Jan 19, 2010 14:54
Decided to do this little books survey thingy which I found on Calapine's Journal, seems like fun. A good portion of these will be comics-related, since that's what I read the most of, and have been reading a lot lately.
1. Which book has been on your shelves the longest?
Hard to say, I like rearranging books so often that keeping track of how long they've actually been on...oh. Oh, I see, what book have I had the longest? Probably either The Pokey Little Puppy, or The Monster at the End of This Book (starring Grover from Sesame Street). Or Socks for Supper. One of those, I imagine. Ooh, or there was this Disney book with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy as Ghostbusters and inside the book were these record things that you placed a machine on top of the page and it "read" the book to you with sound effects and such. (NOT a "Book and Record" set!)
2. What is your current read, your last read and the book you'll read next?
Last - Godzilla: Past, Present, Future
Current - Sgt. Rock - Between Hell and a Hard Place
Next - Marvel Essentials - Sub-Mariner Volume 1 (Maybe, haven't decided yet)
3. What book did everyone like and you hated?
Final Crisis by Grant Morrison. Actually, saying everyone liked it isn't really true, but I'm definitely in the hated camp. It had so much potential, but I dislike when creators get all artsy and snooty about their work, like it's more important than anything else you'll ever read and if you don't understand it, you're a poor ignorant, uneducated fool incapable of reading, understanding, and enjoying such a complex work. If I ever get like that, someone break my pens and pencils because I don't want to have that sort of attitude to my writing.
4. Which book do you keep telling yourself you'll read, but you probably won't?
I have a complete collected works of Shakespeare. I want to be all sophisticated and read it like a proper grown-up who enjoys classic literature. But I highly doubt I ever will get around to reading even one play from it.
5. Which book are you saving for "retirement?"
Well, probably not a single book, but I would like to go through all my Who NA/MA/PDA/EDAs in order at some point. Tried it as they were coming out, but I lost interest halfway through the New Adventures. Would like to re-read Great Expectations, because part of me desperately wants to like that book, because I used to identify with Pip rather a lot.
6. Last page: read it first or wait till the end?
If it's a Japanese book that's meant to be read backwards, yes. If it's not, then no. The only thing I read on the last page of a book before I read the entire book is the page number. If all I cared about was finding out the ending of the book, I'd spend a couple of afternoons in a bookstore and just read all the last pages. I'd never have to buy a book again. Cheap, yes, but cheating and pointless, I don't see how or why people would do this...
7. Acknowledgments: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?
Never a waste. Writing is a process, and the author clearly felt these people helped him in some way or they meant a great deal to him. How is caring about other people a waste? Simple, it isn't.
8. Which book character would you switch places with?
I dunno, probably one with a lovely girlfriend and/or wife. Preferably one who doesn't die.
9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?
Yes, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I did my first ever proper, grown-up book report on that in the sixth grade. The report was rubbish, basically just a summary, but it's the first real book report I ever remember writing.
10. Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.
Well, there's Doctor Who: Short Trips - How the Doctor Changed My Life. I wrote a short story in it, and was given a copy as part of my contract. I don't know about interesting, but it's my favorite one that I haven't had to buy myself.
11. Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?
See 10. I actually got two copies, and I gave a copy to my best friend, who always encouraged me in my writing. I even autographed it for him, at his request. My first autograph!
12. Which book has been with you to the most places?
I dunno, I tend to stay at home, so I'll probably go with Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I took that one to school many, many times, even when not doing a book report on it.
13. Any "required reading" you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad ten years later?
As I mentioned earlier, I kinda like Great Expectations. Well, the concept, anyway. I could still do without Dickens' "I Get Paid By the Word, Bitches, So You Gotta Read the Exact Shape, Color, Texture, Smell, and Taste of Every Object in the Frigging Room" writing style...
14. What is the strangest item you’ve ever found in a book?
Stains in old books. I wonder how they got there, and what those stains once were!
15. Used or brand new?
Preferably new, but if I can't get a new copy, I'll settle for a used one in decent condition.
16. Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses?
I don't really care about him enough to speculate, but I'll lean towards opiate. I liked The Stand, and I liked The Green Mile, but I've never cared enough to seek out anything else he's done.
17. Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Tried reading all three series, only ever got all the way through the first of those. Harry bored me to tears, and LotR...eh, just a bit long-winded, I felt. Couldn't really get into any of them. It may be blasphemy, but the movies are all far superior, IMHO.
18. Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to celluloid?
Dunno, haven't seen one bad enough to say.
19. Have you ever read a book that's made you hungry, cookbooks being excluded from this question?
Not really, no.
20. Who is the person whose book advice you'll always take?
Nobody's. I may be more inclined to listen to my best friend, but even then, I don't always take his advice. I'm not a sheep, and so I don't do as I'm told. I'll make up my own mind, thanks.