The Long Book Survey Of...doom. [grinning]
So, you know how you get those, "do one of these questions a day," 30-question surveys? I got one on books, and it probably took me at least a day per question, but instead of prolonging the agony, here's all of them at once. I'd love to read your answers, too, and I'm happy to go into more detail if you're interested in a real book recommendation or warning.
# 01 - A book series you wish had gone on longer OR a book series you wish would just freaking end already (or both!)
Melanie Rawn's Exiles series probably fits both of these notes. Honestly, I have actually made notes as to what questions I want resolved by a third book, and what I would have happen in case someday there is opportunity to write a 700 page fanfic. (Or a game. I've mused about a FATE hack placed in that world...) She's one of two authors I wish would use a wiki (fan-generated would be fine) to remind them of what's going on and what rules they've made. (The other one is Laurell K. Hamilton - I gave up on those books a few years ago now, but from reading some folks' reviews, it sounds like if she referred to and kept her character notes up to date, it'd be a great improvement. I remember that one of the characters suddenly became heterosexual out of nowhere?)
# 02 - A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about...
I try not to be too much of a fangirl, which this question smacks of, really. When I like a book, I like it a lot, so I have to resist the urge to make everyone else read it. Right now I think I have about two dozen books arainbowcat must read, and it's hard for me to not add to the list. It's even harder when people I know and enjoy aren't "readers," the way I am.
With that in mind, there are plenty of books or series I enjoy that people are talking about - you just have to find where they're talking about them. For example, even though I don't post to it, I'm actually on a Darkover mailing list. I am a few behind in Ross' contributions, but I keep re-reading my favourites when I'm in a mood. Other than that, unless it's for gaming (OK, the Amber list probably counts) I don't really seek out sources of discussion for books I'm reading - there's just not enough to talk about that's relevant. I do occasionally browse lkh_lashouts because I share the frustration (see answer #1) but really, it's an occasional thing to see if she's ever going to go back to what I enjoyed about the various series she wrote. (It's not going to happen. But every once in a while there's a "so what books SHOULD I be reading?" recommendation list to work.)
# 03 - The best book you’ve read in the last 12 months...
A "best book," for me, needs to hit all the right notes and be accessible to others. I've read a lot of good books this past year, but they do pale a little against, "Nothing says `I love you,' like a shotgun to the back of the head." With that said, I really haven't read a lot of new books. I mean, it's like what I said to my husband about Lord of Emperors (he bought me): "It's Kay. He does what he does really well, and if you like what he does, you'll like it fine. If you don't, there's no point in reading it," although having watched the Crash Course History bit on the fall of Rome, I like it a bit more. Since books are precious to me, I generally prefer getting some recommendations before I try something new. This is hit or miss for me, alas, and I learn more about the people reviewing them. Which doesn’t answer the question, I know. Um, in the past year... OK, Butcher Bird by Kadrey - I think it’s superior to Sandman Slim (at least the first book). (And it was funny. I hadn’t been sure I’d liked Butcher Bird but when reading Sandman Slim I kept saying, “This is so familiar... but there was this book I read that did it better.” Not until after the “About the Author” did I figure it out. Yep, I’m smrt.) It wasn't a great book, but it kept me reading, it kept me interested, and it definitely left some neat ideas in my head. For one thing, it was memorable.
# 04 - Your favorite series ever...
Have I mentioned how much I dislike having to choose across-the-board favourites? I might like something in one mood and dislike it in another, or when viewed in a particular light. I think part of it is that to "favorite" something I'd want not to have to list its flaws when I tell you about my fandom. [grinning]
On the other hand, how about Cherryh's "Chanur" series? Love those books. I think the one with Hilfy as main protagonist was a little weaker, but still enjoyable.
# 05 - A book or series you hate...
In case you were wondering, _Minerva Wakes_ by Holly Lisle is the book I threw down the stairs... multiple times. I'd do it again, in a heartbeat. In fact, having had a decade or so to recover, I still would gladly throw it a few more times and stomp on it once or twice. I see it has four and a half stars rating on Amazon, and all I can figure is that no one actually read it. I have avoided the author's other works because of it. I may have avoided authors with names like hers because of it. [ahem] Sorry, Holly Black.
# 06 - Favorite book of your favorite series OR your favorite book of all time...
Blah blah, favourite, blah. That being said, hmmm. Of all time? That's a tough one. Repudiating my husband's response based on numbers of copies (which would make "Barry Ween" the probable winner due to it being a favourite gift item) it's still too hard. I don't see series so much as separate books, although I do keep going back to "White Night" from the Dresden Files as a favourite re-read, so we'll pretend that works.
# 07 - Least favorite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise...
I can answer this for tLK! - that would be the addition of King Arthur! [grin] (He has a thing about Arthurian cameos.)
I'd like to take the moral high horse and say, "rape," because especially "as a reason for this character trait, or this action," it has made books I WOULD have enjoyed otherwise books I'm not likely to read again. Diamond Age, for example, just didn't need it. The other thing I would say that I detest is when the protagonist is really kept in the dark in a mumbly-mushy hand-wavey way. You know, they're distanced and distracted and detached and you just can't get a connection to them. Not just having a complete lack of initiative (the Mordant's Need series) but when they don't know anything and you're just pushing through and saying, "Really? Could you at least drop a hint or a reason to react with the main character because I'm really frustrated here."
But, I'm taking the subtlety of, "Books I enjoyed otherwise," as books I can enjoy even despite their taking on something I find fairly detestable... books that are greatly flawed and I still enjoy? The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. I can't even tell you how many bad plot devices are used in this one, but darn it, I still like it.
