20 Bookish Questions

I saw this meme at It's All About Books and thought it looked fun. Feel free to swipe the questions if you want!

1. Favorite childhood book?





I guess that depends on how you define "childhood." When I was little–like, before I could read on my own–I was obsessed with The Alligator's Song. The Ghost Wore Gray is the first book I can remember loving. Before that, I just kind of consumed books without thinking about whether they were "good" or not. And The Vampire Diaries was probably the book I was most obsessed with before I hit the teen years. OH THE TEEN YEARS. We shall not speak of them.

2. What are you reading right now?




The English Spy by Daniel Silva, Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica, and The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas

3. What books do you have on request at the library?




Wouldn't It Be Deadly by DE Ireland, Alex + Ada, Vol. 3 by Jonathan Luna, Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix, Jerusalem by Guy Delisle, Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari, and The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.

4. Bad book habit?

I guess skipping to the end of chapters and books to see what happens? And buying cheap ebooks just because they're on sale.

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?




Lots! Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick, The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion, Alex + Ada, Vol 2 by Jonathan Luna, Just Like the Movies by Kelly Fiore, Rain by Amanda Sun, The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain, The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell, What Did You Eat Yesterday? Vol 2 by Fumi Yoshinaga, Books That Cook, Greenglass House by Kate Milford, Ooku Vol 1 by Fumi Yoshinaga, and The Perfect Couple by Jennifer Echols.

6. Do you have an e-reader?

Yes, and I love it.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?

I generally have one audiobook, one novel, and one non-fiction book going at a time.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?

Yes, in too many ways to count. Different genres, different times of day I read, less patience, interacting more with other readers, etc.

9. Least favorite book you read this year?

Haha, welllll that's kind of difficult to narrow down. Of the ones I actually finished, probably The Gold Bag by Carolyn Wells.

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?

Northanger Abbey. Mr Tilney!

11. How often do you read outside of your comfort zone?

Not very often. Sometimes I'm forced to.

12. What is your reading comfort zone?

Ha! I'd say most fiction genres: romance, mystery, sci-fi/fantasy, spy thrillers. Classics, particularly from the early 20th Century. Very specific genres of graphic novels and manga. And non-fiction books about art, food, and history.

13. Can you read on the bus?

Yes, I can read on the bus. I can read on a plane, I can read on a train, I can read on a boat as long as it floats. I can read sitting backwards, sideways, and hanging upside down. I can read all around the town.

14. Favorite place to read?

Outside, in the sun, in one of those lounge chairs. Preferably accompanied by sunglasses, cute animals, and adult beverages.

15. What is your policy on book lending?

I only lend books if I don't care if they come back or not. Exceptions for my mom and brother, since they're pretty easy to track down.

16. Do you dog-ear your books?

I used to! I stopped doing that years ago, though, I'm not sure why. Now I always use bookmarks.

17. Do you write notes on the margins of your books?

Yes, I love marginalia, although I don't do it very often in novels. In non-fiction books anything goes.

18. Do you break/crack the spines?

Yes. Actually, I LOVE breaking the spines of books. There's just something so satisfying about bending a book backwards and feeling the spine pop and hearing that crrrack! I also get kind of OCD about when I break spines–like, for mass market paperbacks I do it every 50 pages. For hardcovers every 100-150 pages, depending on how long the book is. Trade paperbacks usually have spines that are difficult crack, perhaps one of the reasons I don't enjoy reading them so much.

19. What is your favorite language to read?

Latvian, obviously.

20. What makes you love a book?

A pretty cover. I kid, I kid. I think if a book has a great story that sucks you in and sympathetic characters that feel like your friends, you can't help but love it! If you find a specific, surefire formula for such a book, please share it with me.





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Remembering Harry Potter

After Tobacco Wars, I think this blog needs a palate cleanser. How about a short and sweet Harry Potter meme from Tif Talks Books?

When and Where (when you first discovered the series): I first heard about it on Oprah. I think I managed to convince my mom to buy the first two books after that (that was before the third one had even come out!) and I read the first one to my brother. But it seemed too young for me, so I didn't start reading the rest of the series until after the second movie was released and my friends bullied convinced me to give it another shot.

