Friday Blog Hop

A weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy For Books.

I haven't participated in the hop for a while, but this topic is getting me in the mood for Hallowe'en!

What is your favorite spooky book (i.e. mystery/suspense, thriller, ghost story, etc.)?

*OoOoOoh*...did you hear that?!  My favourite scary book is Carrie by Stephen King.  There is no other book I know that scared me more than the scene where Carrie leaves the prom to walk home.  I was reading it on a bus ride home.  Yikes!  Luckily it was daytime or I'd ever be able to walk home :D 

A close runner-up: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.  After all, what could be scarier than a world without books?

In book news, I've been eyeballs deep into The Stand and have reached the halfway mark already!  It's quite a trip and should knock off a large chunk of it this weekend with rainy weather in the forecast.  And I still have a few reviews to write...I haven't forgotten, just savouring my words until I get it just right.  *Yes, that will do* (to quote a classic Mr. Burns' line of excuse-mongering).

Have a great weekend everyone :)

Friday Blog Hop!

A weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy For Books.

This week's question is:

When did you realize reading was your passion and a truly important part of your life?

This is a fascinating, terrific question!  I definitely knew from the time I could read at about 3 that it was something special that I connected to instantly.  As a teacher, I reminisce even more about how easy it was for me to read while many children struggle to string words and their meaning together.  I can't remember learning how to read but that I always could.  It was never a question of cannot but always of can (to paraphrase Yoda).

As for when my passion for reading was understood, it was probably when I was earning my degree in English.  Reading sometimes up to 12 books per year per course was challenging and invigorating.  I remember bumping into a neighbour while in line for coffee who was earning his business degree and he was flabbergasted at the number of novels I was reading for my courses.  He basically said he wouldn't be able to handle that at all.  I shrugged and replied that it wasn't ever like work for me (the reading part; the writing of essays sure was!) but was a joy.  The day I graduated with that degree was the day I fully realized my passion for reading.  And now I have the privilege of spreading that passion to children in an age where reading is not the forefront of one's hobbies or even vaguely general interest.

On another note, I'm very much enjoying my re-read of To Kill a Mockingbird and will probably finish it tonight.  It's amazing how much I missed from my first read of it in high school and how much my perspectives have changed, as well as about 10 years of added life experience.  I can't wait to review this!

Have a great weekend everyone :)

Friday Hop

A weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy For Books.

This week's question is:

How many books are currently in your To-Be-Read (TBR) Pile?

You might be surprised to know that I don't have as many books on my TBR shelf as most book bloggers do, mainly due to lack of funds and lack of space. 

First, on my nightstand are TBRs I'm about to start or will start soon and my current reads are housed there as well.  I have 2 there now: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which I'm dying to start, and To Kill a Mockingbird, my re-read for the Back to the Classics challenge that I'm stalling on starting for some reason.  I have two shelves, one with 22 TBRs and another with 26, then I have a box of 43 TBRs in my closet.

Doing the math, that comes to 93 TBR books in my possession.  I also have a TBR list (these are not yet acquired) of about 870 books.

I've been hearing some bloggers quote 1000+ books in their house!  Egads :D

Have a great weekend everyone!

Friday Blog Hop!

A weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy For Books.

For this week only, the hop is being hosted by Lori @ Lori's Reading Corner.

This week's question is:

Who is the one author that you are dying to meet?

Just one?!? :(   This ought to be a Top 10 Tuesday topic (or maybe it already has been one?).  If I had to choose just one, I would love to meet Stephen King, probably because I've read so many of his books and he seems very down-to-earth from the forwards he writes in some editions of his books.  It would be great to talk shop with him :)

This is too fun a topic to just stop here...so here's a top 10 list:

1)  Stephen King
2)  Audrey Niffenegger
3)  J.K. Rowling
4)  Margaret Atwood
5)  John Irving
6)  Anna Quindlen
7)  Jane Hamilton
8)  Barbara Kingsolver
9)  Khaled Hosseini
10)  Mark Haddon


Have a great weekend :)

Friday Hop!

A weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy For Books.

This week's topic is:

Share your favorite post from the last month and tell us why it’s close to your heart!

