That's what meme means, right? Thingie? Easier to pronounce, too. I got this one from Carrie at Reading to Know.
1. Favorite childhood book? Probably it was The Phantom Tollbooth. However, the Alice books were right up there. And Lewis, and MacDonald, and Tolkien, and . . . wait, was that a singular word?
2. What are you reading right now? The blogger post composition page.
Oh, you mean books I'm in the middle of? That's a much harder question. To narrow it down, I'll only include books I have actually picked up in the past month and reasonably expect to persevere to the end of, but that end may be months or even years away. This does not count anything I'm reading aloud to the kids.
Shadow of the Silk Road, by Colin Thubron
The Science of Discworld, Terry Pratchett with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen
The Travels of Ibn Battuta, Translated by Rev. Samuel Lee
Home to Harmony, Phillip Gulley (this is for the church's book club, otherwise I probably wouldn't be planning on finishing it. I preferred the book with the aliens that the old ladies hated.)
Godel, Escher, Bach, an Eternal Golden Braid, by Douglas R. Hofstadter (this is one that will be years, because it takes me a week or so to digest a few pages. Fortunately Bookworm loaned me her copy after I exhausted the library renewals.)
Age of Chivalry, by Thomas Bullfinch
I'm at a temporary hiatus midway through the Barsetshire novels by Anthony Trollope, because my family has a strange obsession with me acknowledging their existence.
3. What books do you have on request at the library? None, because the library is closed for six weeks. I don't think I'm going to live through this.
4. Bad book habit? Leaving books lying around all over the floor and the furniture and everywhere else.
5. Do you have an e-reader? I have a Nook, which is now a few years old and I am terribly afraid it is going to die on me, but so far it has all been false alarms.
6. Do you prefer to read one book at a time or several at once? Asked and answered.
7. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog? I don't blog about books, so not in any way connected to the blog. I'm sure they have changed because I had zero children when I started the blog and now I have four.
8. Least favorite book you read this year (so far)? Since I don't keep track of my books, I've undoubtedly forgotten my least favorite. Or didn't finish it. (If I include read-alouds to the kids, then it would be Tanglewood Tales.)
9. Favorite book you’ve read this year? Doctor Thorne, by Anthony Trollope.
10. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
11. What is your reading comfort zone? I object to the form of this question. If the question means, "What types of books are most likely to interest you?" and "How often do you read other types of books?" then the answers would be, respectively, "Classic novels, mysteries (cozy, not hard-boiled), science fiction, fantasy, linguistics, neurology, chemistry, travel, really old and weird" and "all the time"
12. Can you read on the bus? No. But this is OK, because I do not ride on the bus. I can't read in the truck, which is more of a problem.
13. Favorite place to read? I am still on a quest for that perfect spot.
14. What is your policy on book lending? I like matching people to books, but I haven't done much of it.
15. Do you ever dog-ear books? Never.
16. Do you ever write in the margins of your books? No.
17. Not even with text books? Only if they are clearly wrong.
18. What is your favorite language to read in? Well, it's a lot of fun to read out loud in Spanish because it drives the kids crazy. However, if it's above the level of Huevos Verdes con Jamon, it had better be English.
19. What makes you love a book? Good writing. Interesting ideas.
20. What will inspire you to recommend a book? I don't make generic book recommendations. I'm more of a book Yente. I have to see a match between the person and the book.
21. Favorite Biography? Probably Witness by Whittaker Chambers.
22. Have you ever read a self help book? It must have happened sometime.
23. Favorite cookbook? My head.
24. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)? Probably The Little Duke, which was actually a historical read-aloud to the kids, but I was inspired by the challenge of applying Christian ideals of non-violence and forgiveness in balance with the demands of justice and a violent world.
25. Favorite reading snack? I don't eat while reading.
26. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience. I don't read hyped books.
27. How often do you agree with critics on a book? I don't read critics.
28. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews? I don't give reviews.
29. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read? Well, if I ever finish it, it will be Godel, Escher, Bach. If not, Moby Dick will stay in the top spot.
30. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin? Well, I'm a little scared about what Framley Parsonage is going to do to my marriage, but I think I'll read it anyway.
31. Favorite poet? I used to be a tad obsessed with Christina Rosetti, but, even though he's not known as a poet, I think Chesterton's poems are my favorite now. Especially The Ballad of the White Horse.
32. Favorite fictional character? Hmmm . . . maybe Susan, Death's granddaughter, from the Discworld novels?
33. Favorite fictional villain? I'm trying really hard not to say Obadiah Slope from Barchester Towers, but so far I'm failing.
34. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation? It's a tough call. My Nook is always a safe bet, there's bound to be something on there and it's not too heavy.
35. The longest I’ve gone without reading. I've made it at least twelve hours without reading, if I were asleep for most of the time. But I want you to know I can quit any time I want.
36. What distracts you easily when you’re reading? All the other books I want to be reading.
37. Favorite film adaptation of a novel.Barchester Chronicles. Hmm. I'm detecting a slight Trollope obsession at the moment.
38. Most disappointing film adaptation? Howl's Moving Castle. Gahh. So frustrating.
39. The most money I’ve spent in the bookstore at one time? I dunno, almost certainly less than 50 bucks. I don't spend money. I go to the library. If they don't have it, I try to convince them to buy it for me.
40. How often do you skim a book before reading it? Always.
41. Do you like to keep your books organized? It sounds very nice.
42. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them? I hope I can find them before they are due.
43. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding? I've been kind of avoiding The Hunger Games but I will probably get around to them sometime. Most popular books don't even rise to the level of me avoiding them.
44. Name a book that made you angry. Hmmm . . . it's been too long.
45. A book you didn’t expect to like but did? I don't usually read books I don't expect to like. Of course, I expect to like a lot of things.
3 comments:
I'm glad you decided to adopt this meme too. It really is fun, and I like to learn fun things about my friends.
Anyway:
1. The Bible, Bulfinch, and a good unabridged dictionary are probably the three things I think should be in EVERYONE's library. So much makes sense in light of these three.
2. It warms my heart that you have discovered Trollope. The world will be converted one person at a time ;) And Dr. Thorne is an excellent book.
3. The whole concept of a long term library closure sounds apocalyptic to me. Thanks for ruining my day.
4. "Asked and Answered." Bwahahaha. And overruled. You may answer the question.
5. The "hard boiled" v. "cozy" essentially means the American v. English traditions. I need to post the discussion I did of this for Carrie's blog.
6. Book Yente. Win.
7. Don't worry about the innocuous Framley Parsonage. Worry about He Knew He was Right.
1. I actually don't own a physical copy of Bullfinch yet, but I am hoping to get one by next fall, when it goes on the kids' school reading list. I'm looking for just the right one.
4. I thought it was obvious from my earlier answer that I cannot even imagine having only one book going at a time. Sometimes a book overtakes me and I read huge chunks of it straight through, but there are always others waiting in the wings.
5. If you really think about it, the cozy is far more grisly--I mean, here's the quiet English village with people dying gruesomely right and left and everyone just carries on having tea with the vicar and gossiping about the tobacconist's daughter. You would think they would be more upset.
7. It's not the content of the book, it's that I won't speak to anyone until I'm done.
GEB:EGB is on my re-read stack right now. It is a thick book - physically and otherwise.
USA
Post a Comment