Favorite Character: Snape. Obvs.

Most Hated Character: Probably Delores Umbridge. She is reeeeeally annoying.

Favorite Book: Order of the Phoenix. It's so sexy.

Favorite Movie: Probably Half-Blood Prince because of the Snape element (I love how he swooshes around), but I pretty much like them all equally except for the third one, which I hate. With a passion.

Rank the Books (1 = favorite, 7 = least favorite):

1. Order of the Phoenix
2. Chamber of Secrets
3. Goblet of Fire
4. Deathly Hallows
5. Half-Blood Prince
   
6. Prisoner of Azkaban
7. Sorcerer's Stone
   

Most Memorable Scene: The Weasely twins interrupting OWL exams to explode havoc on Delores Umbridge before leaving Hogwarts for good. I was like, "I heart you guys so hard right now!"

What You Will Miss the Most: Release parties

What You Are Looking Forward To (even despite the end): Pottermore and the class on Harry Potter: Image and Media that no one will let me teach. Sadface.

Schnauzer Saturday

I love the weekly memes where people post cute pictures of their cats (Michelle at True Book Addict, Lenore at Presenting Lenore, and James at Book Chic).  But I don't have a cat!  I do, however, have a schnauzer (actually, she's my mom's schnauzer).  ANYway, since I have know a schnauzer, I thought to myself, why not do a schnauzer Saturday?



This is me and Pearl, our schnauzer, who really behaves more like a cat.  Schnauzers are the cutest dogs ever!

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Fragment Friday: A Christmas Carroll

Fragment Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Book Chic, where you read an excerpt from either your current read or one of your favorite books and post it on your blog to share with others! It's a fun way to learn about new books or to hear a sample from a book you're dying to read.  Go to Book Chic to post your own fragment!

November Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

Here's my Library Loot for November:

Fragment Friday--One Night That Changes Everything

Fragment Friday is a meme hosted by James at Book Chic.  Today I'm reading from a book I just reviewed, One Night That Changes Everything.  Check out James' blog and post your own reading this Friday!

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Fragment Friday--Priceless

Wilkommen! Welcome to Fragment Friday, a meme hosted by James from Book Chic, and one which I have been neglecting for a few weeks. Today I read from Priceless by Robert K. Wittman, a memoir by the founder of the FBI's Art Cream Crime Team.

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Library Loot!

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

You all get to see my ugly apartment again for this week's Library Loot.  Aren't you happy?

For those who don't like to watch videos, I checked out One Night That Changes Everything by Lauren Barnholdt, Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures by Robert K. Wittman, and The Horrific Sufferings of the Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot: His Wonderful Love and His Terrible Hatred by Carl Johan Vallgren.

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Fragment Friday--The Maltese Falcon

Fragment Friday is hosted by Book Chic and it's really easy.  All you have to do is read a short passage from your current read or a book you really like.  This week I'm reading from the hard-boiled detective story, The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett.

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Fragment Friday--Harry Potter and the Order Phoenix

Fragment Friday is an awesome meme hosted by Book Chic where you read a passage from a current or recent book.  Today I'm reading from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which hopefully I'll be reviewing soon!

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Friday Fragment: Odd and the Frost Giants

Friday Fragment is a meme hosted James at Book Chic Club.  Every Friday, you read an excerpt from a book and post it so other people can hear it!  It's really fun.

This week I'm reading from Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman.  I hope you like it!

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What Are Your 3 Favorite Genres?

The Book List is a meme created by Rebecca from Lost In Books.  This week she wants to know what our 3 favorite genres are.  I think I may actually be able to follow the directions with this one.

Mystery

Mystery was my first love, literary genre-wise at least.  When I was young all I would read were mysteries, especially ones with paranormal elements in it.  The first book I remember thinking was better than others was The Ghost Wore Grey by Bruce Coville, where two young girls solved the mystery of where an artist left his last painting with the help of Civil War-era ghost.

Even though I haven't read a lot of mystery in a while, I think the basis of all great books, in any genre, is mystery--wondering what's going to happen next and keeping the reader guessing and interested in the outcome.  Will the hero and heroine get together?  Will the day be saved?  Etc., etc.  It's questions that I want answers for that keeps me reading.

