Read Any Good Books Lately?

I can’t resist a good questionnaire or survey. Ever.

I’ve seen this A to Z book survey about fifty times or more in e-mail forwards over the years, and about that many on various blogs. Eventually, I cracked and figured I’d jump on board and give it a whirl. This was so much fun!

Join me on a little A through Z meandering down Literary Memory Lane…and if you feel so inspired, grab the questions and post your own bookwormish answers on your own blog!

Here we go…

Author you’ve read the most books from: The one that pops into my mind first is William Shakespeare. OK, Shakespeare’s stuff is plays, not novels, but plays are major works. So I have to stick with him. If I can’t count plays, then I’d probably have to go with Ernest Hemmingway and John Steinbeck. I think I’ve read just about everything from these two gentlemen. Maybe Judy Blume when I was a kid – I think I read just about everything she ever wrote.

Best sequel ever: That would have to be both Lasher and Taltos by Anne Rice. These are the two sequels to The Witching Hour, the first book in her Mayfair Witches trilogy. I used to love horror films and literature. And then one day I was suddenly not able to handle the stuff anymore. Come to think of it, it may have been this series – scared the heck out of me. I grabbed the first of these three books from a windowsill at a friend’s apartment well over 20 years ago and devoured the thing. Rice’s storytelling is masterful and whether you like her subject matter or not, you can’t help but get sucked into the world she creates. These three were terrifying and spellbinding – too scary to read and too terrific to put down. I often had to bury one under a pillow and step away for awhile, but they were just fabulously and intricately woven and the story was fantastic from the first word to the last.

Currently reading: Guinevere: The Legend in Autumn by Persia Woolley. And…An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace by Tamar Adler, One Boy’s Struggle: A Memoir: Surviving Life with Undiagnosed ADD by Bryan L. Hutchinson, and 1 2 3 Magic: Effective Discipline for Children 2 to 12 by Thomas Phelan. There could be one or two others hiding somewhere…it’s how I roll.

Drink of choice while reading: Hmm…depends. Usually coffee during the day, but tea at night. Never wine – makes me too sleepy and that gets in the way of the reading.

E-reader or physical book: Physical book. Always a physical book. I have tried the e-reader thing and I just don’t like it. There is nothing like the way the weight of a book feels in your hand or the smell of the pages. Whether the smell is fresh ink and binder’s glue or aged paper and dusty years of use, the smell of a book is intoxicating.

Fictional character you probably would have dated in high school: I’m going to think way too hard about this to arrive at an answer. Who would the current me have dated in high school? Or who would the high school me have dated in high school? And here’s the thing – I’ve never been one to “fall in love” with the fictional characters. I guess if I have to choose, I’ll go with Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird because he is just such a stand-up guy. He’s a formidable presence without being in-your-face. He’s honest, just, and not afraid to go against the norm. Reminds me a lot of my Grandfather, actually.

Glad you gave this book a chance: For a novel, I’m going to go with The Old Man and the Sea, even though it appears elsewhere on this list. If I hadn’t given that book a second look, I would have missed many lovely years with Papa Hemmingway. I would be remiss if I did not mention Emily Dickinson’s collected works. I was never much of a fan of Emily Dickinson. In college, my junior lit seminar was on Dickinson. Greeeaaaaaat. That was a huge turnoff. As much as I resisted, because I was sure I hated her, I had to pass the course, so I resigned myself to a long semester of tedium. I had to give her a chance because it was necessary to finish my degree. Surprisingly, the professor brought Dickinson’s work to life in a way no one had before and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I quite liked what the poet had to say. In fact, I was so glad of the experience that I intentionally selected William Butler Yeats for my senior seminar with the same professor. I figured if he could turn me around on Dickinson, then he could surely convince me on Yeats. As it turns out, it was awesome because the prof was (is) a Yeats expert and I found many wonderful things about Yeats’ work that I would have otherwise missed – like connections to Arthurian literature and more.

Hidden gem book: I really couldn’t come up with an answer for this one. After stepping away and really thinking about the books that have genuinely grabbed and surprised me, something jogged my memory and I remembered that I loved Edgar Allan Poe’s The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. Poe’s only complete full-length novel, it’s dark and sinister – OK, so is most of Poe, I’ll give you that. Shipwreck, whaling boats, mutiny, cannibalism, stowaways and high-seas adventure. This is truly a little gem. And where do you think Melville came up with his ideas, hmm? Yeah, go read this baby.

Important moment in your reading life: I have two and both happened in junior high. The first was George Orwell’s 1984. I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. It was assigned reading in eighth grade and I kept reading ahead of the assignments. The second was Ernest Hemmingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. I hated this book. I hated old Santiago. I hated the damn fish. Hated it. But then I read it again on a challenge from my father. Perhaps I was too young when I read it the first time. When I read it again years later, it started a long and beautiful relationship with Hemmingway. These stick out as important to me because they were “grownup” books.

