A Meme in lieu of actual work, yay!
Your fics are coming along surely but slowly, and will either be posted in the comments below where you asked for them, or if they end up too long, I'll post them at my fic-journal and leave you a link to them!
Slow but sure, has become even slower with two fingers out of commission. If you follow my on Twitter you'll already know, but yeah. Washing Up is hazardous to my health. The last two times I've done the WU I've cut myself on something. Last time I sliced my finger open with a concealed knife below one of the plates, which is why this time I very carefully didn't put the sharp knifes in, planning to leave them 'til last, and do them separately. This time it was a glass, which cut me inbetween my ring and little fingers on my right hand, leaving me with eight typing fingers and imposing a state of unwilling left-handedness upon me.
However, I have vowed to write a hell of a lot more often, to get into the practise of writing, even if what I write is complete bollocks, so here is a meme to be going on with, and I'll be back to writing your requested fics as soon as I get the stupidly large bandage I mocked-up off my fingers. (It needed to be kept clean and dry etc., but plasters don't work between your fingers unless they're those special ones for exactly that, so I used a bandage and some cotton wool which I have in case my sister comes to visit and injures herself because she's allergic to plasters. Anyway, the bandage I had to use is too long, so my fingers are wrapped up in a large cotton sausage shape. Which doesn't help with the typing...)
Meme!
What I stole from gingerhobbit
1) The worst reading experience that you have ever had?
Wuthering Heights, no question. I have tried to like this book, I've even tried to just get on with it and read the damn thing, but nothing about it interests me. I hate the characters, I think they're all stupid and dull and they need to be pushed off a cliff into a stormy ocean of pain. Something which is unlikely to happen on a heath... Unfortunately. The hatred probably stems from the English teacher who we had to read it for declaring that my essay was rubbish because I didn't like the book, whereas she thought it was the best book in the entire history of books, and therefore I was WRONG even though the essay called for our opinions about it.
2) The best reading experience you have ever had?
Terry Pratchett's Discworld books. I want to live in Ankh-Morpork. I can't tell you how many times I've read those books, I just don't know, but it's a lot...
3) Which book has affected or influenced you the most so far?
I wish I'd read Ender's Game when I was younger. I think it would have affected me more, but it's still a book that changed my perspective in a slight, but quite critical way. Oddly enough, other books that I remember resurfacing from with a feeling of 'Wow. I feel strangely different in a way I can't quite put my finger on.' are K-PAX and Fuzzy Dice, also fairly science fiction-y books.
4) Have you ever read a book that you got really scared of?
No, I don't remember ever being afraid of a book. I remember being afraid after a book, that the 'things' from it would come a get me, but never whilst reading. The best one I can think of that made me have to sit up with the light on is The Plucker by Brom. Gorgeous art, but so terrifying it burned the monsters into my brain until long into the night.
5) What do you use as a bookmark?
Anything I have to hand. I prefer not to have an actual official bookmark, so usually something close by that's flat, although bits of string, bus tickets, flyers, bits of newspaper, empty gum wrappers and hairbands have all been used at one point or another. If it's a paperback I might lie it flat on a surface, but hardbacks just get something dropped between the pages. When I was at school I never needed a bookmark, I always just remembered where I was, but then again, when I was at school I always had a book in my pocket to read, one in my bag in case I finished the pocket on, and I would sneakily read in class if it got too dull.
6) When do you usually read? At home, work, while cooking, in the morning, noon, afternoon, before you go to bed...?
Home, on the bus, in the car, while walking, in bed... Anytime I can, and if the book is especially gripping, even times when I can't or shouldn't like when I'm walking down the street and really should be looking out for lampposts or cars instead.
7) Do you remember the first book that you read?
No, but it was probably Peter Rabbit. Or Winnie the Pooh. Or Paddington. Or Alpaca the Rabbit (who recently changed his name to 'Fluffy Bunny' because apparently people were confused by 'Alpaca the Rabbit' not being a llama...). Or Alfie and Annie-Rose books. I had a book-filled childhood!
8) Which do you prefer - paperback or hardcover?