Romance

Romance is another early love of mine.  The first book I read where I was really engaged by the romantic elements was The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart.  One of the fun things about Mary Stewart books is that it's usually a secret who the heroine is in love with until the end (mystery again).

I don't remember what the first romance novel I read was, but the book that definitely got me hooked on the genre was Stranger In My Arms by Lisa Kleypas.  Of course, right now I'm kind of in a downswing with romance novels, but I might get deep back into them someday.  I probably will.

Fantasy/SciFi

My third favorite genre is fantasy.  It's a great genre because you can do so much with it.  You can set it in any time period, play with any mythology, and bring in all sorts of different story elements--including fairy tales, mystery, and romance. 

The first SciFi book I read was in grade school, and I loved it--but I have no idea what the title was, or even what the general plot was other than it was about interstellar soldiers and there was a romantic sub-plot.  The book was really, really good though; I wish I could remember it.


I think I love these three genres because they distill my favorite things about stories into a concentrated format--being transported to different worlds, places and times; wondering what's going to happen next; and love, which as Poirot said in tonight's Masterpiece Mystery, is "The mystery that even I, Hercule Poirot, am unable to solve." 

What are your three favorite genres?

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The Library, It Was Looted.

Library Loot is hosted by Eva at A Striped Armchair.  This week I got a lot of books from the library, inadvertently.  I went in just to pick up two books, but there all these books in the new books section--seriously, it was stuffed!  So, anyway, I started to browse, and you can guess what happened from there.



To the Hilt, Dick Francis

Summary: From the acclaimed master of mystery and suspense comes the story of a self-imposed outcast who must refresh his detection skills in order to save himself and his family.

I got this book because Orannia from Walkabout recommended it to me.  But today I visited a little used bookstore near where I work, and I saw it in the $1 bin!  So I bought it and now it is no longer library loot.  The lovely English owner of the store also told me Dick Francis was the Queen Mother's favorite writer.  Yay!  Fun facts.

The Botticelli Secret, Marina Fiorato

Summary: When part-time model and full-time prostitute Luciana Vetra is asked by one of her most exalted clients to pose for a painter friend, she doesn't mind serving as the model for the central figure of Flora in Sandro Botticelli's masterpiece "Primavera." But when the artist dismisses her without payment, Luciana impulsively steals an unfinished version of the painting--only to find that somone is ready to kill her to get it back. What could possibly be so valuable about the picture? As friends and clients are slaughtered around her, Luciana turns to the one man who has never desired her beauty, novice librarian Brother Guido. Fleeing Florence together, Luciana and Guido race through the nine cities of Renaissance Italy, pursued by ruthless foes who are determined to keep them from decoding the painting's secrets.

I'm reading this book right now for my Venice Challenge.  It's pretty ridonkulous.

Under the Skin, Michel Faber

Summary:  Hailed as "original and unsettling, an "Animal Farm" for the new century" ("The Wall Street Journal"), this first novel introduces Isserley, a female driver who picks up hitchhikers with big muscles and listens for clues about who might miss them if they should disappear.

Meghan from Medieval Bookworm wrote an awesome review of this novel, so I was very happy when my library had it.

The Curse of Caste or The Slave Bride by Julia C. Collins

Summary:  In 1865, The Christian Recorder, the national newspaper of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, serialized The Curse of Caste; or The Slave Bride, a novel written by Mrs. Julia C. Collins, an African American woman living in the small town of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The first novel ever published by a black American woman, it is set in antebellum Louisiana and Connecticut, and focuses on the lives of a beautiful mixed-race mother and daughter whose opportunities for fulfillment through love and marriage are threatened by slavery and caste prejudice. The text shares much with popular nineteenth-century women's fiction, while its dominant themes of interracial romance, hidden African ancestry, and ambiguous racial identity have parallels in the writings of both black and white authors from the period.

