Do it if you want to! Here are my answers.
1) What author do you own the most books by?
Margaret Atwood or Anne Tyler
2) What book do you own the most copies of?
It’s probably cheating to say Goodnight Moon. So, um, I think I’ve purchased the most copies of Jasper Fforde’s Lost in a Good Book because it’s so cute and I just keep giving it to people, though I’ve never owned more than one of them at a time.
3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
Yes. A little bit. I struggle with being a showoff, grammatically.
4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
Deborah Knott from Margaret Maron’s mystery series, starting with A Bootlegger’s Daughter. Or Corporal Carrot from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels. Characters in heavier fiction do not lend themselves to crushes, at least not from me.
5) What book have you read the most times in your life?
I re-read books all the time. Um. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood, maybe. Unless by Carol Warner Shields.
6) What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
Probably The Hobbit.
7) What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?
I wasted many hours of my life on Stefanie Meyer’s stupid vampire books. But I was on a train, so. Trapped. Trapped by bad fiction.
8) What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?
I loved Julia Glass’s Three Junes.
9) If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
Unless by Carol Warner Shields.
10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for literature?
Jeezum, I don’t know.
11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
March by Geraldine Brooks – it’s the Little Women story told from the dad’s POV, so gorgeous. The Road by Cormac McCarthy, though I shudder to think of it. Actually, I think they might be making a movie out of it.
12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
Anything else by Ian McEwan. Atonement was such a freaking disappointment on the screen, and I didn’t even expect much.
13) Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.
Nothing springs to mind.
14) What is the most lowbrow book you’ve read as an adult?
That Stefanie Meyer nonsense.
15) What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?
I attempted both Joyce and Faulkner and very quickly gave up.
16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you’ve seen?
Pericles, at the RSC in Stratford many years ago. Also Coriolanus. Both rarely done, and it is obvious why.
17) Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
French, baby!
18) Roth or Updike?
I guess I’m not a geek, because I have read neither.
19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
Sedaris. He’s from here, I feel a kinship to him.
20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
All are geniuses, but I’m always and forever a Shakespeare girl.
21) Austen or Eliot?
Austen
22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
I guess Roth and Updike (see 18!) Also, the Russians (see 17!)
23) What is your favorite novel?
Right this second, it’s the sprawling Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, though it changes day to day.
24) Play?
I also could not choose a single fave, but I’ll cop out and say Hamlet.
25) Poem
I don’t read enough poems. I have Shakespeare’s Sonnet 2 memorized, it’s a favorite in that I use it as a mantra when I need to clear my head.
26) Essay?
”A Room of One’s Own” by Virginia Woolf. Thus began my dissatisfaction with the world in general, and a feminist bloomed.
27) Short story?
What’s that creepy one about the Wallpaper? I also don’t read enough of these. Anyone have recommendations?
28) Work of non-fiction?
Sandra Steingraber’s Having Faith.
29) Who is your favorite writer?
Didion
30) Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
The dude who wrote The DaVinci Code. I hate hating on published writers.
31) What is your desert island book?
Sylvia Plath’s Ariel. Or some other book of poetry. I thought about The Bible, too – King James version. Some beautiful poetry there, too.
32) And … what are you reading right now?
A self published Pacific Crest Trail journal by a friend of mine, a Maron mystery, a Christie Mystery, a Pratchett Discworld novel, The Noonday Demon by Andrew Solomon (work’s been rough, yo), and Shakespeare’s Wife by Germaine Greer. I have a hard time having just one book on the go.
Hey hot mama!! May I say your boy is a DOLL in those graduation pics – very cute :)I read this survey, and I could probably answer maybe 5 questions. I used to be a big reader (also my nose in a book as my nana would say…), but not so much anymore. Anyways – wanted to share the following:The Hobbit was one of my faves – I easily read that book a hundred times. I\’ve mentioned this once on here, but Stephanie Meyer\’s writing is RIDICULOUSly bad. I read the first two, couldn\’t stomach the rest and found out how it ended on Wikipedia. As for question 3 – I didn\’t even realize that about questions 1 & 2…which is sad, considering I wish to be a writer someday. Hope you\’re doing well and getting ready for summer!
Doing this instead of working….1) What author do you own the most books by?Kurt Vonnegut2) What book do you own the most copies of?I have 2 of Watership Down, and 2 of 1984.3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?Yes. Bad grammar makes me insane.4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with?None of them, I know they’re only make believe….5) What book have you read the most times in your life?I’ve read Watership Down twice, and Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man” twice. 6) What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?Watership Down. 7) What is the worst book you\’ve read in the past year?I’ve only read two books this year, both by John Updike. Both were really well written, but Rabbit, Run was brutally depressing. 8) What is the best book you\’ve read in the past year?The Witches of Eastwick was really entertaining. 9) If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?Kurt Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions. 10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for literature?I’m not that well versed on current authors….11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie?I’ve never seen the 1958 movie of Dostoyevsky’s The Brother’s Karamazov, but an updated version of that would be cool. 12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie?They made one of Breakfast of Champions, which never should have been done, and I heard it was vile. 13) Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.I don’t recall dreaming about any of them….14) What is the most lowbrow book you\’ve read as an adult?I got halfway through Michael Moore’s Stupid White Men before bailing out. Politics are one thing, but he’s a windbag, and a crappy author. 15) What is the most difficult book you\’ve ever read?Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom! And James Joyce’s Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man. I had to draw a chart to figure out the Faulkner book. 16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you\’ve seen?I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Shakespeare play; I saw the Mel Gibson movie version of Hamlet, which I don’t think counts.17) Do you prefer the French or the Russians?The only Russian author that I haven’t found impenetrable is Dostoyevsky. I love his writing, but I like more French authors, so I guess the French. 18) Roth or Updike?Updike. 19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?Sedaris. Naked made me laugh out loud. 20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?Probably Chaucer, but British literature has never been a favorite of mine. I feel like I need a translator for Shakespeare. I do like Charles Dickens, though. 21) Austen or Eliot?Not familiar enough with either to weigh in.22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?At the moment, 21). 23) What is your favorite novel?Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions.24) Play?Ira Levin’s Deathtrap25) PoemI love Charles Bukowski, and any number of his poems could be my favorite, depending on the minute. 26) Essay?Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal was pretty funny.27) Short story?Stephen King’s Children of The Corn caused permanent psychological damage.28) Work of non-fiction?I’m not a regular reader of non-fiction, but when I was in high school, I was obsessed with Robert K. Massie’s Nicholas and Alexandria.29) Who is your favorite writer?Kurt Vonnegut.30) Who is the most overrated writer alive today?I haven’t read anything by Dan Brown, but I’ll bet it’s him. 31) What is your desert island book?How To Build a Wooden Boat, by David C. McKintosh. I’ve never read it, but I’ll bet I’d be really interested in it if I were stuck on a desert island. 32) And … what are you reading right now?I just finished Updike’s Rabbit, Run, and I’m trying to decide where to go from here.