A-Z Book Survey

I stumbled on this questionnaire on Twitter from The Perpetual Pageturner and thought it looked like a fun way to kill a lunch hour, so here it goes!

Author youve read the most books from:
Terry Pratchett, since I've read all he has written.

Best Sequel ever:
Difficult one, but I'll give it to King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence. It blew my socks off.

Currently Reading:
The Long War by Pratchett and Baxter.

Drink of choice while reading:
A good glass of South African red wine goes down well.

E-reader of physical book?
E-reader for published books that hasn't arrived in RSA yet or books I'm not sure I'm going to like, physical books for collections.

Fictional character you'd have dated in high school:
Sabetha from The Republic of Thieves. Brilliant, witty and all round awesome.

Glad you gave this book a chance.
Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. I picked it up on a whim and it's astoundingly good.

Hidden gem book:
Stormcaller by Tom Lloyd, it deserves a lot more attention.

Important moment in your reading life:
When I read Dune by Frank Herbert while in high school. Opened my mind in loads of different ways.

Just Finished:
Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence. Review on it's way!

Kinds of books you won't read:
Paranormal romance. Or most romance actually.

Longest book you've read:
Lord of the Rings? Malazan book of the Fallen? Wheel of Time? If they count as single books that is.

Major book hangover:
Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence. I was a bit depressed when the trilogy ended.

Number of bookcases you own:
One damn big one. Covers a whole wall.

One book you've read multiple times:
Good Omens by Pratchett and Gaiman. And Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. And Night Watch by Pratchett.

Preferred place to read:
My old Lazy-boy I got from my father-in-law.

Quote that inspires you:
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” 
― Frank Herbert, Dune

Reading regret:
Time wasted on books I didn't like but where I've still pushed through to finish them.

Series you've started and need to finish where all the books are published.
None, since the current series' i'm reading is still being written. The Dresden files for example.

Three of your all-time favourite books:
The Blade Itself by Abercrombie, Stormcaller by Tom Lloyd and Lies of Locke Lamora by Lynch.

Unapolagetic fanboy for:
John Scalzi. Love his work.

Very exited for this release:
Moon's Artifice by Tom Lloyd.

Worst bookish habit. 
Reading until the early hours in bed and being a zombie the next day.

X marks the spot: 27th book from top left on shelf:
Dragonfly Falling by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Your latest book purchase
The Long War by Pratchett and Baxter

ZZZ-Snatcher - Book that kept you up way too late.
Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch.

Skoobs bloggers' get together

One of the few disadvantages of living in sunny South Africa is the absence of huge conventions or real international author's book launches. This is understandable, seeing as we are many miles removed from, well, mostly all the First World. I've spent a depressingly long time reading online as authors pimp their convention panels and fans post about how awesome it was to attend.

Enter Skoobs Theatre of Books. This is easily my favourite bookshop, with a pretty decent selection of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and of course all other book genres known to man. Throw in a champagne bar and a gaming area to keep the non readers happy and you have a cracking good store all round. They hosted a book bloggers get together on Saturday, with goody bags and yummy snacks of course included.

With a free drink in hand and some delicious bite sized treats consumed, it was quite surreal to listen as those around me discussed their favourite books, blogs and life in general. This doesn't happen often to me, seeing as I'm mostly an army of one when it comes to books an reading in my usual circles. It was like dipping my brain into some delicious candyfloss, quite refreshing and a bit weird, but in a good way.

The goody bag was way over the top and greatly appreciated. A free book, bookmarks, book light thingy, mini champagne that makes you feel like a giant when you hold it, chocolates and a weird book prop that keeps pages open that I have yet to figure out. It's awesome thanks. 

Now, by being quite shy and according to my wife, a little surly and grumpy looking, I did not interact with my fellow bloggers as much as I really wanted to and should have, but I did eavesdrop better than any assassin on many of the conversations. Honestly I was just glad to be there surrounded by like minded people having fun. I did have an extremely informative chat with one of the managers or owner of the shop - sorry I'm horrible with names - about the intricacies involved in running a bookshop as well as the situation with the Publishers struggles in the tough economic times we are experiencing and how the e-books are changing the publishing industry.

So thanks Skoobs, can't wait for the next one! It was an absolute blast.