Another Book Meme

I love answering questions about books. I found this on Superfast Reader's blog (link on the left) and thought it looked like fun. The quiz is really directed towards book reviewers, so I omitted some of the questions. Thinking about books is so fun! The formatting on some of these questions is a little funky. I couldn't get bold and italics to work right for some reason.

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. I wouldn't say I "irrationally" cringe away from reading it, though. I'm just not sure I could take such graphic descriptions of violence. I am really disturbed by violence in books and movies, and I think I would be especially disturbed by the senselessness of that particular crime.

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?
Lena from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Hermione Granger from Harry Potter, and Clare Abshire from The Time Traveler's Wife. All are amazingly smart, savvy teenage girls. (Clare is a teenager for a big part of the book). I would just want to sit down for lunch with them and find out what makes them so confident and independent. Who do they look up to? What did their parents do right?

Come on, we’ve all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it?

A Tale of Two Cities. I actually borrowed it from Darby about 4 years ago with the intention of reading it, but I've never gotten around to it. Whenever it came up in classes, though, I would usually nod along, like I knew what people were talking about.

You’re interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why? (if you feel like you’d have to know the person, go ahead of personalize the VIP)

Hmmm....if the VIP were female, I would recommend The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. For a male, I would recommend Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Both are "fun" books with compelling storylines, but they make you think, as well. I think both could convert a non-reader to a reader.

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?

I'd say French. There's a lot of good French poetry that just can't be translated well.

A mischievous fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick?

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she’s granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leatherbound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favorite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead-let your imagination run free.

Hmmm...I actually really prefer softcover; they're easier to handle. I would have every book that could be considered "classic," as well as the Pulitzer and Booker prize winners for every year. There would be plenty of windows to let in light; I like lots of light when I read. There would definitely be a fireplace and big soft blankets to curl up in. I would have my own personal Starbucks barista to mix me up a perfect latte whenever I wanted. And I would definitely have one of those rolling ladders. I've always wanted one of those.