Paperbacks I feel much safer with. I can pack them into my backpack a few at a time and they aren't as heavy, and I can fit them in my hoodie pocket. But hardbacks are essential if they're old books. Old books should impart a sense of history. They should smell of years of reading and learning and artfully-told lies.
9) What are you currently reading? What page are you on?
The Last Continent (Pratchett) - Pg151
The King of Terror (Doctor Who Novel) - Pg140
HHGTTG Trilogy in Four Parts single book - Pg356 (aka Life, the Universe and Everything - Pg47)
The Last Detective (A bookcrossing book I found last night) - Pg19
And probably a couple of others that a currently evading me.
10) Do you ever leave "a mark" (deliberate and/or not deliberate) in your books? For example, write in them, underline quotes, coffeemarks or food crumbs and etc.
I generally don't underline things unless I need them for work. There are exceptions however. What I do (or did) sometimes do is keep tallies of the 'other works by the same author' I had read and draw pictures in the front covers of books. If there's a particularly interesting quote I might fold over the corner, but I don't do that often. As for 'accidental' markings, my books often have biscuit crumbs or watermarks from spilled tea, are occasionally entirely watermarked after a 'dropping into the bath/sink/puddle' incident and if I've been reading them outside during the summer beware of greenfly, grass, and the occasional pressed flower between the pages.
11) Does the title, amount of pages and the cover affect you when you are considering a specific book?
Yes. I often trawl bookshops for books I've never heard of. If I'm looking for a new book I generally go through a shelf looking for a title to pop out at me. This is often how I find new authors. The amount of pages never really comes into it, unless I'm weighing up against the price... If I can only afford to get one book, and I've picked up two that look interesting and are the same price I'll usually choose the thicker one on principle of 'getting more for my money' but I try and make note of the other one in case I want it later. This is only if I have two by unknown authors. If I know I'll like the thinner book because I know I like the author, then the thinner one it will be.
The last thing is the cover. I'm sure many of you know this about me, but I wanted to read Pratchett books because of Josh Kirby's gorgeous cover to Soul Music. I saw it and instantly fell in love with the idea of them. It's just so brilliantly ROCK 'N' ROLL! ♥ *sigh*
12) Do you ever browse through to the last pages in order find out the ending?
No. Why would I want to know how the story ends before I know how it begins?
13) Has knowing the ending of a book (example, through spoilers or a movie) ever made you decide whether you will read the book or not?
If there's a film coming that I want to see, and I know I'll want to read the book I generally read the book before the movie on purpose to avoid being spoilered. I really don't like being spoilered. There have been occasions when I haven't read the book first, but they're few and far between.
14) Is there a book that you have read more than five times?
Every Pratchett book, The Hitchhiker's Guide, The Hobbit, The Narnia Chronicles, probably every Beatrix Potter book, Good Omens (it's falling apart from over-use), The Brentford trilogy, The Wombles, Bottersnikes and Gumbles... I re-read most of my books a looooooooot.
15) Have you ever been in an accident where the book was the cause? (for example, almost getting hit by a car when reading while walking, or having stacks of books falling on you from a bookshelf...)
Yes and yes to the examples. High bookshelves and short stepladders are just a pain in the skull. Feh! Also walking into lamp posts, tripping over things, falling up and down stairs, falling off walls, out of trees and out of bed, hitting my head on cupboard doors, low hanging signs and ceiling beams, getting stuck in a bannister rail, a wardrobe and under half a ton of wet laundry are all things that I've done whilst reading. There are probably more.
16) Do you sell/give away your books or do you keep them, even though you don't like one of them?
I keep as many of my books as I can, although I give away duplicates and books I've already read and know I don't like. I tend to keep books I haven't read even if I suspect that I won't like them, because I have to read them to find out if my suspicions were right. If I disliked a particular book, I will give it to a charity shop or someone else after reading.
17) Do you have some kind of book system, where you write down what you are reading, have bought, will read, will buy and etc?
No. I fail. I really should make note of all the books I own, note which ones I've read and which are still to read and have a list that I can add to of books I want to read at some point. But I don't, and for now I just have to rely on my godawful memory, and my notepads where I scribble notes my myself about books I've heard of that I think are worth reading.
