Booking It

I found a new book-inspired blog called Booking through Thursday that posts a question (or two, or three) about books each Thursday that readers can answer on their own blogs. I thought I’d do last week’s here:

What was the last book you bought?

Jodi Picoult’s Plain Truth

Name a book you have read MORE than once.

Jane Austen’s Persuasion

Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?

Yes. Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible is one. But there are many more.

How do you choose a book? eg. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews

Very rarely by cover design, although that might catch my eye. I often choose to read books recommended by friends, and I’ve bought many books just because the blurb on the back cover piqued my interest. I read the book reviews every Sunday in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, and I occasionally buy books I learn about there.

Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?

Fiction

What’s more important in a novel - beautiful writing or a gripping plot?

That’s a tough one. If I’m reading just for escape and entertainment, I want the gripping plot. But beautiful writing will make me stop and marvel, even if the plot’s not pulling me along. I never grab my pencil to underline gripping plot, but I’ve put down my book to search for one when I’ve encounter a beautifully wrought sentence or the perfect metaphor. Both are important.

Most loved/memorable character (character/book)

Trixie Belden in the Trixie Belden Mystery series.

Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?

See sidebar.

What was the last book you’ve read, and when was it?

The last book I finished was The Book that Changed My Life: 71 Remarkable Writers Celebrate the Books that Matter Most to Them, edited by Roxanne J. Coady and Joy Johannessen. I finished it on Friday.

Have you ever given up on a book half way in?

Are you allowed to do that?


If you’d like to answer these same questions in the comment section, please feel free. If you'd rather answer them on your own blog, it’d be great if you’d post a link to your answers in my comment section. Who knows? After reading your answers, I just might have to make a run to the bookstore.