(no subject)
Found out today I got a First in my dissertation! The final title was "Wonder Tales:
An Examination of the Works of the Brothers Grimm and Angela Carter through Bakhtin's Theories of the Carnivalesque and Grotesque". I'm pretty thrilled. Towards the end of dissertation writing, I was having major attacks of Oh God Oh God I Should Just Give Up This University Lark And Go And Live In A Home For The Stupid Because I Am Too Thick Even For Fairy Tales.
And a book meme, just because.
1. Do you remember how you developed a love for reading?
My parents love to read, and read to me a lot as well. Being an only child might also have had an impact, but I don't think I can say so for definite. I know plenty of people who grew up with siblings close to their age who love to read, and vice versa.
2. What are some books you read as a child?
I loved The Hundred and One Dalmatians. It and its sequel, The Starlight Barking, were once my two favourite books (and I still want a Splendid Vet of my very own). I was one of those girls who loved dogs and desperately asked for one for every birthday and Christmas. (My mother bought me a Tamagotchi instead. Thanks, Mum.) This is also the reason why my favourite Beatrix Potter was The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan. That story had such a great impact on me that even today when I lose something like my purse or camera or mobile phone, my immediate assumption is that I accidentally swallowed it.
I was also a big Usborne Puzzle Adventure nut. My mother bought me a few when we went on holiday to Corfu when I was about nine, and I spent a lot of the holiday sitting by the pool reading them. My favourites were Escape From Blood Castle, The Curse of the Lost Idol, the Agent Arthur books, and Castle of Intrigue. I also loved the sister series, Spinechillers. (A confession: I took a writing course in Scotland when I was sixteen and I took the train up there from London rather than driving or flying. My sole reason was because I vividly remembered kids in several different Usborne books going on long train journeys and having exciting adventures at their destinations.)
Around the same time as I was reading the Puzzle Adventures, I also discovered the Horrible Histories series, which I reread the shit out of. I was still rereading the books in my early teens, although I'd have rather DIED than had any of my friends know. Up until I was sixteen or so, I actually used to do much more rereading than reading new books: by the time I'd officially grown out of Enid Blyton at around ten, I'd read her books about a zillion times each. I especially loved the Adventure series (I would read those books again today!), the Galliano's Circus books, the Faraway Tree books, the Five Find-Outers and Dog, and the Naughtiest Girl in the School.
I think I was more interested in fantasy literature when I was younger than I am now. As well as Enid Blyton, I loved Narnia, E. Nesbit's books, Diana Wynne Jones' Fire and Hemlock (still one of my favourite books of all time), the Worst Witch series, the Pongwiffy books, and, to a lesser extent, The Hobbit. Most of those are fairly light fantasy, though. I think when I wanted more srs bzns reading, I looked to Janet and Allan Ahlberg (The Bear That Nobody Wanted! I won't lie, I wept for him).
Oh, and like ninety-eight percent of other redheads who read the books, I totally Mary Sued myself onto Anne Shirley.
God, I could go on forever. There are so many more! The Family at One End Street! Sweet Valley! The Jolly Postman! Roald Dahl! Little Women! Lizzie Dripping! Frances Hodgeson Burnett! Mr. Majeika! The Meg and Mog books! Don't get me wrong: I love to read and probably always will. But reading when I was a kid was the absolute best.
3. What is your favorite genre?
Detective fiction, YA fiction (generally pre-1995, although I like the Gossip Girl books and the Gemma Doyle Trilogy as well), adventure fiction (particularly Haggard and Conan Doyle), and comedy of manners. If that counts as a genre.
I'm not sure if I'd count myself as a fantasy fan as I'm very picky about the fantasy I read. I don't like sword-and-sorcery stuff - but then I do like Narnia and some of Robin McKinley's books and Howl's Moving Castle and TH White. So it depends, really.
4. Do you have a favorite novel?
My two favourites are probably Wise Children and Vanity Fair. Wise Children is technically the more perfect novel (in my opinion), but I probably slightly prefer Vanity Fair, for all its flaws. Thackeray would probably laugh in my face if he knew, but Becky and Rawdon make me cry every time. Every time I read it, I always hope that things will work out between them. EVEN THOUGH SHE'S TOTALLY HORRIBLE AND HE'S A COMPLETE DINK. I just. I love them. :(
5. Where do you usually read?
On my bed. In the bathroom. At dinner. Anywhere I can, really. I used to read as I walked into town but I gave that up last year when my dentist asked my mother about it. And when your dentist comments on stuff like that, it's probably time to cut the cord.
6. When do you usually read?
When I'm not doing other things.
7. Do you usually have more than one book you are reading at a time?
Usually between two and four.
8. Do you read nonfiction in a different way or place than you read fiction?
Not really. The only nonfiction I read (other than academic textbooks) tend to be autobiographies of authors. For those I like to have read all (or most) of their works before I read about their life, whereas for fiction, I don't care if I've not read everything an author has written. Other than that, I haven't noticed any differences.
