Book meme

[litlover12]

Thanks to dreamflower02. Pick a letter from the list below, and I'll talk about it. Consider yourself tagged if you want to do it!

A. Author You’ve Read The Most Books From
B. Best Sequel Ever
C. Currently Reading
D. Drink of Choice While Reading
E. E-Reader or Physical Books
F. Fictional Character You Would Have Dated In High School
G. Glad You Gave This Book A Chance
H. Hidden Gem Book
I. Important Moments of Your Reading Life
J. Just Finished
K. Kinds of Books You Won’t Read
L. Longest Book You’ve Read
M. Major Book Hangover Because Of
N. Number of Bookcases You Own
O. One Book That You Have Read Multiple Times
P. Preferred Place to Read
Q. Quote From A Book That Inspires You/Gives You Feels
R. Reading Regret
S. Series You Started and Need to Finish
T. Three Of Your All-Time Favorite Books
U. Unapologetic Fangirl For
V. Very Excited For This Release More Than Any Other
W. Worst Bookish Habit
X. Marks The Spot (Start On Your Bookshelf And Count to the 27th Book)
Y. Your Latest Book Purchase
Z. ZZZ-Snatcher (last book that kept you up WAY late)

Comments

[dreamflower]

Q!

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

Quote from a Book That Inspires You/Gives You Feels

This is long, but I find it very inspirational, helpful, and moving. It's from "Little Dorrit."

"He was a dreamer in such wise, because he was a man who had, deep-rooted in his nature, a belief in all the gentle and good things his life had been without. Bred in meanness and hard dealing, this had rescued him to be a man of honourable mind and open hand. Bred in coldness and severity, this had rescued him to have a warm and sympathetic heart. Bred in a creed too darkly audacious to pursue, through its process of reversing the making of man in the image of his Creator to the making of his Creator in the image of an erring man, this had rescued him to judge not, and in humility to be merciful, and have hope and charity.

"And this saved him still from the whimpering weakness and cruel selfishness of holding that because such a happiness or such a virtue had not come into his little path, or worked well for him, therefore it was not in the great scheme, but was reducible, when found in appearance, to the basest elements. A disappointed mind he had, but a
mind too firm and healthy for such unwholesome air. Leaving himself in the dark, it could rise into the light, seeing it shine on others and hailing it."

[katharhino.livejournal.com]

H!

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

Hidden Gem Book

There are a lot I could name. I think I'll go with Daphne du Maurier's "Scapegoat," about a man whose doppelganger tricks him into switching places. On Goodreads I wrote: "Brilliantly written and compulsively readable. One of the best du Mauriers I've read."

I also liked the film adaptation (not the recent miniseries -- I haven't yet seen that one -- but the feature film from the '50s). One of these days I'll get around to reviewing it here.

[digne.livejournal.com]

Ooo! I didn't know there was a film version from the 50s! I haven't seen the mini-series either. But I loved the book.

[katharhino.livejournal.com]

Intriguing. I've only read Rebecca and I wasn't crazy about it, of du Mauriers. The narrator is so limp and whiny most of the time.

[ever-maedhros.livejournal.com]

*waves crocheted pom-poms* W! :D

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

ACK! I did the wrong letter! Sorry. *blush*

Okay, W -- Worst Bookish Habit. Probably staying up till all hours reading, and then being cranky and lazy the next day.

[ever-maedhros.livejournal.com]

*giggles*

I didn't see it until after you edited, so I'll never know which letter you did. XD And, augh, I feel your pain with staying up reading. If only there was no such thing as a schedule.

[spiderorchid81.livejournal.com]

G. Glad You Gave This Book A Chance ^_^

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

I'll go with "The Night Circus," because it's so unlike what I usually go for -- very little attention given to characterization, and a LOT of attention given to settings, when I usually prefer it the other way around! But I really enjoyed it.

[spiderorchid81.livejournal.com]

If the settings are really interesting it can work.

Isn't it lovely when that happens? I've stumbled upon several good books that way and I love being pleasantly surprised (okay, it also happened the other way around, but not very often).

I'm not going to post this meme in my lj, but would you like me to answer one of the "letter"-questions above?

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

Sure! :-) How about T?

[spiderorchid81.livejournal.com]

T. Three Of Your All-Time Favorite Books

Oh my - just three? This isn't easy, but here we go (I chose books that are not only favourites but also books that I reread regularly):

1) Richard Adams, Wathership Down.

For me, this book has it all: adventure, interesting characters, good psychology and gorgeous descriptions. It's a personal classic that I reread every few years.

2) Dorothy Sayers, Murder must advertise.

I like mysteries that are more than just who-done-its. Here we get a wonderfully constructed mystery, hilarious comic-relief, a fascinating look at the period between WWI and WWII and the dark side of the "bright young things" and Lord Peter Wimsey at his practically perfect best.

3)Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Books.

Or to be more specific: the Mowgly stories. I'm a big Kipling fan and while I'd rate "Kim" a close second, these stories are my favourites because of the fascinating descriptions (from the jungle-atmosphere to the ancient Indian palace to the fight with the red dogs) and the wonderful characters: I adore Bagheera. ^_^

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

I haven't read 1 or 3, though I've heard lots of good things about them. 2 is excellent! :-)

[spiderorchid81.livejournal.com]

Well, the "Jungle Book" stories are short and are all stand-alone stories, so perhaps you'll want to try one sometime.

I knew you'd agree on the Wimsey book! ^_^

[sonneta.livejournal.com]

F.

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

Fictional Character You Would Have Dated in High School

Oh gosh, it's hard to remember back that far. :-) Maybe Jean Valjean?

(After I discovered "Phantom," I totally would have dated Michael Crawford, but I don't think that counts!)

[msantimacassar.livejournal.com]

Can I do two? M & X!

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

Greedy! ;-) Sure, you can do two.

Major Book Hangover Because Of

I'll go with "Glittering Images," the first book I read by Susan Howatch. I liked it, I felt like I learned some things, but -- WHOA. Super intense. Since then I have to really psych myself up to read anything by her, because I know it's going to have this weird effect on me (simultaneously stimulating and draining!).

X Marks The Spot (Start On Your Bookshelf And Count to the 27th Book)

I picked the top bookshelf of one of the bookcases in my home office. Got "Quivering Daughters" by Hillary McFarland, a rambly but interesting and valuable memoir by a young woman who grew up in, and eventually left, a Quiverfull family.

[birdienl.livejournal.com]

Hehe, I did this meme as well last week, but I answered all the questions in a post. That's how I saw it done by someone at Blogger.

Anyway, talk about I if you like, because that question wasn't in the meme that I did ;-)

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I saw that! But I thought this way would be easier. :-D

I: Important Moments of Your Reading Life

Here are two: (1) Reading "Great Expectations" in 9th grade English, because that began my lifelong Dickens obsession! (2) Taking a course on Oxford Christian Writers in college, because that was my first experience with Sayers, Chesterton, and Tolkien, as well as getting me really interested in Lewis (I think I'd only read one or two of his books before that).

[birdienl.livejournal.com]

If I understand it correctly, you were 14 when you first read Great Expectations? I applaud you for that, I was definitely not ready for the classics at that age (I believe I read my first Jane Austen when I was 17)

(2) sounds like a really great course!

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

I have a lot I want to ask about. Hmm... B!

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

I had to think about what defines a sequel -- is it the book right after the first book, or is it any book in a series? This is hard stuff! :-) I eventually went with the second definition, which would make it "Gaudy Night."