Book Meme
In the news: GAAAH FRENCH FINAL EXAM FRIDAY GAAAAH
Origins of American Lit final - not bad, I think. I got a bit too carried away with the language, forgot to insert much in the way of examples for a long time, but that's okay! I pulled it together enough to throw in Mary Rowlandson, Ben Franklin (my homeboy!) and J. Hector St. John du Crevecoeur (the simple salt of the earth "farmer" who nevertheless has the eloquence, viewpoint, and vocabulary of a Jesuit-educated Frenchman.)
Also, reading Charlotte Temple now and I'm finding it almost laughable. Did I ever think that Tess of the D'Urbervilles was a wimp? I'm sorry, Tess, I have done you wrong. Tess is a Hester Prynne in comparison to Charlotte Temple. And Miss Rowson! She opens her book addressing the "young and thoughtless of the fairer sex," or, in other words, "All you ditzes and bimbos out there, listen up!" In addition, Madamoiselle La Rue - a Frenchwoman, natch - is deliberately calculating every step of Charlotte's eventual and terrible ruin, because Mlle La Rue has lost her honor and must therefore be jealous of any young and pure lady who... Oh, I could write a whole MST of this book. It's so melodramatic and moralistic that it's hilarious.
Also: Mlle La Rue gives this long speech trying to guilt Charlotte into seeing Montraville, the bringer of her DOOM; a speech which I could just as easily see Anne of Green Gables giving in utmost sincerity because she's just that romantic. Also, Rowson gives a good paragraph dedicated to the statement that "all men look sexier in uniform."
ZOMG ZOMG BOOKS. Book Meme taken from sailorzelda .
What's your bookstore?
Probably, now, the Little Old Bookshop in Uptown Whittier. I like that, I like any bookstore - I also love the Robertson, Rancho Park, and Beverly Hills libraries. But there was one bookstore that I only visited once, in Prince Edward Island - it was in 'Victoria By the Sea' (that's a real town!) and it was one room in a wooden cabin with a slanted floor, books on every wall, and the guy said that he closed up shop in winter because it was too cold. I bought a copy of 'By the Shores of Silver Lake' there, but really, that bookstore has never left me.
Hardback or paperback?
Whichever. I like hardbacks from the library, though, with their plastic wrap that smells nice. The series doesn't even need to match, even - I will never trade away my paperback Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for a hardback that matches the other six.
Bookmark or dogear?
Glance at the page number and commit it to memory. If not, bookmarks.
Keep, throw away or sell?
Throw away? You blasphemer! Give away to a younger cousin or friend who will love it - only if I know I don't want to keep it.
Read with dust jacket or remove it?
I like to remove the dust jacket when reading so I preserve it, and because a lot of the times I love the look of the unvarnished cover of the book.
Short story or novel?
Either! Typically, though, novel.
Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
Depends on the book. Garth Nix and Agatha Christie can only be stopped when my eyelids need to be propped open.
Buy or borrow?
Borrow from the library and then buy years and years later when I realize my bookshelf is incomplete without it. Also, Manga: my traditionally borrowed medium.
Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse?
Recommendation (usually comes over the Internet) or browsing. I hate books that give a list of gushing reviews on the back cover instead of an actual summary.
Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Whichever one best suits the story, of course! But tidy endings overall, with just a tinge of bittersweetness.
Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading?
Nighttime or afternoon. Who has time in the morning?
Standalone or series?
Either. I've got a balance of both.
New or used?
Either. I even like the special smell that comes with library books that are bound in plastic. Most of my books have been bought new.
Last five books you read:
Book One, 'The Maiden,' of Tess of the D'Urbervilles (not sure if I'll read the rest. Probably won't, considering that Charlotte Temple is all the seduction narrative I can handle.)
'Letters From An American Farmer' by J. Hector St. John du Crevecoeur
Selections from North American Writings
Dramacon: Volumes 1 & 2
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Schiltz (okay, I haven't really finished it, but I'm savoring it!)
Also, I've gotten about halfway through Donna Tartt's The Secret History and don't think I'll finish it. So unpleasant.
