A to Z Book Survey

After seeing this readers' survey on Micah's blog, I knew I wanted to do my own version!  Books are, after all, pretty much my favorite thing in the world.

Author you’ve read the most books from: 

I've read eight books each by Sarah Dessen and J.K. Rowling, and I've read seven books by Janet Evanovich.  I'm pretty sure that as a child I read like a hundred and six Baby Sitter's Club books - do those count?

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School: 

Dexter from This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen - I loved his quirky sense of humor.  I'm also a big fan of Zach from Impossible by Nancy Werlin - he loves Lucy, the main character, and is completely committed to her no matter how crazy her life gets.  I don't think I would have been ready for a guy like Zach in high school, though.  I wasn't making the greatest dating choices back then.

 Best Sequel Ever: 

I don't know about ever, but I recently really enjoyed Through the Ever Night, the sequel to Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi - it left me wanting more just as much as the first book did and I'm in love with the characters.

E-reader or Physical Book?

If I know I'm going to want to keep the book, if I plan on adding it to my classroom library, or if I'm reading it for free via the school library, physical book all the way.  For books I like to have but don't necessarily need to have on my shelf, like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books or older YA that won't be appropriate for my middle schoolers, the Kindle version is fine.

Currently Reading:

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater - I'm so excited it's finally out in paperback!

Drink of Choice While Reading:

Coffee or hot tea

Longest Book You’ve Read:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling - 870 pages.

** easy way to find this out: go to your Goodreads “read” list, don’t scroll down but where you are on the screen there will be a tab on the bottom that lets you choose how you want to scroll or how many books you want to display. There is also a sort option with a drop down and you can sort by number of pages.

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance:

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion - zombies aren't really my thing, but I'd seen the trailer for the movie and knew I wanted to read the book first.  I'm glad I did because Isaac Marion is an awesome author and R's voice will always be in my head.

Hidden Gem Book:

Savvy by Ingrid Law - it's middle grade fantasy set in middle America that isn't paranormal romance - instead, it's a funny, sweet family road-trip story.  

Just Finished:

What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang - I loved the crazy premise behind this sci-fi YA thriller and I'm looking forward to the next book in the Hybrid Chronicles.

Major book hangover because of:
Borrowed Light by Anna Fienberg and Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson were two books that haunted me for a while in high school and still influence my writing today.  I have to be really careful reading books where characters are very depressed or in mourning because I tend to take on those feelings.

Number of Bookcases You Own:

Three - one at my townhouse and two in my classroom (okay, one of those is technically school property, but they're my books!)

Kinds of Books You Won’t Read:

Anything with graphic violence - I tried reading Tess Garritsen's The Surgeon because I liked the Rizzoli and Isles television show, but the descriptions of torture and death just disgusted me.  And while I was addicted to the Millenium series by Steig Larsson, I was glad when it was over because I'd started to have nightmares that I was Lisbeth Salander.

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:

The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank - the voice in this bildungsroman is so relatable, funny, and real.  Jane Rosenal was pretty much my Carrie Bradshaw.

Preferred Place To Read:

If I could choose any place in the world to read, it would be the McGregor room at UVa's Alderman Library.  I always pretended I was a Vanderbilt or a character in a Harry Potter book when I went there to read or study.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read:

Dumbledore's “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Reading Regret:
Not starting my reading for my two-week study abroad trip to Ireland before the trip.  I wasn't alone, and we all ended up skipping a lot of the reading because we wanted to be out enjoying Ireland instead of reading, say,  A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

Series You Started And Need To Finish(all books are out in series):
Speaking of Ireland, I'd like to finish the Nuala Anne McGrail series by Andrew M. Greeley - my mom introduced those books to me after my trip and I enjoyed Irish Gold and Irish Lace.  I'm not sure if the series is finished or not - apparently the last one was published in 2009.

Three of your All-Time Favorite Books:

• The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• Christy by Catherine Marshall

Very Excited For This Release More Than All The Others:

Allegiant by Veronica Roth - the next book in the series that began with Divergent.  I'm as excited as my students are to find out what happens to Tris and Four.

Worst Bookish Habit:

Starting a new book before I've finished the one I was already reading and not going back to finish the other book.

Unapologetic Fangirl For:
The Harry Potter series, obviously!  Those books have brought me so much happiness over the years - Hogwarts is a world I can go to anytime.  I've made several really great friendships both in the real world and online thanks to Harry.  I'm also crazy about Maggie Stiefvater - I'd been following her via the Merry Sisters of Fate blog before the Wolves of Mercy Falls series was published, loved The Scorpio Races, and met her at the last Virginia State Reading Conference I attended.  Her work really seems to bring people together- last night a girl around my age started talking to me as I exited Barnes & Noble carrying The Raven Boys.

Important Moment in your Reading Life:

I  can vividly remember weeping in the backseat of my parents' car on the drive to camp one summer because I'd finished The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis and there were no more books about Narnia for me to read.  That's the first time I think I realized what an impact books could really have on readers.

X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:
New Selected Poems of Stevie Smith

Your latest book purchase:

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - I didn't really want to give my money to Orson Scott Card because he has some terrible homophobic views, so I found the most inexpensive copy I could for my classroom library.  It is a very good book and I am looking forward to the movie.

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):
Probably the Millenium Series - they are so suspenseful that I couldn't put them down!