I was tagged by my friend
Myla
to participate in a "25 Bookish Facts About Me" post. Twenty-five
seems like a lot of facts, but I'm going to wing it and write down whatever
tidbits I can think of! This is a fun idea and I'm so glad Myla tagged me
(although let's be real – I would have done this anyway!) because it's nice to
occasionally talk about books other than Tolkien's.
1. I was an avid reader as a child; I read anything and
everything I could get my hands on. My parents had a wide variety of books in our house, so I had a great variety to choose from.
2. My favourite authors are Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury,
J.R.R. Tolkien (that one's a given), and Michael Crichton.
3. I used to be a huge fan of Stephen King. I really enjoyed
books like Cujo and Misery, but after I read Needful Things, I began to lose interest
in his writing.
4. When I was ten
years old, I hand wrote a "sequel" to Eando Binder's short story, I, Robot, told from the perspective of
the robot after he found a new family to live with. My dad made multiple
photocopies of the story, but somehow a few of the pages were lost and we
haven't been able to find them all since. Still, it was one of the happiest
times of my life; it was at that point that my father started to really
encourage me as a writer.
5. I always (try to) read the book before the movie
adaptation. I love to let my imagination turn words into pictures, rather than
read a book with celebrities' faces in my mind the entire time.
6. When I was younger, I hated fantasy. I tried to read as
little of it as possible. I slowly became interested in the genre once I found
the Redwall series by Brian Jacques.
I had pet mice at the time, which was why I found the books rather enticing.
7. I am definitely a book hoarder. I ran out of room for all
of my Tolkien books, let alone for books by other authors; currently I have
books piled up on my floor and stacked in the drawers under my bed. The lack of
space does not deter me from buying more and more books, though.
8. I enjoy reading so much that I literally took every
English course offered in high school and college; when I ran out of actual
courses in high school, I re-took a few courses as a teacher's aide.
9. I had a bad experience in my ninth grade English class; I
have a negative association with The Lord
of the Flies. I think I would have liked the book if I had read it on my
own instead of as required reading.
10. On that note, I disliked required reading. I enjoyed
classes or summer reading lists where you were given options. In those cases,
if I didn't like a book I picked, it was on me. I hated being forced to read
something. There are so many books I probably would have enjoyed a lot more if
they hadn't felt forced upon me.
11. I tried really, really, really hard, but could
not get into the Game of Thrones series.
I tried to stick to my rule and read the books before watching the TV series,
but I just couldn't get into George R.R. Martin's writing style. I still
haven't started watching the series, though, so there is still time for me to
give the books another try.
12. I sometimes have a short attention span when it comes to
reading: I will start a book and then shortly after begin reading something
else.
13. My two favourite short stories of all-time are I, Robot by Eando Binder and Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. I
re-read the latter at least once a year because I find it so powerful and
humbling.
14. I tend to buy most of my books at used and online
bookstores now. I hate paying full price for books.
15. I don't mind used books. I have no interest in selling
any of the books I collect, so notes and scribbles don't bother me. In fact, it
makes me both happy and sad seeing notes written inside, like "To ___, from ___". It's cool to see
where a book originally came from and to know its history a bit; but at the
same time, it's sad to think that someone was parted with a gift from their
parents or loved ones.
16. I love the smell of old books.
17. My favourite genres today are science fiction, fantasy,
and horror/true crime.
18. I've never read Twilight,
The Hunger Games, Fifty Shades of Grey, etc.
19. I installed the Kindle app on my tablet, but I cannot
stand to read e-books. I need to physically hold a book, turn its pages, fold
edges, etc. The only benefit I've found with e-books is the ability to search within
the book, but I hardly do that as it is.
20. Two elusive books on my want-to-read list are A Father's Story by Lionel Dahmer and If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer.
I can't seem to have much luck finding either of them.
21. I have a hard time reading in bed because I get so
relaxed I end up falling asleep shortly after. For me, the easiest position in
which to read seems to be at a table.
22. I still haven't read Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I enjoyed all of the other books, so I'm
not sure why it's taken me so long. I just never seem to have the time or
energy to get started. (As a result, I haven't seen the last two Harry Potter
films.)
23. I prefer paperbacks to hardcover. Hardcovers are
intimidating; I always feel as though I have to handle them with the utmost
care. While I'm not a spine-bender or book-damager of any sort, I like the
flexibility of paperbacks.
24. I try not to judge books by their covers, but I have
purchased books based solely on the cover art/design. Sometimes it's my go-to
for decision making when there are too many choices or I'm just looking for
something new.
25. Someday I'd love to work in or run my own used
bookstore. I love the camaraderie between local used bookstores; everyone knows
and respects one another. That's the kind of atmosphere I thrive in.
I'm not sure who to tag, so if you're reading this, I tag you! If you
don't have a blog or want to share your 25 (or however many) facts here, feel
free to do so in the comments section! I'm interested in reading about your
reading habits!