9. Do you buy most of the books you read, or borrow them, or check them out of the library?
Buy. I'm bad at hunting down bargains so it's expensive and I'm contributing to the continued manufacturing of tree pulp, but I'm just too lazy to go to the library. Even though I work in one. /o\
10. Do you keep most of the books you buy?
Yes, although if I end up with repeat copies of the same book, I usually give one of them away.
11. If you have children, what are some of the favorite books you have shared with them?
I don't have kids yet, but other than the books I've mentioned already, I'd like to share Penelope Lively's The Ghost of Thomas Kempe and The Whispering Knights, the Harry Potters, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Where's the Bear?, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Winnie the Pooh.
I don't believe in restricting what kids read (my mum let me read anything that interested me, which ranged from the Beano, articles on condoms, and Sweet Valley High to the more "worthy" stuff), so I'll recommend based on what I think they'll like, but I'll by no means decide what they're allowed to read.
12. What are you reading now?
The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens (Claire Tomalin), The Real Cool Killers (Chester Himes), and Pandora in the Congo (Albert Sánchez Piñol). I just finished reading Zoë Heller's Notes on a Scandal - which underwhelmed me, but I'd still like to see the film.
13. Do you keep a TBR (to be read) list?
Kind of, but I don't stick to it very closely. Things get bumped around a lot.
14. What's next?
I have a biography of Samuel Pepys and a "biography" of Robin Hood, which I need to read in the next week before they go back to the library. I need to get started on some books for my MA course. I also bought a lot of Wodehouses and Agatha Christies in the past month, so I'm going to treat myself to some leisure reading after graduation.
And I was thinking of rereading Jessica Takes Manhattan for 1bruce1?
15. What books would you like to reread?
Richardson's Pamela. I loved it when I was eighteen, but I was kind of faily when it came to feminism back then - even though I recognised that Mr B was a dick and Pamela was a twit. I'd like to reread it to see if I'd react to it in the same way. Cider With Rosie. 1066 And All That. Twilight (mostly because of unlovablehands' fabby recaps). Claire Tomalin's biography of Dora Jordan. To Say Nothing of the Dog (which is becoming one of those books I have to reread at least once a year).
16. Who are your favorite authors?
Connie Willis, who is one of two science fiction authors I like. (The other is Octavia Butler.) Angela Carter. Dickens (I think I'm one of about three people alive who genuinely loved The Old Curiosity Shop. And cried at the end. I KNOW). Agatha Christie. Diana Wynne Jones. And Francine Pascal, obvs.
An Examination of the Works of the Brothers Grimm and Angela Carter through Bakhtin's Theories of the Carnivalesque and Grotesque". I'm pretty thrilled. Towards the end of dissertation writing, I was having major attacks of Oh God Oh God I Should Just Give Up This University Lark And Go And Live In A Home For The Stupid Because I Am Too Thick Even For Fairy Tales.
And a book meme, just because.
1. Do you remember how you developed a love for reading?
My parents love to read, and read to me a lot as well. Being an only child might also have had an impact, but I don't think I can say so for definite. I know plenty of people who grew up with siblings close to their age who love to read, and vice versa.
2. What are some books you read as a child?
I loved The Hundred and One Dalmatians. It and its sequel, The Starlight Barking, were once my two favourite books (and I still want a Splendid Vet of my very own). I was one of those girls who loved dogs and desperately asked for one for every birthday and Christmas. (My mother bought me a Tamagotchi instead. Thanks, Mum.) This is also the reason why my favourite Beatrix Potter was The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan. That story had such a great impact on me that even today when I lose something like my purse or camera or mobile phone, my immediate assumption is that I accidentally swallowed it.
I was also a big Usborne Puzzle Adventure nut. My mother bought me a few when we went on holiday to Corfu when I was about nine, and I spent a lot of the holiday sitting by the pool reading them. My favourites were Escape From Blood Castle, The Curse of the Lost Idol, the Agent Arthur books, and Castle of Intrigue. I also loved the sister series, Spinechillers. (A confession: I took a writing course in Scotland when I was sixteen and I took the train up there from London rather than driving or flying. My sole reason was because I vividly remembered kids in several different Usborne books going on long train journeys and having exciting adventures at their destinations.)
Around the same time as I was reading the Puzzle Adventures, I also discovered the Horrible Histories series, which I reread the shit out of. I was still rereading the books in my early teens, although I'd have rather DIED than had any of my friends know. Up until I was sixteen or so, I actually used to do much more rereading than reading new books: by the time I'd officially grown out of Enid Blyton at around ten, I'd read her books about a zillion times each. I especially loved the Adventure series (I would read those books again today!), the Galliano's Circus books, the Faraway Tree books, the Five Find-Outers and Dog, and the Naughtiest Girl in the School.
