Tag Archives: Memes

Mayday! (Booking Through Thursday)

Posted on by
8

btt button

Quick! It’s an emergency! You just got an urgent call about a family emergency and had to rush to the airport with barely time to grab your wallet and your passport. But now, you’re stuck at the airport with nothing to read. What do you do??

And, no, you did NOT have time to grab your bookbag, or the book next to your bed. You were . . . grocery shopping when you got the call and have nothing with you but your wallet and your passport (which you fortuitously brought with you in case they asked for ID in the ethnic food aisle). This is hypothetical, remember?

This is a no-brainer. If I had to sell my plasma to do it, I would buy books. If I had to sell my passport, I would buy books. There is no way in all the universe that I would get on a plane with nothing to read but Skymall.

I would pick up a new hardcover that I’ve been wanting to read, a Stephen King or Ann Rule paperback I’ve read before, and probably a trade paperback I have not read. Plus a Vanity Fair and some trashy women’s magazine. That should get me through a six hour flight–not that I will read all of that, but I won’t be anxious about running out of things to read.

As Amazon is my witness, I’ll never go bookless again.

Posted in On Reading | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Replies

Top 20 Meme

Posted on by
1

Picked this up from Becky:

The rules: Top twenty favourite books in no particular order. Don’t think about it for too long. Take twenty minutes only to compile your list. Bold the ones you’ve read, or reread, since you’ve started blogging. Include novels, non fiction and plays.

1. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
3. Peyton Place by Grace Metalious
4. Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King
5. Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb
6. Till We Have Faces by CS Lewis
7. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
8. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
9. Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
10. Asylum by Patrick McGrath
11. Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
12. Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy
13. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
14. Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson
15. Private Demons by Judy Oppenheimer
16. Bird by Bird by Anne LaMott
17. The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris
18. Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
19. The Long Emergency by James Howard Kunstler
20. Birth at Home by Sheila Kitzinger

Superfast Baby is Half Cylon

Posted on by
4

’cause I think this quiz is confusing Boomer (on the basestar) with Sharon Agathon (on Galactica, married to mmmmmmHelo).

Posted in American Literature | Tagged , , | 4 Replies

Writing Challenge (Booking Through Thursday)

Posted on by
9

btt button

  • Pick up the nearest book. (I’m sure you must have one nearby.)
  • Turn to page 123.
  • What is the first sentence on the page?
  • The last sentence on the page?
  • connect them together.(And no, you may not transcribe the entire page of the book–that&’s cheating!)

From The Tremor of Forgery by Patricia Highsmith:

“That is, if there’s some reason to hide it and there usually is if a man’s been murdered.”

“Murdered? Who said anything about that?” Carole paced up and down the length of the small apartment hallway. She could no more tell Jensen the truth than she could gouge out her own eyes. Then again, King Lear had always been her favorite Shakespeare play. “Ah, to play Cordelia again!”

“You never were very good, you know.” Jensen snapped his book shut. “And I’m sick to God of hearing about your thespian aspirations. You and I were never meant for anything other than the ordinary.”

A rage filled Carole, startling her with its ferocity. Jensen never took her seriously, not in ten years of marriage, five of which she spent in audition after audition, only ever “good enough,” never hired, never relieved from the pressure of the dream she’d carried since she was a little girl. And then, the babies started coming, and who cared about Carole’s dreams anymore? Not Jensen, the man whose face she used to see before her eyes when she closed them at night. Her mouth tasted of metal as she allowed herself to feel the full measure of her fury towards the sloppy, careless life he’d given to her. She would tell him the truth, and demand the respect that should have been hers from the moment he first said, “I love you.”

“I’m not joking. She said she came by to play with the babies, but you know her idea of playing is to light up a cigarette and turn on Dr. Phil. She started in on the house. Dirty baseboards. Cereal bowls still in the sink at ten in the morning. And all the while I started to see something I’d never seen before. And that’s how much she looks like you. So I put drain cleaner in her coffee. She keeled over right in front of me and her body is in the trunk of my car. I killed your mother and I’m not sorry. I’d kill you, too, if we didn’t need your paycheck.” Carole waited, breathless, even gleeful. “Do you believe me, darling?”

“Yes, sure,” Jensen said attentively, as if waiting for the rest.

Posted in On Reading | Tagged , , , | 9 Replies

Lit-Ra-Chur (Booking Through Thursday)

Posted on by
4

btt button

When somebody mentions literature what’s the first thing you think of? (Dickens? Tolstoy? Shakespeare?) Do you read literature (however you define it) for pleasure? Or is it something that you read only when you must?

Honestly? I think of books I don’t want to read, not because they’re bad, per se, but because they’re written to do something other than tell a captivating story. I put Joyce and Pynchon in this category. They’re about as “high art” as novels go, and while I appreciate what they achieve, you won’t find me reading them for pleasure, the way I do with Tolstoy and DMeickens and Shakespeare.

