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lupanotte—a quite nice book survey/meme/thing, with unsurprisingly long answers. Feel free to steal it for yourself!
1) What author do you own the most books by?
Shakespeare, probably, if I count the individually bound imprints of his plays. After that, Brian Jacques—I (used to, and am sadly out of date now) collect the Redwall series in hardback, with a few volumes in paperback for easier reading.
2) What book do you own the most copies of?
I have a number of books in duplicate, but just a few in triplicate—and then, often accidentially. I have three copies of the complete works of Shakespeare (Oxford and Norton, with strong preference for the former; I also have a complete collection of individual imprints, and a few random singly-bound plays which I plan to donate); The Oedipus Cycle, Sophocles (due to variations translations); and the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling (I have the whole series in British English and American English, a paperback of the first book, and the first three books in French).
3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
Yes, but I'm a stickler in such ways—though being a stickler for grammar is going out of fashion (if the recent anti-celebration of the anniversary The Elements of Style is any indication). However, considering the informal nature of a survey meme thing, it hardly matters here if it's in or out of favor—prepositions are not the end of the world.
4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
I remember having quite a crush on Nicholas from The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice—but it's been so long since I've read the book that I'm not longer sure. My fannish obsessions rarely extend to book characters, and they're not often crushes so much as admiration. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that since I don't have visual thoughts, characters on page don't have a physical identity—and while looks aren't the only part of attraction, they help. Instead of crushing, I become fascinated—and what fascinates me is part mysterious attraction but moreover moral ambiguity, passion, strong character traits, and memorable experiences or emotions.
So, duh. I'm secretly in love with Maledicte, from Lane Robin's book of the same name. He's beautiful and dangerous and oh-so-thought inspiring, and so he is unforgettable. I want to be him, be with him, and be around him, nevermind fearing for my life in the meantime. But that desire is hardly secret.
5) What book have you read the most times in your life (excluding picture books read to children; i.e., Goodnight Moon does not count)?
I have no idea. There are a good number of books which I return to every year or so. Some of these are newer additions to the roster, so I've not read them as many times yet—but I will have, eventually. Some of them have been on the list since high school. Some are denser reads, and so take more work to go back to. Some are swifter and easier, so I reread them more often but they may leave less of an impression.
This list includes but is not limited to: Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury; the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling; His Dark Materials, Philip Pulman; Maledicte, Lane Robins; Sharp Teeth, Toby Barlow; Wise Child and Juniper, Monica Furlong; The Story of O; Pauline Réage. Some of these books I've only read twice so far, some I've read a fair dozen, but all of them are working their way towards most read.
6) What was your favorite book in 7th grade?
I think Peeling the Onion, Wendy Orr. I did a review on it for class and memorized the poem which is at the center of the book—and still know it now. But I've not reread the book since. (But then this may have been 8th grade—my memory is poor and so it's hard to be sure.)
7) What is the worst book you've read in the past year?
Since the beginning of the year? The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Carrie Ryan. In the past twelve months? It's hard to pick, but I'll go with: Tailchaser's Song, Tad Williams. There were others equally awful, but none made me so angry as this.
8) What is the best book you've read in the past year?
If I had to pick one: The House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski. But trust me, it's a hard call. I also have to include Palimpsest, Catherynne M. Valente; The Museum at Purgatory, Nick Bantock; The Burning Girl, Holly Phillips; The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell—and these books only go back as far as the start of the year; twelve months's worth would overwhelm this page.
9) If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
I Am Legend, Richard Matheson. Yeps, stolen straight fromlupanotte, but it's a wonderful choice. I've yet to find someone that's read it and not liked it—I think that this book crosses audiences, from non-readers to hardcore readers, from those who love scfi/fantasy/horror and those who avoid it. And it is truly in a class of its own.
10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for Literature?
I have no interest or preference.
11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
I tend not to care for books turned to film. Some of the better film adaptations are of mediocre books with interesting premises—and those successes are not so much in adaptation as in reworking the premise. (The Prestige, I'm looking at you.) Some of the best film adaptations do manage to find good source material and stick with it—but with books even the most faithful attempts require a lot of editing and omission, because books are so long. Sometimes that works brilliantly well—Let the Right One In, for example; Watchmen also did a great job of streamlining the plot; my favorite example is Scanner Darkly, which references more than it omits entirely, so that the movie makes sense on its own but still contains all of the depth of the novel, if you've read it. But often it means trimming out too much, or the wrong stuff, or well-intentioned but horrible attempts to "redo" the same content in a film-friendlier manner, which usually just means more and bigger chase scenes (Harry Potter and Narnia are good examples all of the above). And even if a story is capably trimmed and faithfully translated, sometimes the film is still pointless: it doesn't make enough of its own statement, and one would do better just to read the book (Golden Compass is a good example, here).
