Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Book Meme


1. What author do you own the most books by?

Probably Jane Austen and if it's not Jane Austen, then it's books about Jane Austen or Anne of Green Gables and others by L. M. Montgomery

2. What book do you own the most copies of?

Well, I'd say it was Pride and Prejudice. I couldn't resist small delicate little hardcovers, editions with nice pen and ink drawings, annotated versions and assorted copies with pretty covers. I recently decided, that, due to lack of space to thin out the Pride and Prejudice collection and I donated some to the library. I also own several copies of the Chronicles of Narnia. I'd like to have a set for each of my children.

3. Did it bother you that both of those questions ended in prepositions?

You bet!
4.What fictional character are you secretly in love with?

Gilbert Blythe

5. What book have you read the most times in your life?

There was a time when I used to re-read books constantly. Since I had a limited collection of books as a kid, I re-read On the Banks of Plum Creek all the time. I loved the idea of living in a dug-out. Now, after having read it to my 9 year old son, I realize that it may have not been as ideal as I originally thought. Didn't the cow run over the top and puncture their "roof"? I also read Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web a lot. Also, for some reason, I really liked Judy Blume's Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great and I checked it out from the school library often.

6. Favorite Book as a ten year old?

Probably On the Banks of Plum Creek, but I was just about to get into the Shoes series by Noel Streatfeild. I loved Family Shoes. I think it's still out of print though.

7. What is the worst book you've read in the past year?
Jane Austen Ruined My Life

8. What is the best book you've read in the past year?

In 2009? The year's not over yet!

9. If you could force everyone you know, to read one book what would it be?
I just can't do that. Everyone has such different tastes and I can't think of one book that would appeal to everyone I know. For a while, I suggested that my friends read In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson. I loved this book about Australia and think this particular title has both general appeal and is just plain funny. I also think Australia is fascinating.

10.What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
Right now, I'm reading Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson and it's weird how as I read this novel, I can imagine this book as a really good film, but it still wouldn't be as good as the book.

11.What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?
I had to read this book on justification and warrant in a philosophy course that I took in college. After all these years, I'm still not sure what this class was about and frankly, I don't care and I was a philosophy major. I can't think of a topic that interested me less. I preferred Aristotle.

12.What is your favorite book?

I don't have one. It just isn't possible to answer this question. I love books, bookstores, libraries and talking about books and certain books have had their place at different times of my life. There was the Little House phase and the Anne of Green Gables phase and Little Women, of course. In my twenties, I even looked forward to Oprah announcing her new book club pick, but there was a lot of downers in that collection (although I really liked Where the Heart Is), but it's not my favorite book or anything. For a while I loved Under the Tuscan Sun and that set off a love of travel writing and well, I still love Jane Austen and of all her novels, I like Mansfield Park best. I know that's weird, but I can relate to Fanny Price for some reason. Okay, so I didn't really answer the question, but I really like so many genres and it's impossible to choose one.

13. Play?
Okay, I associate reading plays with high school and college. I remember a lot of play reading like Our Town, The Crucible, A Raisin in the Sun, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, King Lear (lots of Shakespeare) etc., but I haven't really picked up a play to read since. Actually, that's not true. There is one play that's just so much fun and that's Life with Father by Clarence Day which was also made into a delightful movie. I don't think Life With Father started out as a play, but it was a book of anecdotes.

14. Poem?
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot only because it has the phrase, "Do I dare disturb the Universe?" in it.
I don't read a lot of poetry, but sometimes, I do find it comforting. I do love Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost. Actually, I really like a lot of Robert Frost.

15. Essay?
Something by Chesterton

16. Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
Right now, it's Stephanie Meyer. I read Twilight and seriously, I just can't understand the hoopla. It's because I'm not 17 anymore, right? Vampires and werewolves are just not my thing. I don't care how vegetarian they are!

17. What is your desert island book?
Isn't this just another way of asking what my favorite book is? I think I'd like to have the Psalms or The Imitation of Christ. Maybe a good dictionary?

18. And . . . what are you reading right now? Let's see...I'm reading Journey to the River Sea, Too Many Cooks:Kitchen Adventures with 1 Mom, 4 Kids and 102 recipes, Princess Academy and I'm about to start the unabridged Les Miserables. Also, I'm about 100 pages into Revolutionary Road as well.

h/t Studeo

1 comment:

Jennifer said...

Woo-hoo! Another women who doesn't like Twilight! Let's start a club! I'll have to read that Bill Bryson book. I normally really enjoy his writing.