# 08 - A book everyone should read at least once...
This is an opportunity to inflict books on people that doesn't work. See, the reason I don't judge people by their bookshelves (and why I wouldn't want to necessarily be judged by mine) is that to me, books are precious. So they're hard to let go even when they're awful, so they sprawl comfortably on shelves that otherwise are filled with fabulous stories I want to just have jump into someone else's hands. BUT... on this question, the other problem is that I need to know you a bit first before I'll recommend something. (Once I know the person, my Goodreads categories might apply. "This person should read everything under 'grimoire.'" Or, "This person isn't going to appreciate the finer subtleties of this style, so I'm going to hit them over the head with these books.")
# 09 - Best scene ever...
There's a scene in Dead Beat (one of the Dresden Files books), where Harry is curious about how Thomas is coping with going cold-turkey, and Thomas shows him how it feels in a way that's really super effective. If you've read it, you know it. While there is a lot of visual action and impact in the series, this one works really well. (The funny thing is, my two favourite male writers use a very visual method in their writing. They're very different, but listening to them describe how they work has a lot of amusing similarities. If only Doctor E was an action hero...ahem.)
# 10 - A character you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving...
Fine. Kruppe, from the Malazan books. "Loving" is probably pushing the level of interest by a bit, but I did enjoy him far more than I thought I would given the preliminary strikes against his character type in so much other fantasy fiction. I like to contrast this question with the counterpart, "Characters you are inevitably going to like." Authors sometimes set these guys up, and they're more or less transparent with it. And sometimes, especially in long series, an author can mess it up one way or another. Butcher came back and made both Butters and Mortimer decent characters. As far as I'm concerned, Erikson generally messed them up when he came back to them. (Including Bugg.)
# 11 - A book that disappointed you...
Greg Bear's Serpent Mage. I had a tough time with The Infinity Concerto as it was, but Serpent Mage pretty much wasted my time. Honestly, The Infinity Concerto probably counts as the book for which I wrote my first fanfic (it was an Aliens crossover. Um. If you haven't guessed I was a strange child, you haven't been paying attention.) There were some neat ideas that were kind of glossed over, and I expected the sequel to actually touch on them, but...it didn't.
# 12 - A book or series of books you’ve read more than five times...
Darkover, Chanur, the first four books of Cherryh's "Fortress" series. The Streetlethal collection. Dream Park. Narnia, Middle Earth (but not so much as an adult.) This really isn't a fair question because if I like something, I reread it. Lots.
# 13 - Favorite childhood book OR current favorite YA [Young Adult] book (or both!)
My daughter's starting to get into reading, so I'm trying to really think about what I read as a kid. My parents' opinion (and I've stated the same, although looking at the books on the shelves maybe I should differ) was that if I could read, anything on the shelf was fair game, and most of the books for "my age," never really appealed to me. My daughter read The Girl With Silver Eyes, of course, and, well, Byars' The Eighteenth Emergency really does probably relate to some of the origins of my labelling fetish. [ahem] The first book I ever bought for myself was Bunnicula, so I'm going to go with that. (And I hated YA books as a kid, because they were either horror and thus I had already come up with my own scenarios, dull dramas and I had my own life, or if they were adventure books with girls, they had nothing to do with adventure but if she was going to choose the manly knight or the good-hearted rogue. All of them. Really. Thus I didn't get into them, although my mother-in-law and husband introduced me to The Thirteen Clocks and Many Moons and The Wonderful O, so at least I got exposure to those as an adult.) I will say that A Wind in the Door needs mentioned here, too. Somtow's The Wizard's Apprentice and The Vampire's Beautiful Daughter are wonderful.
# 14 - Favorite character in a book (of any sex or gender)...
Again, favorite... so again, selection. Generally I like characters who did the right thing when it wasn't easy, so... Neville Longbottom. Tazendra. ("I am not a clever man.") Pyanfar. Granny Weatherwax. I thought this would be a pretty easy thing to answer, but then I thought about some of the books I like. Take Aubrey Knight and Promise from the Streetlethal series - the books show they are definitely not whole people and they have to do a lot of growing and giving up negative parts of themselves to become whole. Yet, characters who are whole often don't have as interesting a journey to take.
# 15 - Your “comfort” book...
Oh, my husband knows what it means when I pick up certain books off the shelf... besides that I'll be asking for the next one in the series in maybe an hour. [grinning] I think it depends on what I need comfort for: loneliness, I'll often pick up Darkover books. Escape from rampant banality? Discworld. Frustration with bureaucracy? The Name of the Rose. That kind of thing.
# 16 - Favorite poem or collection of poetry...
Where the Sidewalk Ends. But that isn't fair because I don't read poetry. In fact, you have to be something really special for me to even read the bits of poetry a character uses in a story, or the bits between the chapters.
# 17 - Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)
The 100 Great Fantasy Short, Short Stories with Asimov, Carr, and Greenberg given first credits. I don't really like short stories, but stories under 2000 words can be entertaining. (I think "flash fiction" has to also apply to the time spent writing, not just the short nature of the piece.) The note about this book is that for all there were 100 of them, the powerful ones are still easy to remember even now, more than 10 years after I read the book. That's what I hope to do if I ever write stories.
# 18 - Favorite beginning scene in a book...
OK, so this really happened. I read through Red Seas Under Red Skies pretty much straight through to resolve the situation, and when I found out how it resolved, I threw the book up into the air and made a weird noise.
# 19 - Favorite book cover [posting cover is optional]...
Huh. Would you believe The Lies of Locke Lamora mass market paperback edition? Neither would I, but it’s the prettiest cover I’ve seen this evening. I don't know if book covers really register in my head all that much, which is a shame, but probably is a good thing because otherwise I'd be all Judgy McJudgypants on them.
# 20 - Favorite kiss...
This question stumped me for a long time. I mean, after The Princess Bride's record of the five best, unless you're reading a Soulless but it was a, "To shut her up," kiss which is not the kind of favourite kiss I want to go on the record with, if you know what I mean. There is a scene, though, in The Forbidden Tower where Andrew and Callista are under the effects of kireseth (which might say dubious consent, except that in this case I don't think that's a question at all) and just laying in the fields kissing. They get a lot of hassle when they return about having hallucinated it, but they stick to their guns (and learn more about it later.) It's not a particular kiss, but it's about the kissing and the road that led to the kissing, see...
