| Product: |
Top Ten Non Fiction - General |
| Date: |
30/06/06 (272 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Reading is great, so is this challenge!
Disadvantages: None
Q. What is your favourite genre?
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The type of books I read very according to my mood and situation - often depending whether I am going to be doing alot of commuting/ traveling or am at home/ on holiday. At the moment I am addicted to memoirs and other real life stories, especially true tales of people who have lived through communist/ Nazi and other tyrannical regimes or other accounts of 'triumph over hardship'.
Q. Do you read the classics, i.e. the great authors of the 18th/ 19th centuries?
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No - I studied Thomas Hardy/ Jane Austen etc for A-level Engish and all that constant analysing and dissecting the texts to death put me off, although I still enjoy television and film adaptations of these classics.
Q. Are you interested in thrillers?
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I used to be an avid reader of James Pattereson, Minnette Walters etc but haven't read anything like this for ages.
Q. What about horror stories?
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I also overindulged in these - especially Stephen King and Dean Koontz a while ago so am on a break!
Q. Do you read science fiction?
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Not really, I find science fiction more suited to film, though I suppose Dean Koontz almost slips into sci-fi.
Q. How many Harry Potter books have you read?
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None yet - on my reading list for next holiday.
Q. Have you ever read and enjoyed biographies or autobiographies?
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Yep, this is a literary addiction for me at the moment. My bookshelves are filled with books like 'The Girl in the Red Coat' (memoirs of a woman who spotted herself as 5 years old in Steven Spielberg's 'Schindler's List') by Roma Ligocka, 'Edith's Book' (memoirs of a Dutch Jewish girl who went into hiding into a Christian family during the Nazi occupation) by Edith Velman and the recently released Martin Johnson autobiography (which I got personally signed, not that I'm name dropping!)
Q. Do you remember any of the books you read an loved as a child?
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Sure do - I was an avid reader even as a kid and after my parents insisted on a curfew I would often read under the bedclothes with a torch so I could consume a few more chapters. No wonder my school reports sometimes commented that I often seemed half asleep in class!
I read every Enid Blyton book at least twice - many times more for the Mallory Tower series and The Enchanted Forest/ Wishing Chair books. I really can't understand why these titles haven't been snapped up for television/ film adaptations. I also loved 'The Machine Gunners' by Robert Westall and pony books such as the 'Jill series' by Ruby Ferguson and the 'Jinny series' by Patricia Leitch. As a young teenager I got more into American books such as those by Francine Pascal ('Sweet Valley') and Judy Blume.
Q. Have you re-read these books as a grown-up?
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Not yet, but may well do.
Q. Is there a book of which you can say it has influenced you?
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Dozen s have influenced me. Sometimes I will find myself in a similar situation or coversation to a character in a book I have read and get an weird sense of deja vu. A book which really influenced me to be grateful for my own life and upbringing was 'Falling Leaves: Memoirs of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter' by Adeline Yah Mah. I must review this sometime because I think everyone should read it - a sad tale with a true life happy ending which describes her childhood suffering without self-pity or bitterness.
Q. Which are your favourite authors?
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Th ese change all the time but I have regularly enjoyed books by Bill Bryson, Martina Cole, Minnette Walters and Phillipa Gregory who writes some fascinating historical novels, such as 'The Other Boleyn Girl' the story of Anne Boleyn's sister who first had an affair and two children with Henry VIII.
Q. Whaich book would you take with you on a desert island?
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I'd take 'London' by Edward Rutherford. IT's meant to be excellent but it's long and heavily detailed so I would need hours of undisrupted leisure time to get into it.
Q. What is your attitude towards translations?
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'The Girl in the Red Coat' was a translation from German and I didn't realise this until over half way through when I read the note about the author. Therefore unless it's badly translated - which most aren't - it shouldn't make a difference to your enjoyment so it would be a shame to miss out on so many works just because they were originally written in another language.
Q. Do you buy or borrow your books?
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I buy lots of books to fill up my tall bookshelves in my flat, but also belong to a good library and swap lots of other books with other bookworm friends.
Q. When you buy books, do you prefer hardcover editions or pocket books?
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Hard books look nice on a shelf but as I do alot of my reading whilst commuting, paperbacks are often more practical - my work bag is full of enough junk as it is!
Q. Have you tried Audio books
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No - these are great I'm sure if you have sight problems or get sick if you read whilst traveling but as I don't I prefer the traditional type of read.
Summary: Q & As about reading tastes
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Last comment:
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chrisandmark - 14/07/06 I love this challenge, it's really interesting to read other peoples opinions about books.
I loved the Enid Blyton books too and have just started re-reading the odd few between my normal books. |
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