I found my AOW book swap questionnaire SO difficult to fill out (and I wasn't the only one). Of course, I cheated a bit (I even included a link to my Goodreads to help out my person) but I was still worried my questionnaire would flag me up for the true reader I am, a shallow one! I don't read books more than once, even if I love them. I will happily watch a film multiple times but with a book, I get so much enjoyment from a story when I read it, I can't bear to read it again knowing it won't be as good the second time round as I'll know what happens next throughout.
I read for escapism, to get fully involved in a story, imagining all the characters and thinking of what might happen next. I get fully swept up in a book and am fully emotional when reading it. But I don't read difficult books. I need to be grabbed and find it easy to read, be it a quick paced crime thriller or an adventure or a magical fantasy. I can't manage books which take effort, have too many characters and don't get me excited or intrigued in the first few pages. Basically I just love a good story but if it's a difficult read, I can't enjoy it. The Hobbit was the first book that, as a young teenager, was recommended to me and I just couldn't get into and is a perfect example of what I mean. I'm sure it's a great story but it was just too difficult to get into and I consequently gave up. I suppose I'm a lazy reader, I don't challenge myself with reading, it's just for fun.
So there are no great literary works in my list of favourites and desert island books. And among the amazing readers of the AOW community I was a little nervous of letting my swapee down with my questionnaire...(I filled it out in capitals so it was easier to make out the answers from the questions.)
Not only that but I was supremely anxious regarding what to buy MY person! I tried stalking them on Goodreads but couldn't find them (I thought I had but then realised that person lived in a different country). What if I pick something they'd already read? What if they hate the author I have in mind? (Potentially likely but I have my reasons for choosing it!) What if they read it and hate it? Nightmare, why did I sign up for this??
Well, my books have been chosen and are ready to post tomorrow (today) only crap I've just realised that this is February and they were to be posted by the end of the month and February is shorter and tomorrow IS the end of the month! Oops! Sorry to my person! I won't share here what they are yet just in case they see this and it ruins the surprise, but they are on the way, I promise!
My parcel arrived on Tuesday. I can't even convey how excited I was to collect it from the post office when I thought I was just going to be collecting my new felting supplies (already exciting enough!) to discover my book swap parcel as well! Not only that but it felt like either one massive book or two books! (Just as I have done for my person due to the above mentioned anxiety!)
Inside I found a super cute wrapped package and inside that, my two lovely new books and a specially made green card (love the picture of Matilda, the holographic green and the quote!) and hand-made green oriental bookmark! (They'd seen my posts on AOW so had a very correct hunch about my love of green!)
The books were The Night Circus (one that was on my reading list but not yet read) and one I'd never heard of - Throne of Glass. Both were bought because of my obvious love for magical themes and the second was also related to adventure, fantasy and trilogies! Perfect choices, I am SO delighted with them! I can't wait to read them but am currently reading my kindle copy of one of the books I bought my person* and still have to read Gone Girl for Blook Club by next Sunday! Just as well I have 10 hours on the train to and from London this weekend!!
Thanks so much to Emily for the excellent choices and to the Any Other Woman ladies for organising such a brilliant swap! :D
* incidentally this choice has turned out to be somewhat awkward as it's about (no spoilers!) a woman who's daughter has died and although I'm finding it interesting so far (I'm 19% in) I'm rather glad I didn't have the lovely Aisling as my person as I've since found out the daughter's name was Stella! Bit weird/horrid to read when you just had a baby called Stella!
I read for escapism, to get fully involved in a story, imagining all the characters and thinking of what might happen next. I get fully swept up in a book and am fully emotional when reading it. But I don't read difficult books. I need to be grabbed and find it easy to read, be it a quick paced crime thriller or an adventure or a magical fantasy. I can't manage books which take effort, have too many characters and don't get me excited or intrigued in the first few pages. Basically I just love a good story but if it's a difficult read, I can't enjoy it. The Hobbit was the first book that, as a young teenager, was recommended to me and I just couldn't get into and is a perfect example of what I mean. I'm sure it's a great story but it was just too difficult to get into and I consequently gave up. I suppose I'm a lazy reader, I don't challenge myself with reading, it's just for fun.
So there are no great literary works in my list of favourites and desert island books. And among the amazing readers of the AOW community I was a little nervous of letting my swapee down with my questionnaire...(I filled it out in capitals so it was easier to make out the answers from the questions.)
Q1. Hello! What is your name (real and commenter if they differ!) and whereabouts in the world are you? BEX, (OLIVEDRAGONFLY), GLASGOW
Q2. A quick business question (let's get the boring stuff out of the way.) Is there anywhere in the world you currently are NOT able to post a book to? ie. If you are US based and would like to only send to a US based participant, please do say so. Similarly for the UK, Europe, Antarctica...you get our drift. We want to be able to match to your perfect partner in every way, so let us know! NOPE
Q3. Who is your favourite author? TESS GERRITSEN
Q4. What is your favourite book of all time and how would you describe it in three words? THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE - ADVENTURE, FRIENDSHIP, MAGIC!
Q5. What was the best book you read in 2012 - again, describe in 3 words? I CANT DO IT! THESE ARE THE BOOKS I READ IN 2012 IN THE ORDER I RATED THEM http://www.goodreads.com/
Q6. What was your least favourite book you read in 2012 and why - in no more than 50 words? A IS FOR ALIBI - IT WAS RECOMMENDED TO ME AS A CRIME THRILLER (ONE OF MY FAVOURITE GENRES) BUT IT DIDN'T GRIP ME AND I DIDN'T CONNECT WITH THE CHARACTERS. NOT INTERESTED IN READING THE SERIES EVEN THOUGH I WAS EXCITED THERE WERE 26 OF THEM BEFORE I STARTED (I HOPED TO DELVE IN AND LOVE THEM ALL).
