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Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

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Archives > Read-a-Thon #2 - NY Times by the Book Tag

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message 1: by Zaz (new)

Zaz | 2969 comments Thanks to the booktubers, there are many tags around to learn more about your reading hobby! For this last game during our 2nd read-a-thon, we invite you to answer the New York Times by the Book Tag.

1. What book is on your nightstand now?

2. What was the last truly great book that you read?

3. If you could meet any writer � dead or alive � who would it be? And what would you want to know?

4. What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?

5. How do you organize your personal library?

6. What book have you always meant to read and haven’t gotten around to yet? Anything you feel embarrassed never to have read?

7. Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?

8. What kinds of stories are you drawn to? Any you stay clear of?

9. If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?

10. What do you plan to read next?


message 2: by Zaz (new)

Zaz | 2969 comments 1. What book is on your nightstand now?
It's my Kindle. Ongoing are The Ask and The Answer, Flowers for Algernon and The Stand.

2. What was the last truly great book that you read?
Everything I Never Told You was a really good surprise with characters I really liked to discover.

3. If you could meet any writer � dead or alive � who would it be? And what would you want to know?
Michael J. Sullivan, to thank him 20 million times for Hollow World and ask for a sequel now.

4. What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?
I've many Mr. Men and Little Misses by by Roger Hargreaves. Can't have enough of them :)

5. How do you organize your personal library?
It's a mix of by language, color, genre, author, edition, love.

6. What book have you always meant to read and haven’t gotten around to yet? Anything you feel embarrassed never to have read?
I don't have a "always" but Winnie the Pooh is waiting since a long time.
I always feel embarrassed by my lack of reading the classic authors but I absolutely don't like most of the classics so I really don't want to read them.

7. Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?
Since I'm on GR, I finish every book, even if I skip pages a lot. I think the last unfinished is The Pillars of the Earth.

8. What kinds of stories are you drawn to? Any you stay clear of?
Dystopias, fantasy and stories for children.
I stay clear of stories focused on explicit content or torture.

9. If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?
The Ask and the Answer, it's very educative, men in charge are evil.

10. What do you plan to read next?
Magic Bites because I need something light and The Remarkable Journey of Charlie Price for AtY RC.


message 3: by Bec (new)

Bec | 1334 comments 1. What book is on your nightstand now? The Lightning Thief

2. What was the last truly great book that you read? Grip

3. If you could meet any writer � dead or alive � who would it be? And what would you want to know? Ummm probably Enid Blyton as I loved her books as a kid. I want to know how she though up the magical worlds at the top of the faraway tree.

4. What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves? Umm probably nothing...pretty standard stuff there.

5. How do you organize your personal library? I have a kindle library - I have a folder for purchased books (as I want to make sure I read these) and the rest are in genre.

6. What book have you always meant to read and haven’t gotten around to yet? Anything you feel embarrassed never to have read? I kind of feel embarrassed that I haven't read very many classics - but I just don't like them....

7. Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing? I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

8. What kinds of stories are you drawn to? Any you stay clear of? I'm drawn to fantasy/dystopian lately. I stay clear of horror.

9. If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be? The Bronze Horseman

10. What do you plan to read next? Hmmmm maybe The Help


message 4: by Jennifer (new)

Jennifer Barstad (maidenoflight) 1. What book is on your nightstand now?
Unleashed and The World Between Two Covers: Reading the Globe

2. What was the last truly great book that you read?
Hmm, I guess I would have to say State of Wonder

3. If you could meet any writer � dead or alive � who would it be? And what would you want to know?
Sue Grafton because I just love her books and would want to know why she decided to be an author.

4. What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?
Romance type books because I really don't like that genre.

5. How do you organize your personal library?
Authors in alphabetical order, then each book in chronological order.

6. What book have you always meant to read and haven’t gotten around to yet? Anything you feel embarrassed never to have read?
X I just haven't been able to fit it in yet with my challenges.

7. Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?
Unleashed I started this the end of last year that put it to the wayside for the books needed for this challenge.

