booking through thursday

What was the last book you bought?

a coffee table book of 'space photos' - planets and stars and whatnot.

Name a book you have read MORE than once

to kill a mockingbird. i have read it probably 13-15 times.

Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?

anne lamott's traveling mercies changed my life in a big way. it set in motion a big internal struggle over what really constitutes a 'good Christian' and whether there actually is such a thing. she was very much NOT the conservative evangelical Christian i'd spent my whole life accepting as 'right.' and yet i couldn't dismiss her, because her writing was so captivating. it validated her, to me. BIG big struggle, perhaps the biggest one i faced in college.

How do you choose a book? eg. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews

sometimes the cover matter, but mostly through recommendations.

Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?

no preference, but i read more fiction right now because i'm in a literature class.

What’s more important in a novel - beautiful writing or a gripping plot?

beautiful writing, as long as it's meaningful. there are different kinds of beautiful.

Most loved/memorable character (character/book)

scout finch, from TKAM

Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?

peace like a river, by leif enger; interpreter of maladies, by jhumpa lahiri; and metaphors we live by, by george lakoff and mark johnson.

What was the last book you’ve read, and when was it?

i finished a couple of books in the last 2 weeks - balzac and the little chinese seamstress, by dai sijie; and evensong, by gail godwin. evensong was the first book i've read by godwin and it certainly won't be the last.

Have you ever given up on a book half way in?

i gave up on great expectations a few months ago.