Books Galore with Malu's Challenge (Top Ten Childrens Books)

Member Name: duskmaiden

Product:	Top Ten Childrens Books
Date:	29/03/04 (146 review reads)
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I am a real bookworm. Ever since I can remember I have been a member of the local library and learned to read before I went to school. I would be lost without books and you can always find a paperback in my bag so that I can be transported away from my normal life whilst commuting to and fro work. I have seen Malu?s challenge around but felt it was now time for me to complete it. Hope you enjoy it!

What is your favourite genre?
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God that is a difficult one. To be honest the answer would be that I o not have a favourite genre. It depends what mood I am in. I do like humourous Sci-fi and fantasy such as Terry Pratchett and Tom Holt. I can be a real girly girl at heart and I like the better written Chic Lit authors such as Sophie Kinsella, Jane Green, Serena Macksey and Sherry Ashworth. They are so easy to read. Although they are slightly mummsy I must admit I like Maeve Binchey. Good modern novels are also my thing as are memoirs and biographies. I am also fascinated by the Far East and enjoy books set in China and Japan such as Memoirs of a Geisha and Chinese Cinderella. Amy Tan is also worth a read although again I find her work can get pretty samey. The real answer to this question is as long as the book is well written and does not have unnecessary violence I will read it
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Do you read the classics, the great authors of the 18th and 19th century?
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I know he is very much Mr. Doom and Gloom himself but I must admit to liking Thomas Hardy. Tess of the D Urbevilles was the first adult classic I read and is sill one of my favourite
books although think Hardy should never have written the final chapter. It should have left her on the altar at Stonehenge waiting to be metaphorically sacrificed. I also like Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I have read a few others but feel maybe I should read a few more. I tend to know the classic books more from BBC productions of them.

Are you interested in thrillers?
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Not really. I do not particularly like violence. Murder mysteries and horror do very little for me. The nearest I get o them are thing like Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier and the Drowning People by Richard Mason. These have a romantic plot to them and thus are more my style of thing.

What about horror stories?
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Not really at all I?ve never read any Stephen King. I am interested in some ?true? ghost stories but think I would find horror books like the films over the top. Not my thing at all.


Do you read Science Fiction?
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Does Terry Pratchett count?? I think pure Sci-fi would be a bit geeky for me! I hate Star Trek. I keep meaning to read Hitch hikers Guide to the Galaxy as that does sound my type of thing as it sounds like the literary version of Red Dwarf which I adore1. The other type of Sci-fi I might just read is alternate history stuff being a History buff myself. The one book that comes to mind is Making History by Stephen Fry (yes as in the posh comedian). This book about erasing Hitler from history was interesting and thought provoking as I always pondered what would happen to he world if Hitler had been gassed in WW1.

How many Harry Po
tter books have you read?
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I have read the first four of them. They are involving and easy reading. I do think they are not the most original books as I can see ideas gleamed form Enid Blyton and the Worst Witch books1I must get around to reading the fifth one although I have heard mixed things about it. I think perhaps they are becoming too formulaic. I will buy the fifth but I am not buying anymore books until I have read all the ones in my to read pile
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Have you ever read and enjoyed biographies or autobiographies?
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Yep I have. The book I have just finished World fair by E L Doctorow was based heavily on the author?s childhood memories of growing up in New York in the 1930s. I often feel fact is more interesting than fiction. I could not read a Helen Forester or Catherine Cookson novel as they are too mumsy but their biographies were pretty interesting. I like tales of growing up in the past. Others than interest me are tales of endurance such as people?s accounts of their experiences in concentration camps I loved Falling Leaves Fall to their Roofs a tale about a Chinese girl unloved by her step mother. I have read some biographies of historic al figures for uni research and a few old film stars biogeaphies . Modern celebrities really do not interest me at all.

Do you remember any of the books you read and loved as a child? -------------------------------------------------- ---

Yes loads of them I think your childhood experience of reading colours your impressions of books and the world for the rest of your life. That and nostalgia made me deiced to write my Masters dissertation on Marketing Classic Children?s Lit
erature as Heritage. As I stated in the introduction I ama real bookworm and read loads. As a young child I remember reading picture book such as Topsy and Tim, The Mr. Men, Thomas the Tank Engine and Beatrix Potter. The latter I can think about again. I was a bit sick of her, as I used her impact on her adopted area the Lake District as the focus of my dissertation. My ultimate picture book has to be the Hungry Caterpillar. It?s such a simple but engaging book! From then on I read a lot of Enid Blyton and Roald Dhal. As I grew older I read some of the classics. Little Women, Laura Ingles Wilder and Anne of Green Gables are all time favourties. Later as a teenager I read trashy teen books such as Sweet Dreams and Sweet Valley High alongside Judy Blume and Paula Danzigger. Boy was Forever a risqué book when you were 14!!


Have you reread these books as a grown-up?
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I have. I certainly have picked up some old Enid Blyton books and got lost n Mallory towers or the adventures of the people up the Magic Faraway Tree!! It is just so easy to slip into the books of your childhood and the memories they conjure up!

Is there a book of which you can say it has influenced you?
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I can think of no book that really had such an impact that made me thinkI have to do this or change my attitude to that!! There are books that have made me cry, really made me think and have made me realise I have had a fairly good life.

Which are your favourite authors?
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Hmm as stated I love Terry Pratchett, Tom H
;olt, Sherry Ashworth, Kate Atkinson, Laura Ingles Wilder and Thomas Hardy! Oh James Herriot is also very much comfort reading for me!

Which book would you take with you on a desert island?
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God now this is a difficult question. Could I say a very thick one so I could use it for fire material!! Actually I would take the Lord of the Rings. I have both this and the Hobbit in my collection but I have never finished either. I must get around to reading them in full as I actually enjoyed what I read. I just think they are books you really have to concentrate n and are not that suitable for commuting

What is your attitude towards translations?
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I do not read any languages fluently. I had to read a book in German Hamide Speiltt Hamide
for my German Higher. If they are translated well I think they are good. The last translated books I read were Sophie?s world and a Christmas Story by Jostien Gaarder.

Do you buy, borrow or steal your books?
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I buy and borrow them. I only buy a book new f I really fancy reading it. I tend to go to charity shops, car boot sales and jumble sales to pick up books. I also sometimes borrow books especially form my sister. I often find I want to read book that have been recommended to me via word of mouth. I think this is why I enjoy reading the book reviews on Ciao so much.

Do you prefer hardcover editions or pocket books?
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Both. Hardbacks look so nice on your book shelf, but they are so expensive and are not very convenient for just shoving in yo
ur handbag for reading on the bus.


Have you ever tried Audio Books?
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Yes I have I had them as a child. I also used them last summer when I had a problem with my eyes and could not read anything. Everything looked blurry so audio books were the ideal solution there. I also find them very relaxing, but sometimes they are too relaxing as I fall asleep and have to find my place again!


Thanks for Reading!

Sarah
Please join Malu's challenge! It's fun!

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