That Book Meme
Stolen from tallulahdarling , therealsnape, magnetic_pole, and dreamy_dragon73 -- fine bibliophiles all.
1. You currently own more than 20 books.
Of course.
2. You currently own more than 50 books.
Ditto.
3. You currently own more than 100 books.
Probably about 3,000. I hope these incremental-increase questions are over now.
4. You amassed so many books you switched to an e-reader.
No. I own an e-reader, and I've read a few things on it, but I really prefer to have the actual hard copy in my hands.
5. You read so much you have a ton of books AND an e-reader.
6. You have a book-organization system no one else understands.
Not really -- it's not an immediately obvious system like alphabetizing, but I think most people could figure it out after a couple minutes of looking. Literature books are organized chronologically by country; literary theory and women's/gender/queer studies books by size; children's books by author (not alphabetically, though)
7. You’re currently reading more than one book.
Not at the moment.
8. You read every single day.
Absolutely. I start to get the shakes if I go too many hours without reading.
9. You’re reading a book right now, as you’re taking this book nerd quiz.
I'm not a very good multi-tasker, although I have been known to play Candy Crush while talking on the phone.
10. Your essentials for leaving the house: wallet, phone, keys, and a book.
11. You’ve pulled an all-nighter reading a book.
Many times. Just recently, I stayed up to finish an engrossing cultural analysis of a Victorian murder case, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher. Apparently it's also a television series.
12. You did not regret it for a second and would do it again.
Probably before the summer is over, in fact.
13. You’ve figured out how to incorporate books into your workout.
What is this thing you call "workout"?
14. You’ve declined invitations to social activities in order to stay home and read.
Guilty as charged. Not too often, though. Like many people on my flist, I have a tendency to become a hermit. I try to resist it.
15. You view vacation time as “catch up on reading” time.
As TRS says, there is no such thing as "catching up." But there is definitely "doing a lot of."
16. You’ve sat in a bathtub full of tepid water with prune-y skin because you were engrossed in a book.
I don't read in the bathtub because a) I usually take showers, and b) I don't want to get the book wet.
17. You’ve missed your stop on the bus or the train because you were engrossed in a book.
18. You’ve almost tripped over a pothole, sat on a bench with wet paint, walked into a telephone pole, or narrowly avoided other calamities because you were engrossed in a book.
19. You’ve laughed out loud in public while reading a book.
20. You’ve cried in public while reading a book (it’s okay, we won’t tell).
21. You’re the one everyone goes to for book recommendations.
Not really, no. I don't think most people share my reading tastes; for instance, I don't read a lot of current fiction except detective novels.
22. You take your role in recommending books very seriously and worry about what books your friends would enjoy.
23. Once you recommend a book to a friend, you keep bugging them about it.
Good god, no. Sounds like a quick way to lose friends, imo.
24. If your friend doesn’t like the book you recommended, you’re heartbroken.
Hardly.
25. And you judge them. A little bit.
26. In fact, whenever you and a friend disagree about a book you secretly wonder what is wrong with them.
27. You’ve vowed to convert a non-reader into a reader.
28. And you’ve succeeded.
29. You’ve attended book readings, launches, and signings.
Many times.
30. You own several signed books.
Many.
31. You would recognize your favorite authors on the street.
If I did, I'd run screaming. Most of them are dead.
32. In fact, you have.
33. If you could have dinner with anybody in the world, you’d choose your favorite writer.
It would have to be at a death-day party, though.
34. You own a first-edition book.
Quite a few, though nothing really rare or valuable.
35. You know what that is and why it matters to bibliophiles.
36. You tweet, post, blog, or talk about books every day.
Well, I'm an English teacher. So yeah, I usually do talk about books every day. But a daily book tweet or blog would be really tedious, I think. . .for me and for any long-suffering readers.
