4. Bad book habit?

Starting books and then not finishing them; I’ve been trying hard to stop doing that, but I keep failing miserably. And buying new ones when I haven’t even read 70% of the books I own.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?

No, they’re pretty constant, constant meaning that the amount of books I read has always fluctuated. Some years I don’t read for months, and other years, like the current one, I read a new book every week. (I just checked and to give you an idea, I read 15 books in ’09, 15 in ’10, 7 in ’11, all but one of them for study purposes, and this year I’ve read 28 books so far)

19. What is your favourite language to read in?

If a book was originally written in English, then English, otherwise, Dutch. But it’s not an absolute rule, and I must add that when it comes to poetry I tend to prefer English translations of non-English works over Dutch ones.

28. Favorite reading snack?

I don’t eat while reading, unless I’m reading while having lunch/dinner.

45. Most disappointing film adaptation?

First one that comes to mind is The Road (Cormac McCarthy), but perhaps that’s because I love that book so much that nothing could ever duplicate the feelings I had while reading it. 

2. What are you reading right now?

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, Fab Confessions of Georgia Nicolson vol. 1 by Louise Rennison and I still intend to finish the Elegant Universe by Brian Greene.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?

Several at once. I can’t read just one, I need to be able to rotate according to my moods.

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.

12. What is your reading comfort zone?

Not sure I have a reading comfort zone, there’s no genre I flat out dislike or intentionally avoid. Anything goes as long as it can hold my interest.

19. See above.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?

I rarely go around recommending books unless I’m specifically asked, but when a book did more for me than simply entertain, and ‘spoke’ to me on a deeper level, I would recommend it to someone if I thought the other person could appreciate it in a similar manner.

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?

The same kind of books I would read at home, i.e. a mixture of just about anything. Always too few though.

44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?

Is it fair to say the Lord of the Rings trilogy when I haven’t actually read the books in their entirety? If yes, then that will be my answer, if no and I have to pick one of a book I actually finished then Pride and Prejudice (2005). I know many people dislike that particular adaptation but I love it to pieces. Or perhaps Atonement, although that’s not so much a favourite as it is a film that rips my heart out each time I watch it (which isn’t very often for that exact reason).

53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and Zadig by Voltaire. 

54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.