Next five books you want to read:
Gotta finish A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle (in a reading trade-off with chaos_harmony for A House Like a Lotus)
Magic Time by Marc Scott Zicree and Barbara Hambly (in a reading trade-off with my rommate for Sabriel)
Gotta finish Charlotte Temple by Susanna Rowson
Tai-Pan by James Clavell (have to wait until summer, though)
Really really have to finish Black Elk Speaks
And because half of these are halfway finished books - let's just say TerryPratchettTerryPratchettTerryPratchett.
The first novel you remember reading
... that's tough, man. Probably L'Engle's A Wind In the Door. No! No! The Boxcar Children. Those count, right?
A book that changed your life
It's gonna sound cliche, but there's two: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and The Amber Spyglass. And when I reread it, I realized that A House Like a Lotus did a lot to me too.
A book that made you cry (really cry, not just a shed tear)
The Amber Spyglass. Oh good high heaven. Abhorsen. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. And Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but that was for a very very different reason.
A book that made you brood for days
The Amber Spyglass, again. Probably Sadako, again. I first read it at, like, ten, and I could not believe it. Could not believe it. It was when I reread that I really started crying.
A book that made you laugh
Spring-Heeled Jack ! By Philip Pullman. Also, anything and everything by Terry Pratchett.
A book you have signed by the author
It Rained on the Desert Today and This House is Made of Mud. Also, I am quite proud to say, Anchee Min's The Last Empress (even if the first book was better, I'm so glad I met her and have her autograph.)
A book where you have drowned in the language
You're asking a lot there, buddy. Probably Clavell's Shogun and the climax to Pratchett's Wintersmith, and of course the first time I read A Wind in the Door I was blown away. (Ha. Ha.)
A book you have lost
... ... ... I once brought Many Waters with me on a water ride at Six Flags... I still have it, it's just... traumatized. No. No. That doesn't count. Um... Sorry 'bout that, but I'm just good with books. Not applicable.
A book given to you by your father
Renoir, My Father, by Jean Renoir
A book given to you by your mother
Dragonwyck, by Anya Seton
A book given to you by a friend
The Secret History, again, which makes it hard for me to be unable to finish it. That friend and I also fell out of touch, so... yeah.
Five books you would recommend:
James Clavell's Shogun
L'Engle's A House Like a Lotus
Pullman's The Golden Compass
Park's A Single Shard
Renoir's Renoir, My Father
Laura Schlitz's Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!
And the list could go on.
Origins of American Lit final - not bad, I think. I got a bit too carried away with the language, forgot to insert much in the way of examples for a long time, but that's okay! I pulled it together enough to throw in Mary Rowlandson, Ben Franklin (my homeboy!) and J. Hector St. John du Crevecoeur (the simple salt of the earth "farmer" who nevertheless has the eloquence, viewpoint, and vocabulary of a Jesuit-educated Frenchman.)
Also, reading Charlotte Temple now and I'm finding it almost laughable. Did I ever think that Tess of the D'Urbervilles was a wimp? I'm sorry, Tess, I have done you wrong. Tess is a Hester Prynne in comparison to Charlotte Temple. And Miss Rowson! She opens her book addressing the "young and thoughtless of the fairer sex," or, in other words, "All you ditzes and bimbos out there, listen up!" In addition, Madamoiselle La Rue - a Frenchwoman, natch - is deliberately calculating every step of Charlotte's eventual and terrible ruin, because Mlle La Rue has lost her honor and must therefore be jealous of any young and pure lady who... Oh, I could write a whole MST of this book. It's so melodramatic and moralistic that it's hilarious.
Also: Mlle La Rue gives this long speech trying to guilt Charlotte into seeing Montraville, the bringer of her DOOM; a speech which I could just as easily see Anne of Green Gables giving in utmost sincerity because she's just that romantic. Also, Rowson gives a good paragraph dedicated to the statement that "all men look sexier in uniform."
ZOMG ZOMG BOOKS. Book Meme taken from sailorzelda .
What's your bookstore?
Probably, now, the Little Old Bookshop in Uptown Whittier. I like that, I like any bookstore - I also love the Robertson, Rancho Park, and Beverly Hills libraries. But there was one bookstore that I only visited once, in Prince Edward Island - it was in 'Victoria By the Sea' (that's a real town!) and it was one room in a wooden cabin with a slanted floor, books on every wall, and the guy said that he closed up shop in winter because it was too cold. I bought a copy of 'By the Shores of Silver Lake' there, but really, that bookstore has never left me.
Hardback or paperback?
