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Bux yeh
Book Meme, ganked from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
saffronlie.
1. A favourite book. Little Owl's Favourite Uncle. One of my first books and the most treasured possession on my book shelf. I feel all warm and fuzzy and safe whenever I so much as look at that book.
2. A book that affected you in your YA years. Er, I didn't really read YA stuff. I just went straight onto adult fiction. I remember borrowing my dad's trashy The Ladykiller, by Martina Cole. That sort of traumatised me.
3. A favourite fantasy novel. Dogsbody, by Diana Wynne Jones. It's about the Dog Star, Sirius-not-Black, being forced onto this planet to live as a dog as punishment for a crime he didn't commit. It's wonderfully funny and yet touches on everything from the violence in Northern Ireland (at that time) to Welsh myths to the ineffable awesomeness of dogs. She's a great author.
4. A favourite sci-fi novel. Er...um. Ah.
5. An awesome book you think not many people around you have heard of/read. Mystery in Spiderville!
6. A book you own more than one copy of. Interview With the Vampire. I have my first, battered copy that I bought when spending my college prize of book tokens and also a special edition of the novel with, you know, those awesome thick pages and everything.
7. An author whose every single book you own/will buy. George Orwell
8. The worst book you've ever read. The Wisdom of Crocodiles, by Paul Hoffman. I saw this film about a sexy, nefarious man played by Jude Law, who preyed on women, killing them once they grew to love him. It was so intriguing that, even though I was a poor student, I went and spent £15 on the book - it was only out in B format at the time and stupidly expensive. That was my grocery money! And it was the most stupid, pretentious, smarmy, ridiculous 'satire' I have ever read in my life. There was this entire section where the Ghost ofChristmas present the Stock Exchange took a man on a tour of The City to show him the error of his trading ways. Or something.
I was nineteen years old and FILLED WITH RAGE at this stupid, stupid book and the writer, wearing a turtleneck, smirking smugly at me from the back cover. I flung it against the wall when I finished it and sobbed that I would have to go without food for a couple of days for the worst thing I had ever bought. Yes, even worse than those leg warmers.
9. A book you dislike that lots of other people you know like. Lord of the Rings. You will never convert me.
10. The most difficult book you've ever read. The Brothers Karamazov. It just went on and on and on. It wasn't something I could just skim read and it took me three months to get through it, just because each friggin' character wanted to have Existentialist discussions. It was worth it, though.
11. Tell me what kind of books your mum reads/read. Lots of history books, particularly local history. I got my love of history from her, I think. She used to walk around the area with me and point out the history of the village. She also loves biographies of all sorts. She will never read fiction; "It's all lies."
12. What have you read so far this year? A lot! I'm really getting my reading mojo back due to the frequent train delays en-route to work.
13. What are you reading now? The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts, by Louis de Bernieres. It's a terrific satire/drama set in a fictional South American country.
14. What are you reading next? I'm probably going to give The Book Thief a second chance.
saffronlie. 1. A favourite book. Little Owl's Favourite Uncle. One of my first books and the most treasured possession on my book shelf. I feel all warm and fuzzy and safe whenever I so much as look at that book.
2. A book that affected you in your YA years. Er, I didn't really read YA stuff. I just went straight onto adult fiction. I remember borrowing my dad's trashy The Ladykiller, by Martina Cole. That sort of traumatised me.
3. A favourite fantasy novel. Dogsbody, by Diana Wynne Jones. It's about the Dog Star, Sirius-not-Black, being forced onto this planet to live as a dog as punishment for a crime he didn't commit. It's wonderfully funny and yet touches on everything from the violence in Northern Ireland (at that time) to Welsh myths to the ineffable awesomeness of dogs. She's a great author.
4. A favourite sci-fi novel. Er...um. Ah.
5. An awesome book you think not many people around you have heard of/read. Mystery in Spiderville!
6. A book you own more than one copy of. Interview With the Vampire. I have my first, battered copy that I bought when spending my college prize of book tokens and also a special edition of the novel with, you know, those awesome thick pages and everything.