Begun in the waning months of the Civil War, the novel was near its conclusion when Julia Collins died of tuberculosis in November of 1865. In this first-ever book publication of The Curse of Caste; or The Slave Bride, the editors have composed a hopeful and a tragic ending, reflecting two alternatives Collins almost certainly would have considered for the closing of her unprecedented novel. In their introduction, the editors offer the most complete and current research on the life and community of an author who left few traces in the historical record, and provide extensive discussion of her novel's literary and historical significance. Collins's published essays, which provide intriguing glimpses into the mind of this gifted but overlooked writer, are included in what will prove to be the definitive edition of a major new discovery in African American literature. Its publication contributes immensely to our understanding of black American literature, religion, women's history, community life, and race relations during the era of United States emancipation.

I ran across this book while searching for novels set in New Orleans, and it sounded very intriguing.  I hope I get a chance to read it!

The Lost Books of the Odyssey by Zachary Mason

Summary:  Zachary Mason’s brilliant and beguiling debut novel, The Lost Books of the Odyssey, reimagines Homer’s classic story of the hero Odysseus and his long journey home after the fall of Troy. With brilliant prose, terrific imagination, and dazzling literary skill, Mason creates alternative episodes, fragments, and revisions of Homer’s original that taken together open up this classic Greek myth to endless reverberating interpretations. The Lost Books of the Odyssey is punctuated with great wit, beauty, and playfulness; it is a daring literary page-turner that marks the emergence of an extraordinary new talent.

Sounded like an interesting concept.  It could go either terribly wrong or be effing brilliant.

In Mike We Trust by P. E. Ryan

Summary:  When Garth's uncle comes to visit, he's like a breath of very needed fresh air. Mike is laid-back and relaxed—and willing to accept Garth for who he is, without question. For the first time in a long while, Garth feels like he's around someone who understands him.

But before long Garth is helping Mike with some pretty mysterious things and finds himself keeping secrets from everyone around him. He's forced to wonder: Is his uncle Mike really who he says he is, and can Garth trust him? More importantly, can Garth trust the person he's becoming?

I got this for Nerds Heart YA.

Fushigi Yûgi, Volume 1: Priestess

Summary:  The discovery of a mysterious book transports Miaka and Yui into a strange new world reminiscent of ancient China, where they befriend seven Celestial Warriors, including dashing mercenary Tamahome and wannabe empress Nuriko. Only then can Miaka summon the power of the god Suzaku, find her true love, and get home safely.

I've been in the mood to try a different manga series lately, and this one sounded like it might be good.

Rosario + Vampire, Akihisa Ikeda

Summary:  All-around average teenager Tsukune can't get accepted to any high school save one...but on his first day he finds the rest of the student body doesn't appear average at all. Best of all, the cutest girl on campus can't wait to fling her arms around his neck! Wait a sec'--are those her teeth around his neck too...? Tsukune's going to have one heck of a hickey when he gets home from Monster High! But does he have a chance in H E double hockey sticks of raising his grades at a school where the turf war isn't between the jocks and the nerds but the vampires and the werewolves?

This manga has been recommended to me a lot but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

Dancing for Degas, Kathryn Wagner

Summary:  An ambitious and enterprising farm girl, Alexandrie joins the prestigious Paris Opera ballet with hopes of securing not only her place in society but her family’s financial future. Her plan is soon derailed, however, when she falls in love with the enigmatic artist whose paintings of the offstage lives of the ballerinas scandalized society and revolutionized the art world. As Alexandrie is drawn deeper into Degas’s art and Paris’s secrets, will she risk everything for her dreams of love and of becoming the ballet’s star dancer?

I have my doubts about this one, for various reasons, but I couldn't pass it up.

Jane Bites Back, Michael Thomas Ford

Summary:  Two hundred years after her death, Jane Austen is still surrounded by the literature she loves—but now it's because she's the owner of Flyleaf Books in a sleepy college town in Upstate New York. Every day she watches her novels fly off the shelves—along with dozens of unauthorized sequels, spin-offs, and adaptations. Jane may be undead, but her books have taken on a life of their own.

To make matters worse, the manuscript she finished just before being turned into a vampire has been rejected by publishers—116 times. Jane longs to let the world know who she is, but when a sudden twist of fate thrusts her back into the spotlight, she must hide her real identity—and fend off a dark man from her past while juggling two modern suitors. Will the inimitable Jane Austen be able to keep her cool in this comedy of manners, or will she show everyone what a woman with a sharp wit and an even sharper set of fangs can do?