37. You have a “favorite” literary prize.
38. And you read the winners of that prize every year.
39. You’ve recorded every book you’ve ever read and what you thought of it.
I wish I had, but no. I have maintained a list of every detective novel I've read, just so that I don't buy the same title over again. I've gotten seriously picky in my old age, though, so I don't read nearly as many mysteries as I once did.
40. You have a designated reading nook in your home.
41. You have a literary-themed T-shirt, bag, tattoo, or item of home décor.
42. You gave your pet a literary name.
I named my cats (RIP) after people involved in the Lizzie Borden case. Does that count?
43. You make literary references and puns nobody else understands.
That would be pretentious and annoying. But I do make literary references when I am sure that the people I'm talking to are familiar with the texts.
44. You’re a stickler for spelling and grammar, even when you’re just texting.
Oh, totally. Why should a text be an excuse for carelessness and sloth?
45. You’ve given books as gifts for every occasion: birthdays, Valentine’s Day, graduations, Tuesdays...
46. Whenever someone asks what your favorite book is, your brain goes into overdrive and you can’t choose just one. You end up naming twelve books.
47. You love the smell of books.
With a passion. The scent of old books and old paper is probably my favorite smell in the world. It's the scent of the past, of history. It's my version of Proust's madeleine.
(Wait. . .is that a literary reference people won't understand? Am I being that annoying, pretentious git I complained about in # 43? But I figure that if you're a bookish sort and you've made if this far in the meme, you're going to get this.)
48. You’ve binge-read an entire series or an author’s whole oeuvre in just a few days.
Many times. My name is Kelly, and I'm a bookaholic.
49. You’ve actually felt your heart rate go up while reading an incredible book.
50. When you turn the last page of a good book, you feel as if you’ve finally come up for air and returned from a great adventure.
While reading, I sometimes lose track of where I am. When I come back to the real world, I feel briefly confused, like waking up from a dream.
And here's my TRS's very own addition:
51. You found out about a new book you want to read while doing this meme.
No, although I did find a fascinating book at the Skyscraper Museum. I did not buy it, because it was $50. But I noted it for my next trip to the library: The American Skyscraper: Cultural Histories.
1. You currently own more than 20 books.
Of course.
2. You currently own more than 50 books.
Ditto.
3. You currently own more than 100 books.
Probably about 3,000. I hope these incremental-increase questions are over now.
4. You amassed so many books you switched to an e-reader.
No. I own an e-reader, and I've read a few things on it, but I really prefer to have the actual hard copy in my hands.
5. You read so much you have a ton of books AND an e-reader.
6. You have a book-organization system no one else understands.
Not really -- it's not an immediately obvious system like alphabetizing, but I think most people could figure it out after a couple minutes of looking. Literature books are organized chronologically by country; literary theory and women's/gender/queer studies books by size; children's books by author (not alphabetically, though)
7. You’re currently reading more than one book.
Not at the moment.
8. You read every single day.
Absolutely. I start to get the shakes if I go too many hours without reading.
9. You’re reading a book right now, as you’re taking this book nerd quiz.
I'm not a very good multi-tasker, although I have been known to play Candy Crush while talking on the phone.
10. Your essentials for leaving the house: wallet, phone, keys, and a book.
11. You’ve pulled an all-nighter reading a book.
Many times. Just recently, I stayed up to finish an engrossing cultural analysis of a Victorian murder case, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher. Apparently it's also a television series.
12. You did not regret it for a second and would do it again.
Probably before the summer is over, in fact.
13. You’ve figured out how to incorporate books into your workout.
What is this thing you call "workout"?
14. You’ve declined invitations to social activities in order to stay home and read.
Guilty as charged. Not too often, though. Like many people on my flist, I have a tendency to become a hermit. I try to resist it.
15. You view vacation time as “catch up on reading” time.
As TRS says, there is no such thing as "catching up." But there is definitely "doing a lot of."
16. You’ve sat in a bathtub full of tepid water with prune-y skin because you were engrossed in a book.
I don't read in the bathtub because a) I usually take showers, and b) I don't want to get the book wet.
