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2022 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama (1)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas
- California (9)
- Colorado (3)
- Connecticut (2)
- Delaware
- Florida (3)
- Georgia (3)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (1)
- Illinois (3)
- Indiana (1)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (2)
- Maine (2)
- Maryland (3)
- Massachusetts (6)
- Michigan (2)
- Minnesota (2)
- Mississippi (2)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (1)
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (2)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (12)
- North Carolina (5)
- North Dakota
- Ohio (4)
- Oklahoma
- Oregon (1)
- Pennsylvania (3)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee (2)
- Texas (3)
- Utah (3)
- Vermont (3)
- Virginia (3)
- Washington (4)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming (1)
- Washington, D.C.* (1)

International:

Antarctica (1)
Australia (3)
Egypt (2)
England (16)
France (1)
Greece (1)
Ireland (2)
Italy (1)
Malaysia (1)
Nepal (1)
Poland (1)
Portugal (1)
Romania (1)
Scotland (3)
Sweden (1)
Wales (1)

My Progress:


45 / 51 states. 88% done!

2022 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

My Progress:


19 / 50 books. 38% done!

2022 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

My Progress:


20 / 25 books. 80% done!

2022 Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge

My Progress:


66 / 53 books. 125% done!

Booklist Queen's 2022 Reading Challenge

My Progress:


46 / 52 books. 88% done!

Aussie Author Reading Challenge 2022


1 / 24 books. 4% done!

2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge


3 / 20 books. 15% done!

2022 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge

My Progress:


40 / 50 books. 80% done!

The 52 Book Club's Reading Challenge 2022

The 52 Book Club's Reading Challenge 2022

My Progress:


47 / 52 books. 90% done!

2022 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

My Progress:


40 / 40 books. 100% done!

2022 Support Book Bloggers Challenge

2022 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge

Friday, January 25, 2008

A Meme About Books...And Fairies...

Okay, y'all (yes, I do know I'm not from the South - I just like that word) know how much I love book memes. I couldn't resist this one that Eva made up all by herself. Not only is it a fun one, but she's offering "link love" and entrance into a drawing for a free book, just for filling it out and tagging 4 other book bloggers. What's not to love? Check out her blog for all the details. Okay, here goes:

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews? I can't think of a specific one that I'm cringing from right now, but I avoided Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell for a long time. It's just such a big book. When I finally read it, I loved it, so that goes to show you how irrational the whole cringing thing really is.

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? First of all, I don't drink tea, or go clubbing, so it would have to be a more mundane event. I think I would take the Boudelaire kids (of A Series of Unfortunate Events fame) for an afternoon of playing in the park and picknicking. Uncle Olaf, of course, would not be invited. That way, they could have at least one nice, happy day with plenty of food and fun. Since I can spot Olaf a mile away, they would have no worries. Hakuna matata and all that.

(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. What book would you expect to get you a nice grave? This is a toughie. I'll come back to it, I promise...

Come on, we've all been there. What book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you've read, when in fact you've been nowhere near it? Let's see...most Jane Austen novels, Shakespearean plays, lengthy Russian classics ... need I go on?

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book you really thought you had read only to realize when you read a review about it/go to "reread" it that you haven't? Which book? I really thought I had read Jane Eyre, but I don't think I have. Maybe I did once. I don't know. I just turned 32, and my memory's starting to go...

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 have to know the person, go ahead and personalize the VIP) If the person's not a big reader, I'm going to have to show them that reading can be fun and entertaining. So, I would probably start with some kind of thriller, or at least a well-written mystery. Perhaps I would go with Twilight by Stephenie Meyer or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, since I know several (adult) non-readers who rave about those two.

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? Okay, I know this is probably cheating, but science is seriously like Greek to me, so I would say science. That way, I could read all those scholarly health books and learn all kinds of great, (formerly incomprehensible) things.

A mischevious fairy comes and says 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? At the risk of sounding like a complete Molly Mormon, I'm gonna go with my scriptures. Although not the most exciting of reads, they would be the most beneficial to my life. Plus, I learn something new every time I read (probably because I fell asleep the first time).

I know the book blogging community, and all its 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)? I started my book blog before knowing that anyone else was doing that sort of thing. When I stumbled upon Amanda's blog and started following some of her links, I was astounded that there were so many book bloggers out there. Discovering a whole community of awesome people reading and discussing books was amazing!

The 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 favorite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead - let your imagination run free. Oh, that it were true! Well, first of all, I would need a big room with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. I would have several shelves of classics, all leatherbound and alphabetized. Then, I would have my "every day" books - hardcovers and trade paperbacks - perfectly organized by subject and author. On one wall, I would have an enormous fireplace - with a fire always blazing - in front of which would sit a comfortable seating area with a leather sofa, armchair, and oversized ottoman. On the opposite side would be a large picture window, which looked out onto a rain-drenched landscape (since we know dreary days are the best kind for reading indoors). Since I would want to blog about my fabulous reads, I would have to have an enormous desk to work on that magically stayed clean. Ahhh...good fairy, come quickly!