What I'd prefer, really, is to see more short stories turned film. The length of them is already ideal, no paring down necessary; indeed, because of their brevity there's room to expand. That doesn't always work well, as Phillip K. Dick could attest if he were still alive, but the potential is still there. Brokeback Mountain is one of the better film adaptations, and succeeds by preserving the entire short story and expanding on it just a little bit. It makes its own statement and it's incredibly faithful; it's just brilliant outright. I'd love to see more like it. But as to what short story in particular? I have no strong preference.
12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
As above: I have no strong preferences so much as a desire to see fewer books turned film. And I do think we could all do without more Twilight movies.
13) Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.
Other than dreams with Doctor Seuss visuals, nothing memorable. But then, well, visuals like that are pretty weird.
14) What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult?
Tasteless? I'd go with Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell, which was all that and more.
15) What is the most difficult book you've ever read?
Stealing fromlupanotte again: Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in the Middle English. I've always had such ease with Shakespeare that it took me by complete surprise that while Elizabethan/Jacobean English comes to me as easily as modern English, Middle English is to my brain nigh incomprehensible. It was frustrating and verged on humiliating—destroyed my confidence at a time when I had little to spare. Hopefully I'll return to him again sometime with more resources and patience, because it wasn't the book's fault so much as it was mine own.
16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you've seen?
I think Cymbeline, but that would have been on tape. I've had the very wonderful chance to see a lot of Shakespeare live, but most of it at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where they don't always perform the most famous plays but do aim towards more or less popular selections—the better to draw an audience, understandably.
17) Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
For literature? I've no preference. I've read a bit from both but, well, it's an awful large group to judge as a single unit. For example, my favorite French texts are Le petit prince and various plays from Théâtre de l'absurde—which are so different that grouping them under the single title "French" is more or less meaningless.
18) Roth or Updike?
Updike, as I've not read Roth; but with few exceptions, and Updike is not one of them, I rarely prefer book over author. What I've read of Updike is perfectly enjoyable on its own, but not enough to make me seek out his work as an oeuvre.
19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
Sedaris, but perhaps because I've not read Eggers. Sedaris is pretty awesome, though. Something of a family favorite—and his chapters on French absolutely kill me.
20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Shakespeare. Surprise of surprises I am sure. (Then Milton, then Chaucer.)
21) Austen or Eliot?
Austen, but thusfar Pride and Prejudice has been the only one to capture me. Eliot's Book of Cats is a beloved favorite, though—I've not just expanded much into the rest of his work.
22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
Literary theory. There are plenty of classics upon which I'm remiss, but with so many classics out there that's not surprising. But my education in literary theory was truncated when I dropped out of college (indeed it's one of the reasons I dropped out—it was something that I'd barely studied and I tried to jump into it head first; like Chaucer, it overwhelmed me when I had no resources to deal with being overwhelmed). Knowledge of literary theory isn't necessary for the average discussion about books outside of college, but I still feel remiss for knowing so little of it.
23) What is your favorite novel?
This is a question I cannot answer. I have too many favorites which, as with the books I read most often, range from deep and meaningful literature which means the world to me, to easily readable escapist literature which is still precious to me, to books which I have only read once and may only ever read once but still adore. Yes, I pick favorites—but I pick many of those. On that list: Maledicte, Lane Robins; Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury; His Dark Materials, Philip Pulman; As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner; A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce; The Story of O; Pauline Réage.
24) Play?
Macbeth, William Shakespeare. Of course. I've spoken on my love of Macbeth before (here, for example); few things, play or literature or media or anything of any sort, have had such a formative impact on my life.
25) Poem?
The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock, T.S. Eliot. It was one of the first poems I fully comprehended, and it has a strong personal significance (elsewise it'd share the spot with I had not minded — Walls, Emily Dickinson). I am not an old man teetering on the edge of perceived uselessness, but I still am in mortal terror of living my potential—because usually when I try, I end up exhausting or otherwise crippling myself and beginning a swift downward spiral towards depression. Do I dare disturb the universe? No. But the question lingers and it tempts.
"I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be" is also one of my character quotes, as it were—a formative and apt analysis of my personality.
26) Essay?
