The Book Tag

Cut, copied and pasted from my FB note:

The Channel One gang tagged me and I enter the scene a month later :)

1. Favorite childhood book? Enid Blyton. I still have Blyton’s works on my comp. Famous Five, Five Find Outers... Hitchcock’s Three Investigators, Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.. Of course, there was Tinkle and later (even today, that is) Archies! I started reading Ananda Vikatan from primary school... can still recall some really good Sujatha stories from the Vikatan of yester years..

2. What are you reading right now? Reading HP 1-7 after watching the latest movie twice.

3. Bad book habit? Raving insomniac, lethargy an lack of exercise thanks to remaining in the same place for 7-8 hours at a stretch...Got caught a million times when in school and college for sneak-reading beneath the desk when the teacher was teaching in front of the class! :D

4. Do you have an e-reader? Nope, not yet. Hari, are you listening to that??? And I am reminding him my birthday is coming up next month!

5. Do you prefer to read one book at a time or several at once? I can alternate between a Tamil book and an English book, but never read 2 books in the same language at the same time. Currently racing through HP 1-7 and reading Sujatha’s Thanga Mudicchu.

6. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog? I do come to know of recommendations from other bloggers and maybe I have taken up one or two of such suggestions.

7. Least favorite book you read this year (so far)? Vittal Rajan’s ‘Holmes of the Raj’. Such a letdown! Holmes does not deserve this.

8. Favorite book you’ve read this year? Archer’s latest collection of short stories, Thereby hangs a tale, Yuganta

9. How often do you read out of your comfort zone? Never. Not too adventurous when in comes to reading.

10. What is your reading comfort zone? Fiction. Currently introduced to intellectual stuff, thanks to Hari who cannot read fiction at all!!

11. Can you read on the bus? Of course, what else have I done all those days travelling from KK Nagar to TCO and back.

12. Favorite place to read? The bed, couch, bro’s colossal bean bag, bus, car... I have even read books, seated on the ROAD as a kid waiting for my school bus/auto! Was not too fond of cycling for this reason!

13. What is your policy on book lending? I don’t mind lending, but only if I trust them to be book lovers.

14. Do you ever dog-ear books? Nope. Sacrilege, that is. Again, I covet bro’s book marks- Claude Monet’s impressionist miniatures.
15. Do you ever write in the margins of your books? Sacrilege again. Not if it is Physics, Chem, Computer Science though! :)

16. Not even with text books? He he, my old text books were full of scribbled pages- I’d start writing something completely unconnected to the subject and then continue the writing in graph sheets, the last pages of record notebooks, exam question papers.. . I would always be the first in class to finish writing an exam (therinjaa daane ezhudharthukku) and would then start scribbling some note in the question paper.

17. What is your favorite language to read in? Tamil.

18. What makes you love a book? Cannot quite place it, but I like good narration and simple language. Substance is secondary.

19. What will inspire you to recommend a book? Again, I can’t quite place it. And I suggest books to others only if I feel they have a liking for it. For instance, I can never imagine Hari reading what I usually like or listen to! But he’d be thrilled to bits if I gift him a book on evolution.

20. Favorite genre? Crime, Mystery, thriller, Historical fiction, Alternate history, Romance, Religions, Civilization
21. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?) Mythology, theology, Atheism, flauntable Intellectual stuff like Bertrand Russell...
22. Favorite biography? I keep away from biographies!
23. Have you ever read a self-help book? Endured Robin Sharma’s ‘the monk who sold his ferrari’ and Coelho’s ‘the alchemist. And then decided against self inflicted torture.

24. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)? I don’t look for inspiration in books. I read because I love reading more than anything. Period.

25. Favorite reading snack? Small biscuits, kadalai mittaai, mom’s Diwali bakshanam, Tropicana Orange! I do of course love reading in the bath, whenever I stay in a very nice hotel room. And I wish I had a glass of Chianti, aromatic candles and soft music to go with it! :D

26. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience. Pirivom Sandhippom, I agree with Madhan here. Commissioner-ukku kadidham was another let down.

27. How often do you agree with critics about a book? I don’t really bother reading literary criticism.

28. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews? That comes to me naturally :D

29. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose? Is Bengali considered foreign??? I’d love to read Professor Shonko’s stories

31. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin? Mein Kampf, Atlas Shrugged

32. Favorite Poet? Subramaniya Bharathi

33. Favorite fictional character? Huuuuge list- Vallavarayan Vandhiyathevan and Poonkuzhali from Ponniyin Selvan, Vasanth from Ganesh- Vasanth, Jean Louie ‘Scout’ Finch and Atticus Finch from ‘To kill a mockingbird’, Gail Wynand from ‘Fountainhead’, Luna Lovegood from HP, loads of Sujatha’s heroines....

34. Favorite fictional villain? Nandini, Naganandhi, Tom Morvolo Riddle, Hannibal Lecter. Can I add Vijayan’s role from Uthiri Pookkal?

35. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation? Light reading- like Archer.

36. The longest I’ve gone without reading. Depends... If I am emotionally disturbed, I cannot read at all. This mental block and reading hiatus can even last months.

37. Name a book that you could/would not finish. Loads of books too serious for my liking. Atlas Shrugged, for one.

38. What distracts you easily when you’re reading? Food, TV, husband. Necessarily in that order.

39. Favorite film adaptation of a novel? To Kill a mockingbird , Silence of the Lambs, HP series

40. Most disappointing film adaptation? Harry Potter part 3.

41. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time? Hari and his credit card are painfully aware of such facts!

42. How often do you skim a book before reading it? I read the cover and then race from page 1 to last. I can’t skim.

43. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through? Boredom, of course! And distractions mentioned above.

44. Do you like to keep your books organized? Not at all. You will find a dozen books on my bed. All over the couch, chairs, car, my bag...
45. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them? I like keeping them

46. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding? That again is a huuuge list. Let’s start with Java!

47. Name a book that made you angry? Pirivom Sandhippom

48. A book you didn’t expect to like but did? Harry Potter!

49. A book that you expected to like but didn’t? Holmes of the Raj

50. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading? Archie comics