I haven't participated in the hop for quite some time but I must be in a hoppin' good mood :D  It's hard to choose a favourite post, but I will choose my review of Night Shift by Stephen King, because I loved the opportunity to write small reviews of the short stories.  It was actually harder to write than a review of a single novel but I enjoyed it equally.

Have a wonderful weekend!  The weather here has been awesome & let's hope it stays this way for a while...or all summer will do :)

Friday Blog Hop!

A weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy For Books.

This week's question is:

Since today is April Fool's Day in the USA, what is the best prank you have ever played on someone OR that someone has played on you?

Happy April Fools' Day!

I only remember one:  my dad was a science teacher and loves birds in particular.  It was a cold day and way too early in the season for cardinals to fly by, but my mom thought she'd fool him on April 1st.  She put a bright red plastic cardinal on our backyard bird feeder and acted all surprised to find one.  My dad actually believed her and when he saw it, he thought it was real...until he got the binoculars and noticed it wasn't moving :)  Gotcha!

I can't wait to hear all the funny ones you came up with!

Friday Blog Hop!

A weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy For Books.

This week's topic is from Somer @ A Bird's Eye Review:

 

Do you read only one book at a time, or do you have several going at once?

 

Usually, I only read one book at a time as I like to give all my attention to a single story.  Every so often, I'll dip into a second book if the first one is slow-going or if I'm particuarly psyched to start a book waiting on the shelf.

 

What about you:  are you a one-book-at-a-time reader or one of varying attention span?

 

Have a great weekend :)

 

 

Friday Blog Hop!

A weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy For Books.

This week's topic is from Ellie @ Musings of a Bookshop Girl.

"If I gave you £50 (or $80) and sent you into a bookshop right now, what would be in your basket when you finally staggered to the till?"

Oooh...don't toy with me, I'm very vulnerable to book shopping hypotheticals :D

I'm going to think a bit more radically here instead of stating the obvious (challenge books that I haven't bought yet).  I always like to buy fiction, but usually I'll throw in a couple of nonfiction, and usually one (auto)biography or memoir to spice things up. 

Let's say for sake of argument (and having to do several price checks) that each book cost $10, so here are the 8 eclectic books I'd buy:

1)  Get Happy by Gerald Clarke--a biography of Judy Garland

2)  The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers--a classic

3)  Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume--a children's classic

4)  Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery--minus book #1 which I already have; a box set on sale?!  In my dreams :D

5)  Blessings by Anna Quindlen--I've been dying to read something else by her as I absolutely loved One True Thing

6)  Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler--ditto #5, except it was The Accidental Tourist :)

7)  We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver--a contemporary must-read

8)  At Home by Bill Bryson--I had to throw a humourist into the group to lighten the load ;)

Coincidentally, I'm finally getting around to hitting the Book Depot, likely on Monday, so I'll hopefully have lots of book shopping news to share ;)

I can't wait to hop & see what everyone wants to buy!  Isn't virtual, imaginary book shopping fun? :D  What would you buy if you had $80 to spend?  Share in the comments & watch your TBR list grow!

Ontarians are on spring/March break this week, so enjoy!

Friday Blog Hop!

A weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy For Books.

This week's topic is from Mia @ Girl About Books:

 

Who's your all-time favorite book villain?

Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris comes immediately to mind.  He is such a complex, perhaps even sympathetic character with a brilliant mind but a horrific impulse that bears his nickname "Hannibal the Cannibal."  He is a fascinating character to read, but Anthony Hopkins makes him all the more real with his characteristic creepy "sucking air" sound and that eerie, oddly charming drawl.

Honourable mentions should be made to the following fantastic literary villains:

Pinky from Brighton Rock by Graham Greene

Gonneril & Regan from King Lear by William Shakespeare

George Harvey from The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Mrs. Carmody from The Mist by Stephen King

Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

Mr. Hyde from Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Jim Rennie from Under the Dome by Stephen King

Who is your favourite literary villain?

Have a great weekend :)

Friday Blog Hop!

A weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy for Books.

This week's topic is from Jen B. @ I Read Banned Books:

Do you ever wish you would have named your blog something different?

