BTT this week:

Do you have siblings? Do they like to read?

This week is easy. The answer is no; I’m an only child. It’s probably helped my reading. I can spend hours at a time reading and not needing to interact with people. Hmm, I am a bit of a loner that way.

This week on BTT:

Has a book ever inspired you to change anything in your life, fiction or non-fiction alike?

There have been books I loved, books that I fell in love with, and books that changed my life, and they’re not always the same nor mutually exclusive.

I have read some inspiring books both fiction and non fiction. I don’t know if they have necessarily changed my life in a big way though. I think a lot of good books offer you reflection and introspection on your own life which can be a catalyst for change. That’s one of the best things about reading. I can’t really think of many books that changed my life in a big way, but the act of reading does make one think of things afterwards and that in itself can lead to change big or small. Certainly, my tastes change over time as well.

BTT this week:

What are your literary “pet peeves”?

At first, I didn’t know how to answer, but on more thought: precocious child geniuses. I don’t know why, but the reason I couldn’t stand Artemis Fowl was due to the eponymous character. I know he is an antihero, but the fact he was 12 made it worse. Similarly, I didn’t mind the mystery in The Sweetness at the Bottom of Pie, but the preciousness of Flavia de Luce prevented me from reading more of the series. It’s a bad sign when reading a series of novels when you find the protagonist so annoying. I still read young adult and children’s books and there are lots of characters I still like from that world, but when they get particularly arrogant, it really irks me.

That really specific archetype aside, I usually don’t like fictional books where the characters are motivational less or static. I don’t mind unsavoury characters or those unlike me, but they should be entertaining and interesting. There are a few books where I struggled to feel for any of the characters and this ultimately makes me dislike a book.

This week’s BTT:

What book took you the longest to read, and do you feel it was the content or just the length that made it so?

I think the content is usually what makes it take awhile. I thought about this for a bit, and the longest book was JRR Tolkien’s The Two Towers. I read The Fellowship of the Ring and started TTT, but I was getting bored so I put it down. Soon after, someone gave me the last two books for a birthday present as well. When that happens, I’m even less inclined to finish a book because I know it’s there. So I left it in limbo for at least 5-7 years. I can’t remember when I finished it exactly but it was definitely over five years later. I wasn’t actively reading it. It just fell by the wayside.

Length doesn’t bother me. I read War & Peace in two weeks and actually enjoyed myself because of the content.

This week on BTT, Bookish Sarah asks:

If someone asked you for a book recommendation, what is the FIRST book you’d think to recommend (without extra thought)?

Actually, I don’t have a book that I would recommend without extra thought to everyone. I tailor my book recommendations to people based on their interests, personality, and other books they like. I have a varying tastes so there is usually something I could recommend. It also doesn’t mean I love the book, but I think they can appreciate it more or just as well. I think I only know a couple of voracious readers, all the others are casual or non readers. I don’t try to push books on anyone unless they ask and with thought, it makes the experience better for them if I consider.

My first Booking Through Thursday in over three years! This is one of my favourite Memes.

Patricia asked:

Ever read a book you thought you could have written better yourself?

My immediate answer is “probably”, but I am not a writer. I have low regard for my ability to do so. I have done creative writing as a teenager, dabbled for fun in it again as a university student, and I even done a couple small shots of fanfiction. That is for fiction, but even for academic papers, I find it difficult to write a lot or with great passion about it. I find it difficult to finish stories I started up, and they say great writers can find stories and characters in themselves and take life. I can find some stories in me, but they don’t want to dragged out or even worse, all my characters seem wholly two dimensional. I compare them always to my favourite books which are often classics or award winning novels.

Though, perhaps I could ghostwrite things if I have the material at hand. An outline, established characters, etc. This really shows how limited I believe my writing capabilities are.

In general, I probably have read a couple of bad books enough to think I have written them better. I just can’t remember these exact titles. I am good at picking out books which I generally like and usually, I can’t even think about writing something better. It’s not something that really comes into my head when I read a book that is mediocre or worse. I just rather think I hadn’t read it at all.

Got this idea from Literary Feline during her recent contest: “Name a favorite literary couple and tell me why they are a favorite. If you cannot choose just one, that is okay too. Name as many as you like–sometimes narrowing down a list can be extremely difficult and painful. Or maybe that’s just me.