Just finished: If we’re being completely honest, nothing. I have not finished anything very recently. Why not? Well, probably because I (sadly) don’t spend enough time just sitting to read. That’s on my agenda for the year. And, well, see the answer for letter C above…

Kinds of books you won’t read: Anything that would fall in the category of “trashy romance.” Years and years ago, I tried to get into them because “everyone” in my then reading circle loved them. I didn’t and I still don’t. I hate them. To me, they are simply a waste of time.

Longest book you’ve read: Shogun by James Clavell was pretty long. But I think Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables was longer by about 400 pages.

Major book hangover because of: I had to turn to Google for help on this one and found what I needed on UrbanDictionary.com. A book hangover is when you finish a book but can’t quite return to reality because you’re still living in the world of the book. So. Based on that, I think any book hangovers I’ve had have come from any Arthurian series I’ve read. I love Arthurian legend and invariably I get sucked into that world when I read in that genre.

Number of bookcases you own: Hmm…counting grownup stuff and Kid? Three that are technically “bookcases.” One that strictly houses books about cooking, food, and wine. Two in the living room that are actually parts of a wall unit, but have been taken over by books. Kidzilla has two of her own. In the family room are two more that are currently empty because we are in the process of re-arranging furniture, etc., but will soon be filled with the books that are currently stacked on piles all over the house. So ten?

One book you have read multiple times: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. I love this book. Despite its far-fetched over-use of the scarlet A as a symbol, I just love this book. It digs deep into the Puritan New England mindset, it explores sin and its effects on the human person, it has scandal, intrigue, romance, religion, witchcraft…you name it, it’s in there! I love the Romantic influence, in particular. I think I’ve read this more than twenty-five times, easily, and I find something new every time. I have also read and re-read Ralph Waldo Emerson’s complete essays. I have one particular favorite and beloved dog-eared copy that I acquired in college and have returned to it over and over again. It shows.

Preferred place to read: A comfortable, over-sized chair. Sadly, I do not currently own one. I often opt for the bathtub, but then I get too nervous about dropping my books in the water so I give up.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feel from a book you read: I am not good at having standout favorites. Quotes that inspire me really depend on what part of me needs to be inspired at any given moment. Probably safe to say that just about anything from Emerson’s essays, particularly “Self-Reliance” and “Nature” will often be on my list of quotes that inspire. Now that I think about it, I have a quote that I use often enough to call a list-topper. It’s actually a line from the poem “To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough” by Richard Burns: “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley…” (Or, if you prefer the modern English vernacular, “The best-laid schemes of mice and men often go awry…”) Why do I like that? Well, because they do. OK, enough stalling…maybe I do have an all-time inspirational. This time we go to Thoreau, though. I love this: “I learned this, at least…that if one advanced confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” Yes.

Reading regret: Oh, this is easy. My reading regret is Gregory Maguire’s Wicked. I simply could not like this book, no matter how many times or perspectives I tried. It remains the only book I have not finished reading in my whole life. The regret? I regret that it haunts me as the one and only book I have not finished reading in my whole life. And I deeply regret the hours of my  life that wasted trying and can never get back.

Series you started and need to finish (all books are out in the series): None. Well, one. Alice Borchardt’s Guinevere series has two books – The Dragon Queen and The Raven Warrior. Sadly, Borchardt died before she could complete the series and so that trilogy will remain unfinished. So all books are out…because there will not be a third. Disappointing.

Three of your all-time favourite books: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, T. H. White’s The Once and Future King, and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’ Frankenstein. Love love love.

Unapologetic fangirl for: J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books. I wanted to be all anti-Potter, but they are truly captivating. Well-written and cleverly-woven story lines, and more allusions to classical literature, fantasy literature (and more) than you can shake a stick at. I waited until all the books were out and read the entire series from start to finish over a period of several days one summer.

Very excited about this release more than all others: I really have none. I am not waiting for any releases. Well, except the one that won’t ever happen…

Worst bookish habit: Oh, too many. Spending too much on books. Reading too many at a time. Acquiring more books before I finish the “to be read” pile I already have.

X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book: Edgar Allan Poe: Complete and Unabridged

Your latest book purchase: The last book I purchased was for my daughter. It was When It Snows by Richard Collingridge. It’s a delightful picture book about a wonderful and snowy adventure a child experiences when…well, you’ll just have to read it. It’s lovely! The last thing I purchased for myself was (I think) The Deluxe Food Lover’s Companion by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

ZZZ-snatcher book (the last book that kept you up WAY late): In all honesty, I am usually way too tired at night for a book to keep me awake way too late. The last thing I remember keeping me awake late was probably the Anne Rice series back at letter B, but that was because I was terrified by the thing.

So…any common interests? Answers that surprise you? Let’s talk books, friends! Hit the comments…you know what to do!