Merry Wanderer of the Night:
meme

This week's Booking Through Thursday is all of these questions!

1. Favorite childhood book?
Lily's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes was my favorite picture book. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery was my favorite chapter bok.

2. What are you reading right now?
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, The Best American Essays 2008, and The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger.

3. What books do you have on request at the library?
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion.

4. Bad book habit?
Putting them down on the table with the spine up.

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
The Catcher in the Rye, About a Mountain by John D'Agata, Sleeping Naked is Green by Vanessa Farguharson, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.

6. Do you have an e-reader?
Yes, I have a nook.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
Several, although lately I've been focusing more on one at a time.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
Oh yeah, I read a lot more and I'm more conscious about what I think while I'm reading.

9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation.

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides.

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
Not very often.

12. What is your reading comfort zone?
Genres I know I can count on like literary nonfiction, graphic novels, young adult series, and classics.

13. Can you read on the bus?
Yeah I do it all the time.

14. Favorite place to read?
Outside as long as I don't have the sun to my back.

15. What is your policy on book lending?
I'll lend to anyone I'm friends with.

16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
I used to but now I use bookmarks and sticky notes.

17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Often.

18. Not even with text books?
Still do it here.

19. What is your favorite language to read in?
English though I can read some French.

20. What makes you love a book?
Strong female characters, strong characters of any kind, detailed description but not flowery language.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
If I come away from a book thinking it either changed the way I look at something or helped me learn a lot about a subject or life.

22. Favorite genre?
Literary nonfiction.

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
Current literary fiction.

24. Favorite biography?
Wild Child: Life with Jim Morrison by Linda Ashcroft.

25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
I've read fitness walking books and study books.

26. Favorite cookbook?
Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

28. Favorite reading snack?
Popcorn or oranges.

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. I think I expected too much from it.

30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
Depends on the critic. I usually agree with book reviews from the Believer. Bookmarks is more touch and go.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
I feel that I always give reasons for why I don't like a book so I don't mind giving negative reviews. I try to find something good even in books I dont like.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
Dutch.

33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
Middlemarch by George Eliot.

34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.

35. Favorite Poet?
Emily Dickinson.

36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
I didn't have a library card until last week (I know, I know!) but including the university library I would say about 3 or 4.

37. How often have you returned book to the library unread?
Frequently when I was younger, which is why I didn't get a library card again until last week.

38. Favorite fictional character?
I have way too many! One I always remember fondly is Marcus in About a Boy by Nick Hornby.

39. Favorite fictional villain?
Lydia Gwilt from Armadale by Wilkie Collins.

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
Some literary nonfiction and historical fiction.

41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.
Three or four months probably.

42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
Most recently I have been very challenged by Surviving Paradise. Not sure if I'll finish it or not.

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
Noise, other conversations, my own nagging thoughts.

44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
Jane Eyre! The PBS version.

45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
I wasn't too fond of The Lightning Thief.

46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
Oh boy, no clue. Definitely upwards $150 dollars.

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
Not that often, surprisingly.

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
Boring plot.

49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
I like to keep them on shelves, but in no particular order.

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
I prefer to keep them.

51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
Gone With the Wind, even though I said I'd read it by the end of the summer.

52. Name a book that made you angry.
I can name an essay that made me angry. Ticket to the Fair by David Foster Wallace.

53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
I wasn't sure if I'd like Candy Girl by Diablo Cody and really enjoyed it.

54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere by Jan Morris.

55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
The Luxe series.

Did any of my answers surprise you?

For this activity in the Summer Break Reading Challenge we're supposed to create a cover to a book using a fake name generator and a random word generator, then find a random picture to go with the name of the book and create the cover. Then we share the book with you and create a fake synopsis. It was a really fun activity!

Nuzzle by Robert Hansen

Caitlin has been around horses before she could walk. These days she prefers them to people. As a new high school student she finds the habits most of her classmates have to be annoying, stupid, and immature. Especially Kurt Livingston's. He is every girl's crush because he has a wild streak. He loves to drink, party, and act like a bad boy. Caitlin can see through him, or so she thinks.

Over time though, Caitlin finds that the wildness she loves in horses might actually run through Kurt too, and if she can understand her horse, Nuzzle, then maybe she can understand Kurt better than anyone else.

The second mini challenge for the Summer Break Reading Challenge was to create a wordle collage for a book series you have reviewed. One of my favorite series I have found since I started blogging is The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen- and since I'm reading the third book in the series as part of the challenge I thought it was only fitting that I did my collage for that series.

The character names are really clear in this but so are the words romance, time, 19th (century), love, and family. I think those are all great words to sum up the Luxe series. All of these words were taken from the reviews I did of the first two books.