I've seen this around the webbernets and several people have recommended it, so thought I'd give it a shot.

Heist Society, Ally Carter

Summary:  When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her to the Louvre...to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria...to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own--scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving "the life" for a normal life proves harder than she'd expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster's art collection has been stolen, and he wants it returned. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat's dad needs her help.

For Kat there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's (very crooked) history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

Ditto with this one.  And who can resist that cover?

Lover Mine, JR Ward

Summary:  John Matthew has come a long way since he was found living among humans, his vampire nature unknown. Taken in by The Brotherhood, no one could guess what his true history was-or his true identity.

Xhex has long steeled herself against the attraction to John Matthew. Until fate intervenes and she discovers that love, like destiny, is inevitable.

I haven't read any of the other books in this series, so I might be totally lost with this one, but I wanted to try it anyway.



Phew, that's a lot of books!  Realistically, I know I won't get to all of these, but I'm going to do my best.  What books did you pick up at the library this week?

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Old Books

The Book List is a meme hosted by my lovely friend Rebecca from Lost In Books.  You just take the weekly topic and make a list out of it!  This week Rebecca wants to know what three books have been on la TBR pile the longest.  But because I can't read directions and fail at memes, I kinda changed it again, to all the books that have been on my TBR shelf more than a year--which is actually the majority of them, believe it or not.

Why do books spend so much time in my TBR pile?  To be honest, I have no idea.  A lot of them are books my mom or brother have loaned me.  There are others that I bought but can't seem to work up interesting in reading any more.  Here is an annotated list, as a full list would be ginormous:

William Nicholson
Slaves of the Mastery
Firesong
(about 8 years in la TBR)

Tanith Lee
Metallic Love
Faces Under Water
(at least 5 years)

Perfume by Patrick Suskind
(pretty recent--only two years)

Sabriel by Garth Nix
(hard to say with this one--could be ten years)

A Bucket of Ashes by PB Ryan
(3 years, feels like 10)

Princess of the White by Trudi Canavan
(4 years)

The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes
(2 years)

A bunch of Laurie R. King Novels
(a year-ish)

Silver Falls by Anne Stuart
(1 year, seems more like 8)

Romancing the Dead by Tate Halloway
(2 years)

The Innocent by Posie Graeme-Evans
(5 years--I hadn't realized I'd been carrying this one around so long!)

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
(8 years)

And at least a dozen other books I'm too lazy to type.

It's not that I don't want to read these books--I do.  Just not right now.  For the last 1-10 years.

So, what I would like to know is, do you think books in the TBR stack should have an expiration date?  And if so, when should I just give up and move on with my life?

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Repeated Rereadings

The question for this week's Book List (hosted by Rebecca at Lost In Books) is, What are some books you're read over and over?

I'm actually a fan of rereading, which is one of the reasons a huge TBR pile stresses me out--then I feel like I can't reread the books I want to!  Here are some books I've worn thin with rereads:




Night Train to Memphis by Barbara Michaels--This isn't the best book in the Vicky Bliss series, but it took me a loooong time to realize that.  It is the first book in the series I read, though, and continues to be my favorite.  Vicky is an art historian who has an awesome job in a Munich art museum, where she's the curator of the medieval art collection.  However, her job is so plush, she spends most of her time writing trashy romance novels and traveling about chasing after her art thief boyfriend, the dashing Sir John Smythe.  In Night Train, she signs up for a cruise up the Nile, expecting to meet John, but not in the condition she finds him.  I was hooked on this book as soon as Vicky meets John boarding the ship, and in a complete swoon over Sir John for the rest of the book!  I think I read it five times within the first year it was published, and multiple times after that.

And in case you're wondering, yes, this book might have had something to do with me becoming an art historian.

The Vampire Diaries & The Secret Circle--I've reread these books so many times I actually can't read them read them anymore.  The Vampire Diaries about two vampire brothers from Renaissance Italy (so romantic!) who fall in love with the same girl, Elena--but I'm sure you're familiar with that from the TV show.  The Secret Circle takes place near Salem, Mass., and is about a colony of witches that dates back to colonial times.  Cassie, the new girl in town, is inducted into the coven and falls in love with Adam, the do-gooder boyfriend of the even more goody-goody coven leader, Diana.  They're both by LJ Smith and were published when I was between 13 and 14, a very impressionable age for me.  I was absolutely obsessed with them.  I'm not sure exactly how many times I've read these, but it's a lot.

