I was nominated by the lovely Lindsey @ Bring My Books to take part in the Sisterhood of the World Blogging Award! I was planning to take a bit of a break from the blog over the festive period, but I’m missing it already, so here we go…
1. Did you have a book that meant a lot to you as a child?
My Jacqueline Wilson books definitely meant a lot to me when I was young, I’d reread my favourites so often that even now at 24 years of age, I can vividly remember the storylines. That was my pre-Harry Potter years. Luckily, I’m the generation that got to grow up with the world of Harry Potter (I read the first book when I was 9, and the last one when I was 16) – that series meant, and continues to mean, the world to me. (My BFF bought me a Hogwarts/Gryffindor tee for Christmas – and it’s amazing – she doesn’t even like/get HP, so you can see why we’re BFFs).
2. Is there any author or book that you collect, and will always welcome multiple editions of the same title?
I don’t usually collect books by an author, I tend to dip in and out of their back catalogs. The exceptions to this rule are Diane Chamberlain, Jodi Picoult and JK Rowling – I do collect these authors and would like to have all of their works one day. This year, two new editions made it on to my “I have to own them all” list – Sarah J Maas and Colleen Hoover.
I’ve never owned multiple editions of the same book, it didn’t make sense to me. But that changed this year… I own the UK edition of Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover, and my amazing sister got me a signed and personalised US edition for Christmas. Obviously, I will never crack open or read the US edition, it’ll be proudly displayed on my bookshelves, and I’ll keep the UK edition as the one I can read. I also intend to buy a new set of Harry Potter books with some of the money I received for Christmas, I just can’t decide which covers to go for yet!
3. Say that you find yourself judging a book by it’s cover (not that we ever do that!!!); what sort of covers do you go for? Are there any that are an absolute turn off?
I don’t particularly like the fact that I do this, but come on, we all do it! I did an in-depth Top Ten Tuesday post on cover trends I love and loathe this year, that really showcases the kind of covers I’m attracted to and the ones that are a turn off. I tried to write a really descriptive paragraph to illustrate the ones that irk me, but it was so difficult! I generally hate low-quality covers that look like DIY jobs, but I can better answer this with a few images:
Covers I ❤
Covers I Don’t ❤
4. If you could pick any imaginary animal to bring home to Mom with an earnest, “Can we keep him??”, what animal would it be?
Well, this is a tricky one. I don’t think I’ve read a lot of books with imaginary creatures… It would have to be something from the Harry Potter universe. A Phoenix, maybe?
5. Is there any book to movie adaptation that you simply refuse to watch? No way, no how, you’re not even giving them the opportunity to mess it up?
There are plenty book-to-movie adaptations I haven’t gotten around to seeing yet, or I’m holding off until I’ve read the book first, but I’ll always give an adaptation a go, the good, the bad and the downright awful. The only one that comes close is the adaptation of We Need To Talk About Kevin – I adore that book and heard bad reviews of the movie from friends who also love the book, so I was put off. Then I watched the adaptation of The Perks of Being A Wallflower and realised the guy who plays Patrick is the same actor who plays Kevin, I loved Patrick, so I think I will give it a go someday, and fingers crossed I’ll like it, or at least appreciate it.
6. What is the most unusual book you’ve ever read? (Plot, writing style, chapter layout, etc?)
Hmm… I think a lot of the time my reading choices are relatively “straight laced” – We Need To Talk About Kevin was particularly dark, Life After Life was incredibly thought-provoking, The Northern Lights series had amazing and complex world-building, Gone Girl completely took me by surprise and made me mad-love-hate a book for the first time, and Tease… Tease made me uncomfortable (in a good way, if there is such a thing), nine months after reading it and 1) I still think about it, and 2) I still can’t pinpoint what I actually make of it.
7. Is there any book or series that you’ve read that is so totally outside of your normal genre, but you loved it and would recommend it to others as a “take a risk!” type of book?
I’d have to go with Throne of Glass. Aside from Harry Potter, I was never much of a Fantasy lover, and the words “high fantasy” had me running for the hills. But Throne of Glass really opened my eyes to what Fantasy can be, and just how good great amazing it can be, so I definitely push that series on everyone.
8. Do you have any bookish collections, or anything you covet and hope to someday collect? Candles, artwork, bookcases?
Just this year I’ve started collecting signed editions of books, and that’s something I’d like to keep doing, but it can be tricky as we never get author tours where I live. It’s not bookish, but I have this tradition of always getting a t-shirt from any concerts I go to, so I have quite a collection building up, and that has spilled over into bookish clothing now too, which at the minute is mostly Harry Potter related, but I’d like to branch out 🙂
9. What book has been on your TBR pile the longest, but you just can’t convince yourself to pick it up?
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo has been on my physical TBR for what feels like forever. I’ve tried to pick it up once or twice, but I only get a few pages in before giving up, and now I shy away from it when I see it glaring at me from my TBR pile. The Husband’s Secret has been on my wishlist for the longest, but I’ll likely remedy that soon enough as I’ve heard nothing but good reports!
10. You get a $500 gift card for all things bookish – do you run to your nearest bookstore and spend like a fiend? Or do you create pro/con lists (a la Rory Gilmore) to make sure you get just the right & perfect & wonderful bookish things? Or are you eyeing a particularly expensive bookcase somewhere?
I am in dire need of some bookcases!! I’m supposed to be getting some built by a family member, so I keep holding off buying any, but it’s taking forever! I don’t think I’d buy really expensive ones, so I’d have some cash left over for bookish things too, but to be honest, I’m such a deal-hunter that I would struggle to justify spending that kind of money on books and bookish things… I suppose it is a gift card, so I wouldn’t have much of a choice. I’d maybe hunt down a signed copy of Harry Potter, how much do they go for??
