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1. Have you always loved books? Who, if anyone, in your life has most inspired you to read?

I'm pretty sure I loved books even before I left the womb. Which leads to my answer to the second part of the question - my mother! While she was pregnant with one child, she would have Reading Time every afternoon with the others so she could rest, so hearing my mother reading stories was probably the first thing my developing ears picked up on, heh. She taught each of us to read for ourselves as soon as we turned 4, which I remember being a great honour. Every morning I would get up super early and climb into bed with her as soon as my dad left for work, and I would read to her whatever book she was teaching me from at that time. If I got to a word I didn't know, she wouldn't even crack her eyes open to look at it, she'd just mumble, "Spell it," haha! Did wonders for my spelling and vocabulary before I even started school. ;)

2. What was your favourite childhood book?

That changed every week! The Pokey Little Puppy, The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark, Victoria Plum, Winnie-the-Pooh, The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo, The Sleepover Friends series, The Babysitters Club series, absolutely everything by L.M. Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables series, The Story Girl, Pat of Silver Bush, Jane of Lantern Hill, Emily of New Moon, etc), The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (!!!), anything by Enid Blyton, Tottie (or Story of a Doll's House), Little Women, the Little Town on the Prairie series, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Golden Filly series, The Wombles, Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, the Mandie series... I know I'm forgetting some!

3. Which books do you remember studying at school? Did you enjoy them?

Roger Red Hat and Billy Blue Hat? Heh. Actually, I didn't really study books at school. I learned to read before starting school, so for the first few years my teachers had to keep searching out books from the higher grades that would challenge me, so I didn't read the books the rest of the class was studying. In the higher elementary grades, we got readers with bits and pieces of a wide variety of books in them, and for book reports we got to pick our own novels. I was homeschooled through high school, and Literature was an elective that I only took once or twice, and for that it was mostly biographies of famous Americans. I'm Canadian, so I didn't really care about famous Americans, and therefore I dropped the Literature elective. I was very sad about that, and I've spent my entire adult life asking people what books they studied in high school and reading those books for myself.

4. Where do you most enjoy reading? Do you need silence to read, or can you read almost anywhere?

Curled up on the couch or in bed, or sitting outside in the shade in the warmer months. I don't need utter silence, but I'm easily distracted by the sound of the television or people talking.

5.Choose five of your favourite books and tell us why you loved them so much!

1. A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens - My absolute favourite book in the world. I just love the tragedy of it, and the way it leaves you with such a glowy feeling that it doesn't SEEM like a tragedy. And yet it really is tragic. I don't even know! I adore the characters, especially Sydney Carton and Jerry Cruncher. And every word Dickens wrote is precious to me, so there's also that.

2. Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte - The "romance" between Jane and Rochester is so anti-romantic that I just can't get enough of it, haha! I love that Jane stood up for her principles, and that Rochester was so wracked with guilt over the things he'd done throughout his life, and that he was such a good man deep down. I've never read this Sargasso Sea that people talk about, so the story has never been tainted for me with another author's view of events. I simply adore these characters and the tale Charlotte Bronte wove here.

3. Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo - This book has everything. Seriously. Everything. One of the greatest stories ever told, period.

4. Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky - Raskolnikov's twisted mind gripped me right from page one and never let me go.

5. Tess of the D'Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy - Literary perfection from beginning to end, in my opinion. But this is a tragedy that definitely feels like a tragedy.

6. Do you prefer reading fiction or non fiction?

I love both, and often have one of each on the go at the same time. I love learning, so I read a wide range of non-fiction.

7. Are you fond of a particular author and what attracts you to their books? (You can pick a few if you can’t choose!)

DICKENS. He mastered the art of language. Pretty much every sentence he ever wrote blows my mind. Pretty much every character he ever constructed blows my mind, too. They were such caricatures, yet they were REAL. And how he managed to weave so many complex plots together in each one of his novels is beyond my powers of comprehension. One of the few true Genius writers in history.

8. Is there an author you haven't yet tried but you'd really like to?

Lots of them! Too many books, not enough time. This year I really want to try Anthony Trollope and William Makepeace Thackeray. I can't believe I haven't read them yet, considering how obsessed I am with Victorian literature!