Q7. If you could only take 3 books to a desert island, what would they be? I'VE NEVER READ A BOOK TWICE SO I'D GO FOR SOMETHING I HAVEN'T READ BEFORE - DEFINITELY SOMETHING FANTASY STYLE WITH ADVENTURE AND EMOTION (SIMILAR TO THE MAGICIAN'S GUILD BOOKS THAT HAS TENSION AND WELL DEVELOPED RELATIONSHIPS I'VE JUST FINISHED THESE SO MAY BE BIASED AS I'M STILL GRIEVING!), A GOOD, LONG CRIME THRILLER AND A CLASSIC I HAVEN'T READ YET AND WOULD HOPEFULLY WANT TO READ AGAIN AND AGAIN. ALTHOUGH I'D OBVIOUSLY CHEAT AND TAKE MY KINDLE SO I COULD HAVE HUNDREDS OF BOOKS IN ONE!
Q8. What was your favourite book as a child? THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE OR ANYTHING BY ROALD DAHL
Q4. What is your favourite book of all time and how would you describe it in three words? THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE - ADVENTURE, FRIENDSHIP, MAGIC!
Q5. What was the best book you read in 2012 - again, describe in 3 words? I CANT DO IT! THESE ARE THE BOOKS I READ IN 2012 IN THE ORDER I RATED THEM http://www.goodreads.com/
Q6. What was your least favourite book you read in 2012 and why - in no more than 50 words? A IS FOR ALIBI - IT WAS RECOMMENDED TO ME AS A CRIME THRILLER (ONE OF MY FAVOURITE GENRES) BUT IT DIDN'T GRIP ME AND I DIDN'T CONNECT WITH THE CHARACTERS. NOT INTERESTED IN READING THE SERIES EVEN THOUGH I WAS EXCITED THERE WERE 26 OF THEM BEFORE I STARTED (I HOPED TO DELVE IN AND LOVE THEM ALL).
Q7. If you could only take 3 books to a desert island, what would they be? I'VE NEVER READ A BOOK TWICE SO I'D GO FOR SOMETHING I HAVEN'T READ BEFORE - DEFINITELY SOMETHING FANTASY STYLE WITH ADVENTURE AND EMOTION (SIMILAR TO THE MAGICIAN'S GUILD BOOKS THAT HAS TENSION AND WELL DEVELOPED RELATIONSHIPS I'VE JUST FINISHED THESE SO MAY BE BIASED AS I'M STILL GRIEVING!), A GOOD, LONG CRIME THRILLER AND A CLASSIC I HAVEN'T READ YET AND WOULD HOPEFULLY WANT TO READ AGAIN AND AGAIN. ALTHOUGH I'D OBVIOUSLY CHEAT AND TAKE MY KINDLE SO I COULD HAVE HUNDREDS OF BOOKS IN ONE!
Q8. What was your favourite book as a child? THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE OR ANYTHING BY ROALD DAHL
Q9. We'd like to run some 'The Book I Received' posts in the future, collections of short reviews by some of the participants of the first ever Book Swap. Would you be interested in taking part in these features? ABSOLUTELY!
Q10. What is your full postal address? (Please don't worry. We're not going to sell it to anyone. Probably.) REBECCA...
Not only that but I was supremely anxious regarding what to buy MY person! I tried stalking them on Goodreads but couldn't find them (I thought I had but then realised that person lived in a different country). What if I pick something they'd already read? What if they hate the author I have in mind? (Potentially likely but I have my reasons for choosing it!) What if they read it and hate it? Nightmare, why did I sign up for this??
Well, my books have been chosen and are ready to post tomorrow (today) only crap I've just realised that this is February and they were to be posted by the end of the month and February is shorter and tomorrow IS the end of the month! Oops! Sorry to my person! I won't share here what they are yet just in case they see this and it ruins the surprise, but they are on the way, I promise!
My parcel arrived on Tuesday. I can't even convey how excited I was to collect it from the post office when I thought I was just going to be collecting my new felting supplies (already exciting enough!) to discover my book swap parcel as well! Not only that but it felt like either one massive book or two books! (Just as I have done for my person due to the above mentioned anxiety!)
Inside I found a super cute wrapped package and inside that, my two lovely new books and a specially made green card (love the picture of Matilda, the holographic green and the quote!) and hand-made green oriental bookmark! (They'd seen my posts on AOW so had a very correct hunch about my love of green!)
The books were The Night Circus (one that was on my reading list but not yet read) and one I'd never heard of - Throne of Glass. Both were bought because of my obvious love for magical themes and the second was also related to adventure, fantasy and trilogies! Perfect choices, I am SO delighted with them! I can't wait to read them but am currently reading my kindle copy of one of the books I bought my person* and still have to read Gone Girl for Blook Club by next Sunday! Just as well I have 10 hours on the train to and from London this weekend!!
Thanks so much to Emily for the excellent choices and to the Any Other Woman ladies for organising such a brilliant swap! :D
* incidentally this choice has turned out to be somewhat awkward as it's about (no spoilers!) a woman who's daughter has died and although I'm finding it interesting so far (I'm 19% in) I'm rather glad I didn't have the lovely Aisling as my person as I've since found out the daughter's name was Stella! Bit weird/horrid to read when you just had a baby called Stella!
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