Hijacked book tag

From Wordjunkie's blog.

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Bookmark or bent page ?
Neither. I remember which page I’m on with each book, no matter how many books I’m reading at a time. I L.O.A.T.H.E bent pages (or rather, the people who crease them).

Have you ever been offered a book?
Absolutely! And never once refused. Not even waited to be offered, in many cases.

Do you read in your bath?
No, because I don’t like baths and have showers instead. I do have a book open on the bathroom window sill, however, which I read while undressing/toweling off/dressing.

Have you already thought about writing a book ?
Yes, and known that it would be utterly impossible for me to actually write one, for many reasons.

What do you think about books in several volumes ?
Continuity, and the appearance of characters I like.

Do you have a cult book?
Not just one. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, Kim by Rudyard Kipling, The Tramp and The Dog by Chris Williams, C Rajagopalachari’s Mahabharata, Malgudi Days by R K Narayan, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by A C Doyle… to name but a few.

Do you like to re-read?
Books I liked the first time, absolutely. There’s always something – a turn of phrase, a description, etc - you missed the first time around and notice when you re-read.

What about meeting or not with the authors of the books you've liked ?
Not. I don’t really want to meet the person behind the books – they may not be as interesting, I might not like them... a couple of exceptions might be Bill Bryson and Sir Terry Pratchett. But I’d want to watch from a distance, like at a lecture, etc. I’d be too shy to speak to them upfront. And what would I say?

Do you like to talk about the books you read ?
Sometimes, with people of similar bent of mind.

How do you pick your books ?
Reviews, recommendations, font type, book size (the fatter they are, the better).

Something you read, hard to confess ?
A book by Anonymous (left by some adult or other, which I found while rummaging in the loft at my grandparents’ place) when I was a pre-teen, but I have to say I didn’t like it, perhaps because I didn’t understand it.

Best places to read ?
Everywhere. Wherever there’s light to read by.

The ideal book would be...
1000 pages or more, plenty of interesting characters and situations, lots of humour and good writing, maybe some tragedy thrown in as well, but ultimately with a happy ending.

Read over people's shoulders ?
Yep, but I prefer not to as I invariably am left frustrated as I finish reading the page much quicker than them. And NOBODY is allowed to read over my shoulders.

TV, computer games or book ?
Book, thanks. TV comes second, with Scrubs, House, Law & Order – Special Victims Unit taking priority (not necessarily in that order).

Read and eat ?
All the time, a bad habit that all three of us inherited from my dad.

Read with music, in silence, whatever...
I can and do read no matter what’s happening in the background. Don’t really require silence.

E-books ?
Not really, although to be fair I haven’t tried Kindle or any other pocket e-book type thing. Reading books on the computer or online is annoying.

Borrow or buy ?
Both. Buy the ones I really want to own, borrow everything else. Can’t afford to buy all I read and certainly don’t have the space to store ‘em.

What book are you reading now – which one is coming next ?
Unaccustomed Earth, short stories by Jhumpa Lahiri. Coming up next - 'Cloud Atlas' by David Mitchell.

Have you already dropped a book ?
Just one. But I can’t claim to have started it properly, despite many attempts, so I’m not sure that “dropping” applies here. Anyway, it’s War & Peace, by Leo Tolstoy.

What's the first book you just fell in love with ?
The Family at Red Roofs, by Enid Blyton. It was more “real” than any of her others, much as I loved all her school and fairy and morality tales.