Am I addicted to books?

The simple answer would be yes. But why use the simple answer, when you can do a book tag instead.

I saw Marie @DrizzleandHurricaneBooks do this tag and thought it looked like a lot of fun, so I thought I’d give it a go.

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1) What is the longest amount of time you can comfortably go without picking up a book?

Usually only one day. I read every day on my commute, but I actually tend to read less on weekends (the irony). This usually happens because, even though I’m not at work, I’m busy doing other things like driving lessons, day trips, and catching up on blogging.

But I’ll usually find time to pick up something on Saturday or Sunday (especially now that I’m listening to more audiobooks), so it’s generally only one day where I’m not reading anything.

2) How many books do you carry on your person (or kindle) at any one time?

I never leave the house without a book in my bag, and I’ve always got at least one on my Kindle or Libby apps, ready to go in case I finish the physical book.

I’m also currently in the middle of my Scribd free trial, so I’m listening to one audiobook at a time too.

I guess that makes my answer three.

3) Do you keep every book you buy/receive or are you happy to pass them on to make space for more?

I keep most of my books. If I didn’t enjoy a book, or can’t see myself reading it, then I’ll unhaul it.

I also sometimes trade for other books, but aside from that, I keep the vast majority of them.

This is why I have no shelf space.

4) How long would you spend in a bookshop on a standard visit?

I’ve got to split this question into two parts:

How long would I spent in a bookshop on my own: 1-2 hours, longer if it has a cafe

How long am I allowed to spend in a bookshop if I’m with my parents: 20 minutes.

5) How much time per day do you actually spend reading?

If it’s a weekday and I’m commuting to and from work, I’ll spend about 2 hours reading in total.

If it’s a weekend it varies a lot. It could be 30 minutes if I have a busy day, and that’s all I have time for. If I’m not going anywhere and I’m listening to audiobooks while cleaning probably 2.5 hours.

6) Where does the task ‘picking up a book’ appear on your daily to-do list?

Again, this is split by week days and weekends. It always comes high up on the list in the morning when I’m on my way to work, but in the evening, if I have more emails and social media notifications to reply to then it’s less of a priority.

On a weekend, it’s usually in the middle of my list. I always want to pick up the book I’m reading, but it’s sometimes a lower priority than other things I need to do.

7) How many books do you reckon you own in total (including e-books)?

*stares guiltily at the camera*

I mean…it’s a lot.

I have two full bookcases of novels, a kindle app with about 50 e-books on it, two boxes of manga and a box of graphic novels under my bed. 

And a books hidden in my wardrobe. (Sssh.)

So, definitely over 500.

I’m just…going to go now.

8) Approximately how often do you bring up books in conversation?

If there is a conversation happening and I’m in it, I’ll probably talk about books at some point.

No, I’m kidding (mostly), but I’d say I talk about them very often with book community friends, reasonably often with family, and not very often with people at work.

9) What is the biggest book (page count) you have finished reading?

I originally thought my biggest book would be The Priory of the Orange Tree or Middlemarch.

But when I checked Goodreads it turned out that my longest read is actually Kingdom of Ash, weighing in at 980 pages.

Personally, I felt like KOA would have benefited from being at least 200 pages shorter, so it feels a bit anticlimactic that this is my longest book. But perhaps when I read Vanity Fair, that will overtake it.

 

10) Is there a book you had to get your hands on against all odds (i.e searching bookshops, online digging, etc.)?

I’m going to say the Czech editions of ADSOM or Vicious, because when I was in Prague last week I dragged my friend into three separate shops looking for them.

In the third shop, I finally found them. They had A Darker Shade of Magic, A Gathering of Shadows, and Vicious, and I opted to treat myself to a copy of Vicious because the naked hardcover is pretty different to the other editions I have. It was too beautiful to resist.

11) A book you struggled to finish but refused to DNF?

Sadly, I’ve got to go with Once & Future. I read this back in March and didn’t really enjoy it.

I was hoping for an exciting queer sci-fi adventure, but the narration was clumsy, the dialogue was poorly written, and there were gaping holes in the plot.

Yet, still I persisted, because I’m stubborn and refuse to DNF books. I finished it, but I didn’t feel much satisfaction because it wasn’t a great read for me.

12) What are 3 of your main book goals for 2019?

1. Read 75 books.
2. Read even more diversely.
3. Get through some of the books that have been on my TBR for ages.

13) Have you ever had the privilege of converting someone into a reader (maybe via inspiration or incessant nagging)?

I don’t know if I’ve converted anyone into a reader, but I’ve bought people books as gifts and encouraged them to read them. People have also told me they’ve picked up a book because I recommended it before, which is an incredible feeling.

14) Describe what books mean to you in five words.

Books are magic for me.

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I’m not going to tag anyone, because I wasn’t tagged to do this one, but if you’d like to do it then consider yourself tagged!