Grabbed this from A Literary Odyssey, kind of fun since my brain is shot from finals.

Do you snack while you read? If so, favourite reading snack:
Sometimes, but not normally. If I do snack it's probably candy. I do go to a coffeeshop in Iowa City called T-Spoons and they have excellent cookies, so if I read there I'll get a cookie and some English tea.

What is your favourite drink while reading?
Tea, as I said previously. Otherwise water.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
I mark most of my books, especially literary fiction or nonfiction. This is the main reason I don't check books out from the library very often.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?
I love bookmarks and try to use them as often as I can. If I don't have a bookmark I'll usually rip a piece of paper out of a notebook or use a napkin until I get home with a bookmark. My favorite bookmark is from Barnes and Noble and it has a painting of Virginia Woolf on it.

Fiction, non-fiction, or both?
I love to write nonfiction but I probably read more fiction. I think this is a recent development though, because when I look over the books I read before I started blogging more than half of them were nonfiction. I'm starting to get into it again.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?
I always try to read to the end of the chapter, it really throws me off if I have to start in the middle. That being said, I read on the bus quite a bit and I can't really help where I have to stop there. Sometimes I'll get off the bus and finish the chapter though, especially if it's just a few more pages.

Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?
I will not throw anything (usually) but I do talk when I read. I'll make grunting noises, or laugh, or shout at the author or characters in the book.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?
Rarely. I've never been a big fan of that.

What are you currently reading?
I am still reading Sunflowers by Sheramy Bundrick and Scrolling Forward by David Levy.

What is the last book you bought?
I think it was Catching Fire.

Are you the type of person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?
I used to only read one book at a time, but with school I've gotten into the habit of reading two or three at a time and I actually enjoy it more. I find I finish books faster because I don't get bored as easily.

Do you have a favourite time/place to read?
I always read at night before bed, but I prefer to read during the day. As for a place to read, I usually read in my bed but I'd like to get a nice comfy chair to read in instead because reading in bed has a tendency to hurt my back.

Do you prefer series books or stand alones?
I like series a lot, but I read more stand alones. I probably prefer stand alones.

Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?
I recommend Notes From No Man's Land by Eula Biss to anyone and everyone with the ability to read.

How do you organize your books? (by genre, title, author's last name, etc.)
I don't organize at all right now. It's too hard when I have to move everything around all the time. Maybe someday when I have a library in my house I'll come up with a system.

Let me know if you fill this out!

I felt like posting today, but really had nothing to post since I'm a bit defunct right now and I'm trying to save up reviews for when I get back in school. I saw this post at Books and Movies this week and decided to do this myself!

Book next to your bed right now: Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine, Armadale by Wilki Collins, and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.
Favorite series: Recently my favorite series is probably The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen. Otherwise probably Harry Potter.
Favorite book: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Middlemarch by George Eliot, On the Road by Jack Kerouac, and A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby.
The one book you would have with you if stranded on a desert island: Right now I'd say Shirley by Charlotte Bronte as it is quite long and I have yet to read it.
Book/series you would take with you on a long flight: Well I just went on a fairly short flight and I took The Creation of Eve by Lynn Cullen on my flight in (great plane reading!) and I took The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (not so great plane reading, but still enjoyable). If I were going on another flight tomorrow I would take Just Kids by Patti Smith. I just got it and after listening to her on Bookworm with Michael Silverblatt I'm really excited to read it.
Worst book you were made to read in school: No contest: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. That book made me question my love of reading.
Book that everyone should be made to read in school: The Stranger by Albert Camus.
Book that everyone should read, period: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.
Favorite character: Mr. Rochester.
Best villain: Count Fosco in The Woman in White.
Favorite concept series: I'll tell you as soon as you tell me what a concept series is.
Favorite invented world: I'm not sure if it's really an invented world but it's definitely a different world. A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore.
Most beautifully written book: The Awakening by Kate Chopin.
Funniest book: Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens Who Don't Float was hilarious.

Tif Talks Books has an amazingly beautiful layout and header. It looks like she recently got an award for her blog's presentation and I am not surprised.

In Spring It Is the Dawn obviously has a great blog title. She is in Japan (although she is Canadian) right now and a lot of her blog is Japanese inspired. I have never seen so much of Japan on one blog, it's definitely a good one to check out!

BiblioAddict's blog has snow! It just started snowing here in Iowa so that definitely got me in the cozy reading spirit.

25 Hour Books has an awesome post every Tuesday about literary tattoos. What a cool idea!

Sasha and the Silverfish has an adorable layout and I just love her blog. She has a good assortment of books. Be sure to take a look at her feed button, it has an octopus!

Thanks to I Heart Monster for hosting this meme.