Apr 22 2009
Literature Meme
Since I need something to do in between recaps, here is a fun little literature meme that I found here. I’m not going to tag anyone specific; if you want to do this, consider yourself tagged.
1) What author do you own the most books by?
Well, right now probably Christopher Pike. But on a normal day, I’m sure it would be Terry Pratchett.
2) What book do you own the most copies of?
Probably either L.J. Smith’s Vampire Diaries series or Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn.
3) Did it bother you that both of those questions ended with prepositions?
A little bit, but they would probably be too awkward if constructed another way.
4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
- Damon Salvatore from the aforementioned Vampire Diaries
- Serge Storms from Tim Dorsey’s novels
- Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast from Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child’s novels
4a) What fictional character would you most like to be?
Does Buffy the Vampire Slayer count?
4b) What fictional character do you think most resembles you?
Oh, hell, I have no idea. Maybe Katherina from Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Heh.
5) What book have you read the most times in your life?
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle.
6) What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.
7) What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?
Road to Nowhere by Christopher Pike.
8.) What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?
So far, the book that I enjoyed the most was The Mental Floss History of the World. I also loved David Grann’s The Lost City of Z, but I listened to the audiobook rather than read it — does it still count?
9) If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
The Last Unicorn.
10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for literature?
Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
Tim Dorsey’s Triggerfish Twist, directed by Quentin Tarantino.
12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters. Because I cannot imagine how that would work.
13) Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.
About 7 years ago, I had a dream that the Vampire Diaries was turned into a TV series. I am, apparently, psychic.
14) What is the most lowbrow book you’ve read as an adult?
Oh, wow, are you kidding me? I thrive on lowbrow books. I read R.L. Stine, for god’s sake.
15) What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?
Difficult how? If by “difficult” you mean sheer concentration and energy required to process the book, then I’d have to say Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49. If “difficult” means that I found it annoying and/or boring and struggled to get through it, then it’s definitely The Beans of Egypt, Maine by Carolyn Chute. And if “difficult” means that I absolutely couldn’t finish it because it affected me on a visceral level that I cannot fully explain, then American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis.
16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you’ve seen?
I saw Twelfth Night performed at the Globe in London, by an all-male cast (just like in the Elizabethan era, but with better undergarments).
17) Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
The Russians, definitely. I mean, dude, they gave us Vladimir Nabokov! The French, meanwhile, gave us Gustave Flaubert, who wrote the bane of my literary existence, Madame Bovary. Boo, French. (Although I do like saying “Balzac.”)
18) Roth or Updike?
John Updike.
19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
David Sedaris all the way, baby! He is absolutely hilarious and wonderful. Dave Eggers is far too hipster/pretentious/precious for me.
20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Well, hell, I can’t choose between these guys. I love them all. I guess, if you forced me to decide, I’d have to go with Shakespeare.
21) Austen or Eliot?
I’m assuming that this is George Eliot, not T.S. Eliot, due to the pairing with Austen. And this one’s easy, since I loathe Jane Austen. (Yes, I said it. I HATE JANE AUSTEN.)
22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
I’m not sure what this question means, exactly, so I’m just going to answer by telling you some great classics that I hate and/or won’t read. Besides Jane Austen, I also hate Charles Dickens. I hate The Catcher in the Rye. I want to beat Jack Kerouac in the face with an unabridged dictionary for subjecting me to the snorefest that is On the Road. I refuse to have anything to do with Ayn Rand.
23) What is your favorite novel?
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle.
24) Play?
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream (the laborers’ staging of “Pyramus and Thisbe” cracks me up every time) and Sophocles’ Oedipus the King.
25) Poem?
William Blake’s “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.”
26) Essay?
Mark Twain’s “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses” never fails to delight me. Also, for sheer weirdness, not much can beat William James’s “Subjective Effects of Nitrous Oxide” — which is especially notable for his transcriptions of thoughts and speech while under the influence of the titular gas.
27) Short story?
Gotta be Mark Twain: either “The Diaries of Adam and Eve” or “Letters from the Earth.”
28) Work of non-fiction?
And the Sea Will Tell by Vincent Bugliosi.
29) Who is your favorite writer?
William Blake.
30) Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
Pretty much all of those lit-fic hipster authors. Also Dave Eggers, who is a hipster essayist.
31) What is your desert island book?
Besides my favorite novel of all time? Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita.
32) And … what are you reading right now?
I always have at least two books going at the same time. Right now…
- Fog by Caroline B. Cooney
- Bubbles Ablaze by Sarah Strohemeyer
- Under the Bridge by Rebecca Godfrey
Oh, I agree–Dave Eggers is hella pretentious. David Sedaris is awesome. (Have you ever read David Rakoff? He also does essays a la Sedaris and is super hilarious.) I hate all those hipster writers.
I also love Lolita.
Agree that it’s vital to have 2 books going at once–esp when one of them is by Caroline B. Cooney. (Love to hate on her!)
THE Fog, right? Because I feel that’s creepier. THE Fog, THE Snow, THE Fire. Tell me it’s still creepy!
Also, how can you hate Dickens? Have you SEEN Bleak House? <3 I’m pretty sure Dickens and Austen are more fun to watch than read, but still. Sadness.
Yes! Someone else hates the Catcher in the Rye! I can’t stand it when someone says that is their favorite book. (Although I find those people slightly less obnoxious than those who claim The Grapes of Wrath or Walden as their most favorite book ever).
I read Catcher in the Rye both as a kid and as an adult (thinking I missed something important when I was younger) and hated it both times. And, On the Road? Was dull as hell. I tried reading it three separate times but never made it more than halfway through.
I did like American Psycho– I wasn’t able to read every passage since some of it was so graphic but overall it held my attention really well. Absolutely hated Lolita though.
I have never read The Last Unicorn- think I will look for it and try to read it based on your recommendation.
Sadako – Ooh, no, I’ve never read David Rakoff. Definitely going to now, though. Thanks for the recommendation!
Alana – The reprinted editions that I have left off the “The” in the titles. I have no idea why. I’m with you – The Fog is much better than just Fog. Fog, Snow, and Fire just sort of sound like weather reports. And yes, it is creepy. I’m lovin’ it so far!
I have enjoyed the movies based on Dickens books that I’ve seen. I just can’t read him without falling asleep.
Abby – Woohoo! Another Catcher in the Rye hater! I blame that book for the current sad state of pretentious hipster lit-fic.
And I actually really liked American Psycho, which made me sad when I had to stop reading it. I think it was the jumper cable scene that finally forced me to stop. It’s weird, because I don’t have a weak stomach by any means – it wasn’t that the book made me queasy, but that something about it just, I don’t know, hit me in a way that made it impossible for me to continue. Weird, I know.
I think you’ll really like The Last Unicorn. It’s such a beautiful, unique little book. It’s funny how a book about a mythical creature turned out to be such an incredibly honest examination of humanity, in all its joy and sorrow.
great meme but wow – how can you not love ‘catcher in the rye’??!!!??! with you on amercian psycho though. had to stop at the rat & tube bit myself.
if you like terry pratchett you might be interested in this article where neil gaiman interviews pratchett http://www.wbqonline.com/feature.do?featureid=1
rest of the site has loads of exclusive features adn reviews all the imminent uk book releases
Oh man, I felt the exact same way about “American Psycho”…