Post 1: Reading Preferences Q&A

Q1: What associations do you have with reading? Do you have any personal history that makes reading seem more or less pleasurable?

• I have always been a bookworm, and I would rather read a good book over watching tv. Reading calms me and is so much better than a movie when you want to just get away. When I was little, my mother would read to me every night, and it is something that has stuck with me all my life.

Q2: Why do you read?

• I read because I love it. It is one of the things that makes me feel at home.

Q3: What has been your best experience in a literature course? (high school or college)

• Junior year of high school at Lafayette High School in Lafayette, LA. My teacher Mrs. Anderson had  a way of making her students fall in love with what she was teaching.

Q4: What has been your worst experience in a literature course? (high school or college)

• I honestly have liked all of my literature classes. I enjoy reading and writing, so it is never a problem to do it for a grade.

Q5: What college-level literature courses have you taken in the English department?

• English 203 - Intro to Literature
• English 313 - Medieval English Literature

Q6: Compared to other literature courses you have taken, what do you expect will be the level of difficulty of this course? Why?

• I have never blogged, so I think that will be the hardest part of this class for me. I have enjoyed the few books I have already read off of the required list, so I look forward to reading the rest.

Q7: What themes do you look for when you read literature for adults?

• As long as the first chapter is good enough to draw me in and create an interest in the characters, I will usually finish it.

Q8: What are your favorite books written for adults?

• Right now its the Code Name series by Christina Skye. (But it changes all the time.)

Q9: How do you determine whether a book you read is good?

• If I can't put it down until I am finished and have to find out what else that author wrote. My favorite thing to do is go to the library and just grab a book. If i like the first few chapters I will finish it then look for other things the author has written.

Q10: Do you think it is a good idea to study children's literature?

• Yes.

Q11: Why do you think scholars study children's literature?

• I think it is important to understand the way a child looks at a book and takes away a message that an adult may not have picked up on. A theme that means one thing to a student our age may be seen completely different by a ten year old.

Q12: When you think of "children's literature," what comes to mind?

• Harry Potter
• Where The Wild Things Are
• The Polar Express
• Goodnight Moon

Q13: What do you look for when you search for a children's book?

• I have only ever bought children's books for my two little cousins who are 6 and 9. I gave them the books my mother had saved for me when i was small, but when they got older they requested what they wanted. I don't have much experience with children's books outside of that.

Q14: Why would you look for a children's book? What do you do with children's books?

• I look for children's books because my little cousins love to read. Whenever I visit, I bring them a new book, and they also get one in their Christmas goodie basket.

Q15: What children's books do you most admire?

• Harry Potter - I read the books as they were released, but I can reread them now and love them just as much.

Q16: What were your favorite children's books as a child?

• My favorite authors when I was younger were J.K. Rowling, Orson Scott Card and Tamora Pierce

Q17: In what contexts did you read children's books as a child?

• I had to read certain books for A.R., but I also read the books I chose from the library. 

Q18: Are there certain themes that interest you in children's books?

• I don't read a lot of children's books anymore, so not really.

Q19: Are there certain types of books that you think children shouldn't read?

• No. Every child should be allowed to read whatever he/she wants. If it is something the child may not understand yet or parents are not sure about, then the parents should read it with them. 

Q20: How do you judge whether a children's book is good?

• If I can read the book and not focus on the fact that the main character is ten years younger than me, then it is a good book.

Q21: What do you think of when you think of fantasy?

• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Q22: Do you like fantasy literature? Why or why not?

• Yes. I don't know if there is a specific reason, I just enjoy reading it.

Q23: Explain your reaction when you learned that this course would focus on fantasy.

• I didn't have a problem with that. However, I was a bit suprised to see that of the thirteen books on the list, I had only read one (Harry Potter) as a child. Now my Mom can't say I have read the whole library.

Q24: Rank the following from most to least valuable:

• Nonfiction - 7
• Poetry - 8
• Historical Fiction - 1
• Romance - 2
• Fantasy Fiction - 5
• Science Fiction - 6
• Horror - 9
• Mystery - 4
• Adventure - 3

Q25: Explain your choice for #1 and #9 above.

• #1 - I love historical fiction, especially historical romance. I am a history major, and I enjoy reading different authors' oppinions on actual events in history.
• #9 - I do not like horror. I am the scardy cat that sleeps with the lights on if I see a horror movie or read a horror book. Not for me at all.