Reading Meme Thingamabob

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews? Lord of the Rings. It seems like I'm the last person alive who hasn't read these books but I could only get about 45 minutes into the movie, so don't expect the books to be much better. I'm more of a Narnia girl.

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? One of them would have to be Francie Nolan from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I love that book and can always relate to her. Another might be Demi from Dramarama because most of my guy friends are a lot like him and he'd definitely be a lot of fun. The third would probably be Beth March from Little Women. Her story is only ever told from Jo's point of view.

(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 realise it’s past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave? It might possibly be the book on world philosophers we had to read for AP European history last year. Adam Smith was an interesting guy and the book made him seem just as boring as the other stuffy old geezers it talked about.

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? A Great and Terrible Beauty.

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? I don't remember the name, but there was some book about a ghost who can't figure out which of four sisters she's supposed to be. I thought I'd read it because it sat on my shelf for years, but when I "reread" it back in September I realized it was completely new to me.

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 of personalise the VIP) Assuming the person's an adult, The End of Mr. Y. It's very long, but you get caught up in it and don't realize when 300 pages go by in a few hours. If the person were younger than me, The New Policeman or The Great Good Thing.

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? Russian or French. I'm trying to learn Russian, but it's hard on your own. And I'd love to go back to France but I couldn't even read the subway signs when I was there!

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? Gideon the Cutpurse or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (which doesn't really count because I already read it once or twice or ten times a year!).

I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What’s one bookish thing you ‘discovered’ from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)? Well, my supply of ARCs comes directly from an author who keeps a blog and we did meet online, but not through her blog. One thing I discovered that I never really thought about is that authors have blogs and Myspace accounts too- it's nice to catch up with them (or, as a friend of mine once put it, semi-stalk them, although I don't think following a blog is creepy like Paula's stalker on American Idol). But also, having my own book blog has kind of changed the way I read, because I know I'll be reviewing a book later. Now I ask myself while I'm reading questions like "Do I really like this character?" or "How does this compare with the last book I read on desegregation?" or whatever.

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. Picture the library from Beauty and the Beast. And yes, in my ideal library, every book wouldnt necessarily be leatherbound but it would be hardcover and make that new book sound while still having that old book smell.

I tag…
Sarah Miller http://sarahmillerbooks.blogspot.com/
Anilee http://anileereading.blogspot.com/
Why not more? Because I got this from http://teenbookreview.wordpress.com/ and she already got Erin. And The above people were just the last ones to post comments on my blog. So if you're a lurker feel free to go ahead and take this survey thing (make sure to leave a comment here with the link to your blog so I can tag you in the future).

Eva started this! http://astripedarmchair.wordpress.com