17. You’ve missed your stop on the bus or the train because you were engrossed in a book.
18. You’ve almost tripped over a pothole, sat on a bench with wet paint, walked into a telephone pole, or narrowly avoided other calamities because you were engrossed in a book.
19. You’ve laughed out loud in public while reading a book.
20. You’ve cried in public while reading a book (it’s okay, we won’t tell).
21. You’re the one everyone goes to for book recommendations.
Not really, no. I don't think most people share my reading tastes; for instance, I don't read a lot of current fiction except detective novels.
22. You take your role in recommending books very seriously and worry about what books your friends would enjoy.
23. Once you recommend a book to a friend, you keep bugging them about it.
Good god, no. Sounds like a quick way to lose friends, imo.
24. If your friend doesn’t like the book you recommended, you’re heartbroken.
Hardly.
25. And you judge them. A little bit.
26. In fact, whenever you and a friend disagree about a book you secretly wonder what is wrong with them.
27. You’ve vowed to convert a non-reader into a reader.
28. And you’ve succeeded.
29. You’ve attended book readings, launches, and signings.
Many times.
30. You own several signed books.
Many.
31. You would recognize your favorite authors on the street.
If I did, I'd run screaming. Most of them are dead.
32. In fact, you have.
33. If you could have dinner with anybody in the world, you’d choose your favorite writer.
It would have to be at a death-day party, though.
34. You own a first-edition book.
Quite a few, though nothing really rare or valuable.
35. You know what that is and why it matters to bibliophiles.
36. You tweet, post, blog, or talk about books every day.
Well, I'm an English teacher. So yeah, I usually do talk about books every day. But a daily book tweet or blog would be really tedious, I think. . .for me and for any long-suffering readers.
37. You have a “favorite” literary prize.
38. And you read the winners of that prize every year.
39. You’ve recorded every book you’ve ever read and what you thought of it.
I wish I had, but no. I have maintained a list of every detective novel I've read, just so that I don't buy the same title over again. I've gotten seriously picky in my old age, though, so I don't read nearly as many mysteries as I once did.
40. You have a designated reading nook in your home.
41. You have a literary-themed T-shirt, bag, tattoo, or item of home décor.
42. You gave your pet a literary name.
I named my cats (RIP) after people involved in the Lizzie Borden case. Does that count?
43. You make literary references and puns nobody else understands.
That would be pretentious and annoying. But I do make literary references when I am sure that the people I'm talking to are familiar with the texts.
44. You’re a stickler for spelling and grammar, even when you’re just texting.
Oh, totally. Why should a text be an excuse for carelessness and sloth?
45. You’ve given books as gifts for every occasion: birthdays, Valentine’s Day, graduations, Tuesdays...
46. Whenever someone asks what your favorite book is, your brain goes into overdrive and you can’t choose just one. You end up naming twelve books.
47. You love the smell of books.
With a passion. The scent of old books and old paper is probably my favorite smell in the world. It's the scent of the past, of history. It's my version of Proust's madeleine.
(Wait. . .is that a literary reference people won't understand? Am I being that annoying, pretentious git I complained about in # 43? But I figure that if you're a bookish sort and you've made if this far in the meme, you're going to get this.)
48. You’ve binge-read an entire series or an author’s whole oeuvre in just a few days.
Many times. My name is Kelly, and I'm a bookaholic.
49. You’ve actually felt your heart rate go up while reading an incredible book.
50. When you turn the last page of a good book, you feel as if you’ve finally come up for air and returned from a great adventure.
While reading, I sometimes lose track of where I am. When I come back to the real world, I feel briefly confused, like waking up from a dream.
And here's my TRS's very own addition:
51. You found out about a new book you want to read while doing this meme.
No, although I did find a fascinating book at the Skyscraper Museum. I did not buy it, because it was $50. But I noted it for my next trip to the library: The American Skyscraper: Cultural Histories.