Day 9
Day 9 - The first book you ever read
I honestly have no idea. I know that I didn’t want to read on my own ever. I only wanted people to read *to* me. But then something changed in 3rd grade and I started reading on my own. Voraciously. I know I read through all the dinosaurs in the K-3 section of the school library and had to get permission to start in on the 4-6 section. I remember being obsessed with (a possibly imaginary because I’ve never once found evidence it actually exists) monster encyclopedia of all of Maurice Sendak’s Wild Things. I read and reread Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs so many times I’m amazed my copy still exists but somehow it does and I’ve read it to the Captain and the Rani. But first book? Who knows.
Coming up:
Day 10 - Book from your favourite author
Day 11 - Book you once loved and now hate
Day 12 - Book that a friend recommended
Day 13 - Book that makes you laugh
Day 14 - Book from your childhood
Day 15 - 4th book from the left on your shelf
Day 16 - 9th book from the right on your shelf
Day 17 - Close your eyes and get any book from your shelf
Day 18 - Book with the most beautiful cover
Day 19 - Book that you never wanted to read
Day 20 - Book that you read at school
Day 21 - Most stupid book you read at school
Day 22 - Book on your shelf with the most pages
Day 23 - Book on your shelf with the least pages
Day 24 - Book that nobody would expect you read/loved it
Day 25 - A book where the main character is almost like you
Day 26 - Book you would read to your children
Day 27 - A book where the main character is your idol
Day 28 - Thank God this book was made into a movie
Day 29 - Darn, why did they make this book into a movie?
Day 30 - First erotic book you ever read
Day 31 - Book series you are collecting
Previously:
Day 1 - The book you're reading now
I just started the first volume in Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes. I’ve read lots of issues over the years but never in any kind of order and I’ve certainly not read the entire series. I’ve been meaning to get around to it and then when I saw that Mark Reads was doing them it seemed like as good a time as any to start.
Day 2 - The book you want to read next
I keep changing my mind. First I was going to start The Hob’s Bargain because I’m curious to see what Patricia Briggs’ non-werewolf writing is like. Then I found Lost in Time in the stack under my bed and figured the latest in Melissa de la Cruz’s Blue Bloods series would be a natural transition from the Sandman. Then I got notice that the library has the just published third Alpha and Omega novel available so I think I’ll run pick that up tonight. Yay more Charles and Anna!
Day 3 - Your favourite book
This is a tough one because it’s variable. Ultimately I’ll go with Lord of the Rings. I can reread it at any time and never get sick of it. There’s always something new to discover. It’s such a vast world and I can get lost in it no matter how long it’s been or how recent it’s been.
Day 4 - Book you hate
Oh that’s easy. Maribou Stork Nightmares by Irvine Welsh. I haaaaaated this book. I wasn’t old enough yet (maybe a year or two out of college only) to know that it’s OK to quit reading books that I don’t like. That life’s too short to waste on finishing fiction that makes you sick. This book was fucked up, and not in a good or fun way. It was horrible and harsh and thoroughly disgusting and there were NO good people between the pages.
Day 5 - A Book you can read again and again
There are a handful of books that I can reread repeatedly. Lord of the Rings is one, all the Harry Potters, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Celestial Matters by Richard Garfinkle. There are also a couple that I’ve only read once but I suspect will fall into the same category, mainly Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
Day 6 - A book you can only read once (no matter you love or hate it)
This is super tough. I’m really overthinking the “only read once” part of this instruction. I mean, every time I come up with something I liked that was tough I think, well I would re-read that. So let’s go with something I didn’t like. Generally I don’t quit books but I’ve been getting better at not finishing things I’m not enjoying. And generally I don’t pick things I don’t think I’ll enjoy but my book club titles can definitely be duds. So, the one that comes to mind right now is The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai. I wouldn’t say that I *hated* it, but I definitely didn’t like it. I didn’t like the people in it. I didn’t like the outcomes for the characters in it. I didn’t like the hopeless despair surrounding it. Maybe that makes it art. But I don’t care. I will not be reading this one again.
Day 7 - Book that reminds you of someone
I have a lot of books that remind me of people. I’m in a book club. I know several authors. (Hi to you all on LJ!) I love discussing what I read with friends in person and online. I’ve exchanged books with many people in many jobs over the years. But I just keep circling back to one: my grandma. Grandma Wilma recommended books to me my whole life, everything from Anne of Green Gables to the Clan of the Cave Bear. But I didn’t return the favor until the last year of her life. I don’t know why. Busy in college? Not reading something I thought she would like? I’m always over-thinking my recommendations because I think reading taste is so personal and it’s always right, even if it’s trashy. If you like it, you like it. Period. My field crew (I think it was the NoDak crew, we exchanged more books than any other crew) was passing around Memoirs of a Geisha and I loved it and I bought Grandma a copy and she loved it. And I was so proud of being able to bring her happiness and enable her to escape in a book. I think of her every time it comes up now.
Day 8 - Book that reminds you of a certain place
There aren’t too many books that immediately remind me of where I read them. And even though I always bring books when I travel, the fact that I read it in, say, France, doesn’t usually come to mind first thing when I think of it. However. With Smilla’s Sense of Snow, I always think of Syria before I remember the plot. It was just such an amazing contrast to be in this desert, while reading about Iceland and northern Europe.