I think I was more interested in fantasy literature when I was younger than I am now. As well as Enid Blyton, I loved Narnia, E. Nesbit's books, Diana Wynne Jones' Fire and Hemlock (still one of my favourite books of all time), the Worst Witch series, the Pongwiffy books, and, to a lesser extent, The Hobbit. Most of those are fairly light fantasy, though. I think when I wanted more srs bzns reading, I looked to Janet and Allan Ahlberg (The Bear That Nobody Wanted! I won't lie, I wept for him).
Oh, and like ninety-eight percent of other redheads who read the books, I totally Mary Sued myself onto Anne Shirley.
God, I could go on forever. There are so many more! The Family at One End Street! Sweet Valley! The Jolly Postman! Roald Dahl! Little Women! Lizzie Dripping! Frances Hodgeson Burnett! Mr. Majeika! The Meg and Mog books! Don't get me wrong: I love to read and probably always will. But reading when I was a kid was the absolute best.
3. What is your favorite genre?
Detective fiction, YA fiction (generally pre-1995, although I like the Gossip Girl books and the Gemma Doyle Trilogy as well), adventure fiction (particularly Haggard and Conan Doyle), and comedy of manners. If that counts as a genre.
I'm not sure if I'd count myself as a fantasy fan as I'm very picky about the fantasy I read. I don't like sword-and-sorcery stuff - but then I do like Narnia and some of Robin McKinley's books and Howl's Moving Castle and TH White. So it depends, really.
4. Do you have a favorite novel?
My two favourites are probably Wise Children and Vanity Fair. Wise Children is technically the more perfect novel (in my opinion), but I probably slightly prefer Vanity Fair, for all its flaws. Thackeray would probably laugh in my face if he knew, but Becky and Rawdon make me cry every time. Every time I read it, I always hope that things will work out between them. EVEN THOUGH SHE'S TOTALLY HORRIBLE AND HE'S A COMPLETE DINK. I just. I love them. :(
5. Where do you usually read?
On my bed. In the bathroom. At dinner. Anywhere I can, really. I used to read as I walked into town but I gave that up last year when my dentist asked my mother about it. And when your dentist comments on stuff like that, it's probably time to cut the cord.
6. When do you usually read?
When I'm not doing other things.
7. Do you usually have more than one book you are reading at a time?
Usually between two and four.
8. Do you read nonfiction in a different way or place than you read fiction?
Not really. The only nonfiction I read (other than academic textbooks) tend to be autobiographies of authors. For those I like to have read all (or most) of their works before I read about their life, whereas for fiction, I don't care if I've not read everything an author has written. Other than that, I haven't noticed any differences.
9. Do you buy most of the books you read, or borrow them, or check them out of the library?
Buy. I'm bad at hunting down bargains so it's expensive and I'm contributing to the continued manufacturing of tree pulp, but I'm just too lazy to go to the library. Even though I work in one. /o\
10. Do you keep most of the books you buy?
Yes, although if I end up with repeat copies of the same book, I usually give one of them away.
11. If you have children, what are some of the favorite books you have shared with them?
I don't have kids yet, but other than the books I've mentioned already, I'd like to share Penelope Lively's The Ghost of Thomas Kempe and The Whispering Knights, the Harry Potters, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Where's the Bear?, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Winnie the Pooh.
I don't believe in restricting what kids read (my mum let me read anything that interested me, which ranged from the Beano, articles on condoms, and Sweet Valley High to the more "worthy" stuff), so I'll recommend based on what I think they'll like, but I'll by no means decide what they're allowed to read.
12. What are you reading now?
The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens (Claire Tomalin), The Real Cool Killers (Chester Himes), and Pandora in the Congo (Albert Sánchez Piñol). I just finished reading Zoë Heller's Notes on a Scandal - which underwhelmed me, but I'd still like to see the film.
13. Do you keep a TBR (to be read) list?
Kind of, but I don't stick to it very closely. Things get bumped around a lot.
14. What's next?
I have a biography of Samuel Pepys and a "biography" of Robin Hood, which I need to read in the next week before they go back to the library. I need to get started on some books for my MA course. I also bought a lot of Wodehouses and Agatha Christies in the past month, so I'm going to treat myself to some leisure reading after graduation.
And I was thinking of rereading Jessica Takes Manhattan for 1bruce1?
15. What books would you like to reread?
Richardson's Pamela. I loved it when I was eighteen, but I was kind of faily when it came to feminism back then - even though I recognised that Mr B was a dick and Pamela was a twit. I'd like to reread it to see if I'd react to it in the same way. Cider With Rosie. 1066 And All That. Twilight (mostly because of unlovablehands' fabby recaps). Claire Tomalin's biography of Dora Jordan. To Say Nothing of the Dog (which is becoming one of those books I have to reread at least once a year).
16. Who are your favorite authors?
Connie Willis, who is one of two science fiction authors I like. (The other is Octavia Butler.) Angela Carter. Dickens (I think I'm one of about three people alive who genuinely loved The Old Curiosity Shop. And cried at the end. I KNOW). Agatha Christie. Diana Wynne Jones. And Francine Pascal, obvs.