Whichever. I like hardbacks from the library, though, with their plastic wrap that smells nice. The series doesn't even need to match, even - I will never trade away my paperback Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for a hardback that matches the other six.
Bookmark or dogear?
Glance at the page number and commit it to memory. If not, bookmarks.
Keep, throw away or sell?
Throw away? You blasphemer! Give away to a younger cousin or friend who will love it - only if I know I don't want to keep it.
Read with dust jacket or remove it?
I like to remove the dust jacket when reading so I preserve it, and because a lot of the times I love the look of the unvarnished cover of the book.
Short story or novel?
Either! Typically, though, novel.
Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
Depends on the book. Garth Nix and Agatha Christie can only be stopped when my eyelids need to be propped open.
Buy or borrow?
Borrow from the library and then buy years and years later when I realize my bookshelf is incomplete without it. Also, Manga: my traditionally borrowed medium.
Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse?
Recommendation (usually comes over the Internet) or browsing. I hate books that give a list of gushing reviews on the back cover instead of an actual summary.
Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Whichever one best suits the story, of course! But tidy endings overall, with just a tinge of bittersweetness.
Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading?
Nighttime or afternoon. Who has time in the morning?
Standalone or series?
Either. I've got a balance of both.
New or used?
Either. I even like the special smell that comes with library books that are bound in plastic. Most of my books have been bought new.
Last five books you read:
Book One, 'The Maiden,' of Tess of the D'Urbervilles (not sure if I'll read the rest. Probably won't, considering that Charlotte Temple is all the seduction narrative I can handle.)
'Letters From An American Farmer' by J. Hector St. John du Crevecoeur
Selections from North American Writings
Dramacon: Volumes 1 & 2
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Schiltz (okay, I haven't really finished it, but I'm savoring it!)
Also, I've gotten about halfway through Donna Tartt's The Secret History and don't think I'll finish it. So unpleasant.
Next five books you want to read:
Gotta finish A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle (in a reading trade-off with chaos_harmony for A House Like a Lotus)
Magic Time by Marc Scott Zicree and Barbara Hambly (in a reading trade-off with my rommate for Sabriel)
Gotta finish Charlotte Temple by Susanna Rowson
Tai-Pan by James Clavell (have to wait until summer, though)
Really really have to finish Black Elk Speaks
And because half of these are halfway finished books - let's just say TerryPratchettTerryPratchettTerryPratchett.
The first novel you remember reading
... that's tough, man. Probably L'Engle's A Wind In the Door. No! No! The Boxcar Children. Those count, right?
A book that changed your life
It's gonna sound cliche, but there's two: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and The Amber Spyglass. And when I reread it, I realized that A House Like a Lotus did a lot to me too.
A book that made you cry (really cry, not just a shed tear)
The Amber Spyglass. Oh good high heaven. Abhorsen. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. And Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but that was for a very very different reason.
A book that made you brood for days
The Amber Spyglass, again. Probably Sadako, again. I first read it at, like, ten, and I could not believe it. Could not believe it. It was when I reread that I really started crying.
A book that made you laugh
Spring-Heeled Jack ! By Philip Pullman. Also, anything and everything by Terry Pratchett.
A book you have signed by the author
It Rained on the Desert Today and This House is Made of Mud. Also, I am quite proud to say, Anchee Min's The Last Empress (even if the first book was better, I'm so glad I met her and have her autograph.)
A book where you have drowned in the language
You're asking a lot there, buddy. Probably Clavell's Shogun and the climax to Pratchett's Wintersmith, and of course the first time I read A Wind in the Door I was blown away. (Ha. Ha.)
A book you have lost
... ... ... I once brought Many Waters with me on a water ride at Six Flags... I still have it, it's just... traumatized. No. No. That doesn't count. Um... Sorry 'bout that, but I'm just good with books. Not applicable.
A book given to you by your father
Renoir, My Father, by Jean Renoir
A book given to you by your mother
Dragonwyck, by Anya Seton
A book given to you by a friend
The Secret History, again, which makes it hard for me to be unable to finish it. That friend and I also fell out of touch, so... yeah.
Five books you would recommend:
James Clavell's Shogun
L'Engle's A House Like a Lotus
Pullman's The Golden Compass
Park's A Single Shard
Renoir's Renoir, My Father
Laura Schlitz's Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!
And the list could go on.