A Girl Walks Into a Bookstore...

But enough about interviewing other people. It’s time I interviewed YOU. 1. What’s your favorite time of day to read? Early in the morning. 2. Do you read during breakfast? (Assuming you eat breakfast.) It would probably be more true to say that I read during breakfast time, that is to say, I don’t eat breakfast but at that general time of day. 3. What’s your favorite breakfast food? (Noting that breakfast foods can be eaten any time of day.) Bagels. 4. How many hours a day would you say you read? About one. 5. Do you read more or less now than you did, say, 10 years ago? Yes, but I’m becoming much more discriminating in my reading choices and habits. 6. Do you consider yourself a speed reader? In comparison to other book bloggers, no, but lesser-read people call me that. 7. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Speed-reading. That way I could really all 200-plus book on my TBR pile and not feel any pressure. There's so much to read and too little time to read it in! ...

What were your favorite books of 2011? 1. A Woman’s Place , by Ruth Adam Wonderful social history of women in Britain from WWI to 1975. 2. The Du Mauriers , by Daphne Du Maurier Du Maurier’s account of a few generations of her family, in particular her grandfather, George Du Maurier, author of a popular Victorian children’s book. 3. Few Eggs and No Oranges , by Vere Hodgson A diary that the author kept during WWII. I loved her sense of humor, even though she went through something horrific. 4. Unbeaten Tracks in Japan , by Isabella Bird A fantastic travelogue, written by a fearless woman who became the first Western woman to travel in the hinterlands of Japan. 5. Jane Eyre , by Charlotte Bronte (re-read) One of my favorite books of all time! 6. Anderby Wold , by Winifred Holtby I love all of Winifred Holtby’s novels, and although this was only her first, I love the way that she depicts Yorkshire life. 7. The Age of Innocence , by Edith Wharton Another classic, and on that I should have...

If you could get a sequel for any book, what would it be? One of my all-time favorite books is Kathleen Winsor’s Forever Amber , a delightfully romance-y read set in Restoration England. When it was published in the 1940s, it was a bestseller, akin to Gone With the Wind , but although it was reprinted in 2000, Forever Amber has mostly become forgotten. It’s the story of a fictional mistress of Charles II (SPOILER ALERT BELOW, highlight to reveal): who has a relationship with a Cavalier who uses and then dumps her. But because Amber is one of the dumbest people in fiction, she falls for a story that Bruce is still in love with her, and she runs off to join him in America. Although Amber is one of the most frustrating, obtuse characters you’ll ever run into, I always wonder what happened to her after that (especially since she wasn’t exactly welcome). What was Bruce’s reaction? For that matter, what was his new wife’s? SOMEONE needs to write the sequel to this book!

Sometimes I feel like the only person I know who finds reading history fascinating. It’s so full of amazing-yet-true stories of people driven to the edge and how they reacted to it. I keep telling friends that a good history book (as opposed to some of those textbooks in school that are all lists and dates) does everything a good novel does–it grips you with real characters doing amazing things. Am I REALLY the only person who feels this way? When is the last time you read a history book? Historical biography? You know, something that took place in the past but was REAL. I read a lot of history! As a former history major, every now and then I’ll read some popular history, or biography. I’m currently reading Letters From Egypt, letters that Lucie Duff Gordon sent home from Egypt in the mid-19th century. I do enjoy reading historical nonfiction, but I probably only read about one such book a month. I also read memoirs; a couple of books ago I read Myself When Young , Daphne Du M...

It’s National Book Week. The rules: Grab the closest book to you. Go to page 56. Copy the 5th sentence as your status. "The white marble columns gleamed nearer among the black trees." --From Mary Olivier , by May Sinclair

Do you read book reviews? Whose do you trust? Do they affect your reading habits? Your buying habits? I frequently read book reviews—often if I’m reading something, I’ll stop and read reviews on Amazon or LibraryThing to see how other people feel about the book. I do read reviews of books before I read them, but not quite as often—I’m trying to limit my TBR list for the moment. I don’t go and buy the book right away, but I’ll let it stew on my TBR list for a while on LibraryThing before I take the plunge. What I’ve found with reviews is that often it’s the three-star reviews that are the best—they talk about both the good and bad aspects of a book, instead of simply raving about it or having an ax to grind about it. I also pay close attention to reviews if the book I’m looking at isn’t quite so well-known or widely read.

1. Favorite childhood book? Too many to count! I loved reading the Nancy Drew books growing up, as well as the Babysitters Cub books (I was really into series books when I was younger) 2. What are you reading right now? 
 The Edwardians, by Vita Sackville-West. 3. What books do you have on request at the library? 
 4. Bad book habit? 
 buying too many of them… 5. What do you currently have checked out at the library? Not checked out but on hold and ready for pickup is The Pindar Diamond, by Katie Hickman 6. Do you have an e-reader? 
 No, I like the physical feel of a book in my hands. 7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once? 
 Usually just one, though I’ll read multiple books at a time of one just doesn’t grab me the way it should. 8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog? 
 I’ve become a lot more critical about what I read… sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. 9. Least favorite book you read...