In short, not really.  I wonder sometimes if my frilly blog template is mismatched with my funny title, but I don't know what else I would call it without losing that unique quality it has (if I do say so myself!)...and I like purple :)  Here's how my nickname & the blog's name came to be...

When I first started the blog, like I'm sure many of you did, I wasn't sure what to name it.  I just wanted something different besides the typical titles--possibly a one-and-only title that no one else had claimed (good luck with that thinking!).  I was reading lots of material about current pedagogical philosophies in which teachers are no longer Aristotelian lecturers but are learning at the same time from their students as they teach.  I sure am!  Hence the nickname "Teacher/Learner."

As for "Whatcha Readin', Books?," I remembered when I was on a prep period, and a student came back to class.  He/she (can't remember which) saw me reading, and, with a hilarious laidback tone, asked "Whatcha readin', books?"  Well, I certainly wasn't reading the encyclopedia :D

What about your blogs?  How did your blog name and/or nickname come to be?

Have a terrific weekend :)

Friday Blog Hop!

A weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy For Books.

This week's question is from Jessica @ A GREAT Read:

What book(s) would you like to see turned into a movie?

Terrific question!  I am a huge movie buff and love to compare books to their movie versions.  So many popular & classic books have been adapted to film, how many could possibly be left to adapt?  Here are some I'd love to see as a movie with some ideas on casting:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

I think Marc Forster would be a brilliant choice of director as he does quirky, fantastic visuals that would bode well with Christopher's mental machinations.  Forster directed Stranger Than Fiction, The Kite Runner, and Quantam of Solace (a James Bond flick) among others.  As for casting, no one comes immediately to mind.

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

This may be a tricky one to adapt to film but the same was said about The Time Traveler's Wife and it was done (though not nearly as well as the book).  As I read the book, I pictured Felicity Huffman as Elspeth & Edwina, probably because I'm hooked on Desperate Housewives :)  Perhaps Abigail Breslin would make a good Julia & Valentina.  I saw her recently on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and she looks so grownup now!

While we're on the topic, why oh why are they making an American version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson when the Swedish-made movie is so good on its own?  Why must there be an American equivalent to everything?  Sorry to rant about this, but honestly, how could they possibly top Noomi Rapace?

Meanwhile, Edward Norton is still attempting to get Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem to the big screen for 2013.  He will make a fantastic Lionel Essrog!

And Under the Dome by Stephen King is being made into a TV miniseries/movie this year produced by Steven Spielberg for DreamWorks.  While I understand that the novel's gargantuan length suggests a medium longer than the average feature film offers, it ought to be a blockbuster running 3 hours or more, such as The Sound of Music and Gone With the Wind--why take the small screen route on a masterful made-to-be-a-movie story?

Have a great weekend everyone!  I also want to wish everyone in Ontario a happy long weekend with Family Day on Monday :)

I'll probably have some bookish news after the weekend as I'm celebrating my birthday & I'm sure a trip to the bookstore will be in order.  I'm also planning to visit the Book Depot during my week off in March as I had to postpone the pre-Xmas trip.

What are you planning to read this weekend?  I'm a little more than halfway through The Kite Runner, which has been a real treat, and my goal is finish it, review it, and start Middlesex by Tuesday.  Wish me luck :)

Friday Blog Hop!

A weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy For Books.

This week's topic is:

Tell us about one of your posts from this week & give us a link so we can read it (review or otherwise)!

I'm currently finishing up Rabbit, Run by John Updike, which has taken a week or so to read, so the last review I posted was for Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon.  I enjoyed the story a lot--it was so unique & interconnected with fascinating characters.  The language was sharp & crisp, sometimes rather intellectual (consult a dictionary on some words) but overall a wonderful read.  Hope you enjoy!

What have you read & reviewed recently?  Comment with a link & I'd love to visit you :)

Have a great weekend!

Let's Go to the Hop!

A weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy For Books.

This week's question is:

What are you reading now & why are you reading it?

I'm currently reading Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon just for fun because I love the movie with Michael Douglas and I have heard Chabon's name before but never read one of his books.  I'm about 2/3 of the way through and am enjoying it.  The plot is finely tuned and his use of language is richly intellectual, but not at all dry--in fact, it's incredibly funny.  I'm looking forward to finishing it off this weekend & penning a review :)

What are you reading right now?

