Rapid Fire Book Questions

Saw this over at I’m Feeling This and thought why not? Big thanks to SueBC for passing it along. Ready, aim, FIRE!

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Ebooks or physical books?

I own a tablet but will always prefer physical books. Love the feel of a book in my hands.

Paperback or hardback?

Paperback, preferably a trade one. Better to hold than a hardcover. I still can’t look at the Deborah Harkness’s trilogy without remembering the feel of those heavy hardcovers, as I laid down to recover from a back injury. The books still worked better than pain meds.

Online or in-store book shopping?

I worked in two different bookstores therefore in-store remains my first choice. My biggest problem comes with dropping way too much money in a bricks-and-mortar location. Come in for one book, leave with two more and a new journal.

Trilogies or series?

Trilogies. Good things do come in threes.

Heroes or villains?

Flawed heroes with villains drawn from the wrong turn in life coming in second.

A book you want everyone to read?

Let’s point form this shall we? Who says we need to stop at one.

• The Dreamblood Duology by N.K. Jemisin
• Bone Street Rumba trilogy by Daniel Jose Older
• Thunder Road Trilogy by Chadwick Ginther
• Game of Thrones if you have to read one book in A Song of Ice and Fire
• Hunger by Roxane Gay

Recommend an underrated book.

Gah! Really?! Alright, Billy Dead by Lisa Reardon. She was my instructor during an online course where we read works of fiction and try to write stories emulating that style. I found out about her work after the fact and this novel has it all: an unreliable narrator you stay with, incest, beyond-dysfunctional family dynamics, and a Michigan setting.

The last book you finished?

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Ronson

Weirdest thing you used as a bookmark?

Kleenex. Not weird but useful as a stop gap before an actual bookmark goes into place.

Used books, yes or no?

Ah, no. I have enough clutter as it is. Although I did buy one book at the library book sale.

Borrow or buy?

While I do both, I prefer to borrow for the non-impact on my bank account. Unless I have fines.

Characters or plot?

Characters. I still think about Nijiri from The Dreamblood trilogy even after finishing the books months ago.

Long or short book?

Either one. The Outlander books are door stoppers, and I fly through them while some 200-page books feel like a slog.

Long or short chapters?

Both. It’s the writing that counts.

Name the first three books you think of?

• Hunger by Roxane Gay
• The Shadowed Sun by N.K. Jemisin
• I Give You My Body by Diana Gabaldon.

Books that make you laugh or cry?

Laugh. I will not shy away from a sad book but make sure to laugh as an antidepressant. Now finding a good, ‘funny’ book proves another story.

Our world or fictional worlds?

Fictional. Give me Hogwarts, Erebor, Westeros, even Gabaldon’s Scotland with Scottish, male virgins.

Audiobooks : yes or no?

Oh, yes! They got me to sleep, make workouts go quicker, make bus rides easier, and Richard Armitage makes me giggle anytime he says ‘ejaculate’ during David Copperfield. Yeah, I know it meant something different, but a 12-year-old still lives inside me laughing at the naughty meanings.

Do you ever judge a book by its cover?

Sometimes. I know money gets poured into cover art, even for the poorly written fare. Bone Street Rumba’s covers look like movie posters and they’re fabulous books. It’s an example of good cover art matching a great story.

Book to movie or book to TV adaptation?

Book to TV. I agree with Richard Armitage, you get to really know a character over the course of episodes as opposed to a two-hour movie.

A movie or TV adaptation you preferred over the book?

The Hobbit. True story, I read the book as a kid then again while on retreat at St. Benedict’s years ago. Every single time Thorin got the company lost, I keep thinking ‘you’re an asshole, you’re an asshole, gosh, you’re an asshole.’ Fast forward to the movie, and it’s ‘You’re a dwarf prince trying to prove himself, making a noble decision for the good of his people, but the asshole will come out in the third film.’

Series or standalone?

Series. If I can get all three or first three, our of the library then it’s book binge time. Occupied hands leave no room for snacks and wine, two things Netflix binges have allowed me if I make the choice.