I’m tagging the following bloggers to answer Lindsey’s questions, as I really enjoyed them!
Confessions of a Book Geek 
I love it, I will get writing my answers soon. These questions are so interesting, I’m glad you got this posted over Christmas so I have some time to get answering.
All I’m gonna say is get reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, the first couple of chapters are hard because they are filled with jargon and technical stuff I don’t fully understand, but once you get past that the series is really good. The writing does make it a bit daunting, as does the length, but you get gripped and you can’t stop reading. I couldn’t anyway, I keep contemplating a reread because it has been a good few years since I last read them, and they are such good books, but the length does but me off.
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I LOVED these questions!
Aw, Becky, I’ve heard that so many times, and I really really want to read it, but every time all the weird words throw me off!! Lol! I should make it my mission to attempt it repeatedly in 2015!
Looking forward to your answers!! R x
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Hah, love that you can’t stay away! Oh yes Jacqueline Wilson! Her book ‘Waiting for the sky to fall” was one of my favourite books when I was younger. I’m wondering now do I still have it!
And I agree that Outlander and The Bone Season have awful covers, so boring and give no hint to the amazing stories inside. You like the floaty covers, so do I!
And I’m the same with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I start it and then put it down. And I’m a bit annoyed as I know I would probably love it if I took the time to get in to it. And I won’t watch the movie till I read the book. So I want to read it.
Thanks for tagging me, I’ll do it sometime in the new year 🙂
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That’s a Wilson book I’ve never heard of!!! I loved Bad Girls, the Girls series, The Illustrated Mum etc. I kept a couple of my Wilson’s but I really wish now I’d have held on to more of them! Have you read Outlander and The Bone Season??? Yea, the covers I like all seem to have a bit of a theme don’t they?? Lol Haha – I’m the same with Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I refuse to watch the movies as well, so it may be a while until I get to them, because I can’t handle that book!! Looking forward to your answers, I thought Lindsey’s questions were great! R x
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Looks like I should adapt a Brotherhood version for this.
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There’s an idea!! Do your thing with it!! R x
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Thanks for the tag, Rachel. This is going to take a while. Lol. Oh boy. I could go on and on about my answers. 🙂
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That’s good! I like big, long, ranty answers!! 😀 R x
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I’ve just done this tag buuuuut the questions are different and TOTALLY awesome! I was already mentally thinking how I’d answer them. XD
I can’t really afford to collect different editions of the same books but I DO accidentally have 2 editions of The Maze Runner. I got given one and I bought a boxset so got another. heh. And I was going to give away the one I was given buuuuut it’s the movie-tie-in and it actually is awesome. Unlike most movie tie-ins. XD I do have to own full series though. I’m only missing one The Mortal Instruments books and I’M MISSING THRONE OF GLASS. THIS IS TERRIBLE NEWS. Still! I own 3 books at least. 😉
Thanks for tagging me!! I shall try to get onto this asap!
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I LOVED Lindsey’s questions, that’s why I kept them instead of making up my own (I swear it wasn’t laziness!).
I think of affordability and shelf space. The only reason I wanted a new set of HPs is because mine are originals and I don’t want to mess them up any more with rereads, but aside from that I don’t do double copies. Which Mortal Instruments book are you missing? Did you borrow Throne of Glass from the library?? You neeeeed a copy of that in your life!
Looking forward to reading your answers! R x
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I’ve never been a huge fantasy fan either, but I also really enjoyed Throne of Glass! I’m excited to continue on with the series 🙂 That’s so cool you have a personalized copy of Maybe Someday! I love that book.
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Both me and my sister shed a tear when she gave me that book for Christmas! I made her read me the email she sent Ms Hoover too, and got very emotional!! It’s so much more special because we NEVER get author tours here, so I can barely get my hands on a signed book let alone a personalised one too!
I’m looking into more Fantasy now though because of Maas, I don’t know if she’s a one-off or if there is more Fantasy out there in a similar vein. I own Game of Thrones, but it’s not likely I’ll be tackling it for a while. I’ve looked into Mistborn too, it seems cool… R x
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I agree with every single ugly cover pick! It pained me that The Bone Season’s cover was so hideous, and I thought I was the only one who hated that classic Gatsby cover!
Your pretty cover picks are also lovely, though I can’t stand the sight of the The Fault in Our Stars cover anymore!
I gave up on The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo as well, I couldn’t get into it at all!
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I don’t know why publishers think those covers are a good idea, to me they scream fusty, old and boring! Apparently Outlanders and The Bone Season are really good, and I’d never pick them up based on cover alone. TFioS imagery has kind of flooded the market, but I like the simplicity of it. I’ve been told many times since doing this post to give The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo another go, and I probably will, and I probably won’t make it past the first few pages again!!! Lol R x
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I know! I tried Outlander but got so annoyed at the main female character that I gave up, I’ve heard good things about The Bone Season too!
Yeah I agree, the simplicity is good, but I’m so over seeing it everywhere!
I think I sold my copy… I certainly don’t have it anymore. You don’t have to read it!
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Oh, that sucks. I’ve heard good reports about the TV Show and the hot male lead lol but the books do seem very large even for the plot and genre! R x
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I agree about the TV show 😛 though I’ve only watched one episode.
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[…] @ Confessions of a Book Geek was nominated for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award and spread the love on to me! Thanks, Rachel, I’ll be doing the post […]
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Looking forward to your answers!! 😀
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