August 20, 2007

Finally! A book meme!

Stolen from Ricki:

What are you reading right now?
Espresso Tales by Alexander McCall Smith

Do you have any idea what you'll read when you'e done with that?
Probably The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl

What magazines do you have in your bathroom right now?
Magazines? You mean those things ammo comes in? There's books, though, including some Harry Potter in the bathroom right now, though. 5 or 7..... not sure which I brought back in the bedroom.

What's the worst thing you were ever forced to read?
How about a top 10 list?
Great Expectations, Lord of the Flies, The Awakening, The Crying of Lot 49, Heart of Darkness, Arrowsmith, A Tale of Two Cities, Emily Dickenson poems (not because they suck but because they lead to weeks of "Yellow Rose of Texas" earwormage), and for sheer suckage, my Calculus books (Tommy I and Tommy II) and that god-awful Physical Chemistry text.

What's the one book you always recommend to just about everyone?
Another list:
Reading Lolita in Tehran, Devil in the White City, The Dante Club, The Historian, Stephen King's Different Seasons, Harry Potter, etc. etc.

Admit it, the librarians at your library know you on a first name basis, don't they?
Nope. I love my books to death. And I love to reread. Hence I buy them and KEEP them. My mom's a librarian, though. She knows me on a first name basis. Does that count?

Is there a book you absolutely love, but for some reason, people never think it sounds interesting, or maybe they read it and don't like it at all?
My favorite book is Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. Most people just don't get it. Also a lot of Stephen King books. People are scared to pick up a "horror" novel, and they're just not that. Yeah, scary stuff, but it's just a platform for an amazingly written, character driven story.

Do you read books while you eat? While you bathe? While you watch movies or TV? While you listen to music? While you're on the computer? While you're having sex? While you're driving?
That would be: Yes, Yes, Sometimes, Often, Occasionally (usually this has to do with work), NEVER (that would be rude), and ABSOLUTELY not (UNSAFE, hello!!!)

When you were little, did other children tease you about your reading habits?
Hell yes. I got teased for breathing. Come on, now. But I read constantly. Let's put it this way, once, when I was a kid my mom tried to punish me by taking away my books. So I picked up the shampoo bottles and toothpaste tubes in the bathroom and read those.

What's the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn't put it down?
Literally? The Da Vinci Code. I was on a red eye to Michigan and couldn't sleep. The Historian. I read that in TN after a night of hanging out with Blown-Eyes. It was that good. And of course, HP7.

I've thought of some other book questions for you all:

What book have you stayed up all night NOT reading (because it disturbed you in some way)? Has a book ever entered your dreams?

What book/ series would you like to write an ending too? Or rewrite? I'm not strictly talking about fanfic, just this: given the opportunity, which stories would you like to work on?

Best book to movie transition? And as a corollary, what books should NEVER be a movie?

Do you prefer one-off novels or character-driven series books? What's your favorite book series?

Which book character do you see yourself as most like? How about when you were a kid?

Ever NOT want to finish a book because you were desperately afraid that the author was going to take it somewhere you didn't like? Ever fling a book at the wall because that happened?

Ok, that's plenty. Feel free to do the whole meme, or in parts. I'll answer the second half tomorrow.

Oh, and consider yourself tagged, mostly 'cause I wanna know what you read:
Christina
Phoenix
Ken (because he tags me all the time)
wRitErsbLock
Richmond
Amanda

Posted by caltechgirl at August 20, 2007 10:20 PM | TrackBack
Comments

Cool! I'll get right on it - as soon as I finish this book I am *totally* in to... ;)

Posted by: Richmond at August 21, 2007 07:27 AM

Mine's up.

Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at August 21, 2007 07:43 AM

And I love to reread. Hence I buy them and KEEP them.

Me too.

Posted by: Jack at August 21, 2007 09:22 AM

Mine is up, with a couple additional questions.

Posted by: wRitErsbLock at August 21, 2007 06:42 PM

Hell yes. I got teased for breathing.

Well, I wouldn't have teased you! I'd have wanted to hang out with you! :)

Posted by: Beth at August 22, 2007 01:46 PM

People read and have sex? Good Grief. I thought that was a full on contact sport that required full attention. It is here anyway...

Posted by: Bou at August 24, 2007 12:10 PM