Booking Through Thursday: Book Meme

This week’s BTT topic:

I’ve seen this series of questions floating around the ‘net the last few days, and thought it looked like a good one for us!

What was the last book you bought?
Actually, the last time I was on a book buying excursion, I bought four books – Miss Bunting, Never Too Late, and Peace Breaks Out, by Angela Thirkell, and If on a winter’s night a traveler, by Italo Calvino. At a Book Rack used book store. Haven’t read any of them yet.

Name a book you have read MORE than once
Alice in Wonderland. Dozens of times.

Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?
Be Here Now, by Baba Ram Das.

How do you choose a book? e.g. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews
All of the above. But probably by reviews more than anything.  And there are some authors I always read, whenever they come out with something new - mostly mystery writers like P.D. James and John Dunning.

Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?
I would say, these days I probably prefer fiction over non. But that hasn’t always been the case.

What’s more important in a novel – beautiful writing or a gripping plot?
Again, currently I’d have to say plot and character are probably more important to me – beautiful writing is always a plus, of course.

Most loved/memorable character (character/book)
Hmmmm. A tough one. Guess if I have to choose just one, I’ll have to say Huck Finn.

Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?
I don’t have an actual nightstand, worse luck. But my bedtime reading at the moment includes Eva Moves the Furniture by Margot Livesey, The Eight by Katherine Neville, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.

What was the last book you’ve read, and when was it?
The House with a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs, finished a week or so ago. My review is here.

Have you ever given up on a book half way in?
Sure. But generally if I don’t like a book enough to finish it, I’ll know before I’m halfway through. These days, I’m pretty picky about the books I read, so there aren’t many that I dislike enough to abandon before the end. I suppose the last book I started but never finished was The Devil Wears Prada. Just couldn’t really get into it, and then I saw the movie (which I loved, by the way) and thought “why bother?” and shelved it. Has that ever happened to you? It’s happened to me more than once – which is why I always prefer to see the movie after I’ve finished the book.