Books and You

My Character Profiles · November 24, 2007, 1:40 AM

Here it is...the first official Books and You survey. Fill in all the blanks and tell us what your favorite books are; your favorite themes, characters, and even your favorite authors!

What kinds of books do you usually read?
(Your favorite genre, themes, and settings?)

How do you decide which books to read?
(Do you read the description on the back cover? Thumb through the pages? Do you simply pick the book with the coolest cover picture?)

What are your favorite books of all time?
(How did you come across your favorite book/s? Why are they your favorites?)

Who are your favorite authors?
(What genre do they typically write? What's their writing style like?)

Have you ever reread a book?
(Which one? Why?)

What's the one book you've been dying to find?
(Don't mention a book that you know already exists. Give a description of your ideal book, including all of your favorite aspects about reading. Maybe someone will help you find it in this thread!)

If you think this survey needs more questions...just mention them and I'll add them to the first post!

November 24, 2007, 3:21 AM

What kind of books do you usually read?

I'm partial to the horror genre.

How do you decide which books to read?

First of all, I find out who the author is. Next, I'll read the summary on the back of the book. If it sounds interesting, I'll give it a read.

What are your favorite books of all time?

There are so many. I've read dozens of Stephen King's novels and found that I absolutely loved each of them. "The Stand" is probably my favorite of his, but I could easily list any of them as my favorite. The story-line is downright masterful and each character is interesting (applies to each of his novels).

Who are your favorite authors?

Stephen King is easily my favorite author; however, Anne Rice is deserving of a mention. I love her Vampire Chronicles.

Have you ever reread a book?

Actually, I have not. There's no surprise. I could accurately outline each book I've read (provided that I enjoyed the book, mind you) with surprising detail if I had to. So...there's little point in re-reading the literature.

What's the one book you've been dying to find?

Any book that'll keep me off videogames. If it can keep me away from my Xbox 360, then it's truly worth reading.

My Character Profiles · November 24, 2007, 3:43 AM

What kinds of books do you usually read?
I love Sci-fi and fantasy (mostly fantasy) books with highly detailed settings. It doesn't matter where the story takes place, as long as the author does a great job at describing the locations and the characters' feelings.

How do you decide which books to read?
All of the above. I have to be honest; I'm really keen on scoping out books with awesome cover designs. But I always do a complete run-through (read the back cover & the reviews, and thumb through a few pages to see what the writing style is like.)
If not that, I just pick a new book my a favorite author of mine.

What are your favorite books of all time?
I haven't read a whole lot of books; I've probably only read around 15 books in my life. I'm working hard to boost the number though (reading more and more each year). Of the books I've read, I really like The Claidi Journals, by Tanith Lee, and Abhorsen Trilogy, by Garth Nix.

Who are your favorite authors?
The books that I chose by the authors above, are my favorites for a reason. I really like Tanith Lee's and Garth Nix's writing styles. They do a really good job at putting you right in the middle of the action. I'm also a so/so fan of Anne Rice.

Have you ever reread a book?
I have reread The Claidi Journals at least twice each; and the same can be said for Abhorsen. Why? I usually don't reread a book unless I don't have another book to read; that's why.

What's the one book you've been dying to find?
A book with all the aspects I've mentioned. A book with a fantasy setting, great depictions, good grammar & punctuation, and a compelling plot. Characters make the story for me; if an author has an amazing cast of characters, it makes a bigger difference than the greatness of the story. And last but not least; I love first person books.

November 24, 2007, 3:55 AM

What kinds of books do you usually read?
I LOVE FANTASY BOOKS

im a big fan of books that involve dragons

How do you decide which books to read?
I like books that have interesting stories on the back of it. If theres a dragon on the front of in the name ill get it

What are your favorite books of all time?
My favourite books are Eragon because its about dragons and it had a very interesting story and i really enjoyed it. I also liked The Outsiders because it was one of the first novels i actually read and i found it very interesting.

Who are your favorite authors?
I like authors that write stories about fantasy

Have you ever reread a book?
I re read most of the Screech Owl books because they were short and very well done. I also like hockey and it has hockey in them

What's the one book you've been dying to find?
I've been dying to find a book that has an interesting story and is over 500 pages long so that i can get into it. It has to be a fantasy book though. If anyone knows of one plz inform me

November 24, 2007, 6:21 AM

What kinds of books do you usually read?
(Your favorite genre, themes, and settings?)
Hmmm. That's hard to say. I'm generally all over the place. I only like fiction. Non-fiction is sort of boring to me. I'm not really into science fiction or fantasy. The only sci-fi book I read and enjoyed was "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"

How do you decide which books to read?
(Do you read the description on the back cover? Thumb through the pages? Do you simply pick the book with the coolest cover picture?)
I usually go with word of mouth and recommendations from various people. If I'm really on the fence about buying a book at a store, I'll usually turn to a random page and read it.