# 21 - Favorite romantic/sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)...
This is one of those that’s probably changed a lot as I’ve matured. The Nightfall/Redlance relationship (and the changes it made, such as including Cutter, having a daughter) was an important one when I was growing up. Even the scene with Redlance with people besides Nightfall - their love was something that wasn’t forced on them by Recognition, and strong enough to survive just about anything. So yeah, unrealistic romantic expectations much? I had to actually spoil the Alera series to my sister with one sentence: “Jim Butcher is not Joss Whedon.” It was a reassurance, yes. I like romantic relationships that feel real - meaning, of course, to my particular standards. I want it to be based on real situations, not just having shared one intense two-hour event (like a movie.) I want it to show in what they do with each other, how they pay attention to each other, what times they don't consider the other in making a decision, and what times they do. I want there to be depth to it, and while the pull of good sex is also something I like written well, I want there to be a difference. There's this bit that both a song my Dad sang and one of my favourite books growing up as a teenager (Barnes' "Gorgon Child") reminded me - you have to give up your loneliness in order to let someone else in...and if that doesn't happen, it's not going to convince me.
# 22 - Favorite non-sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)...
I have a few, but I'll mention Idrys and Cefwyn. There's two lines in Dragons that suggest it might have been more than that, but it's never stated any other way. Idrys is just the kind of character I want to play in an Amber game with a really good Cefwyn-like other player. It’s like a dark Samwise and Frodo. Locke Lamora and Jean. And yes, I am quite aware that there are literally legions of fan girls shipping them together; I don't. Look, I am totally on board with Frodo being gay, but I don't believe that's the kind of love Sam had for him. Howabout Merrikat and Constance? Sisters, man. I know how it goes. Yes, I love "that scene" where the sidekick turns out to be utterly awesome.
# 23 - Most annoying character ever...
Wait, I know this one! Jar Jar B--oh, wait, literary --and really, "most annoying EVER" would have to mean I keep running across them. What about that character who is always a person in power representing an interest against the protagonist who always is telegraphed at least half a book ahead as being probably some kind of deviant molestor on top of having the audacity to not support the protagonist. I mean, really, can't we subvert the trope so that they're a deviant molestor AND they support the protagonist so the protagonist has to feel kind of icky about it?
# 24 - Best quote from a novel...
Ouch. I won't go for "best" but I will say that I mentally quote, "Magic has no colour, only uses," a lot. (Beagle's The Innkeeper's Song.) Funny that I have that much opportunity to think it. Of course, I also quote, "I can only take you as far as the lobby," far more than I think anyone would have any reason to do so.
# 25 - Any five books from your “to be read” stack...
In general, these books would not have been purchased yet, because if I have 'em, I read 'em. Now, I am going through a re-read of the books on my shelves to see which ones get relegated back to the garage since I did get a bunch incidentally from my dad when we went through his stuff, but in general, it's more a matter of money.
# 26 - OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending...
As per my answer to question #1, there are times I'd like to re-introduce an author to the stuff they'd written before about an event. This is why I read the first four books of Cherryh's "Fortress" series, and haven't picked up the fifth (although I did read it from the library) - it doesn't synchronize with the others. As for most irritating book ending? Besides ones I never wanted to end? Hmmm... the ninth book of the Malazan. (Depending on how you counted it.) I think they really robbed a couple of characters of their personalities, and after that I just did not care about the Barghast in-fighting. (If they'd been Barghest, at least they'd have a reason for it. Um. Nevermind.)
# 27 - If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!...
I don't think there's anything that applies here, except maybe a close friend's name as an author. Speaking of which, he's not a "close friend," but I have been squeeing for a couple of days now that Doyce's book, "Hidden Things" is a real, real thing. I cannot tell you how excited I am.
# 28 - First favorite book or series obsession...
I blame The Fellowship of the Ring for my mixed British/American spelling issues. You know, I have never been able to finish The Silmarillion? I keep falling asleep.
# 29 - Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)...
I still choke up a little at some of the death scenes in Fionavar, dude. Not quite so much as the ones declaring why to live, but... Feed, of course. The swan skin Anita got from Edward... pretty satisfying, actually.
# 30 - What book are you reading right now?
I am between books right now, of course. Kind of re-reading Foucault's Pendulum in bits, and I got on another Darkover kick when I thought, "Well, I'll never run it, but I might as well write my Darkover/Amber crossover scenario." Mostly I'm supposed to be cleaning my room, but generally I'm catching up on webserials and tumblr. (I only follow 40-some people, but they're prolific rebloggers, so I average having to catch up on about 24 pages a night. Not bad - that's only about 10 posts an hour.) I am of mixed opinions on the webserials, which is why I'm not really doing any name dropping. If I put money towards them, I'll name 'em.
# 31 - The best book given to you by a family member?
Oh, man, my family is bad, bad, bad at getting books for me. Which is why I was surprised when I got a copy of The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams and it was actually decent. There are books I've been suggested by my family that weren't terrible, but the actual books they've bought for me have been pretty bad. (Like, my Dad thinks I was totally Cult of Ecstasy and, um, no. Shiny book, though.)
# 32 - The best book/series introduced to you by a friend?
My husband made me re-read Pamela Dean's _Tam Lin_ after I said, "It's OK." He's never actually done it before, but he wanted me to re-read it and pay attention this time to the descriptions and details that raised it far over "OK" and into one of my favourites. He was right. [sigh] tamoline is evil (I know, "NO SURPRISE") and has introduced me to a hundred different books that I would never have gotten for myself, and I know no way to repay that, let alone list them.