Have a great weekend :)

Friday Blog Hop

A weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy For Books.

This week's question is from Barb @ Sugarbeat's Books:

Why do you read the genre that you do?  What draws you to it?

I love reading a variety of genres because it makes my mind work in different ways and there are countless possibilities for stories & subjects when you keep an open mind to what you read.  With adult/general fiction, I'm drawn to the marriage between relatable or ordinary characters to extraordinary circumstances or situations that change a character from what he/she was in the beginning to carrying even a small amount of change or additional experience in themselves by the end.  In general nonfiction, I am drawn to the in-depth exploration of a topic, not necessarily to the point of exhaustion but to developing a new sense of the subject and a willingness to adopt a different frame of mind on the topic or to renew a lost feeling or piece of knowledge that got lost in the hubbub of daily life.

I'd be curious to hear how more specific genres that you read draw you in.  A great discussion topic this week, as usual :)

Friday Blog Hop

This is a weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy For Books.

This week's question is from Ivan @ Ivan Bookworm:

What book influenced or changed your life?  How did it influence/change you?

Yay, the first Blog Hop of 2011!  Readers have so many favourite books, but there is always a special one that stands out, and for me, it is Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.  This book & its Canadian-made miniseries starring Megan Follows influenced me to be a little more kinder, gentler, and to keep my imagination alive.  She is one of the most memorable characters in literature and if I had to choose just one favourite character, she would be the one.

Have a great weekend & happy hopping :)



Friday Blog Hop!

Happy Friday!

A weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy For Books.

This week's question comes from Marce @ Tea Time With Marce.

What very popular and hyped book in the blogosphere did you NOT enjoy and how did you feel about posting your review?

Awesome question!  I think this is an issue that I'd love to read about as it can cause a bit of discomfort (and perhaps shame?) to admit that you did not like a book that everyone & their brother seems to adore.

This has happened to me at least twice that I can especially recall:  I had difficulty coming to terms with not liking Freedom by Jonathan Franzen when even Obama claims to really dig it!  Yikes :D  Another was She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb.  I just could not get past the slogging pace.  I loved the language, the characters, and the style, but it moved along soooo slowly that I just gave up.

Did you feel the same way about either of these books, or do you have another title that made you feel this way?

A weekly meme hosted by Janet @ Friday Fill-Ins.

1.  The best thing about a birthday celebration is making a wish.

2.  If only we could slow the passage of time.

3.  I went shopping recently and the most interesting thing I bought was a toy Santa that climbs up & down a gold chain to a Xmas tune (I forget which) for my cousin who loves funny toys.

4.  No one is too old to play a child's game when you are young at heart.

5.  The reason is so simple that we completely miss it.

6.  I'm getting to be a Scrooge about the incoming snow and cold.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to blog hopping (finally!), tomorrow my plans include dinner at my cousin's house and Sunday, I want to put a major dent in The Girl in the Dragon Tattoo!

Apparently, this last part is a holiday carols quiz...but on the ones I couldn't solve, I filled in the letters with some wacky pseudo-Haiku :)

1. HYAMLC:  Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

2. TFNTADS:  The First Noel the Angels Did Say

3. GRYMGLNYD:  Get Ready, Your Musty Grandma Lurks Nearby...You're Done (for) :D

4. ICUAMC:  It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

5. SNHNAICAIB:  Silent Night, Holy Night, All is Calm, All is Bright

6. OTFDOCMTLGTM:  One, Two, Four, D'oh!  Oh Crumb, My Time Long Gone To Math :D

7. DTHWBOHFLLLLLLLL:  Deck the Halls With Boughs of Holly, Fa La La La La La La La La

8. YBWOYBNC:  You Buy What One Yearns, But No Coupon :D

9. JTTWTLHC:  Just That Tome With The Long Hip Chapters :D
 
 
Have a great weekend :)

Friday Memes

Happy Friday!

A weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy For Books.

This week's question is from Sarah @ Writer, Reader, Dreamer:

What is your favourite book cover?

