A to Z Bookish Survey

Part of my library shelves

My goodness, but this last week and a half has been exhausting.  Working long shifts, almost entirely on my feet, for textbook rush.  This might seem a bit like TMI, but there was actually one day where the only times I sat down were when I was in the bathroom.

Thus in between my aggressively scheduled naps today I plan to catch up on some blogging, and a fun & easy way to start seemed to be to participate in the A to Z Bookish Survey that I saw Red, Kayleigh, and Sarah do. Here we go:

Author You've Read the Most Books From: Bill Bryson.  He may, in fact, be the only prolific author whose entire published oeuvre I've read. Including his forthcoming book next month, this means sixteen books, and I'm including his two dictionary/reference books because I've read every word of those, too.

Best Sequel Ever: This one is pretty difficult.  I've read a lot of series. But for this I'll choose Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which is my favorite individual book in my favorite series.

Currently Reading: A few things, actually. I'm just a few pages into The Lion Seeker, a novel about  family of Lithuania Jews who move to South Africa before WWII.  It's about to burst forth with trials, tribulations, race, apartheid, and anti-Semitism, I can just feel it. I'm also about 100 pages into The Tilted World by Beth Ann Fennelly and Tom Franklin, and I surprised myself by re-reading last night The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion in an effort to prepare for his author appearance at my store next month.

Drink of Choice While Reading: I'm actually not super-particular.  Hot herbal tea with lots of lime and agave is a favorite during the cooler months, water or iced tea during the warmer months.

E-reader or Physical Book:  I still prefer the physical book but I'm slowly adjusting to reading on my Kobo.

Fictional Character That You Probably Would Have Actually Dated in High School: If Gilbert Blythe from the Anne of Green Gables books had been around then, definitely him. I liked nice guys back in high school.  Still do, I reckon. I also liked misunderstood underdogs, so I reckon I'd have wanted to date Harry Potter, too. However, if I had been at all open to the possibility of dating a girl, then Luna Lovegood would have ticked ALL of my boxes. (I grew up in a pretty small and homophobic town; even if I'd been a lesbian I would never have acted on it.)

Glad You Gave This Book a Chance: I'll go with A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. Not only was it the first audio book I ever listened to, but it introduced me to one of my favorite writers at a time when I was reading fiction almost exclusively.

Hidden Book Gem: This makes no sense to me. Does this mean undiscovered? If so, I choose Yoko Ogawa's quiet and wonderful book called The Housekeeper and the Professor. I don't think I've ever seen it reviewed by any other book blogger.

Important Moment in Your Reading Life: Hmmm...I suppose it was the first time I ever got lost in a book, but I have no idea of what that book was.  I'll also say that when I discovered fanfiction it was a pretty important moment.

Just Finished: Teen Spirit by Francesca Lia Block. Ugh, please don't bother with it.

Kind of Books You Won't Read: Horror.  I don't like getting scared. I also can't imagine reading a nonfiction book about sports, but I wouldn't refuse to read one.

Longest Book You've Read: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (in translation). Or maybe Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.  Not sure which one is longer.

Major Book Hangover: Every Harry Potter book. Also The Fellowship of the Ring. Just. Couldn't. Talk. To. People. After. Reading.

Number of Bookcases: Too lazy to get up to count them.  My computer work station is in my library, and from where I sit I can count eleven. (See photo above for reference)

One Book You've Read Multiple Times: I'll count the Harry Potter series as one book, then.

Preferred Place to Read: Well, on a beach in the Caribbean for druthers.  But short of that, propped up in my bed next to my cats.

Quote That Inspires You: Too many. "Not all who wander are lost" is a good one but over used. The opening lines of The Great Gatsby are certainly words to live by.

Reading Regret: Sticking with books that weren't good enough to finish.  I've wasted a lot of time in my life doing that.  I'm better now at putting books down if they're not the right fit at the right time for me.

Series You Started and Need To Finish: There are not any completed series out there that I feel compelled to finish that I've not finished already.

Three of your All-Time Favorite Books: The Harry Potter series, Pride and Prejudice and The Lord of the Rings

Unapologetic Fangirl For: Harry Potter--the canon and the fan fiction.

Very Excited for This Release More Than All the Others: Um, I have no idea. I just learned that Dinaw Mengestu has a new book out in winter 2014.  That's pretty cool. But I've already read most of the books forthcoming this fall that I was excited about because I have the best job in the world that gives me early books to read: Bill Bryson, Jhumpa Lahiri, Donna Tartt, Gayle Forman, Rainbow Rowell, etc. Oh, wait. I should maybe say my husband's book.  His memoir will be published by Algonquin, but probably not until 2015.

Worst Bookish Habit: Not reviewing the books I read immediately after finishing them.  When I don't do that, I usually end up not reviewing them at all.

X Marks the Spot--Start at the Top Left of Your Shelf and pick the 27th book: The Lovers Dictionary by David Levithan.

Your Latest Book Purchase: I have no idea.  But my latest book-related purchase was yesterday, where I bought a Great Gatsby cover for my Kobo.

ZZZZ-snatcher Book (Last Book That Kept You Up Way Late): Hmmm...it's been a long time, but I think maybe Eleanor and Park was the last book that I stayed up to finish because I couldn't put it down.

How about you?  Which of these would be the most difficult for you to answer? Have you done this A-Z survey already?  If so, link to it in your comments!