Bibliophilic Tendencies

I grew up in a family of voracious readers. And both my parents made sure I cultivated the same habit. They tried that on my brother too, but failed miserably. Anywho, I’ve been reading since the time I can remember. When I was younger, my second cousin had this huge library at home. She had every single book by Enid Blyton, Nancy Drew series, Hardy Boys, Mallory Towers, and several others. And every weekend, I would force my dad to take me to their house so that I could borrow a few more books. Then there was the school library. I checked out a book every single day. At one point, the librarian didn’t have any more books for me. The only gift I wanted as a kid was a book. When I started getting pocket money, I spent it all on books. Today, its reached a point where I can’t leave a bookstore without a book in hand.

So, when I saw this post at Swayambhu’s blog, I couldn’t resist doing it myself.

Here goes:


Favourite childhood book?
The Secret Seven books. I loved reading them. Every time I finished one, I’d get restless till I could get my hands on the next one.


What are you reading right now?
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. I’m on a mission to finish all of Austen’s book. 2 down, 4 to go.


Bad book habit?
Letting my reading take over everything else, even my studies.


Do you have an e-reader?
No. And I don’t really want one. I enjoy the feel of a book. Its not the same on a machine.


Do you prefer to read one book at a time or several at once?
I can never read more than one book at a time. I feel like I’m cheating on the book.


Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
I’m a fairly new blogger. So, no, not really.


Least favourite book you read this year (so far)?
Roller Coaster Ride by Saumil Srivastava. I’m just so tired of all these indian authors writing about IITians.


Favourite book you’ve read this year?
The Millenium trilogy by Stieg Larsson. I know it’s not one book, but I loved all three of them.

How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
I don’t have a comfort zone. I’ll read anything that catches my fancy.


What is your reading comfort zone?
Same as above


Can you read on the bus?
Honestly, I can’t. I get sick and nauseous. But I can’t resist and end up doing it anyways.


Favourite place to read?
I love reading outdoors. In a park, under a tree, at a bus stop. Anywhere and everywhere.


What is your policy on book lending?
That I don’t lend my books. I have OCD when it comes to my books. I can’t stand to not have them with me. My brother lended MY book to a friend of his once. I got so pissed I refused to let even my brother touch my books.


Do you ever dog-ear books?
Never. I have a hundred million bookmarks for the purpose.


Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Nope. I like my books to look like they’ve never been touched.


Not even with text books?
I was one of those people whose books looked brand new even at the end of the school year, and not because I didn’t study. If I absolutely had to, I used post-its.


What is your favourite language to read in?
English. That’s the only language I read in. Never ended up reading hindi, except for school. And I read my mother tongue, malayalam so slow, that I'll be 60 by the time I finish a book.


What makes you love a book?
The characters. More often than not, I find myself becoming one of the characters from the book I’m reading. Of course, the plot, pace, and all matter. But the characters are what reel me in.


What will inspire you to recommend a book?
If the book really impresses me, I will. I don’t have a lot of friends who read, so it’s not something that I do much.


Favourite genre?
Crime. I like coming up with my own theories about the culprit, and then finally finding out who it was at the end of the book.


Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
Biography/autobiographies.


Favourite biography/autobiography?
I haven’t read that many, so can’t say.


Have you ever read a self-help book?
That is the one genre I stay away from.


Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
I really can’t think of one.


Favourite reading snack?
Potato chips.


Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience
None really.


How often do you agree with critics about a book?
I never read reviews of a book before reading it. I find that it corrupts my judgment.


How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
If a book is bad, it’s bad.


If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
German. I’ve always wanted to read books by Goethe, Franz Kafka, Schiller, Lessing etc, in their original versions. And I also want to read ‘Dead Souls’ in the original Russian version.


Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
How can a book be intimidating, maybe except in size. But as far as I’m concerned, the longer the book, the better.


Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
Like I said, no book can be intimidating.


Favourite Poet(s)?
Lord Byron, Wordsworth, Keats, Shelley, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Prem Chand, are just some of them. And I also love Shakespeare’s sonnets. I’m not much of poetry person, but I like reading them from time to time.


Favourite fictional character(s)?
Sherlock Holmes, Lisbeth Salander, Garfield, Calvin (from Calvin & Hobbes)

Favourite fictional villain?
Professor Moriarty


Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
Chick Lits. They’re light reading. And I’m normally able to put them down in order to enjoy my vacation.


The longest I’ve gone without reading
A couple of months during college. Studies got in the way.


Name a book that you could/would not finish-
Quite a few actually. Mostly when I was in college. I'd start reading a book, but would then get burdened with college work, and completely forget about it. I'm currently in the process of finishing those book.


What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
Internet, phone, sleep.


Favourite film adaptation of a novel?
I personally loved the Sherlock Holmes movie, but that had more to do with Robert Downey Jr., than the movie (which actually was equally good). The movie does take a lot of liberties with Holmes’ character, but it was a delight nonetheless. And plus I loved all the quotes they took from the books (“Data, data, data — I cannot make bricks without clay”)
Another movie I liked was the swedish adaptation of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”.

Most disappointing film adaptation?
Harry Potter series. The movies skip so many scenes from the books, I feel like I’m skipping chapters and reading.


The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
Not much really. At the most, I’ll buy maybe 2 or 3 books at a time.


How often do you skim a book before reading it?
There are times I get really curious and skim a few pages ahead.


What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
If its extremely slow paced. I hate having to read 10 chapters before anything substantial happens.


Do you like to keep your books organized?
Yes. I have 4 bookshelves in my tiny room, and I keep all my books well organized.


Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
I love collecting books. I’ve never given away books, except for text books maybe.


Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
Not that I can remember.
UPDATE: I just remembered. 'The Agony and the Ecstasy' by Irving Stone. I got it as a prize. I've had it for years, but haven't been able to bring myself to read it. I'm not really sure why.


Name a book that made you angry –
Circle of Light by Kiranjit Ahluwalia. Domestic violence is something that I cannot tolerate. Just hearing about it makes me furious. And Kiranjit Ahluwalia’s story literally brought me to tears, and made me angry at the same time.

A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
5 Point Someone


A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
Sleeping with the Enemy  by Nancy Price


Favourite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
Chick Lits


Books I love or “the ones I can read again and again and again and…..”
I normally never read a book a second time so as to not ruin my image of a book. But I have read the Harry Potter books 3-4 times. and Calvin n Hobbes.


Books I love to hate:
Books about IITians. Same old love stories.
UPDATE: Also the twilight series. Loved reading the books, inspite of the spineless female lead. Totally against my feminist principles. But the writing is good. Plus I love vampires. I've been dying to order the Vampire Diaries books and the Southern Vampire Mysteries.


Books that left me underwhelmed:
Above Average by Amitabha Bagchi. It wasn’t bad, but I was expecting more.


I encourage all you bibliophiles to do this tag. If you do, let me know in the comments.