# 33 - The book you'd most like to write fanfiction for?
OK, just to make sure you understand my stance, I feel that fanfiction is a paean of love to the author, with the usual Sturgeon's Law attached. I don't generally intend to write fanfiction in universes I enjoy unless I really feel what I write is recognizable enough to the regular reader that they're not completely taken out of the worldview (or I'd write original fiction) and what I write enhances the reading; it provides more attention to a character or a plot that I think needs be highlighted. Now, of course, there are sometimes exceptions like the pervy porny inspired by Loki-from-the-Avengers-as-Brand non-consent story I'm doodling (which is an exception in about a thousand ways) but in general, I don't like to write fanfic that the author'd spit on. I want to write fanfic that, should the author feel comfortable reading such, would go, "Hey. That's not what I was intending, but that's an awesome take on [X]," where [X] is a character or a plot perspective. With that said, I also have an occasional urge to write parody or even remixes (especially of bad fiction I think I can improve). ("The Last Hairdresser-Mage." "This set of books, but with a protagonist who has a spine and a clue.") Overall, though, I think it's more telling what series/books I *don't* have a hankering to write in than those I do.
# 34 - A book you used to hate and now love, or vice versa?
I used to love McIntyre's Dreamsnake and I still like it, but I think a greater awareness of some of the flaws in it has kind of soured my feels for it. I have to admit, I did not like The Phantom Tollbooth the first time I read it, but my daughter's enjoying it has kind of made me return to it a few more times and decide after all that it's not that bad. Not sure I have the passion of "hate and love" with these, but...
# 35 - What book (or books) do you have in more than one media format? Why?
Clive Barker's "Nightbreed." The favourite ex-boyfriend loaned me the books on tape, which I loved, and then there's the movie, and the book (Cabal) is probably the weakest of the lot, and the comics, I have those... and what I love is that they're all different stories. It was like watching Nausicaä - I've seen it dubbed, subtitled, and in Japanese, and they're...different stories, with a different perspective.
# 36 - A book that changed your life, and how?
I don't know if I could actually point to any particular book and say that. The big red brick of World Fairy Tales that I can't find anywhere (I don't know if it was "the best" or "a collection of" or who the editor was, but that book was meaningful to the development of my brain) probably has a closer claim than Karl Hansen's Dream Games (don't ask - did I mention I was allowed full access to my parents' bookshelves?) but all of the books I've read probably have left something in my head. (Makes it a very cluttered place, said like that.)
# 37 - What book(s) were you sure you'd hate and you were right?
The Black Jewels sequence. The multicolored unicorns were just the icing on the cake, but there was nothing that was going to save that series. I really tried going in to give it every benefit of the doubt, every opportunity, and it failed on so many levels...wow. How about Deerskin by Robin McKinley? (I paid a quarter for it, which means I feel the author owes me $13 in change.)
# 38 - What book were you sure you'd hate and you were wrong?
I have a section in my Goodreads called "Grimoire" and one of the books there, Jack Williamson's Darker Than You Think was put in that section by my father. Given how he'd inflicted Clarke's Childhood's End and LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness on me, I was ready to write it off. I was wrong. Every time I re-read it I kick myself in figuring out new reasons why I was wrong.
# 39 - What book were you sure you'd love and you were right?
Turtledove's The Toxic Spell Dump ... I really think Stross' The Atrocity Archives were kind of trying for this feel, too.
# 40 - What book were you sure you'd love and you were wrong?
Hobb's Cloven Hooves had all the right ingredients, and I was high off some of the other stuff she'd written that I'd enjoyed, but it ended up more like an extended version of a story in a magazine that caters to a mostly middle-thirties to middle-fifties audience of career women. If you know what I mean. I wanted to like the story, but it was such a downer, and, well... If you know what it means to me, I haven't read it again. (I don't know if I will, which is why I haven't gotten rid of it, actually.)
# 41 - A book or series you would recommend to someone under the age of twelve?
I just found one of the Grimm's Fairy Tales with the Rackham illustrations and suggested it to the kids. I got the boy interested by pointing out some of the things that happen with decapitated heads in Sweet Roland. Any of the ones I liked from the YA question would probably apply here, too, although Somtow's The Wizard's Apprentice and The Vampire's Beautiful Daughter probably need a little older perspective.
# 42 - The sequel or next book in a series you're on tenterhooks for...?
One of my sisters and I have agreed that we'll read the new Dresden Files books to each other, rather than one of us knowing what happens first. I will say my sister has cheated. [grinning] (But she also called me on her phone and read to me for like 90 minutes at work once, too.) Which isn't quite "tenterhooks," but I look forward to this time together.
# 43 - A book that was downright surreal but still fascinating?
If a book is too surreal, it generally means I don't have the right context for it. Like Chester Anderson's The Butterfly Kid which I recall enjoying, but I... cannot tell you anything about it. Somtow's Vampire Junction probably counts here, too.
# 44 - This book kind of freaked you out.
Kotzwinkle's Doctor Rat. I have some enjoyment of books that make me uncomfortable, but I haven't returned to this one after starting it. Another from my father's shelves.
# 45 - Favorite post-apocalyptic book?
You know, I liked A Canticle for Leibowitz just fine, but I agree that it isn't science fiction, but about Latin Medieval Catholicism. I do seem to have a hankering for the genre. As I said, I couldn't stand Childhood's End because I didn't like what happened. The book was fine, but I didn't want it to go where it went. [grinning] Bone Dance probably needs "favourite," status, but I was just looking at all the books I have for the genre... everything from my husband's Shannara collection (the only book I liked from that series was _Elfstones_ and I stopped reading them early on) to of course the Aubry Knight books, to the transcending stuff of a lot of old and new science fiction... it's hard to say, really. I don't like dystopia, I guess, except in limited doses. It's like an herb that's good occasionally, but I wouldn't want in all my sauces for certain, where urban fantasy is like garlic. I love garlic.
# 46 - Up to three books or series that don't fall under any of these categories but needs a shout-out?
Fine. Thud! I think is my favourite Discworld book, despite its flaws. How about Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow? I didn't like the sequel so much, but I'm glad I read the first book. And Diana Wynne Jones' A Sudden Wild Magic has some really dark and interesting subplots that weren't really defined, but I've mined for use in game situations now and again.
