A meme to the rescue. Today inspiration has come to me in the form of a reading meme via Lisa at Pfeiffer Booknotes. This originated with Eva at A Striped Armchair. So here goes:
Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews? Actually (lately) I've heard mixed reviews, but mostly good ones for Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner. I've had a copy of it for ages, and do mean to read it someday, but I just haven't been able to bring myself to pick it up and start it. I'm sure I've mentioned before that I have a hard time with really contemporary fiction. Books about world events that are occurring at the moment, I tend to shy away from. I know that sounds silly, but it's hard enough sometimes to watch the news about countries struggling (to put it nicely), I don't generally want it to spill over into my reading (which for me is often a way to escape from life's problems). Now I have no problem with reading about world events in an historical context. Strange, I know. What can I say.
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? Since they are still on my mind I wouldn't mind sitting down to tea (or maybe hot chocolate) with Lydia Gwilt, Ozias Midwinter and Allan Armadale. Now that's a conversation that would be entertaining!
(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 realize it's past time to die. What book would you expect to get you a nice grave? I can't really say if it is a boring book, but I have a thing about James Joyce's Ulysses. I am pretty open to most books, but this is one I don't think I'll be tackling soon. I really like Susan's answer to this one, too. I don't have any desire to read The Lord of the Rings either.
Come on, we've all been there. What book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you've read, when in fact you've been nowhere near it? Honestly I can't think of a time where I've said I read something when in actuality I hadn't. There have been plenty of times when I've seen a film adaptation and not read the book. But I always own up. And if I didn't--I call it a sin of omission.
As an addition to the last question, has there been a book you really thought you had read only to realize when you read a review about it/go to "reread" it that you haven't? Which book? Okay, so I haven't actually reread either book (I'm not really a big rereader), but when I was in high school I read Crime and Punishment or maybe Brothers Karamazov. Or maybe both. Maybe even neither. All I remember is Raskolnikov. I know I read something Russian though.
You're interviewing for the post of Official Book Adviser to some VIP (who's not a big reader). What's the first book you'd recommend and why? (If you feel like you have to know the person, go ahead and personalize the VIP). I'm very hesitant to recommend books to people. I've had bad experiences in the past giving books I've loved to people as gifts and they ended up disliking the book. Even now when I love something and write about it on my blog and then someone says they'll give it a try I have an anxious moment...what if they hate it? So, can I take the cowards way out and say Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen? Who doesn't like Jane.
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? Italian. I think it's such a beautiful sounding language.
A mischievous fairy comes and says 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? Chocolat by Joanne Harris. That's cheating a bit since I already reread it often. How about The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins.
I know the book blogging community, and all its 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)? Short stories. I think had I not started blogging I would never have started reading short stories. Now I look forward to finding a good story to read each weekend.
The 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 favorite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead - let your imagination run free. It would be an entire room just for books and enough shelves for all of them. No more books in piles on the floor. And wood floors. And all the woodwork would be that light color wood (blonde?). And there would be a cushy sofa and a comfortable chair or two and a fireplace. And there would be a wall of windows with French doors looking out onto a beautiful garden (that someone else would have designed as I don't have a green thumb!). And maybe this would be along the Oregon coast and I could hear the pounding of waves just beyond my garden....I better stop here, or my tiny little book room will depress me the next time I go into it.
As this meme has been making the rounds, I won't tag anyone, but please feel free to play along!