I read a few interesting essays in college but, no, none stands out enough to be a favorite. Howard Bloom is outright fun to read, though—not always in a good way, mind, but nonetheless amusing. I've always been a fan of Stanley Wells—some of my reactions to Shakespeare coispond to his, and I think he well balances intelligent argument against passion and readability. But still I've no particular favorite essay by either.
27) Short story?
This is another question I cannot answer. Short stories for the most part aren't my "thing"—I prefer the length and breadth of novels. There are some exceptions from my youth ("The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman stands out). I've been reading short stories more often recently and learning much better to appreciate them, but due to their length and the number of them I read individual stories rarely stick out. A few exceptions including "Gestella," Susan Palwick and "Onion," Caitlín R. Kiernan, but I don't know yet if they're my "favorite" short stories.
28) Work of nonfiction?
At this point, I don't have one. I rarely read nonfiction, and when I do it's no longer for the writing style or the author's argument so much as for the raw facts. Some authors are better for communicating and delivering that sort of information than others, but still no specific work stands out as a favorite.
29) Who is your favorite writer?
As alluded to above: I rarely prefer authors over books (or indeed any creator over a specific creation). That said, there are some author's who've produced enough individual creations which I adore that I've invested effort in exploring their entire body of work. Sometimes, but rarely, the majority of an author's oeuvre delights me. My single favorite is probably Shakespeare, but as always I'm bad at choosing a favorite and so I'd also add: Toni Morison, Margret Atwood, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Catherynne M. Valente, William Faulker, Ray Bradbury.
30) Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
Is Dan Brown still as famous as he was with The Da Vinci Code? Then him—because it boggles my mind that that formulaic shite became so popular. But the stock answer I suppose is Stephanie Meyer. I'm of mixed opinions about her and (what I've read of) her books: they are neither as bad or as good as popular opinion would like us to believe. What they are is ordinary, mediocre, forgettable. So that I suppose is the definition of overrated: she deserves neither fame nor infamy, but like any other teen sensation it doesn't surprise me that she has either.
31) What is your desert island book?
I'd go with the complete works of Shakespeare. For me, no other author can be read and reread in so many ways. In particular in their written form, his plays contain multitudes: hundreds of possible interpretations which have the potential to make each reading unique.
32) And... what are you reading right now?
Bloodtide by Melvin Burgess. Sadly, it's not that good.
lupanotte—a quite nice book survey/meme/thing, with unsurprisingly long answers. Feel free to steal it for yourself!1) What author do you own the most books by?
Shakespeare, probably, if I count the individually bound imprints of his plays. After that, Brian Jacques—I (used to, and am sadly out of date now) collect the Redwall series in hardback, with a few volumes in paperback for easier reading.
2) What book do you own the most copies of?
I have a number of books in duplicate, but just a few in triplicate—and then, often accidentially. I have three copies of the complete works of Shakespeare (Oxford and Norton, with strong preference for the former; I also have a complete collection of individual imprints, and a few random singly-bound plays which I plan to donate); The Oedipus Cycle, Sophocles (due to variations translations); and the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling (I have the whole series in British English and American English, a paperback of the first book, and the first three books in French).
3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
Yes, but I'm a stickler in such ways—though being a stickler for grammar is going out of fashion (if the recent anti-celebration of the anniversary The Elements of Style is any indication). However, considering the informal nature of a survey meme thing, it hardly matters here if it's in or out of favor—prepositions are not the end of the world.
4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
I remember having quite a crush on Nicholas from The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice—but it's been so long since I've read the book that I'm not longer sure. My fannish obsessions rarely extend to book characters, and they're not often crushes so much as admiration. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that since I don't have visual thoughts, characters on page don't have a physical identity—and while looks aren't the only part of attraction, they help. Instead of crushing, I become fascinated—and what fascinates me is part mysterious attraction but moreover moral ambiguity, passion, strong character traits, and memorable experiences or emotions.
So, duh. I'm secretly in love with Maledicte, from Lane Robin's book of the same name. He's beautiful and dangerous and oh-so-thought inspiring, and so he is unforgettable. I want to be him, be with him, and be around him, nevermind fearing for my life in the meantime. But that desire is hardly secret.
5) What book have you read the most times in your life (excluding picture books read to children; i.e., Goodnight Moon does not count)?
I have no idea. There are a good number of books which I return to every year or so. Some of these are newer additions to the roster, so I've not read them as many times yet—but I will have, eventually. Some of them have been on the list since high school. Some are denser reads, and so take more work to go back to. Some are swifter and easier, so I reread them more often but they may leave less of an impression.