# 01 - A book series you wish had gone on longer OR a book series you wish would just freaking end already (or both!)
Melanie Rawn's Exiles series probably fits both of these notes. Honestly, I have actually made notes as to what questions I want resolved by a third book, and what I would have happen in case someday there is opportunity to write a 700 page fanfic. (Or a game. I've mused about a FATE hack placed in that world...) She's one of two authors I wish would use a wiki (fan-generated would be fine) to remind them of what's going on and what rules they've made. (The other one is Laurell K. Hamilton - I gave up on those books a few years ago now, but from reading some folks' reviews, it sounds like if she referred to and kept her character notes up to date, it'd be a great improvement. I remember that one of the characters suddenly became heterosexual out of nowhere?)
# 02 - A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about...
I try not to be too much of a fangirl, which this question smacks of, really. When I like a book, I like it a lot, so I have to resist the urge to make everyone else read it. Right now I think I have about two dozen books arainbowcat must read, and it's hard for me to not add to the list. It's even harder when people I know and enjoy aren't "readers," the way I am.
With that in mind, there are plenty of books or series I enjoy that people are talking about - you just have to find where they're talking about them. For example, even though I don't post to it, I'm actually on a Darkover mailing list. I am a few behind in Ross' contributions, but I keep re-reading my favourites when I'm in a mood. Other than that, unless it's for gaming (OK, the Amber list probably counts) I don't really seek out sources of discussion for books I'm reading - there's just not enough to talk about that's relevant. I do occasionally browse lkh_lashouts because I share the frustration (see answer #1) but really, it's an occasional thing to see if she's ever going to go back to what I enjoyed about the various series she wrote. (It's not going to happen. But every once in a while there's a "so what books SHOULD I be reading?" recommendation list to work.)
# 03 - The best book you’ve read in the last 12 months...
A "best book," for me, needs to hit all the right notes and be accessible to others. I've read a lot of good books this past year, but they do pale a little against, "Nothing says `I love you,' like a shotgun to the back of the head." With that said, I really haven't read a lot of new books. I mean, it's like what I said to my husband about Lord of Emperors (he bought me): "It's Kay. He does what he does really well, and if you like what he does, you'll like it fine. If you don't, there's no point in reading it," although having watched the Crash Course History bit on the fall of Rome, I like it a bit more. Since books are precious to me, I generally prefer getting some recommendations before I try something new. This is hit or miss for me, alas, and I learn more about the people reviewing them. Which doesn’t answer the question, I know. Um, in the past year... OK, Butcher Bird by Kadrey - I think it’s superior to Sandman Slim (at least the first book). (And it was funny. I hadn’t been sure I’d liked Butcher Bird but when reading Sandman Slim I kept saying, “This is so familiar... but there was this book I read that did it better.” Not until after the “About the Author” did I figure it out. Yep, I’m smrt.) It wasn't a great book, but it kept me reading, it kept me interested, and it definitely left some neat ideas in my head. For one thing, it was memorable.
# 04 - Your favorite series ever...
Have I mentioned how much I dislike having to choose across-the-board favourites? I might like something in one mood and dislike it in another, or when viewed in a particular light. I think part of it is that to "favorite" something I'd want not to have to list its flaws when I tell you about my fandom. [grinning]
On the other hand, how about Cherryh's "Chanur" series? Love those books. I think the one with Hilfy as main protagonist was a little weaker, but still enjoyable.
# 05 - A book or series you hate...
In case you were wondering, _Minerva Wakes_ by Holly Lisle is the book I threw down the stairs... multiple times. I'd do it again, in a heartbeat. In fact, having had a decade or so to recover, I still would gladly throw it a few more times and stomp on it once or twice. I see it has four and a half stars rating on Amazon, and all I can figure is that no one actually read it. I have avoided the author's other works because of it. I may have avoided authors with names like hers because of it. [ahem] Sorry, Holly Black.
# 06 - Favorite book of your favorite series OR your favorite book of all time...
Blah blah, favourite, blah. That being said, hmmm. Of all time? That's a tough one. Repudiating my husband's response based on numbers of copies (which would make "Barry Ween" the probable winner due to it being a favourite gift item) it's still too hard. I don't see series so much as separate books, although I do keep going back to "White Night" from the Dresden Files as a favourite re-read, so we'll pretend that works.
# 07 - Least favorite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise...
I can answer this for tLK! - that would be the addition of King Arthur! [grin] (He has a thing about Arthurian cameos.)
I'd like to take the moral high horse and say, "rape," because especially "as a reason for this character trait, or this action," it has made books I WOULD have enjoyed otherwise books I'm not likely to read again. Diamond Age, for example, just didn't need it. The other thing I would say that I detest is when the protagonist is really kept in the dark in a mumbly-mushy hand-wavey way. You know, they're distanced and distracted and detached and you just can't get a connection to them. Not just having a complete lack of initiative (the Mordant's Need series) but when they don't know anything and you're just pushing through and saying, "Really? Could you at least drop a hint or a reason to react with the main character because I'm really frustrated here."
But, I'm taking the subtlety of, "Books I enjoyed otherwise," as books I can enjoy even despite their taking on something I find fairly detestable... books that are greatly flawed and I still enjoy? The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. I can't even tell you how many bad plot devices are used in this one, but darn it, I still like it.
# 08 - A book everyone should read at least once...
This is an opportunity to inflict books on people that doesn't work. See, the reason I don't judge people by their bookshelves (and why I wouldn't want to necessarily be judged by mine) is that to me, books are precious. So they're hard to let go even when they're awful, so they sprawl comfortably on shelves that otherwise are filled with fabulous stories I want to just have jump into someone else's hands. BUT... on this question, the other problem is that I need to know you a bit first before I'll recommend something. (Once I know the person, my Goodreads categories might apply. "This person should read everything under 'grimoire.'" Or, "This person isn't going to appreciate the finer subtleties of this style, so I'm going to hit them over the head with these books.")