Posted in On Reading | Tagged , , , , | 4 Replies

Movie Quote Meme–How Many Can You Guess?

Posted on by
16

Found this via It’s All About Books, and since movies are written by writers I think it works for a blog about reading. How many can you guess?

Here are the rules:
1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb (Internet Movie Database) and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess (if you know them all, please don’t guess every one).
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. No Googling or IMDb-ing. That’s cheating, and that’s no fun!

1. I found myself driving past convenience stores… that weren’t on the way home.–Raising Arizona, guessed by Christel!

2. Of course, I may bring a boyfriend home occasionally, but only occasionally, because I do think that one ought to go to the man’s room if one can. I mean, it doesn’t look so much as if one expected it, does it? — Cabaret, guessed by Ellen

3. On the page it looked nothing. The beginning simple, almost comic. Just a pulse – bassoons and basset horns – like a rusty squeezebox. Then suddenly – high above it – an oboe, a single note, hanging there unwavering, till a clarinet took over and sweetened it into a phrase of such delight! This was no composition by a performing monkey! This was a music I’d never heard. Filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing, it had me trembling. It seemed to me that I was hearing the very voice of God. — Amadeus, guessed by Janet

4. I can’t forget what it’s done to you. I’ve been thinking of nothing else since it happened. It’s gone forever, that funny young, lost look I loved won’t ever come back. I killed that when I told you about ****. It’s gone. In a few hours, you’ve grown so much older. — Rebecca, guessed by Bybee

5. Isn’t it the first cardinal rule of perm maintenance that you are forbidded to wet your hair for at least 24 hours after getting a perm at the risk of deactivating the ammonium thioglycolate? — Legally Blonde, guessed by Janet

6. When I sit, you sit. When I kneel, you kneel. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera! — The King & I, guessed by Sarah!

7. You’ll be out in a year and a half. I’ll get cozy with your parole officer. You touch her again, I’ll have you violated on a kiddie raper beef. You know what they do to kiddie rapers in Quentin, don’t ya? — LA Confidential, guessed by Sheila

8. That’s the way it crumbles… cookie-wise. — The Apartment, guessed by Christel!

9. But I know something about you / You went to Cranbrook – that’s a private school — 8 Mile, guessed by Bybee

10. My pearl necklace. I want you to give it to Susie…for her weddin’. Give her a real bridey wedding… with all the fixins. Our weddin’ day… and the day we die… are the great events… of life. — Imitation of Life, guessed by nobody :(

Posted in On Reading | Tagged , , | 16 Replies

Negativity Meme

Posted on by
3

Created by Dewey, picked up at Becky’s Book Reviews:

1. When you dislike a book, do you say so in your blog? Why or why not?

Oh, yes–absolutely. I even have tags about it (see my tag list below). I do try to be fair, in that I like to analyze why I didn’t like a book, figure out what went wrong, instead of just ranting. I believe that I am able to discern when something just isn’t my taste versus when it’s not good, probably because in my reading job I had to set my own personal taste aside. I also like to stretch myself and read things in genres that don’t ordinarily appeal to me because I’m genuinely curious about how books work.

2. Do you temper your feelings about books you didn’t like, so as not to completely slam them? Why or why not?

I believe in being honest, and I’ve certainly given out my fair share of harsh criticism, but again I really try to make sure I’m acting in the best interests of reading, if that makes sense.

3. What do you think is the best way to respond when you see a negative review about a book you enjoyed?

I don’t do anything about it. Life’s too short to leave comments on all the blogs that could possibly commented on. I’d much rather use my time to talk with people who agree with me. And I get enough dissenting opinions in my comments to keep me on my toes.

4. What is your own most common reaction when you see a negative review of a book you loved or a positive review of a book you hated?

As I said before, I don’t do anything about it. I just don’t have time.

5. What is your own most common reaction when you get a comment that disagrees with your opinion of a book?

I try to understand where the person is coming from, and find away to have a fruitful conversation. Reading taste is so subjective, and I don’t really need to be “right” as much as I want to engage with my blog readers.

6. What if you don’t like a book that was a free review copy? What then?

If I really, really don’t like something I will not review it in advance. I just don’t think the author needs that kind of energy prior to the release of the book. I always offer to send the book back as well. And ultimately it comes down to time. I don’t have much of it, and I want to spend it on a minimum of unpleasant tasks. I already have to clean the bathroom, so why should I read a book I don’t like?

7. What do you do if you don’t finish a book? Do you review it or not? If you review it, do you mention that you didn’t finish it?