8. What kinds of stories are you drawn to? Any you stay clear of?
I really like fantasy and mystery/thriller type books. I tend to stay clear of romance and graphic novels.

9. If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?
When We Have Failed-What Next?: God's Answer to Our Failures

10. What do you plan to read next? Elizabeth Is Missing


message 5: by Kelly (new)

Kelly Brown | 371 comments 1. What book is on your nightstand now? Night Watch by Iris and Roy Johansen

2. What was the last truly great book that you read? I really liked Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, but the Ashfall trilogy by Mike Mullin was amazing.

3. If you could meet any writer � dead or alive � who would it be? And what would you want to know? Probably the before mentioned authors. I would want to know how Blake Crouch sleeps at night, but I would be too star struck.

4. What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves? I think the shock value comes in when people see how many books I have, not which ones.

5. How do you organize your personal library? I shelve by author and then series within the author. Then read books and unread.

6. What book have you always meant to read and haven’t gotten around to yet? Anything you feel embarrassed never to have read? I have meant to read The Stand, and it just hasn't happened. No not embarrassed about any author.

7. Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing? You guys are going to yell at me, but I tried to read The Name of the Wind. I got a few chapters in and just couldn't do it. I don't give up on it. Just not the right time for me.

8. What kinds of stories are you drawn to? Any you stay clear of? I love Apocalyptic Fiction, Dystopians, Christian Fiction, Sci Fi....oh zo much! I stear clear of romances and classics.

9. If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be? On the Beach- it is my favorite book.

10. What do you plan to read next? No clue. I have quite a few reviews to write!


message 6: by Rachel (new)

Rachel A. (abyssallibrarian) | 3239 comments 1. What book is on your nightstand now?
I have literally a stack from the library, consisting of: Bitter in the Mouth, Before We Were Strangers, The Crucible, Of Mice and Men, Americanah, The Complete Maus, The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend, and If I Was Your Girl.

2. What was the last truly great book that you read?
I've read quite a few that I've enjoyed recently, but the last one that really stands out as truly great was probably Room or A Monster Calls.

3. If you could meet any writer � dead or alive � who would it be? And what would you want to know?
I'd love to meet either JK Rowling or Jodi Picoult. I would ask JK Rowling how she managed her notes to keep track of all the plot threads. There are so many seemingly small details that end up becoming very important later on, and I would love to know how she managed to keep so much continuity.

I would ask Jodi Picoult how she manages to write her books about such controversial issues without showing her own bias. She's very good at presenting all sides of an issue, and I don't think I've ever been able to tell what her own opinion is.

4. What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?
I have a real problem getting rid of books. I recently went through boxes and boxes full of children's books in my basement, and I can't bear to get rid of many of them because they were my favourites when I was a kid. So I have lots of Dr. Seuss, Junie B. Jones series, Little Men, etc. I even found one of my old favourites -- The Silly Canine Caper!

5. How do you organize your personal library?
I actually reorganized my bookshelves a few weeks ago, although I still have piles of books on the floor. I've organized them kind of by genre in a sense. For example, I have my Harry Potter books, Pendragon series, and Gregory Maguire books next to each other. I have all of my historical fictions together, etc.

6. What book have you always meant to read and haven’t gotten around to yet? Anything you feel embarrassed never to have read?
Mostly classics. Ivanhoe is one that especially came to mind. I have many of them on my shelves that I just haven't read yet because I never feel like I have the time to devote to them.

7. Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?
I hardly ever abandon a book before I finish it, even if I'm not so into it. For some reason, I always tend to hold out hope that it will get better by the end. The only book I can think of that I never finished was Journey to the Center of the Earth, which I was reading out loud to a group during my field placement, which ended before we finished the book. I always meant to finish, but by the time I got around to it, I'd read too much to want to restart, but couldn't remember enough to just pick up from where I thought I'd left off. Plus the version we used was a bit weird. Some of the characters had been renamed, and I still can't figure out why.

