Bookish Survey

I came across this bookish fun piece called A to Z Bookish Survey that is hosted by Jamie from The Perpetual Page Turner. Apparently it originally came from a BookTube video and has made its way into Blogs. The post I found it on was from the blog www.brinsbookblog.com and is from 4 years ago but I am going to play and get into these questions a bit.

AUTHOR YOU HAVE READ THE MOST BOOKS FROM:

If we are talking in a lifetime, it would be R. L. Stine. I was a Fear Street junkie. I could read three in a day with ease. Loved those books. I also read a lot of Poe back then too. It’s funny that I read so much of it and was asked last year if I could recite any of it and I realized I couldn't. FAIL. So luckily, my dad got me a massive Poe edition and this year I will be rereading a lot of his work. 

But if we are talking about since adult life kicked in and since I recently in 2017 just got back into reading I would have to say it would be Ellen Hopkins. I love her style and content. She writes about teens and young adults from all walks of life that hit hard spots in life. She formats her books as poetry. It’s genius I tell you! (And thank you husband for guiding me to these books in the used books store www.royaloakbookshop.com that day I dragged you with me!!)

BEST SEQUEL EVER:

I haven't read any trilogies or series in quite some time. I read Twilight when it came out. I read 50 Shades. More recently, The Collector trilogy, which includes The Butterfly Garden and Roses of May (book 3 is being released in the spring). And I am now reading the second book Linger, in the Shiver series. No sequel sticks out to me in any of these titles. That is unfortunate. BUT I am a huge fan of Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell. And there was Scarlett. The, do I dare say it, “follow up” book by a different author by the name of Alexandra Ripley years later. Some people hate that this book ever made it to print but I loved it so I’m going to call this one “the best sequel” I ever read.

CURRENTLY READING:

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater who just happens to be a fellow Virginian.

DRINK OF CHOICE WHILE READING:

Coffee! 

E-READER OR PHYSICAL BOOK:

I got back into reading due to my e-reader and amazon prime. *tips hat to them* BUT I am a physical book girl. Always have been, always will be. Rebuilding my personal library has felt great and I will enjoy watching it continue to grow. I like the smell of a bookstore and the feel of the differences in them while I indulge in their pages. Yup, book addict anonymous here I come.

FICTIONAL CHARACTER YOU PROBABLY WOULD HAVE DATED IN HIGH SCHOOL:

Well, I will say this while I am thinking on it… definitely not Sam from Shiver. That’s the guy you marry many years later down the road and you wonder why you didn’t meet him sooner in life. (Because you were a wild child and he would have ran and hid in a cave, Tonya. That's why.)

I really am thinking way too hard about this. Actually found myself looking at my GoodReads “read” list and can not think of any of them being like the type of guy I dated in high school. And I’m glad because boys in high school kind of sucked. And these guys I have read about, even if they “sucked” at life they were romantic and sweet with one lucky lady. And in high school, I was not that lucky or a lady. Yay for silly romance and an even bigger YAY to my husband for not sucking and for not meeting me any sooner than he did. How did this conversation even get here? Wow, Tonya. Haha. NEXT QUESTION PLEASE!

GLAD YOU GAVE THIS BOOK A CHANCE:

A Venom In The Blood by Eric van Hoffmann. This is not a book I ever would have bought. I was leaving a used book store www.mckayusedbooks.com and sometimes I will check their free book bin. Two women were also going through the bin and the other woman asked what's this book about? I am assuming the older woman had picked it up and cracked it open before i had walked up seeing as it had no book sleeve because she knew that it was about “a serial killer”. The second woman dropped it back in the bin and I picked it right up. This book was about the only serial killer couple of their sort. The man and woman were a couple and both took part in the assaults, abuse, and worse that were done to their victims. It’s a pretty messed up book. It’s real life horror. Real monsters. Kind of scary to be reminded that people like this aren't just made up from some off the rails imagination. It’s a sick book. Glad I read it.

