Here's a fun meme which originally started at The Striped Armchair, and where I've so far seen answers by Lisa at Books.Lists.Life and by Amy at The Sleepy Reader. I just had to try it!
Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?
Middlesex. Everyone loves it, but I just don’t think I’d like it!
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?
Let’s go on a girl cruise! I’ll take Elizabeth Bennett, Anne Shirley and Jo March.
(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?
The Old Man and the Sea. To me this sounds even worse than Moby-Dick!
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?
Hmmmmm.... I can’t remember ever pretending that I haven’t read something. I can see myself going the OTHER way. Maybe having read something and pretending that I haven’t!
As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realise when you read a review about it/go to ‘reread’ it that you haven’t? Which book?
I can’t think of an answer for this either. There’s got to be one, but I don’t know what!
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 of personalise the VIP).
Wow, this one is harder than I thought it would be! Hmmmm.... since I’m on a Book Thief high right now... how about The Book Thief by Markus Zusak? I think either gender would like this one. It’s easy reading, it’s sad, but uplifting at the same time. Yeah, I think this would be a good one to recommend to a VIP!
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 French. I came close in college being about to do this, but not close enough, and of course, I’ve totally lost it now.
A mischievious 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?
Pride and Prejudice. I could handle this one once a year easy!
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)?
The challenges have made me realize that setting book goals can be on a whole new level than I’ve ever imagined before! Meeting other bloggers has made me see that I barely scratch the surface with my reading habits... and here I thought I was a "big" reader. Not. At least compared to some! I can’t think that I’ve discovered a new author or genre, but I’ve just discovered that I can read tons MORE than I can imagine!
That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she’s granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leatherbound? 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.
Wow. I dream about a library all the time! Mine would have wall to wall and floor to ceiling shelves. All kinds of books, nice ones, beat up ones, paperbacks, hardbacks, leather, and not. A huge variety, all organized like a real library by subject and author. A nice huge kids section too. Lots of extremely comfortable chairs, with lots of lamps nearby... no overhead lighting! A fireplace would be cool, and deep soft carpet. A couple of small tables with books strewn all over. My library is not spic and span... it’s going to be very very used and lived in!
I won't tag anyone in particular... but just DO IT! If you do, go back and tell Eva at A Striped Armchair and she'll enter you into a drawing!
Great answers! I haven't read Middlesex either. I keep meaning to but somehow I just keep avoiding it.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOne good thing about The Old Man and the Sea is that it's so short. I re-read(!) it recently with my husband and while I remained less than enthused, he liked it.
ReplyDeleteI loved the first half of Middlesex, but for the second half I just felt "meh." And I thought the last maybe fifty, hundred pages was very unrealistic! So, now you have some justification for avoiding that one. :)
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy French as well! I studied it a little in college, enough that if I'm reading a book with some French in it, I'm good. But I can't read entire books in French, unless they're very, very simple.
Thanks for playing along-it's fun to read everyone's answers. :)
I can't say that I haven't read Middlesex because of something irrational. I just don't want to read it. The Book Thief is the one I would recommend also. Great book.
ReplyDeleteNot everyone loved Middlesex. I thought it was way too long and could have benefitted from a hefty dose of editing.
ReplyDeleteHa! That looks like a fun meme. I read Middlesex and enjoyed it -- my favorite character was Desdemona. I talked about her for BTT's question about quirky characters! :)
ReplyDeleteI also read The Old Man and the Sea and loved it.
And I also adore Pride and Prejudice -- Elizabeth Bennett is a fabulous character.
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?
ReplyDeleteItalian because I want to read Dante's Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise in the original language.
A mischievious 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?
Pride and Prejudice or The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux.
Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?
ReplyDeleteFor me, this was The Road, but after finally sitting down and reading it, I really enjoyed it.
(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?
I would love to finish the Brothers Karamazov, which is still unread. I'm still in the same place after many months. It may simply gather dust on the shelf. I really enjoyed the Old Man and the Sea.