Since I have to tag 4 people, I'm going to go with:

Amanda

Lisa

Cath

Chain Reader

10 comments:

  1. I love your event-how nice of you to take the kids out for a picnic. :) I just tossed out some random examples for the question, but now I'm worried some people might get the wrong idea about me, lol. I don't really go clubbing either-it was the furthest I could think of from afternoon tea (which I do indulge in).

    Since you mentioned being a Mormon, I just read Lost Boys by Orson Scott Card. I'm still trying to decide how I feel about it, but there's a ton of stuff about day-to-day Mormon life that I thought was very interesting, since I didn't know much about it before.

    Oh-and I laughed so hard at your foreign language! I'm not too good with science either (that's my sister's realm-she actually enjoyed Organic Chemistry), but I've read a few 'popular science' books that I really enjoyed. Have you ever read Matt Ridley? He's a biologist, and he's written a couple books about genetics that were just fascinating.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Eva - I just couldn't decide who I would choose for an outing. Of course, I thought of a lot of handsome men and fiery women, but I chose the Boudelaire's because they're so sad to me :( Hey - I did a lot of clubbing as a teen - so I don't have the wrong idea about you at all!

    I've read Lost Boys, but it's been a few years. I found parts of it really disturbing, but overall, I liked the book. I can't remember how Card described "day-to-day Mormon life," so I can't comment on its accuracy. As far as I know, Card is an active Mormon, but I don't agree with everything he says about Mormonism - you can look at my review of "Saints" to see what I mean. If you have a specific question, ask away!

    Yeah, I'm a total science dropout. I really wish I understood it all. I haven't heard of Matt Ridley, but I'll have to check him out. Genetics is a fascinating subject.

    Anyway, the meme was fun. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm going to do this meme soon, it sounds like fun, but I wanted to add to the discussion of Card. I have only read Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead, which I enjoyed, but I just kept thinking I wish he was not so open about being Mormon, because he does have some strange,disturbing themes that I hope non-Mormons don't assume we all embrace. Bottom line-if you want to learn about Mormons, try a different source, like www.lds.org. And even if you don't want to learn more about Mormons, just enjoy Card's books for their great writing and stories!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for tagging me - these are excellent, thought provoking questions. I shall give them some serious thought and do this over the weekend as it looks like fun.

    I put Lost Boys on my list for the Cardathon challenge. Judging by the comments here it should be an interesting read. I've never read anything by Card at all and plan to start with Ender's Game.

    I'm going to have to read Twilight, a friend of mine has been waxing poetical about the series recently and you clearly like them too?

    And this is *definitely* my year for Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Definitely.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, yes! Count Olaf would ruin everything! That's sweet of you to take the Boudelaire children on an outing. I am sure they would appreciate it. :-)

    Your dream library sounds perfect! Can the entire library magically stay clean?

    ReplyDelete
  6. I was so distracted by my thoughts of Orson Scott Card, I forgot to comment on your meme! You must read Jane Eyre, even if you think you've read it before I always forget what happens, and I've read it 4-5 times! Like you, I am amazed and grateful for the huge book blogging world out there. I AM NOT ALONE!! And rain and reading definitely go hand in hand.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Chain - I agree with you on Card. Lost Boys, especially, is disturbing. I haven't read a lot of his other books, but I will be reading several this year, so we'll see what I think!

    I grew up in Washington, so I spent a lot of time reading indoors when it was raining outside.

    Cath - Yes, I really liked Twilight and New Moon. I wasn't as impressed with the 3rd one - weirdly, I can't even remember the name of it off the top of my head! Stephenie Meyer is like a celebrity here, since she's from Arizona. I really liked Jonathan Strange as well - it's a long book, but enjoyable.

    Lit - It does sound perfect, doesn't it? But, you're right, I would definitely need someone (or some kind of magic) to clean and especially dust all those books.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is a great meme. Very thought provoking questions. I would like to move in to your dream library! Could I add a small area to make tea or hot drinks to sip by your fire? Lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Interesting meme. I loved Card's Enders Game and Enchantment. I just recently acquired Saints, but now I'm afraid to read it. I heard it tries to explain polygamy; and, honestly, I'm tired of the whole Mormons and polygamy discussion.
    I'm proud that you listed the scriptures. Of course, it takes me all year to read the B of M so I'm not sure if I could do it every year. But this year, for sure.
    I just finished Twilight. I may have to read it again before I review it. I'm still a little flushed.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'll have to go look for that Saints review! Always good to learn more about religions. :)

    ReplyDelete

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