And that's quite enough of that.
Enjoy your day. Me? I'm going to see Star Trek again later! WIN!
Slow but sure, has become even slower with two fingers out of commission. If you follow my on Twitter you'll already know, but yeah. Washing Up is hazardous to my health. The last two times I've done the WU I've cut myself on something. Last time I sliced my finger open with a concealed knife below one of the plates, which is why this time I very carefully didn't put the sharp knifes in, planning to leave them 'til last, and do them separately. This time it was a glass, which cut me inbetween my ring and little fingers on my right hand, leaving me with eight typing fingers and imposing a state of unwilling left-handedness upon me.
However, I have vowed to write a hell of a lot more often, to get into the practise of writing, even if what I write is complete bollocks, so here is a meme to be going on with, and I'll be back to writing your requested fics as soon as I get the stupidly large bandage I mocked-up off my fingers. (It needed to be kept clean and dry etc., but plasters don't work between your fingers unless they're those special ones for exactly that, so I used a bandage and some cotton wool which I have in case my sister comes to visit and injures herself because she's allergic to plasters. Anyway, the bandage I had to use is too long, so my fingers are wrapped up in a large cotton sausage shape. Which doesn't help with the typing...)
Meme!
What I stole from gingerhobbit
1) The worst reading experience that you have ever had?
Wuthering Heights, no question. I have tried to like this book, I've even tried to just get on with it and read the damn thing, but nothing about it interests me. I hate the characters, I think they're all stupid and dull and they need to be pushed off a cliff into a stormy ocean of pain. Something which is unlikely to happen on a heath... Unfortunately. The hatred probably stems from the English teacher who we had to read it for declaring that my essay was rubbish because I didn't like the book, whereas she thought it was the best book in the entire history of books, and therefore I was WRONG even though the essay called for our opinions about it.
2) The best reading experience you have ever had?
Terry Pratchett's Discworld books. I want to live in Ankh-Morpork. I can't tell you how many times I've read those books, I just don't know, but it's a lot...
3) Which book has affected or influenced you the most so far?
I wish I'd read Ender's Game when I was younger. I think it would have affected me more, but it's still a book that changed my perspective in a slight, but quite critical way. Oddly enough, other books that I remember resurfacing from with a feeling of 'Wow. I feel strangely different in a way I can't quite put my finger on.' are K-PAX and Fuzzy Dice, also fairly science fiction-y books.
4) Have you ever read a book that you got really scared of?
No, I don't remember ever being afraid of a book. I remember being afraid after a book, that the 'things' from it would come a get me, but never whilst reading. The best one I can think of that made me have to sit up with the light on is The Plucker by Brom. Gorgeous art, but so terrifying it burned the monsters into my brain until long into the night.
5) What do you use as a bookmark?
Anything I have to hand. I prefer not to have an actual official bookmark, so usually something close by that's flat, although bits of string, bus tickets, flyers, bits of newspaper, empty gum wrappers and hairbands have all been used at one point or another. If it's a paperback I might lie it flat on a surface, but hardbacks just get something dropped between the pages. When I was at school I never needed a bookmark, I always just remembered where I was, but then again, when I was at school I always had a book in my pocket to read, one in my bag in case I finished the pocket on, and I would sneakily read in class if it got too dull.
6) When do you usually read? At home, work, while cooking, in the morning, noon, afternoon, before you go to bed...?
Home, on the bus, in the car, while walking, in bed... Anytime I can, and if the book is especially gripping, even times when I can't or shouldn't like when I'm walking down the street and really should be looking out for lampposts or cars instead.
7) Do you remember the first book that you read?
No, but it was probably Peter Rabbit. Or Winnie the Pooh. Or Paddington. Or Alpaca the Rabbit (who recently changed his name to 'Fluffy Bunny' because apparently people were confused by 'Alpaca the Rabbit' not being a llama...). Or Alfie and Annie-Rose books. I had a book-filled childhood!
8) Which do you prefer - paperback or hardcover?
Paperbacks I feel much safer with. I can pack them into my backpack a few at a time and they aren't as heavy, and I can fit them in my hoodie pocket. But hardbacks are essential if they're old books. Old books should impart a sense of history. They should smell of years of reading and learning and artfully-told lies.
