The Books Q & A Tag

Saturday 21 September 2013


I spotted this tag on Hayley's blog and after reading her answers, I knew I had to give it a go myself.  And I know that there are some of you who enjoy reading my Monthly Book reviews, so I hope this tag is of interest to my fellow bookworms!

Q. What are you reading right now?
A. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, simply because it's for a book club I'm in and I'm already a week behind (oops!).  I'm also reading a non-fiction book, Cruel Britannia: A Secret History of Torture by Ian Cobain for a social policy essay I'm writing at the moment.  It's grim to say the least. 

Q. Do you have any idea what you'll read when you're done with that?
A. Nope!  I tend to pick up whatever I'm in the mood for, or whatever I need to read next for Uni and book clubs. 

Q. What 5 books have you always wanted to read but haven't gotten round to yet?
A.  There are so many I could pick for this but here are just five off the top of my head:- Homage To Catalonia by George Orwell, Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer,  The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, The Drowned World by J.G Ballard and The Lost Girl by D.H Lawrence.

Q. What magazines do you have in your bathroom/lounge right now? 
A.  I don't tend to read many typical women's magazines (I only get them for the freebies and a quick flick through the beauty sections if I'm honest), but I do read political comment & satire ones, The Newstatesmen and Adbusters being favourites.  

Q. What's the worst book that you've ever read?
A. Outlander by Diana Galbaldon.  It's a contemporary classic in some circles, but I could just not get past the awful writing!  Needless to say I gave up after I was about a third in.

Q. What book seems really popular but you actually hated?
Aside from Outlander, I'm going to agree with Hayley's answer and say Atonement by Ian McEwan.  Some of the prose is beautiful, but I found the story painfully slow and I just didn't enjoy it.  I have his Enduring Love on my bookshelf but keep putting it off in case its similar - anyone read that, what did you think?

Q. What's the one book that you recommend to just about everyone?
A. Honestly I can't pick one so I'll go with two!  They are 1984 by George Orwell and The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.  Both opened my eyes to the dystopia genre that I now love so much, and were the first two books I read which really changed my mindset on a number of things.  

Q. What are you favourite 3 poems?
A. Wintering by Sylvia Plath (from her outstanding Ariel collection), On Moonlit Heath and Lonesome Bank by A. E. Housman (from the classic A Shropshire Lad) and The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe.  

Dream reading room, lots of light and views of green spaces (image from iyume.com)

Q. Where do you usually get your books?
A. Carboot sales and charity shops are the best places for second-hand ones, especially the Oxfam Bookshops.  If I'm after something new though, I buy it from Amazon or ask my local library to order it in.  However, if I'm in Shrewsbury, I always, always pop into my favourite independent bookshop in the whole of England and buy something to support them.  It's an old shop with creaky floorboards you feel like you're going to go straight through but I love it so.

Q. Where do you usually read your books?
A. Everywhere - on the commute, during my lunch hour, at the bus stop, in bed, on the sofa and in the bath!

Q. When you were little did you have any particular reading habits?
A. I used to write my name on the inside front cover but didn't everyone?!  I can't bring myself to mark a book now though, even if I'm using it for studying, I have a separate notebook and use sticky arrows.

Q. What's the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn't put it down? 
A. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstein - could not put that book down!

Q. Have you ever 'faked' reading a book?
A. I may have done this if it was something for school (naughty!), but not nowadays, what's the point?

Q. Have you ever bought a book just because you liked the cover?
A. I probably did when I was younger.  I'm still attracted to book covers, but I'll buy it based on reviews I've read or recommendations, not purely because I like the cover.

Q. What was your favourite book when you were a child?
A. The Witches by Roald Dahl.  It was my first Dahl and I remember laughing so much.

Q. What book changed your life?
A.  I'm going to pick the two from earlier again; 1984 by George Orwell and The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.  Those books just terrified me, and blew my mind when I read them.  I think the political topics that they cover are just as relevant, if not more so, today than when they were written which is utterly depressing when you think about it.

Q. What is your favourite passage from a book?
A. From 1984 by George Orwell:-
“You are a slow learner, Winston."
"How can I help it? How can I help but see what is in front of my eyes? Two and two are four."
"Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane.”

Q. Who are your top 5 favourite authors?
A. George Orwell, Alan Moore, Margaret Atwood, Stephen King & John Green.

Q. What book has no one heard about but should read? 
A. Slab Rat by Ted Heller.  It's a brilliant satire about the shallowness of the publishing world and the crazy rat race that people put themselves into in order to outdo each other at work.    

Q. What is your favourite book from a first time author? 
A. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - that's a fantastic first book!

Q. What is your favourite classic? 
A. Lord Of The Flies by William Golding because it reminds me of being at school, and was probably the only book I actually enjoyed reading in English Lit class.

Let me know if you do this tag, would love to read your answers!

For more book talk, reviews and to see what I'm reading next, add me on Goodreads.

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18 comments

  1. I loved this! I'm reading Madame Bovary right now and after going to a creative writing class, I have wanted to read both 1984 and the Handmaid's Tale! x

    Hannah
    www.girl-plus-world.blogspot.com

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    1. That's great, I hope you enjoy both! I would love to go to a creative writing class, sounds like fun! x

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  2. Fantastic tag! I may give a go with 1984, I am ashamed to say I only started reading it and put it down. I enjoyed Night Circus, but somehow I was disappointed in it, I thought that there would be more "momentum" action. I am now reading second book from The Discovery of Witches and enjoying it. I wish I'd find something which would not make me sleep through the night. I think last book which made me do that was The Host a couple of months ago. I love that you read Evelyn and you put your current read every once in a while! X

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    1. You should definitely give 1984 another go, but I am biased because I love it so much ;)
      Finding books that are hard to put down is difficult, I can go through months reading just OK or good but not amazing books, and then find one that I absolutely get sucked into. Thanks hun! :) x

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  3. Wow that dream reading room is amazing. Got some good recommendations from this post, thanks for sharing! x

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  4. love this tag! i had a rather strange compulsive reading habit when i was little - i could read silently but i always had to say words in italic out loud. i don't even know how that came about! xo

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  5. The Handmaid's Tail blew my mind when I read it as well. I went through a Margaret Atwood phase when I was 17 and read about 6 of her books back to back!

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    1. I really should pick up some more of her books! Aside from The Handmaid's Tale, I've only read Oryx and Crake x

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  6. Ooh, I must have a go at this tag! Into The Wild is a great book, I really loved it, and the film too xx

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    1. The film is one of my all time favourites (seriously must have watched it at least 20 times!), so I should get around to reading the book asap :)
      Would love to read your answers to this tah Rebekah! xx

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  7. I am so going to do this tag! Saw it a while back! x

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    1. Yay! Can't wait to read your answers Sandra! x

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  8. I just did this tag, it was quite a bit of fun. If you want to read it here is a link http://daisychainprincess.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/the-books-q-and-tag.html

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  9. What a great tag! I will try my best to do this one! I too want to read The God Delusion. I have so many books on my want to read list that I'd don't think I have enough years left in me to get through them all! x

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    1. Let me know if you do Kay, would love to read your answers! Haha I can relate to that feeling! x

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