I honestly have no idea. I know that I didn’t want to read on my own ever. I only wanted people to read *to* me. But then something changed in 3rd grade and I started reading on my own. Voraciously. I know I read through all the dinosaurs in the K-3 section of the school library and had to get permission to start in on the 4-6 section. I remember being obsessed with (a possibly imaginary because I’ve never once found evidence it actually exists) monster encyclopedia of all of Maurice Sendak’s Wild Things. I read and reread Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs so many times I’m amazed my copy still exists but somehow it does and I’ve read it to the Captain and the Rani. But first book? Who knows.
Coming up:
Day 10 - Book from your favourite author
Day 11 - Book you once loved and now hate
Day 12 - Book that a friend recommended
Day 13 - Book that makes you laugh
Day 14 - Book from your childhood
Day 15 - 4th book from the left on your shelf
Day 16 - 9th book from the right on your shelf
Day 17 - Close your eyes and get any book from your shelf
Day 18 - Book with the most beautiful cover
Day 19 - Book that you never wanted to read
Day 20 - Book that you read at school
Day 21 - Most stupid book you read at school
Day 22 - Book on your shelf with the most pages
Day 23 - Book on your shelf with the least pages
Day 24 - Book that nobody would expect you read/loved it
Day 25 - A book where the main character is almost like you
Day 26 - Book you would read to your children
Day 27 - A book where the main character is your idol
Day 28 - Thank God this book was made into a movie
Day 29 - Darn, why did they make this book into a movie?
Day 30 - First erotic book you ever read
Day 31 - Book series you are collecting
Previously:
Day 1 - The book you're reading now
I just started the first volume in Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes. I’ve read lots of issues over the years but never in any kind of order and I’ve certainly not read the entire series. I’ve been meaning to get around to it and then when I saw that Mark Reads was doing them it seemed like as good a time as any to start.
Day 2 - The book you want to read next
I keep changing my mind. First I was going to start The Hob’s Bargain because I’m curious to see what Patricia Briggs’ non-werewolf writing is like. Then I found Lost in Time in the stack under my bed and figured the latest in Melissa de la Cruz’s Blue Bloods series would be a natural transition from the Sandman. Then I got notice that the library has the just published third Alpha and Omega novel available so I think I’ll run pick that up tonight. Yay more Charles and Anna!
Day 3 - Your favourite book
This is a tough one because it’s variable. Ultimately I’ll go with Lord of the Rings. I can reread it at any time and never get sick of it. There’s always something new to discover. It’s such a vast world and I can get lost in it no matter how long it’s been or how recent it’s been.
Day 4 - Book you hate
Oh that’s easy. Maribou Stork Nightmares by Irvine Welsh. I haaaaaated this book. I wasn’t old enough yet (maybe a year or two out of college only) to know that it’s OK to quit reading books that I don’t like. That life’s too short to waste on finishing fiction that makes you sick. This book was fucked up, and not in a good or fun way. It was horrible and harsh and thoroughly disgusting and there were NO good people between the pages.
Day 5 - A Book you can read again and again
There are a handful of books that I can reread repeatedly. Lord of the Rings is one, all the Harry Potters, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Celestial Matters by Richard Garfinkle. There are also a couple that I’ve only read once but I suspect will fall into the same category, mainly Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
Day 6 - A book you can only read once (no matter you love or hate it)
This is super tough. I’m really overthinking the “only read once” part of this instruction. I mean, every time I come up with something I liked that was tough I think, well I would re-read that. So let’s go with something I didn’t like. Generally I don’t quit books but I’ve been getting better at not finishing things I’m not enjoying. And generally I don’t pick things I don’t think I’ll enjoy but my book club titles can definitely be duds. So, the one that comes to mind right now is The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai. I wouldn’t say that I *hated* it, but I definitely didn’t like it. I didn’t like the people in it. I didn’t like the outcomes for the characters in it. I didn’t like the hopeless despair surrounding it. Maybe that makes it art. But I don’t care. I will not be reading this one again.
Day 7 - Book that reminds you of someone
I have a lot of books that remind me of people. I’m in a book club. I know several authors. (Hi to you all on LJ!) I love discussing what I read with friends in person and online. I’ve exchanged books with many people in many jobs over the years. But I just keep circling back to one: my grandma. Grandma Wilma recommended books to me my whole life, everything from Anne of Green Gables to the Clan of the Cave Bear. But I didn’t return the favor until the last year of her life. I don’t know why. Busy in college? Not reading something I thought she would like? I’m always over-thinking my recommendations because I think reading taste is so personal and it’s always right, even if it’s trashy. If you like it, you like it. Period. My field crew (I think it was the NoDak crew, we exchanged more books than any other crew) was passing around Memoirs of a Geisha and I loved it and I bought Grandma a copy and she loved it. And I was so proud of being able to bring her happiness and enable her to escape in a book. I think of her every time it comes up now.
Day 8 - Book that reminds you of a certain place
There aren’t too many books that immediately remind me of where I read them. And even though I always bring books when I travel, the fact that I read it in, say, France, doesn’t usually come to mind first thing when I think of it. However. With Smilla’s Sense of Snow, I always think of Syria before I remember the plot. It was just such an amazing contrast to be in this desert, while reading about Iceland and northern Europe.