Reading Meme...

Sarah Miller tagged me for this meme. And as I'm almost always game for a book-related meme, here I go.

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

I'm going to cheat on this one a tiny bit. There are a few books that make me cringe--not that I've ever read them--but positive or negative reviews hasn't really got a thing to do with it. For example, I cringe away from any and all animal books where it looks like the animal (dog, cat, horse, whatever) might die or be abused. If there's a dog on the cover, chances are good that it might end badly. So I don't go there. Exceptions to the rule being if someone I know--someone who knows my quirks--tells me that all ends well. But it has to be someone I trust. I wouldn't put it past some people to lie to me and then BAM I'm hit with a dying dog and I'm a mess.

Other books that I'm not particularly drawn to...I've never really sought out the Gossip Girls, "It" books, and "A-List" type books. They could be good, bad, or mediocre. I'm just not sure I want to read about them.

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?

This is difficult. I'm not really a party person--not in your traditional sense. My birthday parties are immediate family plus one or two friends that are so much a part of my life, so aware of my quirks, that they're just as much a part of my family as if they were born into the craziness. But that being said, I'd choose characters that I've been friends with a long time. Anne Shirley, perhaps. Lucy Pevensie (sp?). Francie from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. It would be a food-related event. Nothing funner than snacking on cookies and maybe-just-maybe mini-quiches. (I love those!)

(Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): you are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realise it’s past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave?

This one will be tough. Some of the most boring books in the world where some of my "required" textbooks. Going into Library Science, I didn't expect some of the textbooks to be so mind-numbing. Maybe other people are just smarter than me. But every time I saw a chart, a graph, a statistic represented in some way incomprehensible to a me of very-little-brain, my eyes would glaze over. But speaking in terms of literary boredom, I'm not sure. So many of the long books I've just given up on altogether. War and Peace. I *want* to finish that someday. But my past two attempts have not worked. I get almost-almost halfway through (within a hundred pages of the middle) and then I'm tempted away by another book that is easier. It doesn't help that I have the itty-bitty print edition. Squinting never does much good for the entertainment value of a book. Don Quixote is another example. So if I went with an answer like that, I'd probably be here forever. So it has to be something short enough that I don't give up on reading, but boring enough that I die...or want to die. I'm still coming up with nothing. But in the meantime I can give you a title or two that I'd (almost) rather die than read again...
Jude the Obscure (oh-there-aren't-enough-words to describe how much I hate this book) by Thomas Hardy.
The Iceman Cometh. Oh-how-I-hate-this-play.

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.

I am a good girl. In school, when we were assigned to read something, I actually read it. 99.9% of the time. Even if I hated it. The exceptions were I was more likely to stick to an unpleasant-to-me novel or play for lit class than I was a textbook.
Socially speaking, I don't "pretend" to have read things I haven't. For one thing, it would be silly.
That being said, there are many, many, many things I've read that I've blocked--unknowingly perhaps--from my memory. Books that I read in Junior High and High School that I *know* I sat down and read at some point. Books that I know I passed quizzes and tests on. Essay questions that I know I discussed these books in some way or other. But I remember zero of what I've read. Silas Marner. Great Expectations. Great Gatsby. Treasure Island. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Most likely some Hemingway as well.
So I might pretend in those situations. If asked have you read this, or did you like this, I'd answer like I *still* knew what I was talking about.

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realise when you read a review about it/go to reread it that you haven't? Which book?

This doesn't happen to me. Sometimes the opposite happens to me. I thought for example that I'd never read Northanger Abbey. I could have sworn that I hadn't. Yet, when I was reading it just felt so very familiar. The words, the phrases. It was weird. I still have NO memory of when I read it the first time. But it would just be too uncanny for me not to have at some point.

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 and personalise the VIP)

There are a few books I'd consider to be must-reads. The Giver by Lois Lowry. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. These two probably don't show up on too many lists as must-reads, but Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. I'd choose a book--or a handful of books--that captured humanity. The *really* good books are those that capture what it means to be human, to live, to think, to act. Books that capture the good, the bad, and the ugly side of humanity. These meaning-of-life type books.

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?

This one's tough. I don't really see myself reading in another language just-for-the-fun-of-it. I'm not a literary snob dying to read literary masterpieces that are prone to being over my head in more ways than one. If I said "French." Part of me would cringe a bit. While I love some French literature I've been exposed to--the more modern bits after the first world war haven't been to my liking at all. I took a whole course (a painful course) reading French existentialist philosophy. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. I've never felt the same about the French since then. Which is REALLY unfair of me I know.

