Morbid Romantic

Book Review & Personal Blog

How do you react to movies made of your favourite books (or even not-so-favourite books)? Do you look forward to seeing them, or avoid them? Do you like to have read the book before seeing the movie?

I don’t generally cringe in pain when I hear that a book I like is being turned into a movie. Some of them can be quite good if done right with the right actors/actresses, with the story kept somewhat in tact and true to the book. I give every book-to-movie adaptation the benefit of the doubt…

Until information comes out such as cast and trailers start to be played. Once I get a sense of how the movie is going to be, I either look forward to it or dread it. Some, like the Queen of the Damned (Anne Rice) adaptation were pure travesties, where as other adaptations like Cold Mountain are very good.

Do you have a favourite publishing house — one that puts out books that you constantly find yourself wanting to read? If so, who? And, what books have they published that you’ve loved?

You know, to be honest with you, I rarely ever look at the publisher when I read a book. To me, it’s a matter or detail of little sway. As such, I really don’t know if some publishers consistently publish good stuff or bad stuff. I wouldn’t buy a book or disregard the purchase of a book based on the publisher, so I don’t bother to look or take notice. I do have a lot of books from certain companies due to being a reviewer, though, so it may seem upon looking that I favor a few specific publishers, though I don’t.

We all know the old adage about not judging a book by it’s cover, but just how much sway does a book cover have when it comes to your choice of book – whether buying or borrowing? Are there any books you’ve bought based on the cover alone?

I have never bought a book specifically for the cover or denied a book based on the cover. Ultimately, the cover doesn’t matter. But that’s not to say that the cover means nothing to me. Let me explain… or at least try to…

I do admire nice looking books covers, but I will buy a book that has a boring or ugly cover if the story sounds like one I would like or the reviews speak positively of it. I am more interested in the quality of the book itself than how it looks on the outside. A pretty book is always nice to buy and I will typically buy the version with the more attractive or appealing cover if I am to choose between two of the same book. Simply, if I want to read it and there is a plain cover version and a pretty cover version, I will buy the pretty cover version. If there is only a plain or ugly cover version but the book is one that I am very interested in, I will still purchase or borrow it. Most of the time, I only just glance at the cover.

Covers DO say something about the quality of the book, though. Poorly made covers are usually self published. A lot of people shy away from self published. But then ‘good’ or ‘classic’ books sometimes have pretty boring covers. Like a version of Homer’s works with just the titles and a Greek vase. Appropriate, sure, but boring and in no way indicative of the wonderful stories within. That’s why I try to give all books that sound good a chance.

Who, if anyone usually accompanies you to the library? Is it somewhere you go alone? Or is it a regular outing with family or friends? Which do you prefer?

Usually, am accompanied by my boyfriend, and sometimes he will bring his mother so that she can look around at the DVDs. To be honest, I can’t wait until I can drive alone so that I can visit the library by myself. When I have other people waiting around, I don’t feel as if I have the freedom to spend as much time as I want browsing and flipping through books. I typically just go in with a list, get my books, and get out, but I would love to get to spend some time just browsing. My boyfriend tells me to go ahead, but I am reluctant to do so out of politeness for him (he doesn’t like books and doesn’t look at them, so he is usually pretty bored when we go there, I suspect). I want to be able to take my time unhindered! Once I learn how to drive on a road and get my license, I will be able to. Then I will go to the library alone and absolutely love and enjoy it.

Do you restrict yourself on how many books you take out from the library at a time? Do you borrow books if you already have some out? Do you always reborrow books you don’t get to?

My TBR pile is so large that I haven’t had to borrow from the library since February, but I do have library rules that I like to follow. I never check out more than two at a time. I could probably read more than two in the allotted time before the books are due, but I would rather not rush myself, return the books early, and then get more. And I always read those two before going back to get more. I return them both at the same time and then go through the shelves to get another two books. If I check out a book I really like, I will go on Paperbackswap and buy it, or buy it from Amazon.

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Do you feel compelled to read prize-winning (Giller/Booker/Pulitzer etc) books? Why, or why not? Is there, perhaps, one particular award that you favour?

Definitely not. A book having a prize-winning logo on it or gaining attention for being prize-winning doesn’t put it automatically on my to-read list. I don’t even pay attention to book prizes when I read up on a book. The books I read are the ones I feel will interest me and that I will enjoy, or are given to me for the purpose of reviewing. There’s no prize standard to rank a book higher above others. A prize doesn’t mean that I will enjoy the book at all, so I don’t give any personal merit to them.