This list includes but is not limited to: Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury; the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling; His Dark Materials, Philip Pulman; Maledicte, Lane Robins; Sharp Teeth, Toby Barlow; Wise Child and Juniper, Monica Furlong; The Story of O; Pauline Réage. Some of these books I've only read twice so far, some I've read a fair dozen, but all of them are working their way towards most read.
6) What was your favorite book in 7th grade?
I think Peeling the Onion, Wendy Orr. I did a review on it for class and memorized the poem which is at the center of the book—and still know it now. But I've not reread the book since. (But then this may have been 8th grade—my memory is poor and so it's hard to be sure.)
7) What is the worst book you've read in the past year?
Since the beginning of the year? The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Carrie Ryan. In the past twelve months? It's hard to pick, but I'll go with: Tailchaser's Song, Tad Williams. There were others equally awful, but none made me so angry as this.
8) What is the best book you've read in the past year?
If I had to pick one: The House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski. But trust me, it's a hard call. I also have to include Palimpsest, Catherynne M. Valente; The Museum at Purgatory, Nick Bantock; The Burning Girl, Holly Phillips; The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell—and these books only go back as far as the start of the year; twelve months's worth would overwhelm this page.
9) If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
I Am Legend, Richard Matheson. Yeps, stolen straight from
lupanotte, but it's a wonderful choice. I've yet to find someone that's read it and not liked it—I think that this book crosses audiences, from non-readers to hardcore readers, from those who love scfi/fantasy/horror and those who avoid it. And it is truly in a class of its own.10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for Literature?
I have no interest or preference.
11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
I tend not to care for books turned to film. Some of the better film adaptations are of mediocre books with interesting premises—and those successes are not so much in adaptation as in reworking the premise. (The Prestige, I'm looking at you.) Some of the best film adaptations do manage to find good source material and stick with it—but with books even the most faithful attempts require a lot of editing and omission, because books are so long. Sometimes that works brilliantly well—Let the Right One In, for example; Watchmen also did a great job of streamlining the plot; my favorite example is Scanner Darkly, which references more than it omits entirely, so that the movie makes sense on its own but still contains all of the depth of the novel, if you've read it. But often it means trimming out too much, or the wrong stuff, or well-intentioned but horrible attempts to "redo" the same content in a film-friendlier manner, which usually just means more and bigger chase scenes (Harry Potter and Narnia are good examples all of the above). And even if a story is capably trimmed and faithfully translated, sometimes the film is still pointless: it doesn't make enough of its own statement, and one would do better just to read the book (Golden Compass is a good example, here).
What I'd prefer, really, is to see more short stories turned film. The length of them is already ideal, no paring down necessary; indeed, because of their brevity there's room to expand. That doesn't always work well, as Phillip K. Dick could attest if he were still alive, but the potential is still there. Brokeback Mountain is one of the better film adaptations, and succeeds by preserving the entire short story and expanding on it just a little bit. It makes its own statement and it's incredibly faithful; it's just brilliant outright. I'd love to see more like it. But as to what short story in particular? I have no strong preference.
12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
As above: I have no strong preferences so much as a desire to see fewer books turned film. And I do think we could all do without more Twilight movies.
13) Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.
Other than dreams with Doctor Seuss visuals, nothing memorable. But then, well, visuals like that are pretty weird.
14) What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult?
Tasteless? I'd go with Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell, which was all that and more.
15) What is the most difficult book you've ever read?
Stealing from
lupanotte again: Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in the Middle English. I've always had such ease with Shakespeare that it took me by complete surprise that while Elizabethan/Jacobean English comes to me as easily as modern English, Middle English is to my brain nigh incomprehensible. It was frustrating and verged on humiliating—destroyed my confidence at a time when I had little to spare. Hopefully I'll return to him again sometime with more resources and patience, because it wasn't the book's fault so much as it was mine own.16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you've seen?
I think Cymbeline, but that would have been on tape. I've had the very wonderful chance to see a lot of Shakespeare live, but most of it at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where they don't always perform the most famous plays but do aim towards more or less popular selections—the better to draw an audience, understandably.
17) Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
For literature? I've no preference. I've read a bit from both but, well, it's an awful large group to judge as a single unit. For example, my favorite French texts are Le petit prince and various plays from Théâtre de l'absurde—which are so different that grouping them under the single title "French" is more or less meaningless.
18) Roth or Updike?
Updike, as I've not read Roth; but with few exceptions, and Updike is not one of them, I rarely prefer book over author. What I've read of Updike is perfectly enjoyable on its own, but not enough to make me seek out his work as an oeuvre.