Which do you prefer? Short stories? Or full-length novels? Far and away, I read novels more than short stories—though I’ve got a few collections on my shelves (two are Persephones— Dimanche and Other Stories , and Good Evening Mrs. Craven: the Wartime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes . And there are a few stories that I’ve read that have stayed with me for a long time ("The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson and "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates are standouts in my mind). However, I think the reason why I read novels more, and why a lot of people choose to do so, is that there’s a lot more room in novels (and even novellas) for character development. This is actually an apropos question to ask this week, as I’ve been reading another Persephone, a full-length novel called The Crowded Street. While the novel is about spinsters and their place in society, there’s a scene where the main character, Muriel, is having a discussion wi...

What books do you have next to your bed right now? How about other places in the house? What are you reading ? Literally on my bedside table right now are The Brothers of Gwynedd Quartet (I’m steeling myself to read the second book in it, but I’ll wait to do so after Memorial Day weekend). I also have review copies of Indu Sundaresan’s Shadow Princess and Sloane Crosley’s How Did You Get This Number, both books that I’ve read and written reviews for, and which I need to reshelve at some point when I’m not feeling lazy. In the bookcase next to my bed, I have about a hundred books to read (a full list can be seen here ). A few of these are review copies (including a LTER book that I need to get around to reading and reviewing sometime soon), but this upcoming weekend, with the holiday and all, I really only feel like reading fun stuff. I’m thinking some Mary Stewart, or Elizabeth Chadwick, especially To Defy a King . Currently, though, I’m reading the 15 th book in the Mo...

It’s Thanksgiving in the U.S.A. today, so I know at least some of you are going to be as busy with turkey and family as I will be, so this week’s question is a simple one. What books and authors are you particularly thankful for this year? I’m thankful for a lot of books and authors, some of which are new to me and some of which are old favorites. Elizabeth Chadwick is an author I “discovered” about a year ago, and since then I’ve read nine of her well-written and researched novels. This year I also discovered the books by Susanna Kearsley, which are always good, creepy reads for a rainy fall afternoon. Along the same lines are the novels of Mary Stewart; a bit trashy, but good fun nonetheless. I’m also thankful for the Morland Dynasty series , by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, which I discovered this year as well. And, last but not least, the beautiful books that are published by Persephone : excellent women’s fiction and nonfiction, presented in those beautiful dove-gray covers and endpaper ...

When’s the last time you weeded out your library? Do you regularly keep it pared down to your reading essentials? Or does it blossom into something out of control the minute you turn your back, like a garden after a Spring rain? Or do you simply not get rid of books? At all? (This would have described me for most of my life, by the way.) And–when you DO weed out books from your collection (assuming that you do) …what do you do with them? Throw them away (gasp)? Donate them to a charity or used bookstore? SELL them to a used bookstore? Trade them on Paperback Book Swap or some other exchange program? It’s been AGES since I last weeded out my library—in fact, I hardly ever give away books or sell them, even when I moved last year. I did sell back some books in college, but they were math textbooks that I didn’t much want to keep (yet all my books on medieval history and literature are displayed prominently!). I once tried to do one of those swap sites, but I just couldn’t bear to part wi...

“So here today I present to you an Unread Books Challenge. Give me the list or take a picture of all the books you have stacked on your bedside table, hidden under the bed or standing in your shelf – the books you have not read, but keep meaning to. The books that begin to weigh on your mind. The books that make you cover your ears in conversation and say, ‘No! Don’t give me another book to read! I can’t finish the ones I have!’ “ The current "list" has 144 books on it, though not all of them are actually in my possession or on my shelf of books to read. But here are a few of the books I've been meaning to read: 1. Nine Lives, by Dan Baum. Nonfiction about New Orleans; this one has been sitting around since January. 2. The Women, by TC Boyle. Fiction about Frank Lloyd Wright; sitting around since February. 3. Evelina, by Frances Burney. Sitting around since Dec. of 2007 4. The Falcons of Montabard, by Elizabeth Chadwick 5. Shields of Price, by EC 6. The Champion, by EC 7....