I actually thought I would have more, but here are some literary couples I like:

• Elizabeth Bennet & Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice
• Jane Eyre & Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre
• Lyra & Will from His Dark Materials
• Lucy Honeychurch & George Emerson from A Room With A View
• Griffin & Sabine from the Griffin & Sabine series
• Cal & Abra from East of Eden (not really a couple in the book but still)
• Bridget Jones & Mark Darcy from Bridget Jones’ Diary
• Anne Eliot & Capt. Wentworth from Persuasion
• Tereza & Tomas (&Sabina) from The Unbearable Lightness of Being
• …and Sherlock Holmes & Dr. John Watson (oh come on, if not, they should be!)

Autumn is starting (here in the US, anyway), and kids are heading back to school–does the changing season change your reading habits? Less time? More? Are you just in the mood for different kinds of books than you were over the summer? – BTT

Sad to say, but when the weather gets cold, I do have less time to read. Mainly because summer has holidays and I have school to start in autumn. Even this week I have barely read a thing because of other hobbies and thoughts of my impending move. I do not think my book tastes change between seasons though, but I definitely have more time to explore nonfiction books in the summer. I wish I could read lots throughout the whole year, but it is true to life that season changes, my reading does as well.

Today is the 7th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I know that not all of you who read are in the U.S., but still, it’s vital that none of us who are decent people forget the scope of disaster that a few, evil people can cause–anywhere in the world. It’s not about religion, it’s not about politics, it’s about the acknowledgment that humans should try to work together, not tear each other apart, even when they disagree.
So, feeling my way to a question here … Terrorists aren’t just movie villains any more. Do real-world catastrophes such as 9/11 (and the bombs in Madrid, and the ones in London, and the war in Darfur, and … really, all the human-driven, mass loss-of-life events) affect what you choose to read? Personally, I used to enjoy reading Tom Clancy, but haven’t been able to stomach his fight-terrorist kinds of books since.
And, does the reality of that kind of heartless, vicious attack–which happen on smaller scales ALL the time–change the way you feel about villains in the books you read? Are they scarier? Or more two-dimensional and cookie-cutter in the face of the things you see on the news? – BTT

It makes things more visceral to me. As I have studied genocide and human rights violations, it has not changed the things I have read. In some cases, I sought these things ought. I read Night and Maus after I came back from Auschwitz. As for comparing real life villains to fictional ones, it depends on the author really. I find books are worlds to themselves. I do not read many spy thrillers or books that are often black and white. Villains are not always an issue, but my enjoyable or appreciation of them depends on the author’s ability to write characters and define them.

I was looking through books yesterday at the shops and saw all the Twilight books, which I know basically nothing about. What I do know is that I’m beginning to feel like I’m the *only* person who knows nothing about them.

Despite being almost broke and trying to save money, I almost bought the expensive book (Australian book prices are often completely nutty) just because I felt the need to be ‘up’ on what everyone else was reading.

Have you ever felt pressured to read something because ‘everyone else’ was reading it? Have you ever given in and read the book(s) in question or do you resist? If you are a reviewer, etc, do you feel it’s your duty to keep up on current trends?  – BTT

I havre actually read books that everyone else is reading before including the Twilight books, and a few years ago, The Da Vinci Code. I do it on occasion and what really convinces me to read popular books is when someone I know has already done so. In the case of Twilight, a lot of people I know liked it and I decided to give it a try. It does not hurt to give a book a try, but at the same time, I do not have many bibliophiles for friends and the pressure tends to be for books we have similar interest in. If the book is critically acclaimed or won an award, I am also more inclined, but sheer bestselling numbers does not always pursuade me. Resisting reading a book is not the same as resisting watching a television show for me; maybe, it’s easier to stop reading a book or finish it earlier. I usually can find some or at least one positive in the books. As a reviewer, I feel there is no obligation to keep up with current trends especially since I read and review so many books that are old. I do like contemporary books too, but it does not mean I follow trends..

If you’re anything like me, one of your favorite reasons to read is for the story. Not for the character development and interaction. Not because of the descriptive, emotive powers of the writer. Not because of deep, literary meaning hidden beneath layers of metaphor. (Even though those are all good things.) No … it’s because you want to know what happens next?

Or, um, is it just me? – BTT

It’s hard to say what my favourite reasons are to read. It is true that plot and story factor into overall enjoyment of the book. There have been many times when I dislike the characters but am interested in the plot or the writing powers of the writer. I think style and themes really do factor into books I like; it’s also why I can read poetry these days. It is true that a good character can not really be saved if the plot is boring, but I find good plots more common than good characterizations, and both are fed by good writing. But yes, stories and plot are very important to my enjoyment of a book for the most part.