Bloggers Read & Tell (2)

A Work in Progress has been in my blogroll since day one. I'm constantly amazed about how Danielle manages to write almost every day - and mind you, not just a sentence here and there, but detailed and intelligent posts - and still has time to read all those great books. Oh, and like me, she's a big fan of Persephone Books. 

Do you like to eat while reading? What's your snack of choice? 

I read during lunch at work, but otherwise I usually don't snack while reading. I tend to get in most of my reading time while doing other things--walking on the treadmill, or on my morning and evening bus rides to and from work--activities not conducive to eating. I'm also very picky about keeping my books clean, so I try not to have chocolate-y fingers (what I would probably eat if I did). 

What conditions do you find most conducive to reading? Describe your ideal reading moment. 

Ideally I like to read when it is completely quiet and preferably at home where I can relax. I especially like reading when it is rainy or cold out and I can snuggle up under a blanket. But I'll happily read anywhere I can--including waiting in line at the bank or post office! I nearly always have a book with me when I leave the house. 

Do you have a guilty literary pleasure (a book, writer or even genre you love but are just a tad embarrassed about)? 

I don't feel too guilty about my reading choices. I read a variety of different books, but if I choose something especially fluffy I might consider that a guilty pleasure. I keep thinking about reading Lauren Willig's series of books that are spin-offs of the Scarlet Pimpernel, but I always end up thinking maybe they are too fluffy. I'm sure I'll get to them eventually. 

Is there a book you feel you really ought to have read by now but just can't seem to bring yourself to start reading/a book you really don't want to read, ever? And why is that? 

I feel like I've not read as many of the classics as I should have. I keep putting off reading DH Lawrence, but I do want to read him. Probably the author I really think I ought to read, but sort of don't want to is James Joyce. I don't think I'll ever tackle Ulysses or Finnegan's Wake, but I should at least read Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. I never seem to feel the urge to pick up either book, though.  Mostly I have a fear of being completely lost and disoriented and I hate that feeling when reading. 

Books are full of words (simply put that is), is there a word in the English language you're particularly fond of? 

I like words where the meaning seems to fit the way it sounds--like serendipity. Such a nice sounding word. 

Have you ever run into a fictional character that annoyed or enraged you to the point you wanted to scream 'snap out of it already!' or made you want to throw the book away in disgust? Who and why? 

I'm sure I have more than once. The one book that comes to mind is The Reserve by Russell Banks, which I read earlier this year. I'm sure Banks is a fine writer and I should give his earlier fiction a try. However, I have never been so annoyed by characters until I came across Jordan Groves and Vanessa Coles. Ugh. It's been a long time since I've come across two characters so devoid of any likable qualities. 

How do you mark your page? 

I have a tin full of bookmarks that I use. I also like to use those little post-it notes that are like page darts. I don't use them enough though. Whenever I come across a particularly good passage in a book I never have them handy, so will turn the page down and hope I can figure out later what it was I wanted to remember. 

Is there an image of someone reading a book that you have never forgotten (painting, picture, movie scene, book passage, real life...) 

There's not one in particular, but I am always on the lookout for postcards (or books) with images of women reading. On my desk at work I have a postcard of Jean-Honore Fragonard's "A Young Girl Reading". 

You're in a bookstore and can buy just one book for just one person. What book would you buy and for whom? 

There are books I love that I'd like to pass on to other readers, but I've been burned in the past.  I've bought books for friends only to find out later that they couldn't  even finish them. It's sort of disheartening to give a favorite book to someone and then discover they hated it, so now I tend to try and fit the reader with the right book.  If they have an Amazon wishlist I always find that useful. I'll only pass along a favorite book now if I'm certain of their reading tastes and am fairly confident they will enjoy it. 

Finish the sentence: 'Reading is...' 

a necessity in my life. I can't think of the last day that passed without me reading for even half an hour. I probably spend at least two hours a day reading, and often I wish I had more time to spend reading. I love the idea that between the covers of a book is some unknown story for me to discover. The characters may be nothing like me or I might see myself in them. It may teach me something or might just entertain me. It might frighten me or make me laugh or cry. It will usually take me to some distant or unknown land sometime long ago or maybe even yet to come. Whatever is between the covers I know I can't stop myself from wanting to open them up and lose myself in the pages! 

Bonus question: What are you reading right now?

I always have a stack of books started on my nightstand. At the moment I am working (very slowly) on Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. It's my summer project (I'm about a third of the way through). Among others, I'm also reading Mary Elizabeth Braddon's Lady Audley's Secret, Richmal Crompton's Family Roundabout, and I just started Agnes Desarthe's Chez Moi. 

Thanks very much Danielle!

Comments

[Geplaatst door: Danielle]

Thanks very much for including me! Your questions were great. I'm looking forward to seeing how other reader's answer them.

[Geplaatst door: Danielle]

Oh, and I'm contemplating my next Persephone order. It's so hard to choose!

[Geplaatst door: Plankje Ongeregeld]

You're so welcome Danielle. And tell me about it! I'm currently contemplating Kitchen Essays (Agnes Jekyll), Tell It to a Stranger (Elizabeth Berridge), Greenery Street (Denis Mackail), The New House (Lettice Cooper), and A Woman Novelist and Other Stories (Diana Gardner), but I wouldn't mind having the complete series on my bookshelf. Besides offering some great storytelling, they're just so utterly gorgeous!