Love the question this week :)  This was once a Top 10 Tuesday topic (try saying that 5 times fast!).  It's hard to choose just one but I'm particularly fond of:

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

This cover reminds me of childhood and brings out the anticipation & patience that Claire had for Henry.  On a related note, here is another great cover with shoes:

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

The shoes in both books aren't very significant, but in this cover, the red is symbolic of China, in which the novel is set during the Cultural Revolution.  I love the look of these shoes with the worn toes because it tells me that its wearer has gone a long way.



A weekly meme hosted by Janet @ Friday Fill-Ins.

My responses are underlined; the rest is given:

1.  Three things I must have on my Thanksgiving table:  Butterball turkey, my mom's stuffing, and pumpkin pie (I think the only way to eat it is with cream cheese filling!).

2.  After a tiring day at work, you'll find me sacked out on the couch.

3.  This is CNN (*in James Earl Jones's booming voice).

4.  During the 1st week of December, it's time to decorate the house & tree for Xmas.

5.  Oh, man, thankfully it's Friday!

6.  I would like to perfect the art of teaching.

7.  And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to diving into The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, tomorrow my plans include nothing in particular (whatever catches my fancy) and Sunday, I want to have a solid dent in my current read!
 
By the way, thank you for voting at right for my reading material for the Back to the Classics Challenge.  The polls are still open until December 21st.
 
Have a wonderful weekend everyone :)
 

Friday Blog Hop & Fill-Ins

A weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy For Books.

This week's topic is:

Since Thanksgiving is coming up next week, let's use this week's Hop to share what we are most thankful for and what our holiday traditions are!

Well, here in Canada we celebrated Thanksgiving back in October, but it's a thoughtful idea for a topic, so why not?  I'm always thankful for having a loving, supportive family, a job I love and hope to build a career on, having basic needs that many people are without, and having so much to look forward to and enjoy in this life.

As for holiday traditions, my small, immediate family has dinner together every year, usually on the Saturday before Thanksigivng or right on the Sunday holiday, and oftentimes there will be at least one football game on!

A weekly meme hosted by Janet @ Friday Fill-Ins.

I love the creativity that pours out of these :)  My responses are underlined:

1. Why does my hair insist on sticking out at all ends?!?

2. Open your eyes and you just might see the world.

3. Thank you for reading & following my book blog :)

4. Xmas is my favorite holiday because my entire family gets together.

5. I am SO glad to be starting my Xmas shopping.

6. If only we would make up our minds to be.  (uh, would anything I put in here make sense grammatically?)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to celebrating my parents' anniversary (#27), tomorrow my plans include tackling the weekend crossword puzzle and Sunday, I want to try out my new up-converting DVD player (oh yeah, and get some reading in, too)!

Have a great weekend :D

Friday Memes

A weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy For Books.

This week's topic is from Christina @ All About YA Books:

If you find a book that looks interesting but is part of a series, do you always start with the first title?

Great question!   Usually I do.  It's that type-A part of myself that needs to see things unfold from the very beginning.  I started the Alex Cross and Women's Murder Club books by James Patterson from #1 on.  The only series I didn't start from the beginning was The Babysitters Club.  When I was 7, I received a current book from it and that got me interested in reading them all (which I did!).  So, it goes to show that it's not necessary to start a series from book #1, but if I'm shopping for the series, I'll start with #1.

A weekly meme hosted by Janet @ Friday Fill-Ins.

My fill-ins are underlined; the rest are given:

1. When pigs fly I'll win the lottery :)

2. You expect me to take that seriously?!

3. Call me *call me any day or night, call me* (Blondie).

4. Nod if you know what I mean.  (How lame...sorry, I blanked on this one!)

5. The most entertaining person in my life is my dad because he is the best storyteller & joke-teller in the family.

*SPOILER*
6. Moira "escaped" Gilead, making me wonder who's next?

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to seeing family, tomorrow my plans include sadly, a funeral and Sunday, I want to finish The Handmaid's Tale and watch Desperate Housewives!

50th Follower Giveaway!

Challenge/giveaway is open until tomorrow at 1 p.m. EST.  Click here for more details.

Have a great weekend everyone :)