series, where books can be read as stand-alone, such as many of Nora Roberts’ trilogies.

I think there should be more stand-alone books. It just does not get better than a well-rounded book with a conclusive ending. That kind of books which does not leave the reader unsatisfied and longing is the most enjoyable.

To conclude, both stand-alone books and series are enjoyable if they actually say something. I take delight both in stand-alone books and series, in any case it all depends on the content.  

Booking Through Thursday – Multi-Tasking

Do you multi-task when you read? Do other things like stirring things on the stove, brushing your teeth, watching television, knitting, walking, et cetera?

Or is it just me, and you sit and do nothing but focus on what you’re reading?

(Or, if you do both, why, when, and which do you prefer?)

Reading usually sucks me in, so I can’t do anything else alongside it. Sometimes I have TV on, but reading takes all my attention and I have no idea what is happening on TV. The same is with eating. If I read while having breakfast or dinner I forget to eat and it takes ages for me to finish the meal (the physical one, but my mind hunger gets sated at least).

As for doing anything else: if I'd walked while reading, I'd probably trip over, oh and don't put a book anywhere near me while I'm cooking or else there might be a lot of work for the fire department, and so on, you get the idea. When I'm reading it's just me and the book world and I become totally oblivious of all the rest. 

Booking Through Thursday – Something Old, Something New

All other things being equal–do you prefer used books? Or new books? (The physical speciman, that is, not the title.) Does your preference differentiate between a standard kind of used book, and a pristine, leather-bound copy?

If I buy a book, I prefer a new copy. I like the scent of freshly printed pages and the feeling that a book is only mine. Plus, buying new hard copies helps printed books survive in the electronic era.  

Booking Trough Thursday - Romantic

This is my first time I participate in Booking Through Thursday, a weekly meme mostly about books and reading. This week Deb is aking:

What’s the most romantic book you’ve ever read?

(Mind you, I don’t mean the hard-core stuff you hide in plain wrappers under your mattress. I mean True Love, Romance, deeply emotional, heart-tugging, and all that stuff.)

And, secondly, did you like it? Is it your usual kind of reading, or did it take you by surprise?

I’ve read tons of romance, so it is difficult to choose just one book. Perhaps, I’d point of just a few books, such as the timeless The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough, Eucalyptus by Murray Bail and Caroline series by Sandra Paretti.

Even though I read a lot of romance, good romance books always surprise me in one way or another and this is after all what makes a good book.