When amongst sheep...
Stolen from brutti-ma-buoni in the first instance.
1. What’s your favorite time of day to read? Um, any? Possibly in bed in the morning, but in truth it's whenever I have a book and time to read it. (For "book" include magazine, Kindle, computer screen, newspaper etc, etc...)
2. Do you read during breakfast? (Assuming you eat breakfast.) Yes - usually my flist, though.
3. What’s your favourite breakfast food? (Noting that breakfast foods can be eaten any time of day.) Muesli with lots of fresh grapes. Or, in hotels, fresh fruit salad.
4. How many hours a day would you say you read? Since giving up teaching probably five hours or so, if you include internet and downloaded documents.
5. Do you read more or less now than you did, say, 10 years ago? Probably a bit more because I have more time, but a lot of my job involved reading, so not as much more as you might think.
6. Do you consider yourself a speed reader? Fairly fast, but I haven't had any formal speed-reading training, so i could probably get faster.
7. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Not easy. The ability to change my appearance at will, perhaps? Or just to be a "hot chick with superpowers" like a Slayer.
8. Do you carry a book with you everywhere you go? Pretty much. I have a terror of being stuck somewhere with nothing to read.
9. What KIND of book? Whatever I happen to be reading at the time, unless it's a huge tome. I usually have two or three "on the go" at any time, so whichever of them is most convenient.
10. How old were you when you got your first library card? I don't remember not having one, but logically probably when I was three and we moved to Stafford.
11. What’s the oldest book you have in your collection? In terms of physical age I have a mid-eighteenth-century copy of Paradise Lost which is probably the oldest. Oldest in terms of "first-written" would be my collection of Anglo-Saxon verse. I have translations of lots of Classics, though, including the Epic of Gilgamesh.
12. Do you read in bed? Well, duh, of course I do.
13. Do you write in your books? Books I was teaching from tended to get annotations, and study texts too, though these days I use teensy Post-It notes in a vivid and horrid hot pink.
14. If you had one piece of advice to a new reader, what would it be? Read lots and aim for variety, to avoid getting stuck in a rut. Experiment with books you are not sure you'll like. For every Stephen Donaldson you might just meet a Suzanne Collins.
15. If someone asked you for a book recommendation, what is the FIRST book you’d think to recommend (without extra thought)?
Ouch. It would depend entirely on the "someone" and what I knew of their tastes. I used to do this a lot if I took a class into the library, and I'd always start with a few questions. A boy of twelve who doesn't read much might love Alex Rider, for instance, while the lad he sits next to has finished The Lord of the Rings and could be pointed at Pullman, while a girl might be just ready for Malory Blackman - or Jane Eyre - you can't tell till you've talked to them. Adult friends? It's the same thing. Some would adore Bujold or Diana Wynne Jones, while others would prefer PD James even if I don't.
1. What’s your favorite time of day to read? Um, any? Possibly in bed in the morning, but in truth it's whenever I have a book and time to read it. (For "book" include magazine, Kindle, computer screen, newspaper etc, etc...)
2. Do you read during breakfast? (Assuming you eat breakfast.) Yes - usually my flist, though.
3. What’s your favourite breakfast food? (Noting that breakfast foods can be eaten any time of day.) Muesli with lots of fresh grapes. Or, in hotels, fresh fruit salad.
4. How many hours a day would you say you read? Since giving up teaching probably five hours or so, if you include internet and downloaded documents.
5. Do you read more or less now than you did, say, 10 years ago? Probably a bit more because I have more time, but a lot of my job involved reading, so not as much more as you might think.
6. Do you consider yourself a speed reader? Fairly fast, but I haven't had any formal speed-reading training, so i could probably get faster.
7. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Not easy. The ability to change my appearance at will, perhaps? Or just to be a "hot chick with superpowers" like a Slayer.
8. Do you carry a book with you everywhere you go? Pretty much. I have a terror of being stuck somewhere with nothing to read.
9. What KIND of book? Whatever I happen to be reading at the time, unless it's a huge tome. I usually have two or three "on the go" at any time, so whichever of them is most convenient.
10. How old were you when you got your first library card? I don't remember not having one, but logically probably when I was three and we moved to Stafford.
11. What’s the oldest book you have in your collection? In terms of physical age I have a mid-eighteenth-century copy of Paradise Lost which is probably the oldest. Oldest in terms of "first-written" would be my collection of Anglo-Saxon verse. I have translations of lots of Classics, though, including the Epic of Gilgamesh.
12. Do you read in bed? Well, duh, of course I do.
13. Do you write in your books? Books I was teaching from tended to get annotations, and study texts too, though these days I use teensy Post-It notes in a vivid and horrid hot pink.
14. If you had one piece of advice to a new reader, what would it be? Read lots and aim for variety, to avoid getting stuck in a rut. Experiment with books you are not sure you'll like. For every Stephen Donaldson you might just meet a Suzanne Collins.
15. If someone asked you for a book recommendation, what is the FIRST book you’d think to recommend (without extra thought)?
Ouch. It would depend entirely on the "someone" and what I knew of their tastes. I used to do this a lot if I took a class into the library, and I'd always start with a few questions. A boy of twelve who doesn't read much might love Alex Rider, for instance, while the lad he sits next to has finished The Lord of the Rings and could be pointed at Pullman, while a girl might be just ready for Malory Blackman - or Jane Eyre - you can't tell till you've talked to them. Adult friends? It's the same thing. Some would adore Bujold or Diana Wynne Jones, while others would prefer PD James even if I don't.