9) What are you currently reading? What page are you on?
The Last Continent (Pratchett) - Pg151
The King of Terror (Doctor Who Novel) - Pg140
HHGTTG Trilogy in Four Parts single book - Pg356 (aka Life, the Universe and Everything - Pg47)
The Last Detective (A bookcrossing book I found last night) - Pg19
And probably a couple of others that a currently evading me.
10) Do you ever leave "a mark" (deliberate and/or not deliberate) in your books? For example, write in them, underline quotes, coffeemarks or food crumbs and etc.
I generally don't underline things unless I need them for work. There are exceptions however. What I do (or did) sometimes do is keep tallies of the 'other works by the same author' I had read and draw pictures in the front covers of books. If there's a particularly interesting quote I might fold over the corner, but I don't do that often. As for 'accidental' markings, my books often have biscuit crumbs or watermarks from spilled tea, are occasionally entirely watermarked after a 'dropping into the bath/sink/puddle' incident and if I've been reading them outside during the summer beware of greenfly, grass, and the occasional pressed flower between the pages.
11) Does the title, amount of pages and the cover affect you when you are considering a specific book?
Yes. I often trawl bookshops for books I've never heard of. If I'm looking for a new book I generally go through a shelf looking for a title to pop out at me. This is often how I find new authors. The amount of pages never really comes into it, unless I'm weighing up against the price... If I can only afford to get one book, and I've picked up two that look interesting and are the same price I'll usually choose the thicker one on principle of 'getting more for my money' but I try and make note of the other one in case I want it later. This is only if I have two by unknown authors. If I know I'll like the thinner book because I know I like the author, then the thinner one it will be.
The last thing is the cover. I'm sure many of you know this about me, but I wanted to read Pratchett books because of Josh Kirby's gorgeous cover to Soul Music. I saw it and instantly fell in love with the idea of them. It's just so brilliantly ROCK 'N' ROLL! ♥ *sigh*
12) Do you ever browse through to the last pages in order find out the ending?
No. Why would I want to know how the story ends before I know how it begins?
13) Has knowing the ending of a book (example, through spoilers or a movie) ever made you decide whether you will read the book or not?
If there's a film coming that I want to see, and I know I'll want to read the book I generally read the book before the movie on purpose to avoid being spoilered. I really don't like being spoilered. There have been occasions when I haven't read the book first, but they're few and far between.
14) Is there a book that you have read more than five times?
Every Pratchett book, The Hitchhiker's Guide, The Hobbit, The Narnia Chronicles, probably every Beatrix Potter book, Good Omens (it's falling apart from over-use), The Brentford trilogy, The Wombles, Bottersnikes and Gumbles... I re-read most of my books a looooooooot.
15) Have you ever been in an accident where the book was the cause? (for example, almost getting hit by a car when reading while walking, or having stacks of books falling on you from a bookshelf...)
Yes and yes to the examples. High bookshelves and short stepladders are just a pain in the skull. Feh! Also walking into lamp posts, tripping over things, falling up and down stairs, falling off walls, out of trees and out of bed, hitting my head on cupboard doors, low hanging signs and ceiling beams, getting stuck in a bannister rail, a wardrobe and under half a ton of wet laundry are all things that I've done whilst reading. There are probably more.
16) Do you sell/give away your books or do you keep them, even though you don't like one of them?
I keep as many of my books as I can, although I give away duplicates and books I've already read and know I don't like. I tend to keep books I haven't read even if I suspect that I won't like them, because I have to read them to find out if my suspicions were right. If I disliked a particular book, I will give it to a charity shop or someone else after reading.
17) Do you have some kind of book system, where you write down what you are reading, have bought, will read, will buy and etc?
No. I fail. I really should make note of all the books I own, note which ones I've read and which are still to read and have a list that I can add to of books I want to read at some point. But I don't, and for now I just have to rely on my godawful memory, and my notepads where I scribble notes my myself about books I've heard of that I think are worth reading.
And that's quite enough of that.
Enjoy your day. Me? I'm going to see Star Trek again later! WIN!