IMPORTANT MOMENT IN YOUR READING LIFE: 

Getting Amazon prime for one. That got me back into reading. Making a Goodreads account for sure because that encouraged me to read more books in 2017 than I had read in total for the past 10 years. Reading short stories online also got me back into creative writing since 2016. And in 2017 I turned my personal/low carb Instagram into mostly bookish posts for the last half of 2017. Finally, starting this new blog in 2018. It’s been a busy writing and reading time in my life since 2016.

JUST FINISHED:

I am getting tired of talking about Shiver. The book I finished before that was A Girl In The Woods. Loved it. A great memoir about getting back to yourself after a traumatic situation. 

LONGEST BOOK YOU’VE READ:

I read a massive collection of Poe that my uncle got me when I was younger. It was leather bound and beautiful. Probably close to 1,000 pages. Unfortunately I no longer own it. One day I will find it and replace it. No luck so far though. There are so many editions of Poe. 

MAJOR BOOK HANGOVER BECAUSE OF:

The Chemist - Stephanie Meyer. Oh my goodness. Glad I read it. But the hangover lasted about a week long. 

NUMBER OF BOOK CASES YOU OWN:

Right now, just one. Shouldn’t need any new ones until 2019 due to my “book buying ban”. Which I can get into more detail about at a later time. 

ONE BOOK YOU HAVE READ MULTIPLE TIMES:

War Of The Worlds - I have probably read this about 10 times in life. I used to have this oddly small paperback version and LOVED IT. I actually loved it to death, it eventually fell apart. I’d like to find a replacement for that one as well sometime. Great book.

PREFERRED PLACE TO READ:

My bed or couch.

QUOTE THAT INSPIRES YOU/GIVES YOU ALL THE FEELS FROM A BOOK YOU’VE READ:

Let’s go with some Harry Potter. I just watched all the movies recently for the first time and really liked them. “It is our choices Harry, that show us what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

READING REGRET:

Not reading Harry Potter when it came out. Now I am 32 and trying to get to it. Eventually, I will.

SERIES YOU STARTED AND NEED TO FINISH: (all books are out in series)

Shiver(read), Linger(reading), Forever(next). I don't think I have ever started a series and not finished it all the way through in my life. Not that I can remember.

THREE OF YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE BOOKS:

Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell

The Butterly Garden by Dot Hutchison

Tricks by Ellen Hopkins

UNAPOLOGETIC FANGIRL FOR:

Ellen Hopkins, Stephanie Meyer, and probably Maggie Stiefvater if the rest of her books are as good as Shiver.

VERY EXCITED FOR THIS RELEASE MORE THAN ALL THE OTHERS:

The Summer Children by Dot Hutchison

&

A Sin Such As This by Ellen Hopkins

I can’t pick just one and you can’t make me.

WORST BOOKISH HABIT:

Probably dog earring my paperbacks and cracking their spines also. Paperbacks take a beating from me usually.

X MARKS THE SPOT. START AT THE TOP LEFT OF YOUR SHELF AND PICK THE 27TH BOOK: 

A Magical Touch by Jennifer Taylor. A bunch of old Harlequin Romance novels were gifted to me in 2017 and I have only gotten through less than a handful of them. Hopefully this year I will knock out about half of them. My whole top TBR shelf is totally full of them. 

YOUR LATEST BOOK PURCHASE:

Haven't bought a book in a while but picked up a book for my son yesterday out of a free book bin while I was running errands. It’s Lords Of The North by Bernard Cornwell. My son is really into historical fiction so I grab them whenever I see a great deal and what better deal is there than free?!

Zzz-SNATCHER BOOK (LAST BOOK THAT KEPT YOU UP WAY LATE):

Traffick by Ellen Hopkins 

Well, that was fun. You should give it a shot and tag me on Instagram or comment here with your blog link with your responses.