8. What kinds of stories are you drawn to? Any you stay clear of?
Honestly, I will read pretty much anything as long as it has a great story or very interesting character development. I like historical fiction, YA books, psychological thrillers, and contemporary (although I'm still a bit confused about what exactly that means. I'm just going by my GoodReads recommendations pages).

I stay clear of Christian fiction/religious books, biographies, and self-help books. I've enjoyed most of the sci-fi books that I've read, but it's not really a genre I go for either, although I wouldn't specifically avoid it. I also tend to avoid horror that is extremely gory or graphic, although I love psychological horror (even though I don't read it often, because I'm kind of a coward).

9. If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?
I honestly have no idea.

10. What do you plan to read next?
The Complete Maus


message 7: by Keri (last edited Aug 28, 2016 09:31AM) (new)

Keri 1. What book is on your nightstand now?
Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta

2. What was the last truly great book that you read?
Me Before You (Me Before You, #1) by Jojo Moyes

3. If you could meet any writer � dead or alive � who would it be? And what would you want to know?
This is a difficult one. Maybe Moriarty Liane, not sure what I would ask her though.

4. What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?
Hmmm....probably so many YA books.

5. How do you organize your personal library?
It really isn't that organized. I have all my series together of course but other than that they are just in the bookshelf randomly.

6. What book have you always meant to read and haven’t gotten around to yet? Anything you feel embarrassed never to have read?
Not that I can think of right now. I've never read Sense and Sensibility or Jane Eyre.

7. Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?
No, I don't remember the title. It doesn't happen very often.

8. What kinds of stories are you drawn to? Any you stay clear of?
I really like time period books or books with time travel. I usually stay clear of books that seem to be really sad or depressing.

9. If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?
I honestly have no idea.

10. What do you plan to read next?
Bookishly Ever After (Ever After, #1) by Isabel Bandeira


message 8: by Marta (new)

Marta (gezemice) | 859 comments 1. What book is on your nightstand now?
I am reading Moby-Dick on the Kindle, How to Read Novels Like a Professor as a book, and Trigger Warning on audio.

2. What was the last truly great book that you read?
I have read many great books because I am in catch-up reading mode. Almost weekly one blows me away! Latest standouts:
All Quiet on the Western Front
MaddAddam trilogy
Americanah

3. If you could meet any writer � dead or alive � who would it be? And what would you want to know?
Terry Pratchett. I would just want to take him to dinner and hang out and listen to him telling stories.

4. What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?
I read a lot of different things. I am not sure any is surprising if you don't stick to genres or themes.

5. How do you organize your personal library?
Ownership (kids, husband, me), genre (roughly), size - smaller books on smaller shelf so more fit!

6. What book have you always meant to read and haven’t gotten around to yet? Anything you feel embarrassed never to have read?
Pride and Prejudice, and I only know the Bible from second-hand - I read many stories but the book itself only a little bit.

7. Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?
Just this week The Lady Elizabeth.

8. What kinds of stories are you drawn to? Any you stay clear of?
I like good books of any kind. Intelligent, creative, well-written, or something that the book does really well, weather that's humor, insight, adventure, entertainment, education.
I usually stay clear of straight-up romance and horror, but don't mind elements of either in an otherwise good book.

9. If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?
Principles of Economics. And all lawmakers, too. Voters would be good as well. The amount of ideas out there that are supposed to "fix" the economy but actually would cripple it is astounding.

10. What do you plan to read next?
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings


message 9: by Kathy (new)

Kathy E | 3245 comments 1. What book is on your nightstand now?
On my iPad Kindle App: Kamikaze Kangaroos!: A trip around Oz in a van called Rusty.

2. What was the last truly great book that you read?
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

3. If you could meet any writer � dead or alive � who would it be? And what would you want to know?
Agatha Christie

4. What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work by Curt Meine. It just stands out among all my fiction and gardening and sewing books. It was a gift which I did read in the late 1980s.

5. How do you organize your personal library?
Fiction by author, nonfiction by subject. Just like a library...

6. What book have you always meant to read and haven’t gotten around to yet? Anything you feel embarrassed never to have read?
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, or any Dickens. Maybe I'll get to that in 2017.

7. Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It was my third try. I got to page 59. I just don't like it.

8. What kinds of stories are you drawn to? Any you stay clear of?
Stories set in English villages and with humor. Contemporary fiction, classics, mysteries. I'll read almost anything if it's well-written. (except One Hundred Years of Solitude)

9. If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?
??

10. What do you plan to read next?
Farewell, Miss Zukas
Thrush Green


message 10: by Andrea (last edited Aug 28, 2016 09:17PM) (new)

Andrea | 455 comments 1. What book is on your nightstand now?
The Dust That Falls from Dreams, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Riddley Walker, and The Scarlet City

2. What was the last truly great book that you read?
Dune

3. If you could meet any writer � dead or alive � who would it be? And what would you want to know?
Hmm, one author encounter caused me to babble like an idiot, and the next encounter left me speechless. Well, it is not everyday that one finds oneself likened to a serial killer! Upon reflection, I should have mentioned our proximity to the city of brotherly love :D
So, if disaster did not befall all involved, I suppose that I would ask Bret Easton Ellis for his thoughts about the November election, Niccolò Machiavelli about the satirical nature of The Prince, or Lord Byron for his thoughts about breakup texting.

4. What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?
I am not a romance reader, but I discovered The Plantagenet Prelude in my mother's book collection. I don't know if she read it, but its presence made me curious. It sits on my shelf awaiting my attention (or next romance challenge.)

5. How do you organize your personal library?
Barrister bookcases: leather-bound books, field manuals, and signed books
Hutch: used books that I hope to read in the near future
Shelf next to me now: Library and recently acquired new books
Top of bookcase on 2nd floor: Books that I have read and plan to donate once my children look through them
Hall bookshelves: Books that I will eventually move to the hutch shelf when there is room
Bookshelves in children's old rooms: Their favorite reads

6. What book have you always meant to read and haven’t gotten around to yet? Anything you feel embarrassed never to have read?
A Song of Ice and Fire, Leather-Cloth Boxed Set and 11/22/63 are really long books that I have yet to read.
There are not any missed reads that I am embarrassed about because no one can read every book in existence. I suppose that if I found myself attending an author event without having read their book, then I would be embarrassed.

7. Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?
I make it a point to finish all books started, so the one that I did not finish is easy to recall. I did not complete The Word Exchange. It was due for return to the library, and I have not borrowed it again to finish it.

8. What kinds of stories are you drawn to? Any you stay clear of?
I will read just about anything, but I steer clear of romance/erotica and most autobiographies.

9. If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?
It depends upon the president, but my recommendation would probably deal with environmental concerns. Something like Hydrofracking or The Hunt for the Golden Mole: All Creatures Great & Small and Why They Matter

10. What do you plan to read next?
The Dust That Falls from Dreams It is a library book that I borrowed for the ATY challenge and is due back soon.


message 11: by Jody (new)

Jody (jodybell) | 3477 comments 1. What book is on your nightstand now?
On (or more accurately in) my bedside table are all of the physical books I own that I have earmarked for challenges this year. The ones I can think of are American Gods, Catch-22The Reader, To the Lighthouse, The Exorcist and The Kite Runner.

2. What was the last truly great book that you read?
I've given a few 5 stars this year, but the one that has really touched me the most is Flowers for Algernon. It really blew me away, so much so that I plan on making it one of the very, very few books that I re-read.

3. If you could meet any writer � dead or alive � who would it be? And what would you want to know?
Shakespeare ... and I'd want to put that old chestnut to bed about whether it was really him who wrote everything.

4. What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?
Probably the amount of non-fiction books, given that I don't read al that many.

5. How do you organize your personal library?
I have all of my books alphabetised by author, and then book title. Also, I have them separated into different sections, and then separated into read/not read. Classics/Modern classics - Other fiction - Biographies/Autobiographies/Memoirs - Other non-fiction. My photography books have their own section, and for some reason they are organised by height. And my Lonely Planet guides/language guides are all on their lonesome too.