I wrote a post about this, called When to Give Up on a Book. I don’t like to do it, but sometimes it’s necessary. If I’ve gotten through at least 100 pages, then I’ll blog about it, but I don’t consider it a review.

Posted in On Reading | Tagged , , | 3 Replies

Hero (Booking Through Thursday)

Posted on by
20

btt button

You should have seen this one coming … Who is your favorite Male lead character? And why?

I don’t connect with male protagonists the way I do with female, so I can’t really come up with an absolute favorite. And this reminds me of a conversation I’ve been having with my pastor’s wife, who is a huge reader, raising a family of readers. I said that I think that girls will read boy books, but boys won’t read girl books. I was a huge fan of classic boy books like Treasure Island and Captains Courageous when I was younger, but I can’t imagine a boy my age losing himself in Anne of Green Gables or Little House on the Prairie.

What do you think?

Posted in On Reading | Tagged , | 20 Replies

Another Literary Meme

Posted on by
2

Found via Rhigirl–

1. When/how did you become an avid reader?

I’ve loved to read as long as I can remember, ever since I was a little girl. I was totally the bookworm nerd that never wanted to do anything else.

2. What is your favorite genre for adult/young adult books?

For YA, I am always a sucker for a good coming-of-age story. For adult books, well, obviously I am a huge fan of epic fantasy, but I also like a good crime novel. And I enjoy chicklit, too. I’m pretty much an omnivore when it comes to reading. If it’s good, I’ll like it.

3. What was the most recent book purchased/given to you?

The most recent book I’ve purchased is Pushed.

4. Which book would you like to have that you don’t own?

I would really like to own the complete Anne of Green Gables series so that I can share them with Superfast Baby when she gets older.

5. What book did you think you would never read, but found yourself reading it after all?

Probably War and Peace. I always thought it was a joke, like “who really reads this book?” But then I felt like tackling a huge challenge, and my world was rocked.

6. Which do you prefer, libraries or bookstores?

I love bookstores, but I believe passionately in libraries.

7. What’s the longest you’ve never picked up a book (to read for pleasure, excluding all school material – unless that’s really what you enjoy reading)?

That would be now. With a new baby, I sometimes go several days without cracking a book. I just don’t have time, and sometimes when I do have time I don’t have the attention span.

Posted in On Reading | Tagged , , , , | 2 Replies

You Know I Love Libraries

Posted on by
4

I picked up this library meme from So Many Books. Of course, Library Lovers month ended on Friday but my heart is filled with library love year round, so get over it.

How do you plan on celebrating Library Lovers month?

I did nothing to celebrate. It’s all I can do to get a daily shower. I was actually going to go to the library two weeks ago. Superfast Baby and I went to Brooklyn to visit a friend and her two kids, and they were off to the library and invited me to come along. But Superfast Baby let me know in no uncertain terms that it was time to go home so that she could have me all to herself. That girl loves her boobie, that’s for sure.

How often do you accidentally spell library as ‘libary’ when you’re in a hurry?

I don’t think I’ve ever been in that much of a hurry. I remember in middle school we used to make fun of one of our teachers for pronouncing it “li-berry.” Nasty kids, we were.

What is the most amount of books you’ve ever had checked out at one time?

Oh, gosh–at least 30. When I was a kid I could check out as many books as I could carry, so I stuffed my bag chock full. I think my love of paperbacks might’ve stemmed from the capacity of my Montessori tote bag. I wish I still had that tote bag, come to think of it.

What is the longest you’ve ever gone without visiting the library?

Well, I have not been to the library in about a year because of Bookmooch–my TBR stack is a little out of control. However, there are a ton of new books, fiction and non, that I’m curious to read, so at some point I’m going to exercise my library loan options.

What is the biggest fine you’ve ever had?

I’m totally compulsive about returning library books, so I honestly can’t remember the amounts of any of my fines. I’ve always kept a special bookshelf just for library books, and when I’ve checked out books for Superfast Husband I end up hounding him to make sure I know where they are at all times. I’m sure that’ll make things fun for Superfast Baby…

When you go to the library, do you plan ahead and make a list? Or do you browse?

I do both. I usually am picking up some interlibrary loan books, looking for new releases, and browsing for books I’ve never heard of before.

Have you ever been shushed by a librarian?

Absolutely not–I’m usually the one doing the shushing.

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done to a library book?

I dogear (sorry). I know when I was a kid I dropped more than one book in the bathtub. And then there are the peanut butter and jelly crumbs. I was hard on my library books growing up.

Have you ever had a “favorite” librarian?

In middle/high school, we had two nice librarians and one who was really really mean. In college my best friend worked in the library, so I guess I would count her as my favorite.

If you could change one thing about your library it would be…

More like Barnes and Noble, and more books!

Posted in On Reading | Tagged , , , , | 4 Replies