19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
Sedaris, but perhaps because I've not read Eggers. Sedaris is pretty awesome, though. Something of a family favorite—and his chapters on French absolutely kill me.
20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Shakespeare. Surprise of surprises I am sure. (Then Milton, then Chaucer.)
21) Austen or Eliot?
Austen, but thusfar Pride and Prejudice has been the only one to capture me. Eliot's Book of Cats is a beloved favorite, though—I've not just expanded much into the rest of his work.
22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
Literary theory. There are plenty of classics upon which I'm remiss, but with so many classics out there that's not surprising. But my education in literary theory was truncated when I dropped out of college (indeed it's one of the reasons I dropped out—it was something that I'd barely studied and I tried to jump into it head first; like Chaucer, it overwhelmed me when I had no resources to deal with being overwhelmed). Knowledge of literary theory isn't necessary for the average discussion about books outside of college, but I still feel remiss for knowing so little of it.
23) What is your favorite novel?
This is a question I cannot answer. I have too many favorites which, as with the books I read most often, range from deep and meaningful literature which means the world to me, to easily readable escapist literature which is still precious to me, to books which I have only read once and may only ever read once but still adore. Yes, I pick favorites—but I pick many of those. On that list: Maledicte, Lane Robins; Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury; His Dark Materials, Philip Pulman; As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner; A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce; The Story of O; Pauline Réage.
24) Play?
Macbeth, William Shakespeare. Of course. I've spoken on my love of Macbeth before (here, for example); few things, play or literature or media or anything of any sort, have had such a formative impact on my life.
25) Poem?
The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock, T.S. Eliot. It was one of the first poems I fully comprehended, and it has a strong personal significance (elsewise it'd share the spot with I had not minded — Walls, Emily Dickinson). I am not an old man teetering on the edge of perceived uselessness, but I still am in mortal terror of living my potential—because usually when I try, I end up exhausting or otherwise crippling myself and beginning a swift downward spiral towards depression. Do I dare disturb the universe? No. But the question lingers and it tempts.
"I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be" is also one of my character quotes, as it were—a formative and apt analysis of my personality.
26) Essay?
I read a few interesting essays in college but, no, none stands out enough to be a favorite. Howard Bloom is outright fun to read, though—not always in a good way, mind, but nonetheless amusing. I've always been a fan of Stanley Wells—some of my reactions to Shakespeare coispond to his, and I think he well balances intelligent argument against passion and readability. But still I've no particular favorite essay by either.
27) Short story?
This is another question I cannot answer. Short stories for the most part aren't my "thing"—I prefer the length and breadth of novels. There are some exceptions from my youth ("The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman stands out). I've been reading short stories more often recently and learning much better to appreciate them, but due to their length and the number of them I read individual stories rarely stick out. A few exceptions including "Gestella," Susan Palwick and "Onion," Caitlín R. Kiernan, but I don't know yet if they're my "favorite" short stories.
28) Work of nonfiction?
At this point, I don't have one. I rarely read nonfiction, and when I do it's no longer for the writing style or the author's argument so much as for the raw facts. Some authors are better for communicating and delivering that sort of information than others, but still no specific work stands out as a favorite.
29) Who is your favorite writer?
As alluded to above: I rarely prefer authors over books (or indeed any creator over a specific creation). That said, there are some author's who've produced enough individual creations which I adore that I've invested effort in exploring their entire body of work. Sometimes, but rarely, the majority of an author's oeuvre delights me. My single favorite is probably Shakespeare, but as always I'm bad at choosing a favorite and so I'd also add: Toni Morison, Margret Atwood, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Catherynne M. Valente, William Faulker, Ray Bradbury.
30) Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
Is Dan Brown still as famous as he was with The Da Vinci Code? Then him—because it boggles my mind that that formulaic shite became so popular. But the stock answer I suppose is Stephanie Meyer. I'm of mixed opinions about her and (what I've read of) her books: they are neither as bad or as good as popular opinion would like us to believe. What they are is ordinary, mediocre, forgettable. So that I suppose is the definition of overrated: she deserves neither fame nor infamy, but like any other teen sensation it doesn't surprise me that she has either.
31) What is your desert island book?
I'd go with the complete works of Shakespeare. For me, no other author can be read and reread in so many ways. In particular in their written form, his plays contain multitudes: hundreds of possible interpretations which have the potential to make each reading unique.
32) And... what are you reading right now?
Bloodtide by Melvin Burgess. Sadly, it's not that good.