6. What book have you always meant to read and haven’t gotten around to yet? Anything you feel embarrassed never to have read?
For both, it's War and Peace. Every year I say I'm going to do it, but as yet ... nope. I've made it through about 4%.

7. Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?
The last book I intentionally abandoned was The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared.

8. What kinds of stories are you drawn to? Any you stay clear of?
I love the classics, but I'm also drawn to character driven stories. I steer clear of romance.

9. If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?
I think everyone should read Charlotte's Web.

10. What do you plan to read next?
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. I loved Middlesex, and I'm really looking forward to reading another by him.


message 12: by J (last edited Aug 31, 2016 03:10AM) (new)

J Austill | 1076 comments 1. What book is on your nightstand now?

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Cat in the Hat, Barnyard Dance, And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street, Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb, Mirabelle and the Bouncy Red Ball, and a Frozen book that I don't see in the search ATM.

2. What was the last truly great book that you read?

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

3. If you could meet any writer � dead or alive � who would it be? And what would you want to know?

Douglas Adams. Honestly would just shoot the shit. Dude could talk about anything he wanted and I'd be all ears.

4. What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?

I don't know, my Read Shelf is pretty diverse. Probably all of my text books from College, does anyone else keep those?

5. How do you organize your personal library?

By size. It's a bit like a Tetris Puzzle.

6. What book have you always meant to read and haven’t gotten around to yet? Anything you feel embarrassed never to have read?

Chapterhouse: Dune (former) The Art of War (latter)

7. Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?

Words of Radiance

8. What kinds of stories are you drawn to? Any you stay clear of?

SciFi! (former) Romance. (latter)

9. If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?

I'd need to see his read shelf first, I think I might be hard pressed to find something he hasn't read.

10. What do you plan to read next?

Kindred, it's the last book on my 2016 plan.


message 13: by Francesca (new)

Francesca | 780 comments 1. What book is on your nightstand now?
On the Other Side. Still. I've been in a bit of a reading slump.

2. What was the last truly great book that you read?
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. Although, I'm also currently reading The Walking Dead, Compendium 1 and it's shaping up to be my most recent truly great book.

3. If you could meet any writer � dead or alive � who would it be? And what would you want to know?
Stephen King. I'm not sure there's anything I'd particularly like to ask him or find out, I'd just love to have a chat with him. I think he'd be really interesting to talk to and spend time with.

4. What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?I doubt you'd be surprised by any of them. Maybe my childhood collection of Jacqueline Wilson books which I refuse to get rid of.

5. How do you organize your personal library?
I put books by the same author together and books from a series all go together and in the right order going from left to right. All my other books are fairly randomly placed although I place my favourite books at the front on one of the shelves and I try to generally keep my other read books at the back and keep my unread books at the front so I can see what I still have to read.

6. What book have you always meant to read and haven’t gotten around to yet? Anything you feel embarrassed never to have read?
I have a lot of these. I don't feel embarrassed that I haven't read them yet but there are a lot of classics and modern classics that I haven't read but really feel like I should've by now.

7. Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?
No. Not unless the ones I'm currently reading count, because otherwise I always finish the books I'm reading. No matter how painful they are.

8. What kinds of stories are you drawn to? Any you stay clear of?
I'm drawn to horror, fantasy, and sci-fi the most but I'm also drawn to any books that have well written, complex characters and stories that I can invest in. I generally stay clear of any books that focus on romance.

9. If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?
My favourite book is The Color Purple which I just think everyone should read, but as it was also made into a very popular and award winning movie and now a broadway show (which I would love to be able to go and see) I'm sure that the president has probably read or watched it in some format. I feel like it would be better recommended to the two potential candidates, though, as they'd probably learn more from it but then one of those candidates probably wouldn't learn anything from it as I'm sure his ignorance would manage to block out any of the messages in it and he would just jumble it around to fit his ideas.

10. What do you plan to read next?
Once I've finished the books I'm currently reading, I'm planning to read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two next which I'm nervous about. After that, I'm not entirely sure which book I'll be choosing to read after. I have a lot of options!


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