The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart--Back when I was a kid, I would run out of books quickly in the summer, so I started on my mom's stack.  The Ivy Tree is one that I've read literally on a yearly basis ever since I can remember.  It was the first Mary Stewart book I read, has a great mystery, and a hidden romance.

Twilight--I've only read this three times, to be honest.  It's very romantic and good at sweeping me away from my problems.  I was thankful to have this book with me when I went to my grandfather's funeral a few years ago.

Charmed and Dangerous by Jane Ashford--This is a historical romance that takes place in the Napoleonic era and has settings in Italy, England, and Vienna.  The first time I read it, I thought it was awesome--the second time was even better!  It's one of those novels you don't expect to work, but it keeps surprising you.  The historical detail and characters are fabulous, too.

Here Comes the Sun! by Emilie Loring--Yes, the exclamation mark is part of the title.  I have a really odd obsession liking for this book.  It's honestly not very good.  Anyway, this is one of those books my mom owned that I glommed onto during summers, and I read it every year.  A 19-year-old ingenue chases a dachshund off a train and is pursued by a handsome, older (like 35, which is reeeeally super-old by 19 standards) stranger who gives her a lame excuse that he thought he could help her or something.  The dog doesn't belong to either of them, in case you were wondering.  Meanwhile, they get caught in a rain storm and have to hole up in an empty cabin for the night.  BUT THEN, the stranger's political rival happens by (also in the rain???) and discovers them en dishabille together.  Naturally, the political rival is going to use this knowledge to tell everyone that the stranger/politician is having a torrid affair!  Soooo, long story short (too late), they decide to pretend they're married, only to live in different houses and not have sex.  WTF?  There's more, but I think I'll leave the recitation of the plot there.



What are some of your favorite rereads?

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3 Favorite Settings

My blogging buddy, Rebecca from Lost In Books, has a meme called The Book List, which I have been very remiss in participating in.  But this week she has a question that I actually kind of know the answer to!  Rebecca wants to know what are my three favorite eras to read about.  Except I changed it to settings because I fail at memes.  Anyway, here are my favorite eras/settings:


Venice, 18th Century--Love books set in Venice!  And what better era to read about this ultimate Baroque city but the Baroque, when Casanova roamed the streets and people went to parties in Venetian masks?

19th Century, Anywhere--As I've mentioned before, I'm a total 19th-century geek.  So 19th-century anything is pretty much up my alley.

New Orleans, Modern-day--New Orleans is another city that I love reading about.  Personally, I think it's even more fascinating now than it was in the past.


So those are my favorite settings and eras!  What are yours?

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Book Zombie Quiz

Another reading meme from The Book Zombie:

1. What author do you own the most books by?
Well, I'm not going to count them.  But off the top of my head I'd say Christina Dodd and Lisa Kleypas, since I tend to read them obsessively and they've both written a lot of books.

2. What book do you own the most copies of?
I own three copies of Treasure Island.  Why, you ask?  I really have no idea.  I like the book, but I don't like it that much.  I also own 3 versions of the story on DVD.

3. Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
The first one didn't bother me, but the second one really did.  That might be because I've just spent the last 5 hours grading essays, though.

4. What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
Haha, I have to pick one?  Hmm, Mr. Darcy is probably number one in my heart.  But there are really so many choices....

5. What book have you read the most times in your life?
Wellllll, I don't know.  It comes down to The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart, Here Comes the Sun by Emilie Loring, and The Vampire Diaries by LJ Smith.  The one that I've read the most of all of those is probably Here Comes the Sun, since I've read it at least once a year since I was 7.  That book is crazy, y'all (not really).

6. What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
I loved this book called The Ghost Wore Grey by Bruce Coville when I was younger (I've always had a thing for stories involving the supernatural).  It was about a ghost from the Civil War who recruits two pre-teen girls to help him do... something.  It had this great line in it:  "What a hunk!  Too bad he's dead."

