Beginnings

Welcome friends! I have started this entry in the global technosphere because I have been in love with books since the age of 2. Among the busy business of being a new teacher, this is my outlet for sharing thoughts on a love of reading a wide variety of books. My inspiration can be summed up with a yearbook quote from a teacher written when I was 8: "To the only girl at recess I see reading a book. Good for you!"
My blog title is quoted from a classmate who asked me this once. Believe it or not, I've also heard it as a teacher :D

Saturday, October 30, 2010

A Book-Related Quiz

Actually...it's a questionnaire.  Found it while hopping over to BookAHolics Anonymous.  Here goes...

What author do you own the most books by?

Stephen King.  I have 8:  On Writing, Different SeasonsThe Green Mile, Carrie, The Shining, The Mist, Under the Dome, The Stand, and The Dead Zone.  Haven't read The Stand yet & I haven't reviewed the the unlinked titles yet.

What book do you own the most copies of?
I have 2 copies of Oliver Twist and 2 of Alice in Wonderland.  I own 2 of each because each book's oldest copy is falling apart :D

Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
Didn't notice it until now...yikes, teacher's slip :P

What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
Not much of a secret, but I previously cited Gilbert from Anne of Green Gables as a crush in my Top 10 Fictional Crushes last Tuesday.

What book have you read the most times in your life?
Funny, I haven't reread many books in my life because I'm always looking for something new.  Probably The Green Mile by Stephen King or The Firm by John Grisham (a few times each).

What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
The Babysitters Club books :D

What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen.  Didn't finish it.  Just painful.

What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?
I loved The World According to Garp by John Irving and The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
K-PAX by Gene Brewer.  It's so brilliant & not enough people have read it!

Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for Literature?
This year's honour went to Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, but next year...too many to choose from!  Perhaps John Irving or Salman Rushdie.

What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem.  Edward Norton has been trying for a number of years to get this project moving & it sounds like it will finally happen.  IMDb cites a 2013 release date.

What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger as that was not his wish & I can't see anyone improving on the novel, so the best anyone can hope for is equally it.  Now that Salinger is dead, it is now up to his estate owner & that could very well make it happen.

Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.
I haven't had a dream involving any of those.  Strange, eh?

What is the most lowbrow book you’ve read as an adult?
Interesting question.  Not sure.

What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?
In terms of language, Roughing It in the Bush by Susanna Moodie.  In terms of style, A Million Little Pieces by James Frey.

What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you’ve seen?
Never seen one performed and I wouldn't describe any Shakespeare play I've read as obscure.

Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
I think Russian literature boasts more classic literature, but French literature is fun :)

Roth or Updike?
Never read either, but I'm more interested in Updike and his Rabbit series.

David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
I'm more interested in Sedaris.

Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Shakespeare, of course!

Austen or Eliot?
Have read 1 of each and I preferred Eliot as she was much more intuitive with her characters.

What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
Charles Dickens.  Not a single one read :(

What is your favorite book?
Only one?!?  If I had to choose, it would be The Green Mile by Stephen King.

Play?
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.

Poem?
"Ode on a Grecian Urn" by John Keats and "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe.

Essay?
"On the Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin and "A Vindication on the Rights of Women" by Mary Wollstonecraft.

Short story?
"The Breathing Method" from Different Seasons by Stephen King.

Work of nonfiction?
The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat by Oliver Sacks.

Who is your favorite writer?
Stephen King.

Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
Stephanie Meyer.

What is your desert island book?
The Firm by John Grisham.  I could read that book inside & out for all eternity if I had to.

And… what are you reading right now?
Primarily, Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger.

4 comments:

  1. This is a great questionnaire. I might get around to doing it later if I ever finish the school work I'm procrastinating on right now.
    I have one question. Wasn't Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Shelly's mom?
    I hope you're liking Her Fearful Symmetry. I can't wait to read your review!

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  2. Whoops, thanks for the heads-up, Emily! It's fixed now. I'm also hoping I like HFS considering the ending is supposed to be highly questionable & controversial. Ooh, the suspense is getting to me :D

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  3. I enjoyed reading your answers and I'll have to say I agree with most of them! I love King's books and the Green Mile was one of my favorites of his.

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  4. K-PAX huh, I guess I'll have to check that out. How have you never seen Shakespeare performed!?!? It's so much better live. Get thee to a theater!

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