Book meme from ladyofastolat

[wellinghall]

1. How many books do you own?
Approximately 1,800.

2. What type of books do they tend to be?
Fiction: Tolkien, fantasy, science fiction, literature, poetry, plays, other.
Non-fiction: Wisden, cookery, military, reference, other.

3. How are they organised?
Tolkien together, Wisdens together, literature together, sf & fantasy together, cookery together, lots of overspill.

4. Where do you like to read?
Lounge, bed, bathroom, train, office ...

5. Have you ever done something because someone in a book did it?
Nothing comes to mind, but I'm sure there are!

6. Whose recommendations do you listen to?
Creatrix's, friends', other - but my tastes are rather idiosyncratic.

7. Do you prefer to read books in one sitting, or to read a little at a time?
I don't have time to read most books through at one sitting.

8. Which forthcoming book are you most looking forward to?
Children of Hurin, the next Miles Vorkosigan novel.

9. Which book has been the greatest disappointment to you?
Stephen Donaldson, maybe.

10. What can make you throw a book down in disgust, even if you'd been
enjoying it up to that point?
I'd rarely through it down, but I won't persist very long if I don't enjoy the writing.

11. What sort of book will you not even contemplate picking up, even if you were stuck in a doctor's waiting room for two hours and it was the only reading material there?
Mills & Boon / Barbara Cartland; but I would rather read even those than read nothing.

12. What was your favourite book at 5? 8? 11? 14?
5: can't remember.
8: Famous Five.
11: Isaac Asimov.
14: Lord of the Rings.

13. Which series did you use at school when learning to read?
Ladybird 1a-12c, wide range readers.

14. Did studying a book at school ruin that book for you?
No.

15. What is your book equivalent of junk food?
Whatever's at hand.

16. What do you read when you're ill?
If I'm alert, I'll plough my way through an author (eg Pratchett or Sayers) non-stop. If I'm not, something really light, where it won't matter if I fall asleep.

17. Which is normally better: the book, or the film?
In my experience the book is almost always better.

18. Which book character would you like to sit next to on a train journey from Penzance to Inverness?
Faramir, Lord Peter Wimsey.

19. What book character would you like to be on your side when alien armies invade from the planet Xarg?
Miles Vorkosigan.

20. Which book character would you like to imprison for life in an unpleasant cell with only a mean-spirited rat for company?
Hubert Lane.

21. Which character would you like to sit next to at school?
Hermione.

22. What was the last book you opened?
Encyclopedia of Fantasy.

23. What book(s) do you have on the go at the moment?
Re-reading The Hunt for Red October in bits, The Mysterious Affait at Styles, the Third Pan Book of Horror Stories. To Come: A Carribean Mystery, Gamesmanship.

24. What's on your "to read" list?
Wayne & Christina's new book.

25. Recommend up to five books or series.
Lord of the Rings
Lord Peter Wimsey
Miles Vorkosigan
Blandings Castle
The Chronicles of Clovis