By the Book is an ongoing column series in the New York Times newspaper where different people, authors to actors to politicians, are asked a series of questions about what they are reading and what books they enjoy or recommend to others. Marie Berg used these questions and created a book tag for BookTube and Book Bloggers to use. I love seeing who the New York Times interviews and compairing my reading list with theirs so I thought this might be a fun tag to do.
Enjoy!
1) What book is on your nightstand right now?
I have a couple that I'm reading right now. There's Nevernight by Jay Kristoff, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody, and The Danse Macabre from Vampire: the Requiem published by White Wold Publishing (it's an RPG sourcebook).
2) What is the last truely great book you read?
There are two that I'd choose from. The first is Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Boise, which I mentioned in my January Wrap-up post, and the second would be the fourth volume of Monstress by Marjorie Lui, a fantasy graphic novel series.
3) If you could meet any author-- dead or alive-- who would it be? What would you want to know?
Either Neil Gaiman, Jay Kristoff, or Christopher Paollini. I'd want to know how many writing processes they tried before finding what method worked for them. I'd also want to know their world building processes and how they know how much they need to know beforehand and how much is too much within their writing.
4) What book might we be surprised to find on your shelf?
I haven't posted any kind of shelf tour or my collection list, so you might not know what kind of books I prefer or tend to purchase. I might surprise people with my copy of Woman in White by Wilki Collins, it's a gothic literature book about a young woman who dies but then a double appears claiming to be her and there's a big race to figure out who she really is and who actually died and if her death was natural or homicidal. Another surprise might by my Danse Macabre (RPG sourcebook) or Dracula's Guest edited by Michael Sims (a collection of Victorian vampire stories).
5) What book have you always meant to read but never have? Anything you're embarrassed to not have read?
Anything by Rick Riordan. I have a number of his books sitting on my shelf and I've been told several times that I should read them. I just haven't had the drive to pick them up. I'm not sure if I'm worried they won't live up to the hype or if I'm just not in the mood yet.
6) Disappointing, overrated, or just not good: What book did you feel you were supposed to like but didn't? Do you remember the last book you put don't without finishing?
I'm going to answer this in two parts. Books I felt like I was supposed to enjoy but didn't: the last one I read was The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum, nothing actually happens and there's no real danger or conflict throughout the entire thing; but the one that actually comes to mind would be The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston. I couldn't stand any of the characters, I couldn't stand the overabundance of pop culture references, especially how it was used to show social elitism. It was too much for me.
Part two: The last book I didn't finish was actually the two i was going to read for this month's Reading through the Decade challenge. I started the Dubliners by James Joyce, and stopped after the first few pages, and then I started Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs and stopped after the first paragraph (I even tried listening to it but I didn't get much farther before turning it off).
7) What kind of stories are you drawn to? What do you stay clear of?
I stay clear of romance books and WWII historical fiction. The first is because I get mad at characters and end up throwing the book. The only exception to this seems to be classics like romances by Jane Austin or the Bronte sisters. Modern romance books just don't do it for me. There can be romance in a story but it can't be the main focus of the story.
I tend to be drawn towards sci-fi and fantasy with some historical and mysteries thrown in. I also like a fair amount of classics. I especially like books that you can feel the tension building and you're just holding your breath for everything to come crashing down. Morally gray characters are also interesting to me.
8) If you could require the President to read one book, what would it be?
Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Boise. Everyone should read this book, especially people in power.
9) What do you plan to read next?
I'm a mood reader so I don't know for sure what I'll be reading next. I kind of want to get through some of the Sanderson books that are on my shelf.
What books are you currently reading? If you could force everyone to read one book, what would it be? I'd love to hear your answers in the comments.
Until next time, traveler.
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