Book Survey

[got_quiet]

I found this survey on tumblr and thought the questions were interesting. I don't expect anyone to ask me to answer them so I'm just going to go through all at once.

Books and You

A: What’s the first book you see with a red spine?
Knife, by Tim Hayward, which I got as a present.

B: What’s your most expensive book?
The most expensive book I own personally I spent 500 on, but I have spent more than that on books that I own jointly with people. I believe the most I have ever spent on a book is about 1500.

C: Do you remember the first book you ever read?
Nope! I remember some of the early ones but definitely not the first. I used to read the Velveteen Rabbit a lot and the Berenstain Bears.

D: What book do you hate that most others love?
The wheel of time series is complete trash.

E. What are three book blogs you like?
I don't know of any book blogs really. I guess File 770 is the only one I read.

F: What’s your regular order at Starbucks?
A cup of water. I don't go to coffee houses. For brief period I was in a meetup that met there and then I'd usually get chai.

G: What’s your favorite reading spot?
My room is very small so there's only one spot really!

H: What’s the longest book you’ve ever read?
Ulysses certainly felt like the longest! I am still trying to get through A Study of History which is 12 volumes but uh I only have finished the first.

I: Do you have a favorite poet?
I'm boring and like Frost. I like Pope too. But poetry often annoys me and I don't keep track of what I like or don't.

J: Favorite woman writer?
Suzanna Clarke for fiction. Anne Fausto Sterling for non.

K: Favorite male writer?
Natsume Souseki for fiction. I guess Toynbee for non though honestly that's not super true. I just can't think of anyone better at the moment.

L: What’s your favorite guilty-pleasure read?
The Thieves' world novels.

M: Favorite classic?
Les Mis, or The Count of Monte Cristo

N: Favorite YA?
Dealing with Dragons series. Or maybe that's just juvenile? I honestly don't know if the YA Genre existed when I was that target audience.

O: Favorite contemporary novel?
I can't pick what but probably anything by Calvino.

P: What’s your favorite book by a person of color?
Tales of Nevèrÿon by Delany was fascinating.

Q: What’s the first book you see with a yellow spine?
Asia in the Making of Europe by Lach

R: How many Penguin books do you own?
No clue but I idly collect Penguin series. As in, I like to have a representative sample of each series as demonstration of Penguin design philosophy. But I go for the older books and only need one per so actually I probably have fewer than a dozen.

S: Hardcover or paperback?
Paper for books I can read and get rid of. Hardcover for rare books.

T: Used or new?
Used

U: What’s your favorite used bookstore?
I'm going to pick the entire Jimbocho district in Tokyo.

V: What’s your reading goal for this year?
It's always 52 books and I never come close anymore. I used to read a book a week and now I'm lucky if I get in one every few months.

W: If you had to eat the same thing every day for a week, what would you choose?
Donburi

X: What book has your favorite cover art?
I don't care too much about cover art. I guess Kokoro only for the nostalgia

Y: Do you have a favorite quote?
I don't know. Here's one from my commonplace book. "Fluency is neither gift nor talent. It is the result of knowledge, familiarity, and application."

Z: If you wrote a book, what would it be about?
It would be a high fantasy, and super dry. No one would like it.