I just came across this post on Muted Mornings, one of my favourite blogs. I like reading a lot, although I have periods where I don’t read a word at all. The motivation to actually pick up a book and read comes and goes, but my love for books is there no matter what.
I have filled up all the bookshelves in our living room, and still I have books tucked away here and there throughout the house.

Is there a book on your nightstand right now?
I have just picked up Dragonfly in Amber again, by Diana Gabaldon. I found the start a bit tiresome, so it was hard to continue for a while. But now the Outlander TV-series, which is based on the book series, is catching up on me, so I had to give it another go. And now things have started happening, and it’s as exciting as ever!
I am also reading The Hobbit, which is something I should have done ages ago!

What was the last truly great book you read?
Cross Stitch, also by Dinana Gabaldon. It’s the book the first series of Outlander is based on, and I absolutely loved it. I was sad when I finished it, and I know it’s a book I am going to read again some day. And here I also have to give a huge credit to the production team behind the TV-series, as it’s the closest adaption to a book I’ve ever seen! When you read the description of the characters in my 1992 edition of the book, it is as if it describes the actors chosen for the roles. It’s that accurate! 

If you could meet a writer, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you want to know?
I would have loved to meet some of the great Norwegian writers like Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and Knut Hamsun. I have no idea what I would’ve asked them about though..

What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?
I have a lot of different books in my shelves – biographies, romantic novels, historic books about the Second World War, old classics, books with great movies based on them.. For those who don’t know me, the biggest sirprise might be the amount of biographies of old Hollywood stars like Gene Kelly, Laurence Olivier, Frank Sinatra etc.
For someone who know me, that might not surprise at all.

How do you organise your personal library?
I started out alphabetically and slightly by genre, but then I ran out of space and now I just place new additions wherever there’s room. But some day I’ll reorganize my shelves and sort them alphabetically again, with series and certain authors on their own shelves.
I also have a lot of very old books, which will have their own section. Some of them has been in my family for generations, while others come from various second hand shops and flea markets.

Is there a book you have always meant to read but haven’t got around to yet? Anything you feel embarrassed not to have read?
A lot! I want to read the classics like Wuthering Heights, Jane Austen’s stories, more Charles Dickens and so on. I am kind of embarassed not to have read The Lord of the Rings yet, but they are next on my to read-list!

Disappointing, overrated, just not good; name a book you feel you were supposed to have liked but just didn’t? Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?
I started reading Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow, but for some reasong I just didn’t get the feeling of the book, and I didn’t feel like continuing. I should have given it a proper chance though, maybe I’ll do that later.
And a book I expected to like was The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks. I adore his books, but this one wasn’t as good as I had hoped. I found the retroperspective parts a bit dreary in the way they were told, but the parallell story was good. I enjoyed the film a lot more than the book though.

What kinds of stories are you drawn to? Any you steer clear of?
I’m a sucker for romance, but I don’t like the stories with shallow main characters. They have to be deep and interesting, and the story has to have original aspects to it. Like Cecilia Ahern’s novels, they have interesting, non-usual stories and original twists to them, as well as both romance and a big focus on feelings in general.
The curious side of me wants to know more about people I idolize, so I like to read biographies as well. 
I’m not a big fan of crime novels, so that’s something I rarely read.

If you could choose a book the President (/Prime Minister) had to read, which would it be?
I have no idea at all.

What do you plan to read next?
When I have finished The Hobbit I’ll move on to The Lord of the Rings. And if Dragonfly in Amber makes me want to continue following the story, I might start the next book in the series, Voyager. I always have at least two books going at the same time!

Thank you Mimmi, for posting this tag! I loved answering the questions, and it made me reflect on my books and study my bookshelf properly again.

My prettiest book by far – an old Bible from my boyfriend’s family. It’s from the middle of the 1800s, if I remember correctly. It has beautiful carvings on the cover, and is in an okay shape for being so old and well used.