Book Memes

Both of these are taken from Robbie, over at Boy With Books.

What author do you own the most books by?
No clue, but probably K.A. Applegate as I still have a nearly complete set of Animorphs and Everworld.

What book do you own the most copies of?
THE TRICKSTERS by Margaret Mahy (3)

What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
Secretly? I love lots of them openly. The first was probably Jake from the Animorphs. Doing a close read of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE is rekindling my love of Darcy.

What book have you read more than any other?
Again, no clue. I'm going to guess FIRST TEST or PAGE by Tamora Pierce. I didn't own PAGE for more than a year after it came out, so I was continually rechecking it. Eventually all of my friends were so used to the sight of my reading both of these they just went, "Oh, that again." I never liked the other two in the series as much as the beginning . . . they really hit me at the right time. I was also rereading THE CHINA GARDEN by Liz Berry pretty frequently around the same time, but I haven't reread it in years. (In August of 2001 I read it once every day, no lie.)

What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
Same as now - WATERSHIP DOWN by Richard Adams

What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?
*shrug* I don't really retain the titles and such of books I didn't like. Why waste the mind space?

What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?
Don't ask that! Like I have a clue.

What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?
A WINTER'S TALE by Shakespeare - haven't finished it yet (have just a few more acts to go), but several of the speeches are incoherent even to scholars.

Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
I've read more French authors. I'm ashamed of how few of the Russians I've read. No Nabokov, no Dostoevsky . . . I'm a terrible English major. I have read some Chekov, and I like the popular novels by Sergei Lukyanenko. And I do love Russian folktales, such as "Ivan and the Firebird."

Shakespeare, Milton or Chaucer?
Shakespeare

Austen or Eliot?
Austen - coincidentally, both of the people I'm in Oxford to study.

What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
See above. I really hate how little Russian lit I've read. I'd like to read my Japanese literature too.

What is your favorite novel?
WATERSHIP DOWN by Richard Adams, as stated above.

What is your favorite play?
AS YOU LIKE IT or A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM by Shakespeare

What is your favorite poem?
"The Sick Rose" by William Blake

What is your favorite essay?
"At a Fire" by Mark Twain

What is your favorite short story?
"Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin

What is your favorite non-fiction?
THE HIDING PLACE by Corrie Ten Boom

What is your favorite graphic novel?
ANGEL SANCTUARY by Kaori Yuki (Don't judge me.)

What is your favorite science fiction?
Tough question! Possibly TUNNEL IN THE SKY by Robert A. Heinlein.

Memoir?
See non-fiction.

Favorite History/Historical Novel?
A NORTHERN LIGHT by Jennifer Donnelly

Favorite mystery or noir?
THE KILLER INSIDE ME by Jim Thompson (noir) and TEN LITTLE INDIANS by Agatha Christie (mystery)

Favorite romance?
DARK NEEDS AT NIGHT'S EDGE by Kresley Cole

Favorite teen book?
It's probably by Tamora Pierce. But it could be by Margaret Mahy.

Who is your favorite writer?
Depends. I wish more people read Rob Thurman. Her books are so much fun.

Who is the most over rated writer alive today?
Joyce Carol Oates

What are you reading right now?
A WINTER'S TALE by Shakespeare

What book do you wish someone wrote so you could read it?
One is a rare book dealer. One is a saucy librarian. Together, they fight crime.

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews? Honestly?
Dunno.

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?
Schuldig, Cal Leandros, and Eugenides. I might not survive the experience but it would be fun.

(Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): you are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realize it’s past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave?
I don't know but it's by Herman Melville.

Come on, we’ve all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it?
THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realise when you read a review about it/go to ‘reread’ it that you haven’t? Which book?
No.

You’re interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why? (If you feel like you’d have to know the person, go ahead and personalize the VIP.)
THE OUTSIDERS by S.E. Hinton - short, accessible, and respectable.

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?
Japanese

A mischievious fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick?
I reread most of my fave books once a year anyway. Possible GREEN EGGS AND HAM by Dr. Seuss. Even if I get sick of it it wouldn't take me long.

That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she’s granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leatherbound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favourite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead—let your imagination run free.
The library from Beauty and the Beast will do. Possible substitutions include the library from Atonement or the Long Library in Blenheim Palace. I'd rather like to pick out the books myself. There's something about digging through a store that really gets me.