7. An author whose every single book you own/will buy. George Orwell
8. The worst book you've ever read. The Wisdom of Crocodiles, by Paul Hoffman. I saw this film about a sexy, nefarious man played by Jude Law, who preyed on women, killing them once they grew to love him. It was so intriguing that, even though I was a poor student, I went and spent £15 on the book - it was only out in B format at the time and stupidly expensive. That was my grocery money! And it was the most stupid, pretentious, smarmy, ridiculous 'satire' I have ever read in my life. There was this entire section where the Ghost of
I was nineteen years old and FILLED WITH RAGE at this stupid, stupid book and the writer, wearing a turtleneck, smirking smugly at me from the back cover. I flung it against the wall when I finished it and sobbed that I would have to go without food for a couple of days for the worst thing I had ever bought. Yes, even worse than those leg warmers.
9. A book you dislike that lots of other people you know like. Lord of the Rings. You will never convert me.
10. The most difficult book you've ever read. The Brothers Karamazov. It just went on and on and on. It wasn't something I could just skim read and it took me three months to get through it, just because each friggin' character wanted to have Existentialist discussions. It was worth it, though.
11. Tell me what kind of books your mum reads/read. Lots of history books, particularly local history. I got my love of history from her, I think. She used to walk around the area with me and point out the history of the village. She also loves biographies of all sorts. She will never read fiction; "It's all lies."
12. What have you read so far this year? A lot! I'm really getting my reading mojo back due to the frequent train delays en-route to work.
13. What are you reading now? The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts, by Louis de Bernieres. It's a terrific satire/drama set in a fictional South American country.
14. What are you reading next? I'm probably going to give The Book Thief a second chance.
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That slayed me. I have read a couple of books like that but mostly I just put them down when I know I am not going to get through it...rarely do I read something bad until the end. This is a really cool meme, I may have to do this one myself.
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Re books I have more than one copy of, I have six or seven different editions of the first Wraeththu trilogy. It's a bit scary even to me.
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I have IWTV in French, Italian and Spanish, too. And QotD in German. I don't know why?
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You just don't understand The Lord of the Rings. YEAH I SAID IT. You're not smart enough to get it.
I like the sound of Dogsbody.
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I would definitely recommend Dogsbody. It's such an underrated book.
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Not even if i say please?
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Miss Becky, you break my heart.
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HAHAAHAHAA! Good one! You crack me up.
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b) The Wisdom of Crocodiles - I read this a few years ago(never saw the film) and whilst it did my head in a bit, it was pretty good in parts. I'll never return to it though !
c) Don't give The Book Thief another chance. Never worth it; read Tamar by Mal Peet instead.
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Have you ever seen a smarmier author than Paul Hoffman?
Recommendation duly noted! I am now even more worried about The Book Thief, though...
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The Book Thief - Recently the subject of non-debate with Rem since I loved it and he couldn't stand it. Polarising contemporary literary discussion! We could be on Newsnight!
IwtV - Thank you for owning it in three different languages. You have thereby justified my purchasing it in Dutch. Well, trying to. Couldn't bloody find a copy while I was there, not of any of them! I'm hoping to use a Dutch VC to help me to stumble from simple sentences into complex ones... currently I'm reading the English and Dutch editions of Raymond Brigg's When The Wind Blows simultaneously.
Wisdom of Crocodiles - Damn. I've got it, or some collection with it in, and was hoping it would measure up to the film. Which, by the way, it is nice to find another fan of. Mmmm...
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Maybe I should just crack on with Book Thief to see which side of the debate I fall on! :p
I have this terrible compulsion to get IWTV in different languages. When I go to the Netherlands, I'm so getting it in Dutch. I couldn't find IWTV in Germany, so had to settle for QotD in German. I honestly maintain that at least the first half of IWTV flows so much better in Spanish!
Well done on the Dutch, though! It was always a language I wanted to learn but never got around to studying. Bah!
I should have known you'd have seen and liked that film... >:)
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I suspect that if you're able to handle German you'd take to Dutch pretty well, since the grammatical structure is more similar; likewise a lot of words.
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I think I'll do this meme some day. Not today. I have a date with the broken boy. And he's just txt'd me. Destined for PAIN! :D