What are your favorite books of all time?
(How did you come across your favorite book/s? Why are they your favorites?)
The Dead - James Joyce. (Best short story EVER. Read it in English class)
Hamlet - Shakespeare (Read it in various English classes)
House of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski (Weirdest book I've ever read and will ever read, I imagine. Someone recommended it to me.)
Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami (I read it after loving Norweigan Wood, which was recommended by a friend.)

Who are your favorite authors?
(What genre do they typically write? What's their writing style like?)
Haruki Murakami: He writes fiction with an element of surrealism. His writing is gorgeous and his characters are always very interesting. I recommend anything he's written.

James Joyce: I just love his writing style.

Shakespeare: He was a literary genius.

Have you ever reread a book?
(Which one? Why?)
Um...too many to count. D:

What's the one book you've been dying to find?
(Don't mention a book that you know already exists. Give a description of your ideal book, including all of your favorite aspects about reading. Maybe someone will help you find it in this thread!)
I have a pretty good idea of the books I want to read next. It's just a matter of finding time to read them. I'd like to read Lolita, Atlas Shrugged, Kafka on the Shore, and the remainder of the Shakespeare plays that I have yet to read. All in good time. All in good time.

November 24, 2007, 10:35 PM

What kinds of books do you usually read?
Fantasy, science fiction, teenage fiction and crime fiction.

How do you decide which books to read?
If a cover catches my eye then I'll just read the summary/reviews or whatever and if I'm still interested then I'll give it a try.

What are your favorite books of all time?
Chris Wooding's fantasy novels are a must for anyone who hasn't read them.

Who are your favorite authors?
Chris Wooding, Jeff Lyndsay, J. K. Rowling and many others who I can't remember right now.

Have you ever reread a book?
Yes, every Harry Potter book at least 3 times except the last, chich I've only read once.

What's the one book you've been dying to find?
The Art Of War by Sun Tzu.

November 24, 2007, 10:41 PM

What kinds of books do you usually read?
Fantasys and thrillers mostly. Sometimes autobiographys

How do you decide which books to read?
When they have decent rating on them. If the title and cover is eye-catching then I take a second look.

What are your favorite books of all time?
The Silmarillion, LOTR series, Red Dragon

Who are your favorite authors?
Any

Have you ever reread a book?
Yes, many even if i understood the story first time.

What's the one book you've been dying to find?
None, really

November 24, 2007, 10:51 PM

What kinds of books do you usually read?
Usually funny books, or thrillers/fantasies

How do you decide which books to read?
Usually if a friend has a book i'll look at it or read the first few pages and like it, or if i'm in a shop/library then i will read the blurb at the back

What are your favorite books of all time?
It's a cliche but Harry Potters lol, and Alice in Wonderland, and Angels and Demons

Who are your favorite authors?
I love Nick Hornby's books, his style of writing is very light and easy to read, and his books make me laugh =D I also like the Lemony Snicket books, I love the way he involves himself in the stories and includes bizaare anecdotes =P J.K Rowling aswell, Alexander McCall Smith is quite good aswell

Have you ever reread a book?
Angels and Demons, because i hadnt read it in a while and forgot a lot of what happened, it was still as gripping the second time. I read the first four Harry Potter books about 30 times each by the time I was 11. All the books taht i read when I was younger I reread many times. About a Boy aswell, because I wrote an essay on it for English...

What's the one book you've been dying to find?
Something which has the craziness and humour of Lemony Snicket or Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, and with a really gripping plot like in Dan Brown books, with really interesting characters who are unique and well portrayed by the writer... Something really individual and imaginative which stands out.

December 23, 2007, 4:11 PM

What kinds of books do you usually read?
Fantasy is my favorite genre, but I'll also read anything from about the 1940's era backwards. Historical fiction. As long as it's not a western; I'm not too fond of those. And if I can connect with the characters, I'll adore it.

How do you decide which books to read?
If I'm just browsing the library, I'll go by art or title, and then if I'm interested I'll look at the summary. If the summary looks good, I'll read part of the writing style and see if I like it. I have to like the writing style to get into a book. (One of the reasons I didn't like Twilight...)

What are your favorite books of all time?
Well, I really enjoy Bloody Jack because of the unique writing style. The story really drew me in too. There was also Memoirs of a Geisha--I couldn't quite place what it was about the writing that I liked, but I adored it. I couldn't put it down. I connected with the characters really well.

Who are your favorite authors?
Arthur Golden and L. A. Meyer, the authors of the two books I mentioned above. They write first person, but I'm not picky about what person something has to be written in. Connected with the characters, though--that's what important for me.

Have you ever reread a book?
A lot of books. If I love it, I won't want the book to end, so I'll go back and read it all over again.

What's the one book you've been dying to find?
Something that's not traditional fantasy. Perhaps industrial fantasy (not modern, but modern to the point where they have guns of some sort), necromancy, alchemy--the sort of stuff I like to write.