I can’t resist answering questions related to books!

1. Favorite book(s) when you were a child and why?
The one that stands out most to me is Matilda by Roald Dahl. I read it over and over again until my copy was in shambles. Matilda was reading advanced books at age 4, and I think I wanted to be just like her.

2. First “grown-up” book you remember reading?
One day when I was in middle school I decided to peruse the adult fiction books at the library, and I took home an armful of thrillers in my attempt to be grown up. One of them was Mindbend by Robin Cook. In the opening chapter, a woman starts hemorrhaging during a sexual encounter (if memory serves). I was so disturbed that I put the books in a box, in the corner of my room, and covered them with a blanket. I left them there for months because I was ashamed.

3. Favorite movie that came from a book?
I’m going to go with Chocolat. I’ve never read the book (although I probably should), but I adore the movie.

4. Movie that you loved so much that you WISHED there was a book out so that you could find out more about the movie.
I have never once had that thought. Most of the movies I loved that don’t already come from books don’t lend themselves to book form, but I could see Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon as an amazing read.

5. Worst book you’ve ever read?
I have finally come to a happy place in my life where I can allow myself to stop reading a book if I hate it. The ones I have abandoned include Don Quixote, Crime & Punishment, and One Hundred Years of Solitude. Out of the books I have finished, Big Trouble by Dave Barry was just terrible. I read it because I promised a friend I would, and I cringed the entire time.

6. Book that everyone raves about that you either a) haven’t read and feel slightly dumb for not having read it or b) have tried to read and hated and so feel slightly dumb that everyone is getting something you don’t?
Anything by James Patterson. Apparently people eat his stuff up, but I think that anyone who pumps out ten books a year can’t be writing quality. (Incidentally, he doesn’t even write most of his books, just comes up with outlines.) I refuse to read a single one.

7. If you were forced to choose only 3 books that you could read for the rest of your life, which ones would they be?
The Lord of the Rings, War and Peace, and The Complete Sherlock Holmes. Three nice, long books that I loved.

8. Name one book that you would recommend everyone you know read.
I’m going to name three, so deal with it. A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer.

9. What is your “guilty pleasure” reading?
I don’t read hardly any chick lit or romance novels, which is what I think most girls would consider their “guilty pleasure” reading. When I want something easier to read, I choose something written for young adults. I don’t feel guilty about it though.

10. What book (excepting the Bible or other major document of your religion/faith) has changed your outlook on life the most?
The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis changed the way I live my life. Practicing His Presence by Brother Lawrence and Frank Laubach changed the way I experience God.