(Found these questions on OS blog from Leeandra Nolting and thought I would give it a go!)
1) What author do you own the most books by?
William Shakespeare and Janet Evanovich (I am all about balance.)
2) What book do you own the most copies of?
I married an English major, and we took a few of the same classes, so alas, we have many duplicates. He won't really "get rid of" any but there have been some I have lent out that have never returned. We had four copies of the complete works of Shakespeare, so I recently traded one in at a used book store for credit.
3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
Would it bother anyone if I answer a question with a question?
4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
Mike Morelli or Ranger from the Stephanie Plum books.
5) What book have you read the most times in your life?
I usually don't re-read books. There are so many worth reading, I feel like I am cheating on the new books when I read the ones I have read already.
6) What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
I loved the Black Beauty series, Charlotte's Web, and the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary. I was the real life Ramona for a while. Choose Your Own Adventure series, Nancy Drew series, Sweet Valley High, should I go on?
7) What is the worst book you've read in the past year?
Falling Man by Don Delillo. The beginning was incredible and I had high hopes, but by the time I got to the middle, it was sucking the big one.
8) What is the best book you've read in the past year?
I have read a ton of books this year and it is hard to say what is the single best one. I loved the twilight series for sucking me in, especially the third book eclipse. BUT it is definitely written at the teen level or preteen level. I read a lot of Dave Eggers this year, and I really enjoyed his set of short stories How We Are Hungry. Each story inspired me in a different way.
9) If you could force everyone to read one book, what would it be?
I don't like the idea of force, but let's call it best required reading: The Great Gastby, F. Scott Fitzgerald.
10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for Literature?
No idea. I haven't found anyone worthy recently.
11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. One for the Money, Two for the Dough, and so on. They would make an excellent TV series. Fourteen books and counting. Fifteenth one comes out on June 23rd.
12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
I don't really want to see Mma Ramotswe on TV as somebody has recently done (HBO?). The books by Alexander McCall Smith stand on their own just fine. I don't know why, but I prefer these stories on the page.
13) Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.
I can't say that I have had a dream involving any of the above.They are usually musicians or actors. Uh, nevermind that.
14) What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult?
I try to screen out "lowbrow" in my first step of selecting books to read.
I can't say that I have had a dream involving any of the above.
14) What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult?
I try to screen out "lowbrow" in my first step of selecting books to read.
15) What is the most difficult book you've ever read?
Les Miserables. It was like trudging through quicksand for me.
16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you've seen?
I don't think I've seen anything obscure. Much ado about nothing, Midsummer night's dream, R & J.
17) Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
I am going to say the Russians here. Still waters run deep. The French are too transparent.
18) Roth or Updike?
Neither.
19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
David Eggers, Eggers, Eggers, Eggers.
20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Shakespeare.
21) Austen or Eliot?
Austen.
22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
College, or the years immediately after college. My neurons were fried for a while.
23) What is your favorite novel?
Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen (great imagery), and A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers (I was laughing through the parts where he was talking about the death of his parents). Ok, both are memoirs, but who cares?
24) Play?
Much Ado About Nothing.
25) Poem?
I have always like T.S. Eliot's poetry, esp. La Figlia Che Piange, Hysteria, and of course, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.
26) Essay?
Tengo nada.
27) Short story?
See How We Are Hungry by Dave Eggers.
28) Work of nonfiction?
Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. You forget it is non-fiction.
29) Who is your favorite writer?
See any of the above answers.
30) Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
There are so many. Dan Brown, that's all I can think of right now.
31) What is your desert island book?
The Bible. Or one of my three remaining copies of the collected works of Shakespeare :)
32) And... what are you reading right now?
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. After that it's Dirty Sexy Knitting by Christie Ridgway.
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Comments
What author do you own the most books by?
kurt vonnegut
What book have you read the most times in your life?
"the lord of the rings" trilogy by tolkien. i read it 13 times by the time i was 20 or so, but like you i rarely re-read books anymore.
what are you reading right now?
as is usually the case with me, i'm currently reading more than one book. right now they're "the kite runner" by khaled hosseini and "the long road to baghdad; a history of US foreign policy from the 1970s to the present" by lloyd gardner
at the risk of sounding like an utter geek, i need to say "books rule!"
THE SEANCE by John Harwood: Harwood has written a classic gothic tale, complete with mesmerists, mediums, and husbands who threaten to put their "too-curious" wives into insane asylums.
WICKED PLANTS: THE WEED THAT KILLED LINCOLN'S MOTHER & OTHER BOTANICAL ATROCITIES: I love wildflowers and am aware that some of them are dangerous. This book is a great little compendium of some of the common plants that can injure or kill you (not as uncommon as you may think. People frequently poison themselves accidentally by cooking up the wrong gourmet mushrooms they picked in the wild).
LAVINIA by Ursula K. LeGuin. Lavinia is a minor character in Vergil's AENEID, but she is the reason that Aeneas goes to war. Great book by one of our finest writers about one of the silent women in classic literature.
And now, I'm about ready to choose whether to start ADMISSION by Jean Hanff Korelitz or THE LITTLE STRANGER by Sarah Waters.
In terms of non-fiction, I read nothing but non-fiction for almost two years. Some of my faves from that time include: JESUSLAND by Julia Scheeres: HERE IF YOU NEED ME
anyway, the last book I mentioned was by Kate Braestrup, and COLUMBINE by our own Dave Cullen.
And now I'll quit typing because I'm going on too much. Thanks, NurseLiz for posting something about one of my favorite topics: books!
Nanatehay - you are not a geek!
FLW - those sound great - I will have to look for those titles!
dustbowldiva - I stumbled on Eggers on accident when his first book came out. I loved the writing style immediately. He and his wife have also written the new movie "Away We Go" with Jim from the Office and Maya Rudolph.
MR - your secret is safe here.
Aaron, I haven't read those titles yet. I am still working on 101 ways to play solitaire.
Noahvose - have you read Devil in the White City? It is quite thorough in its detail and enjoyable to read as well. I highly recommend it!