Reading Meme

Lisa tagged me for this fun meme a few weeks back. I'm just now getting to it, and I can see that many others have done it. So, if you read this, haven't done the meme, then tag yourself. :)

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews? Brothers Karamazov, although I’m not sure if that is an irrational cringe or not since it’s a hefty 800+ pages (which in my eyes makes it a rational cringe since I cringe at anything over 500 pages). I bought it last summer only to let it collect dust on the shelf, but I have heard great things about the book! One day…probably a long time from now.

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be? Bridget Jones from…well…the Bridget Jones books. So she’s a little whiney sometimes, but aren’t we all? I bet she’d be a blast to be with while knocking a few back! I’ve always had an irrational love for Heathcliff of Wuthering Heights. Yes, I know he’s no good—but in my eyes that makes him the perfect bad boy. Mmmmm. :) Oh way, is this the same social event? I’d enjoy spending an afternoon with Liz Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love). So, maybe I could hang out with Liz—get some coffee and pastries, then head out to the bar with Bridge, and um…the rest with Heathcliff. Ha ha! Wow…

(Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): you are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realise it’s past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave? Angela’s Ashes (which I’m currently reading). :) Pamela, which I could not finish for a grad class, was pretty boring as well. Howards End is by far the most boring book I’ve ever read. I have my prejudices, but I hate to speculate about books I haven’t read yet!

Come on, we’ve all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it? Underworld by Don DeLillo. We had to read it for a Post-Mod grad course and I read 200/800 pages of it. It was a good book, just an extremely busy week and there was no way I was going to finish 800 pages in a week (when I was also reading books for my Post-Colonial and 18th Century Brit Lit classes). I think it was pretty clear to my professor, but I lived through the three hour class. Eeeks! :)

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realise when you read a review about it/go to ‘reread’ it that you haven’t? Which book? I keep a pretty detailed list of the books that I’ve read, so I don’t get confused too often about that. But, I will get confused on which books I own and which ones I don’t.

You’re interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why? (if you feel like you’d have to know the person, go ahead of personalise the VIP) This is difficult not knowing the person and what interests them. I think never a bad thing to start with something lighter to test the waters and then move into some of the heavier things. I think about this a lot when I’m thinking about which books I would recommend to certain people.

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with? French. Really no good reason other than I took a few classes in high school. And it seems like when I’m reading random books, French is the language that keeps popping up in little blurbs. Tender at the Bone, the last book I finished, had pieces of French—some of which I was able to decipher.

A mischievious fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick? There are a number of books that I would love to re-read, but I’m not sure about every year. Anyway, those that I would like to re-read include The Handmaid’s Tale, The Red Tent, The Time Traveler’s Wife, and The Poisonwood Bible.

I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What’s one bookish thing you ‘discovered’ from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)? I discovered The Book Thief first and foremost. There have been a couple of other books out there, but The Book Thief has certainly been the most impactful. Also challenges—a great way to organize my reading.

That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she’s granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leatherbound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favourite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead-let your imagination run free. Lisa – your dream library sounds fantastic! I, too, would want somewhere really cushy. Right now I have the couch, which has a permanent imprint of my bottom; my car, which is not all that comfortable; and the bed, but the cat can’t cuddle with me on the bed. So a huge cozy couch or recliner where I could have a place for my beverage and still have room for the cat to snuggle up would be great. Someplace quiet so that if hubby is watching 300 or something equally scary and loud I can still have peace and quiet. I’m not picky about the books. I love all types of books. I actually don’t need any more books. :) but I would like to have matching bookshelves.