# 09 - Best scene ever...
There's a scene in Dead Beat (one of the Dresden Files books), where Harry is curious about how Thomas is coping with going cold-turkey, and Thomas shows him how it feels in a way that's really super effective. If you've read it, you know it. While there is a lot of visual action and impact in the series, this one works really well. (The funny thing is, my two favourite male writers use a very visual method in their writing. They're very different, but listening to them describe how they work has a lot of amusing similarities. If only Doctor E was an action hero...ahem.)
# 10 - A character you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving...
Fine. Kruppe, from the Malazan books. "Loving" is probably pushing the level of interest by a bit, but I did enjoy him far more than I thought I would given the preliminary strikes against his character type in so much other fantasy fiction. I like to contrast this question with the counterpart, "Characters you are inevitably going to like." Authors sometimes set these guys up, and they're more or less transparent with it. And sometimes, especially in long series, an author can mess it up one way or another. Butcher came back and made both Butters and Mortimer decent characters. As far as I'm concerned, Erikson generally messed them up when he came back to them. (Including Bugg.)
# 11 - A book that disappointed you...
Greg Bear's Serpent Mage. I had a tough time with The Infinity Concerto as it was, but Serpent Mage pretty much wasted my time. Honestly, The Infinity Concerto probably counts as the book for which I wrote my first fanfic (it was an Aliens crossover. Um. If you haven't guessed I was a strange child, you haven't been paying attention.) There were some neat ideas that were kind of glossed over, and I expected the sequel to actually touch on them, but...it didn't.
# 12 - A book or series of books you’ve read more than five times...
Darkover, Chanur, the first four books of Cherryh's "Fortress" series. The Streetlethal collection. Dream Park. Narnia, Middle Earth (but not so much as an adult.) This really isn't a fair question because if I like something, I reread it. Lots.
# 13 - Favorite childhood book OR current favorite YA [Young Adult] book (or both!)
My daughter's starting to get into reading, so I'm trying to really think about what I read as a kid. My parents' opinion (and I've stated the same, although looking at the books on the shelves maybe I should differ) was that if I could read, anything on the shelf was fair game, and most of the books for "my age," never really appealed to me. My daughter read The Girl With Silver Eyes, of course, and, well, Byars' The Eighteenth Emergency really does probably relate to some of the origins of my labelling fetish. [ahem] The first book I ever bought for myself was Bunnicula, so I'm going to go with that. (And I hated YA books as a kid, because they were either horror and thus I had already come up with my own scenarios, dull dramas and I had my own life, or if they were adventure books with girls, they had nothing to do with adventure but if she was going to choose the manly knight or the good-hearted rogue. All of them. Really. Thus I didn't get into them, although my mother-in-law and husband introduced me to The Thirteen Clocks and Many Moons and The Wonderful O, so at least I got exposure to those as an adult.) I will say that A Wind in the Door needs mentioned here, too. Somtow's The Wizard's Apprentice and The Vampire's Beautiful Daughter are wonderful.
# 14 - Favorite character in a book (of any sex or gender)...
Again, favorite... so again, selection. Generally I like characters who did the right thing when it wasn't easy, so... Neville Longbottom. Tazendra. ("I am not a clever man.") Pyanfar. Granny Weatherwax. I thought this would be a pretty easy thing to answer, but then I thought about some of the books I like. Take Aubrey Knight and Promise from the Streetlethal series - the books show they are definitely not whole people and they have to do a lot of growing and giving up negative parts of themselves to become whole. Yet, characters who are whole often don't have as interesting a journey to take.
# 15 - Your “comfort” book...
Oh, my husband knows what it means when I pick up certain books off the shelf... besides that I'll be asking for the next one in the series in maybe an hour. [grinning] I think it depends on what I need comfort for: loneliness, I'll often pick up Darkover books. Escape from rampant banality? Discworld. Frustration with bureaucracy? The Name of the Rose. That kind of thing.
# 16 - Favorite poem or collection of poetry...
Where the Sidewalk Ends. But that isn't fair because I don't read poetry. In fact, you have to be something really special for me to even read the bits of poetry a character uses in a story, or the bits between the chapters.
# 17 - Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)
The 100 Great Fantasy Short, Short Stories with Asimov, Carr, and Greenberg given first credits. I don't really like short stories, but stories under 2000 words can be entertaining. (I think "flash fiction" has to also apply to the time spent writing, not just the short nature of the piece.) The note about this book is that for all there were 100 of them, the powerful ones are still easy to remember even now, more than 10 years after I read the book. That's what I hope to do if I ever write stories.
# 18 - Favorite beginning scene in a book...
OK, so this really happened. I read through Red Seas Under Red Skies pretty much straight through to resolve the situation, and when I found out how it resolved, I threw the book up into the air and made a weird noise.
# 19 - Favorite book cover [posting cover is optional]...
Huh. Would you believe The Lies of Locke Lamora mass market paperback edition? Neither would I, but it’s the prettiest cover I’ve seen this evening. I don't know if book covers really register in my head all that much, which is a shame, but probably is a good thing because otherwise I'd be all Judgy McJudgypants on them.
# 20 - Favorite kiss...
This question stumped me for a long time. I mean, after The Princess Bride's record of the five best, unless you're reading a Soulless but it was a, "To shut her up," kiss which is not the kind of favourite kiss I want to go on the record with, if you know what I mean. There is a scene, though, in The Forbidden Tower where Andrew and Callista are under the effects of kireseth (which might say dubious consent, except that in this case I don't think that's a question at all) and just laying in the fields kissing. They get a lot of hassle when they return about having hallucinated it, but they stick to their guns (and learn more about it later.) It's not a particular kiss, but it's about the kissing and the road that led to the kissing, see...