7. What is the worst book you've read in the past year?
There are so many to choose from.  Probably Dark Thirst by Sara Reinke.  That was book was terrible.

8. What is the best book you've read in the past year?
Year as in since January?  Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles has probably been my personal favorite so far.

9. If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
Lord, I don't know.  In all honesty, I'd probably make them read Giorgio de Chirico's Hebdomeros, because I'm evil like that, and because I could use it to create my de Chirico zombie army.  Alternative reading assignment would Nadja by André Breton.

10. Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for literature?
When I start reading "literature," I'll let you know.

11. What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
Well, I'm reading Drood right now, and I think it would make a great movie!  But you never know with that.  I used to really wish The Vampire Diaries would be made into a TV show (head writer would be Joss Whedon, natch), and now they ARE making it into a TV series, and I'm completely convinced they're going to fuck it up.  I heard the other day that they're changing Stephen and Damon's last names from Salvatore to Witcombe, or something really dumb like that.  WTH?  Stephen and Damon are from Italy, why would you mess with that (very important, trust me) part of the plot unless you're a total d-bag?!?!  Anywayyyy, /rant.  People are trampling on my childhood memories yet again. *grumble grumble*

12. What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
Ha, just about any romance novel.  I really don't want to see most of that stuff on-screen.

13. Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.
No idea.  I can't remember stuff like that (at least, nothing's springing to mind at the moment), although I have dreamed about Giorgio de Chirico, who is technically a writer.

14. What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult?
Um, just about every book I pick up is considered "lowbrow" by some person.

15. What is the most difficult book you've ever read?
Difficult how?  I'd have to say trying to read Les Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire in the original French was pretty damn difficult.  I'm amazed I survived that semester, in all honesty.

16. Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
I've never read anything by a Russian author, so I guess the French win by default.  Yay for them.

17. Roth or Updike?
I'd rather gouge my eyes out than read Updike again.  As for Roth, I honestly have no idea who that is, unless you're talking about the lead singer for Van Halen.

18. David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
I've heard of David Sedaris.  I think I might have read one of his books.  So I'm going to vote... Sedaris.

19. Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Shakespeare FTW.

20. Austen or Eliot?
Austen, duh.

21. What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
I still have not read Tolkien.  And I have to admit I haven't read the entire Austen catalog, either.  I know; I feel bad about it.

22. What is your favorite novel?
Jane Eyre is my favorite novel of all time.

23. Play?
A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen--that play is amazingly good, full of drama and yet very insightful about gender roles and the way the sexes interact.  And the female lead has a great last scene.

24. Short story?
Don't have one.

25. Epic Poem?
Oh, yes, what is my favorite epic poem???  Well, I would say Childe Harold's Pilgrimage by Byron, but I never actually finished it.  Or The Odyssey, except I never actually read it, just watched the miniseries.  Or The Epic of Gilgamesh, except I have also not read that.  So I suppose one can conclude from this that I don't read epic poems.

26. Short(er) poem?

Strephon kissed me in the spring,

     Robin in the fall,

But Colin only looked at me

     And never kissed at all.

Strephon's kiss was lost in jest,

     Robin's lost in play,

But the kiss in Colin's eyes

     Haunts me night and day.

--Sara Teasdale, "The Look"

27. Work of non-fiction?
Hmm, I only read non-fiction for work.  I don't really have a favorite, since I don't read it for enjoyment.

28. Who is your favorite writer?
I really couldn't say.  I hate just about anyone's writing if I'm not in the mood for it.  LOL  Probably LJ Smith if I had to pick one writer.

29. Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
This question is funny to me, because I don't think there are many contemporary writers who are "rated" (by whom?) at the same level as Charles Dickens was in his lifetime--just to use an example.  I think Nora Roberts is really overrated, if you want to know the truth.  I have never seen the appeal of her books.

30. What is your desert island book?
Taking just one book to a desert island would be a torturous decision.  No matter what it was, I would get really tired of it.  I guess I'd pick Robinson Crusoe, because if you're ever going to connect with a guy who's stranded on a deserted island, it'd be then, amirite?

31. And ... what are you reading right now?
Drood by Dan Simmons

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