Books!

I haven't written in a long time, and I want to but I have nothing to say right now. So here's a little something I ripped off. Thanks, Amber!

1) Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?
Well, my mom keeps trying to get me to read the Left Behind series, since she really enjoyed it, but I can't bring myself to do it. And I know if anyone saw me reading it I'd be ashamed.

For a long time I wouldn't read anything that got too popular, because I suspected the moron majority was using it for some evil plot, but usually now I'll read it if at least one person I trust says it was good.


2) 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?
This is a harder question than I thought it would be. Most of the characters I love in books are not people you would necessarily want to spend any time with if they were real. And the other problem is that if I brought to life a male character because I love him, I still wouldn't be the lover he wants, so that would be silly. That's the problem with bringing to life the Phouka from War for the Oaks...I wouldn't be Eddi. And also, I really love him because he's a little bit A to me. But let's see...
Death, from the Sandman for some lunch, and maybe clubbing later.
Lazarus Long, from Robert Heinlein's Future History, for long conversations and any adventure he wanted to take me on. Hopefully many members of his family would be there too(especially Mama Maureen).
The Vampire Lestat. He's probably make life intersting for a while, at the very least.



3) (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?
Obviously this has to be a book I haven't already read and put in the boring pile. So I'm going on my guess as to a book's level of boring. Since I always think I should but have never managed to pick it up, I'm going with The Grapes of Wrath.



4) 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?
Madame Bovary. I was supposed to read it the summer before Senior year and I couldn't get into it, since I had just finished reading Atlas Shrugged, and Bovary seemed way too watered down after that.


5) 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 and personalise the VIP).
If I personalize the VIP, it woul dbe different for every person. But something I'd offer pretty universally is American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. It's such a detailed world, and a beautiful theory, and the best book by a fantastic author.


6) 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?
I think I have to go with German. There's be some really great Philosophy reading options.

7) A mischievous 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?
Tough decision. Pride and Prejudice would be one that I have read almost every year, so I guess I'd pick that one.


8) 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've never been terribly exclusive about my reading. I like to read, so I do a lot of it. But I guess I have discovered a few new authors. Ann Patchett's the one that comes to mind.


9) That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she’s granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leather bound? 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.
When I read Amber's list, I thought: we have the same dream library! Definitely a round room with books floor to ceiling, and ladders to get to them. The books are in pristine condition, but not leather-bound. And they have some sort of magic involved so spines never break and pages don't fold. The center of the room is sunken, with super poofy couches and chairs for comforatble reading, and well-placed lamps. And it has ALL the books. Like the Sandman's library, it has books that my favorite authors never even wrote down. And all the ones I have been too scared to write are in there too.