# 21 - Favorite romantic/sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)...
This is one of those that’s probably changed a lot as I’ve matured. The Nightfall/Redlance relationship (and the changes it made, such as including Cutter, having a daughter) was an important one when I was growing up. Even the scene with Redlance with people besides Nightfall - their love was something that wasn’t forced on them by Recognition, and strong enough to survive just about anything. So yeah, unrealistic romantic expectations much? I had to actually spoil the Alera series to my sister with one sentence: “Jim Butcher is not Joss Whedon.” It was a reassurance, yes. I like romantic relationships that feel real - meaning, of course, to my particular standards. I want it to be based on real situations, not just having shared one intense two-hour event (like a movie.) I want it to show in what they do with each other, how they pay attention to each other, what times they don't consider the other in making a decision, and what times they do. I want there to be depth to it, and while the pull of good sex is also something I like written well, I want there to be a difference. There's this bit that both a song my Dad sang and one of my favourite books growing up as a teenager (Barnes' "Gorgon Child") reminded me - you have to give up your loneliness in order to let someone else in...and if that doesn't happen, it's not going to convince me.
# 22 - Favorite non-sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)...
I have a few, but I'll mention Idrys and Cefwyn. There's two lines in Dragons that suggest it might have been more than that, but it's never stated any other way. Idrys is just the kind of character I want to play in an Amber game with a really good Cefwyn-like other player. It’s like a dark Samwise and Frodo. Locke Lamora and Jean. And yes, I am quite aware that there are literally legions of fan girls shipping them together; I don't. Look, I am totally on board with Frodo being gay, but I don't believe that's the kind of love Sam had for him. Howabout Merrikat and Constance? Sisters, man. I know how it goes. Yes, I love "that scene" where the sidekick turns out to be utterly awesome.
# 23 - Most annoying character ever...
Wait, I know this one! Jar Jar B--oh, wait, literary --and really, "most annoying EVER" would have to mean I keep running across them. What about that character who is always a person in power representing an interest against the protagonist who always is telegraphed at least half a book ahead as being probably some kind of deviant molestor on top of having the audacity to not support the protagonist. I mean, really, can't we subvert the trope so that they're a deviant molestor AND they support the protagonist so the protagonist has to feel kind of icky about it?
# 24 - Best quote from a novel...
Ouch. I won't go for "best" but I will say that I mentally quote, "Magic has no colour, only uses," a lot. (Beagle's The Innkeeper's Song.) Funny that I have that much opportunity to think it. Of course, I also quote, "I can only take you as far as the lobby," far more than I think anyone would have any reason to do so.
# 25 - Any five books from your “to be read” stack...
In general, these books would not have been purchased yet, because if I have 'em, I read 'em. Now, I am going through a re-read of the books on my shelves to see which ones get relegated back to the garage since I did get a bunch incidentally from my dad when we went through his stuff, but in general, it's more a matter of money.
# 26 - OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending...
As per my answer to question #1, there are times I'd like to re-introduce an author to the stuff they'd written before about an event. This is why I read the first four books of Cherryh's "Fortress" series, and haven't picked up the fifth (although I did read it from the library) - it doesn't synchronize with the others. As for most irritating book ending? Besides ones I never wanted to end? Hmmm... the ninth book of the Malazan. (Depending on how you counted it.) I think they really robbed a couple of characters of their personalities, and after that I just did not care about the Barghast in-fighting. (If they'd been Barghest, at least they'd have a reason for it. Um. Nevermind.)
# 27 - If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!...
I don't think there's anything that applies here, except maybe a close friend's name as an author. Speaking of which, he's not a "close friend," but I have been squeeing for a couple of days now that Doyce's book, "Hidden Things" is a real, real thing. I cannot tell you how excited I am.
# 28 - First favorite book or series obsession...
I blame The Fellowship of the Ring for my mixed British/American spelling issues. You know, I have never been able to finish The Silmarillion? I keep falling asleep.
# 29 - Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)...
I still choke up a little at some of the death scenes in Fionavar, dude. Not quite so much as the ones declaring why to live, but... Feed, of course. The swan skin Anita got from Edward... pretty satisfying, actually.
# 30 - What book are you reading right now?
I am between books right now, of course. Kind of re-reading Foucault's Pendulum in bits, and I got on another Darkover kick when I thought, "Well, I'll never run it, but I might as well write my Darkover/Amber crossover scenario." Mostly I'm supposed to be cleaning my room, but generally I'm catching up on webserials and tumblr. (I only follow 40-some people, but they're prolific rebloggers, so I average having to catch up on about 24 pages a night. Not bad - that's only about 10 posts an hour.) I am of mixed opinions on the webserials, which is why I'm not really doing any name dropping. If I put money towards them, I'll name 'em.
# 31 - The best book given to you by a family member?
Oh, man, my family is bad, bad, bad at getting books for me. Which is why I was surprised when I got a copy of The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams and it was actually decent. There are books I've been suggested by my family that weren't terrible, but the actual books they've bought for me have been pretty bad. (Like, my Dad thinks I was totally Cult of Ecstasy and, um, no. Shiny book, though.)
# 32 - The best book/series introduced to you by a friend?
My husband made me re-read Pamela Dean's _Tam Lin_ after I said, "It's OK." He's never actually done it before, but he wanted me to re-read it and pay attention this time to the descriptions and details that raised it far over "OK" and into one of my favourites. He was right. [sigh] tamoline is evil (I know, "NO SURPRISE") and has introduced me to a hundred different books that I would never have gotten for myself, and I know no way to repay that, let alone list them.
