A Q&A About Books

1. What are some of your favourite books?
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, The Onion Girl by Charles de Lint, Blankets by Craig Thompson, The Word & Void Trilogy by Terry Brooks, A Stone’s Throw by Ross Laird, Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami, Elfquest by Richard and Wendy Pini, The Wood Wife by Terri Windling and a host of others.
2. Who are some of your favourite authors?
Each of those mentioned above would fall into that category as well as Neil Gaiman, Diane Dreher, Tanya Huff, Mike Jefferies, Jack Kerouac, The Dalai Lama, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Elizabeth H. Boyer.
3. Name a book that changed your perspective in some way.
House of Leaves is likely one book that did this most obviously. It prompted me to explore narrative structure and my own fears in a unique way. Diane Dreher’s The Tao of Inner Peace introduced me to life changing practices and into a lot of spiritual growth.
4. Name a book that you’ve read about a dozen times, and will probably read a dozen times more.
House of Leaves is one book I never tire of reading, as is Blankets.
5. Is there a book you make other people read, if you find out they haven’t already?
Again, House of Leaves and Blankets always come to mind when recommending books.
6. Got a book suggestion for me?
The two above if you’ve not yet read either and anything else I mention.
7. Which are better, used books, or new?
Both have their positive points. If I can find a book used I will usually get it in that way, though.
8. What are you currently reading?
I just finished reading David Lapham’s Stray Bullets series up to the current issue and am now trying to decide what book to read on my approaching days off.
9. What do you plan to read next?
I think I may finish Jo Clayton’s Wild Magic trilogy, which I purchased the last volume of recently.
10. Do you use a bookmark to keep your place, or use whatever’s handy, or just make a mental note of what page/chapter you’re on?
I usually keep bookmarks handy, but if I don’t have one with me I’ll find a scrap of paper to use.
11. Do you ever highlight/underline passages in your books, or make notes in the margins?
Never. I treat books with respect; I try to leave as little trace that I’ve read them as I can.
12. How many books do you buy in a month, on average?
I usually buy a couple books each month.
13. Do you have a library card?
Yes, I’ve had one for a couple years.
14. How many books do you borrow from the library in a month, on average?
I’d estimate 3-4, though sometimes much more.
15. Do you have any weird book habits? (Such as reading them only half-open to keep from cracking the spine, and things like that.)
Other than generally taking care to not crease or otherwise damage books, I think I read books rather normally.