Lil' Book Survey

I found this over @ Sarah Says.  I like these quick book surveys.  Here goes...

Book next to your bed right now: A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, My Life by Bill Clinton, a poetry anthology by John Lithgow, and a book published by AFI about movies (can't remember the title).

Favorite series: Harry Potter...I know, I'm a cop-out :D

Favorite book: ONE?!?  Under pressure, I'd probably say Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.  Or The Green Mile by Stephen King.  Or...

The one book you would have with you if stranded on a desert island: Probably the Harry Potter series for entertainment value (hopefully they come all in one book!), or The Firm by John Grisham, because I could re-read that book for infinity, it's so interesting.

Book/series you would take with you on a long flight: An epic-length book I've never read, maybe Gone With the Wind.

Worst book you were made to read in school: I really didn't care for Animal Farm or Macbeth, both read in 11th grade and both taught by a student teacher I couldn't stand.  I probably didn't like the books because of the teacher, so maybe I should give them another chance.

Book that everyone should be made to read in school: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (borrowing from Sarah here--brilliant choice), The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein...

Book that everyone should read, period: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, K-PAX by Gene Brewer, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Favorite character: Not to be too repetitive, but Anne Shirley is hands-down my favourite literary character. 

Best villian: Nobody quite lives up to Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris.  Some come very close: Voldemort in Harry Potter, Annie Wilkes in Misery by Stephen King, Pinky in Brighton Rock by Graham Greene, August in Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen, Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey...

Favorite invented world: Technically, all fictional settings are invented worlds, but I think the idea is to name a fantasy world.  I would say Hogwarts in Harry Potter is a definite stand-out, but also Susie's version of heaven in The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold comes to mind.

Most beautifully written book:  Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Atonement by Ian McEwan...

Funniest book:  Oh boy...Earth by Jon Stewart & the staff at The Daily Show was hilarious.  Also very funny: Never Have Your Dog Stuffed by Alan Alda, This Time Together by Carol Burnett, Last Words by George Carlin, Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding, Marley & Me by John Grogan (also sad in parts but mostly chockful of hilarious antics).