The Reading Meme

Thankfully, I finished the last of my AP Literature essays that I have been grading for the past four days. They were actually pretty good, so I'm feeling more hopeful about their ability to pass the exam in TWO WEEKS from TODAY! I'm sorry that I'm a bit obsessed by the entire thing, but this has been a pretty tough year as far as teaching is concerned, and I'm eager to see how they will do. :)

Well, having just finished those essays, I can now switch back to doing a bit more reading. In light of that, I thought this meme was interesting and wanted to consider my own reading! So, until I finish my wonderful Meg Cabot ARC, Being Nikki (which has been a fun read so far), I thought I'd consider my reading! This particular meme comes from Kailana, Chris, Maree, Bart, and Book Zombie.

1. What author do you own the most books by?

J.K. Rowling. For my birthday last year, I ordered the adult, UK version. Besides those, I own various of the American version in hardback.

2. What book do you own the most copies of?

A Hopeless Romantic by Harriet Evans. I loved it so much that I bought a copy, bought one for my best friend, and another as a gift. Well...UPS misdelivered TWO of my boxes, so I was sent another by Amazon, only to later have the old boxes show up. That just some time in the next couple of weeks I'll be doing a giveaway! :)

Before that mail debauchle, it was Beowulf. I love that epic, and have it in different translations.

3. Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?

No...too tired of grading and correcting things to care when I read anything else.

4. What fictional character are you secretly in love with?

Like most women: Mr. Darcy, Rhett Butler, and do you want to really laugh??? When I was a young girl, I had this secret crush on Almonzo Wilder from the Little House on the Prairie series!

5. What book have you read the most times in your life?

The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (for a paper I presented in graduate school), and my guilty pleasure read is Bridget Jones Diary.

6. What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?

Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Can you see me blushing through the computer???) I don't know what my deal was with pioneers and farmers, but I loved them when I was in grade school! :)

7. What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?

Wow, I would never normally trash a book like this, because I can't write, so why dog on someone else's work?!? I can't say it was the worst because it was bad, but only because it was so disturbing to me, but I'd have to say The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan. (Just reviewed last week.)

8. What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?

A Hopeless Romantic by Harriet Evans, for taking me 100% out of my own life and making me feel like I really knew and understood a character. Total "chick lit," and I loved it!

9. If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?

God of Small Things by Arhundati Roy, but only if they are willing to read and discuss!

10. Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for literature?

James Welch

11. What book would you most like to see made into a movie?

Oh, this is a scary question, because half the time Hollywood really messes it up, but I guess I'd say Small Island by Andrea Levy. It's a pretty hard book, with its issues surrounding empire and post-colonialism, which I think would make a pretty dramatic film.

12. What book would you least like to see made into a movie?

Wait! How about one I wished they had never made?!? Scarlett, the sequel to Gone With the Wind. I'm sorry, but I DID actually like the novel for at least giving me something to grasp for a follow up to the whole "Frankly my dear...," but the movie was SO cheesy that it almost made me cry. You just shouldn't mess with a cultural icon like Rhett Butler!!!

13. Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.

Dang that Stephen King...I've only been reading the one book of his, The Stand, and I will admit to incorporating the barren landscapes from the novel into my scary dreams. Strange, eh?

14. What is the most lowbrow book you’ve read as an adult?

Once again, they at least have a skill that I do not, so I don't know that I can label this one! I will say though that while in graduate school, I always felt a little weird admitting that I liked "chick lit" and YA fiction. To me it seemed ridiculous to be so snobby about one's reading, but there it is, I was still somewhat embarrassed!

15. What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, because I just don't get magical realism. Honest, I just don't.

16. Do you prefer the French or the Russians?

The French. Sorry, but with Victor Hugo to back that, I couldn't say otherwise.

17. Roth or Updike?

Updike...you know..."A & P" where the three girls walk into the grocery with nothing but their bathing suits on? I love the detail in this short story!

18. David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?

David Sedaris, although I haven't read Dave Eggers.

19. Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?

Wow! It depends on what I'm wanting. Actually though, I think Milton.

20. Austen or Eliot?

Austen!

21. What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?

Mysteries. I don't know why, but I really can't stomach mysteries. They bore me to tears, and have to have something else to offer me along the way, or I'm moving on to something else!

22. What is your favorite novel?

The God of Small Things by Arhundati Roy, because it changed the way I look at the world forever.

23. Play?

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, by Tennessee Williams. Actually, anything by Williams! I know some find him to be really depressing, but I think the emotional depth of his plays to be astounding.

24. Short story?

"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner, because it's just so darn freaky!

25. Epic Poem?

Beowulf!!!

26. Short(er) poem?

"Telephone Conversation" by Wole Soyinka, and "A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Although honestly, how am I to choose my favorite?!? I really have developed a love for too many to count.

27. Work of non-fiction?

I don't have one favorite, but I generally like autobiographies.

28. Who is your favorite writer?

Serious Side: James Welch Fun Side: Meg Cabot

29. Who is the most overrated writer alive today?

Once again...can't knock someone for something that I couldn't manage in my wildest dreams!

30. What is your desert island book?

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, because I'd need something long that I could go over and over again!

31. And … what are you reading right now?

An ARC by Meg Cabot, Being Nikki, and Going Home, by Harriet Evans.

P.S. I've been awarded two blog awards! :) Thanks to those who awarded me. I simply haven't had a chance to get them posted and thank them properly, but it's coming...I promise! Thanks again.