9. Do you rely on goodreads to keep track of your reading or do you have your own method?

I write a review for everything I read, but I don't always post them publicly on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. I type them up on my computer and print them off for my own records. Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ is faster and easier, though, when I'm looking for a book I've read but don't remember when I read it.

10. What's the best book you've read so far this year? What are you reading at the moment? What will you be reading next?

The best book I've read so far this year... Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier. It was fantastic, I loved it. Right now I'm reading The Zookeeper's Wife, by Diane Ackerman, and The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, both of which I'm enjoying. Next up will be Black, by Ted Dekker.

Great journey Faye! I love the story of your mother teaching you to read :-)

A Tale of Two Cities is a favorite of mine too! I like Dickens a lot, and am trying to read a few more of his novels this year...

I think that you will like Trollope & Thackeray when you get to them; I certainly have enjoyed them since my introduction to them (not that long ago!).

It's been really nice to get to know you through this as I don't think we have really talked on here properly. I love the list of your five favourite books, I love them myself.

I really like the story of your mother reading to you. I hope you are enjoying The Book Thief, I really loved it!

Faye, I love your five favourite books - two of them are my favourites too - Jane Eyre and Tess of the D'Urbervilles. And another I plan to read later this year, A Tale of Two Cities...

And you are a Dickens fan! I think we have quite a few in this group!!

You have some special memories of your mother reading to you - it's lovely that you treasure those memories.

Thanks for sharing this with us, it's been great reading your journey and getting to know you a bit more.

Leslie wrote: "Great journey Faye! I love the story of your mother teaching you to read :-)

A Tale of Two Cities is a favorite of mine too! I like Dickens a lot, and am trying to read a few more of his novels ..."

Thanks, Leslie! I'm sure I'll love Trollope and Thackeray, too - I have no idea why I've never read any of their books! It's always nice to discover something new from the Victorian era, though. :)

Alannah wrote: "It's been really nice to get to know you through this as I don't think we have really talked on here properly. I love the list of your five favourite books, I love them myself.

I really like the s..."

Thanks, Alannah! Yes, I haven't been as active on this group as I'd like to be. I'll try to work on that. :)

I'm enjoying The Book Thief very much!

Shirley wrote: "Faye, I love your five favourite books - two of them are my favourites too - Jane Eyre and Tess of the D'Urbervilles. And another I plan to read later this year, A Tale of Two Cities...

And you ar..."

Thanks, Shirley! I am a HUGE Dickens fan. Fanatic, you might say, haha! I hope you do read A Tale of Two Cities this year, and that you enjoy it every bit as much as I do. :)

Brilliant reading journey Faye. I really got a sense of your childhood reading from this and it sounds like you've more than made up for books you missed studying for school.

I'm intrigued by your favourites as well, the only one I've read is Jane Eyre, which was great, though I'm part was through Les Mis. I definitely need to try some Hardy, Dostoevsky and Dickens soon!

Pink wrote: "Brilliant reading journey Faye. I really got a sense of your childhood reading from this and it sounds like you've more than made up for books you missed studying for school.

I'm intrigued by you..."

Thanks, Pink!

Are you enjoying Les Miserables? And yes, definitely try those authors! Between them they wrote a lot of the best literature in the world. :)

awesome journey faye!

Amber wrote: "awesome journey faye!"

Thanks, Amber. :)

Love your journey Faye - I loved Thomas Hardy's books.

Maggie wrote: "Love your journey Faye - I loved Thomas Hardy's books."

Thanks, Maggie! He was an amazing writer. :)

Great journey Faye! I need more time to look at it more closelsy!

Great answers to the questions Faye. So many of your favourites are books I love too. I was blown away by Les Miserables when I read it many years ago long before the musical!

Thank you for sharing your journey Faye.
A Tale of Two Cities is also my favorite book ever I love Dickens he is a master craftsman and no one else comes close to him. Your 2nd best Jane Eyre is also a favorite I loved it from the start. The Book Thief is also up there with a whopping 5* from me. I hope you enjoy it.
I loved what you said about your Mum reading and you listening before you were born what a lovely thought.

Loved reading about how you read with your Mother, how lovely.
I loved Rebecca too, and The Book Thief.