“This can be a quick one. Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.” This is hard. In no order: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith) The Sunne in Splendour (Sharon Kay Penman) Forever Amber (Kathleen Winsor) One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez) On the Road (Jack Kerouac) Katherine (Anya Seton) The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath) The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough) The World According to Garp (John Irving) Peyton Place (Grace Metalious) A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver The Shadow of the Wind (Carlos Ruiz Zafon) Rebecca (Daphne Du Maurier) The Painted Veil (Somerset Maugham) Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) I don’t normally read them much, but short stories that have stayed with me: The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? By Joyce Carol Oates

Some people read one book at a time. Some people have a number of them on the go at any given time, perhaps a reading in bed book, a breakfast table book, a bathroom book, and so on, which leads me to… Are you currently reading more than one book? If so, how many books are you currently reading? Is this normal for you? Where do you keep your current reads? I’m currently reading two books, with a bookmark in a third where I’ve gotten stuck. The first two books are: The Crimes of Paris , by Thomas and Dorothy Hoobler; and What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew , by Daniel Pool. The book where I’m stuck is Iain Pears’s Stone’s Fall . Reading several books at once is normal for me, abut haf the time—usually, I try to stick with one book. My current reads are in several places; Stone’s Fall and the Daniel Pool are on my bedside table, The Crimes of Paris is sitting next to me on the couch, though usually, like most “currently reading” books, it’s in my handbag (I never like to go a...

The opposite of last week’s question: “What’s the best ‘worst’ book you’ve ever read — the one you like despite some negative reviews or features?” I really enjoyed Karen Maitland’s first novel, Company of Liars . I don’t normally read fantasy/supernatural-ish types novels like that, but I was just entranced by the setting and the plot. Yet there were a lot of people who didn’t like it. In any case, I’ve gone ahead and ordered Maitland’s second novel from Amazon UK. Another book I enjoyed that others didn’t was The House at Riverton , by Kate Morton… again, great setting and characters, but a lot of reviewers didn’t like it.

We’ve all seen the lists, we’ve all thought, “I should really read that someday,” but for all of us, there are still books on “The List” that we haven’t actually gotten around to reading. Even though we know they’re fabulous. Even though we know that we’ll like them. Or that we’ll learn from them. Or just that they’re supposed to be worthy. We just … haven’t gotten around to them yet. What’s the best book that YOU haven’t read yet? I’ve heard a lot of good things about Hotel on the Corner of Bitter Sweet , by Jamie Ford, but I haven’t read it yet. In fact, I’ve got an ARC of it sitting upstairs somewhere. I’ve just had other things to read that seemed more interesting. I've also got copies of other books that look really god, but again, I haven't gotten to them: The Traitor's Wife , by Susan Higginbotham; The Little Giant of Aberdeen County , by Tiffany Baker; and The Women , by TC Boyle.

Hardcover? Or paperback? Illustrations? Or just text? First editions? Or you don’t care? Signed by the author? Or not? Lately, of the books I’ve bought, I’ve bought them in paperback—unless I really, really love the author, in which case I’ll buy in hardcover. Illustrations are OK as long as they add meaning to the text. First editions are nice, but I don’t own any of those. I also like signed books, but again, I don’t own many.

“How do you arrange your books on your shelves? Is it by author, by genre, or you just put it where it falls on?” I arrange my books thusly: I divide them into fiction and nonfiction, and the alphabetize them by author. With series, I arrange them in series order, not alphabetically. The only books that don’t fall under this system of categorization are my books on medieval history; within nonfiction, I keep them separate. I also keep my TBR books separate from the rest, so I know exactly what’s there.

Do you read any author’s blogs? If so, are you looking for information on their next project? On the author personally? Something else? I read several author blogs, and for several reasons. I read Elizabeth Chadwick’s blog, Living the History , because she always shares her research with her readers (Roger Bigod’s hats, for example, was one such topic). I just wish she updated it a bit more often! (but maybe that's a good thing?) I also read Deanna Raybourn’s blog, Blog a Go-Go . Fun name, isn’t it? I read her blog because she talks about a variety of things, not just writing. And it turns out that she and I have a few interests in common, so I find that I’m always commenting on her blog. I find that I read author blogs not just to find out what’s going on with their next book, but more often because I have an affinity with the author.

Other things have words, too, right? Like … songs! If you’re anything like me, there are songs that you love because of their lyrics; writers you admire because their songs have depth, meaning, or just a sheer playfulness that has nothing to do with the tunes. So, today’s question? What songs … either specific songs, or songs in general by a specific group or writer … have words that you love? Why? And … do the tunes that go with the fantastic lyrics live up to them? You don’t have to restrict yourself to modern songsters, either … anyone who wants to pick Gilbert & Sullivan, for example, is just fine with me. Lerner & Loewe? Steven Sondheim? Barenaked Ladies? Fountains of Wayne? The Beatles? Anyone at all… The songs I listen to are chosen mostly based on tune, not lyrics. So the lyrics of the songs I listen to usually don’t have much meaning or depth—strange, considering I’m one of the most word-obsessed people I know. My taste runs mostly to rock, though it’s not exclusive. S...