# 33 - The book you'd most like to write fanfiction for?
OK, just to make sure you understand my stance, I feel that fanfiction is a paean of love to the author, with the usual Sturgeon's Law attached. I don't generally intend to write fanfiction in universes I enjoy unless I really feel what I write is recognizable enough to the regular reader that they're not completely taken out of the worldview (or I'd write original fiction) and what I write enhances the reading; it provides more attention to a character or a plot that I think needs be highlighted. Now, of course, there are sometimes exceptions like the pervy porny inspired by Loki-from-the-Avengers-as-Brand non-consent story I'm doodling (which is an exception in about a thousand ways) but in general, I don't like to write fanfic that the author'd spit on. I want to write fanfic that, should the author feel comfortable reading such, would go, "Hey. That's not what I was intending, but that's an awesome take on [X]," where [X] is a character or a plot perspective. With that said, I also have an occasional urge to write parody or even remixes (especially of bad fiction I think I can improve). ("The Last Hairdresser-Mage." "This set of books, but with a protagonist who has a spine and a clue.") Overall, though, I think it's more telling what series/books I *don't* have a hankering to write in than those I do.
# 34 - A book you used to hate and now love, or vice versa?
I used to love McIntyre's Dreamsnake and I still like it, but I think a greater awareness of some of the flaws in it has kind of soured my feels for it. I have to admit, I did not like The Phantom Tollbooth the first time I read it, but my daughter's enjoying it has kind of made me return to it a few more times and decide after all that it's not that bad. Not sure I have the passion of "hate and love" with these, but...
# 35 - What book (or books) do you have in more than one media format? Why?
Clive Barker's "Nightbreed." The favourite ex-boyfriend loaned me the books on tape, which I loved, and then there's the movie, and the book (Cabal) is probably the weakest of the lot, and the comics, I have those... and what I love is that they're all different stories. It was like watching Nausicaä - I've seen it dubbed, subtitled, and in Japanese, and they're...different stories, with a different perspective.
# 36 - A book that changed your life, and how?
I don't know if I could actually point to any particular book and say that. The big red brick of World Fairy Tales that I can't find anywhere (I don't know if it was "the best" or "a collection of" or who the editor was, but that book was meaningful to the development of my brain) probably has a closer claim than Karl Hansen's Dream Games (don't ask - did I mention I was allowed full access to my parents' bookshelves?) but all of the books I've read probably have left something in my head. (Makes it a very cluttered place, said like that.)
# 37 - What book(s) were you sure you'd hate and you were right?
The Black Jewels sequence. The multicolored unicorns were just the icing on the cake, but there was nothing that was going to save that series. I really tried going in to give it every benefit of the doubt, every opportunity, and it failed on so many levels...wow. How about Deerskin by Robin McKinley? (I paid a quarter for it, which means I feel the author owes me $13 in change.)
# 38 - What book were you sure you'd hate and you were wrong?
I have a section in my Goodreads called "Grimoire" and one of the books there, Jack Williamson's Darker Than You Think was put in that section by my father. Given how he'd inflicted Clarke's Childhood's End and LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness on me, I was ready to write it off. I was wrong. Every time I re-read it I kick myself in figuring out new reasons why I was wrong.
# 39 - What book were you sure you'd love and you were right?
Turtledove's The Toxic Spell Dump ... I really think Stross' The Atrocity Archives were kind of trying for this feel, too.
# 40 - What book were you sure you'd love and you were wrong?
Hobb's Cloven Hooves had all the right ingredients, and I was high off some of the other stuff she'd written that I'd enjoyed, but it ended up more like an extended version of a story in a magazine that caters to a mostly middle-thirties to middle-fifties audience of career women. If you know what I mean. I wanted to like the story, but it was such a downer, and, well... If you know what it means to me, I haven't read it again. (I don't know if I will, which is why I haven't gotten rid of it, actually.)
# 41 - A book or series you would recommend to someone under the age of twelve?
I just found one of the Grimm's Fairy Tales with the Rackham illustrations and suggested it to the kids. I got the boy interested by pointing out some of the things that happen with decapitated heads in Sweet Roland. Any of the ones I liked from the YA question would probably apply here, too, although Somtow's The Wizard's Apprentice and The Vampire's Beautiful Daughter probably need a little older perspective.
# 42 - The sequel or next book in a series you're on tenterhooks for...?
One of my sisters and I have agreed that we'll read the new Dresden Files books to each other, rather than one of us knowing what happens first. I will say my sister has cheated. [grinning] (But she also called me on her phone and read to me for like 90 minutes at work once, too.) Which isn't quite "tenterhooks," but I look forward to this time together.
# 43 - A book that was downright surreal but still fascinating?
If a book is too surreal, it generally means I don't have the right context for it. Like Chester Anderson's The Butterfly Kid which I recall enjoying, but I... cannot tell you anything about it. Somtow's Vampire Junction probably counts here, too.
# 44 - This book kind of freaked you out.
Kotzwinkle's Doctor Rat. I have some enjoyment of books that make me uncomfortable, but I haven't returned to this one after starting it. Another from my father's shelves.
# 45 - Favorite post-apocalyptic book?
You know, I liked A Canticle for Leibowitz just fine, but I agree that it isn't science fiction, but about Latin Medieval Catholicism. I do seem to have a hankering for the genre. As I said, I couldn't stand Childhood's End because I didn't like what happened. The book was fine, but I didn't want it to go where it went. [grinning] Bone Dance probably needs "favourite," status, but I was just looking at all the books I have for the genre... everything from my husband's Shannara collection (the only book I liked from that series was _Elfstones_ and I stopped reading them early on) to of course the Aubry Knight books, to the transcending stuff of a lot of old and new science fiction... it's hard to say, really. I don't like dystopia, I guess, except in limited doses. It's like an herb that's good occasionally, but I wouldn't want in all my sauces for certain, where urban fantasy is like garlic. I love garlic.
# 46 - Up to three books or series that don't fall under any of these categories but needs a shout-out?
Fine. Thud! I think is my favourite Discworld book, despite its flaws. How about Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow? I didn't like the sequel so much, but I'm glad I read the first book. And Diana Wynne Jones' A Sudden Wild Magic has some really dark and interesting subplots that weren't really defined, but I've mined for use in game situations now and again.