My other choice--the first choice really--would be Italian. I don't really have a desire to *read* Italian. But I just love, love, love to hear it spoken. I have a super-super-super weakness for Italian (or should I say Italian-American) crooners. Whether they're singing in English or Italian or another language altogether--like Dean Martin recorded a French album--I just love it. I love listening to music in Italian. It just makes me happy.

While the fairy is granting me powers of other languages, I'd love to learn American Sign Language. That would be cool.

A mischievious 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?

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What’s one bookish thing you ‘discovered’ from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)?

I would say the greatest thing I've discovered--and this is tough--is to push the boundaries of what I read. Carl's R.I.P challenge for example, got me to read some H.G. Wells which I loved, loved, loved. Not to mention Ray Bradbury. Carl's sci-fi experience challenge has exposed me to Isaac Asimov. In particular his Foundation trilogy. That I loved. I LOVE reading blogs and getting ideas for what to read next. Some of these titles are books that I wouldn't have sought out on my own.

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 favourite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead-let your imagination run free.

Sarah's answer was good--really good. I'll borrow a bit of it. My ideal library has built-in ceiling to floor bookshelves. Wall after wall of shelves to be filled. I imagine I've got a pretty good start on filling up an entire library. While I tend to prefer hardbound for some things, I'm not a total snob. For example, some books I would *never, ever* waste that much money on. For example, (shhh!) my romance novels. I had a real weakness in my college days especially of buying romance novels. Book sales on campus--for example--you could buy paperbacks 2 for a $1. At half-priced books, there for a while, you could get a stack of eight to ten books for $1 or $2. Of course, you didn't get to choose WHICH books you got. They came in shrink-wrapped packages. And with my favorite author, Julia Quinn, 95% of the time I'd find them for at least 50% off. I wasn't about to spend eight or nine bucks for cheap entertainment. Those books are like throwing away your money and wasting your afternoon. They're fun. But there's no lasting value. That being said, I wouldn't part with my Julia Quinn books ever. I love her books. I have reread them several times apiece. But the rest is mostly junk, junk, junk. You can take a stack of fifty or sixty books and be told that they're worth less than a dollar or two dollars total for all of them. Most places won't even take them if you wanted to donate them. Boy, that was a tangent. I wonder how I got started down that road? Anyway, back to my dream library. It would be nice to have my books behind glass but not 100% essential. Hardbacks mostly. My library would need comfortable reading chairs and plenty of lights that you can turn off and on and adjust so it's just right. Also I like the idea of having a table and a few chairs.

This is the part I'm copying from Sarah. I want the ability to snap my fingers (an ability I lack actually) and have all the ARCs I want. To have all the books I want. For example, I just "found" that there's a new book (2007 release date) called None But You by Susan Kaye. It is the first of two books that tells the story of Jane Austen's Persuasion from the viewpoint of Captain Wentworth. It is published by Wytherngate Press. The sequel is coming out in 2008. It is called For You Alone.

I tag: Abby the Librarian, the Longstockings, Melissa from Book Nut, Paige from Reading and Breathing, Booklogged from A Reader's Journal, and Chris from Stuff As Dreams Are Made On.

Poetry Friday: Tribute to Pooh

This past week I reviewed Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne. It was one of my favorite, favorite books growing up. So I thought that this week's poem should be none other than "Anxious Pooh Song" by A.A. Milne. Roundup this week is at Mentor Texts.

ANXIOUS POOH SONG.

3 Cheers for Pooh
(For Who?)
For Pooh--
(Why what did he do?)
I thought you knew;
He saved his friend from a wetting!
3 Cheers for Bear!
(For where?)
For Bear--
He couldn't swim,
But he rescued him!
(He rescued who?)
Oh, listen, do!
I am talking of Pooh?
(Of who?)
Of Pooh!
(I'm sorry I keep forgetting).
Well. Pooh was a Bear of Enormous Brain--
(Just say it again!)
Of enormous brain--
(Of enormous what?)
Well, he ate a lot,
And I don't know if he could swim or not,
But he managed to float
On a sort of boat
(On a sort of what?)
Well, a sort of pot--
So now let's give him three hearty cheers
(So now let's give him three hearty whitches?)
And hope he'll be with us for years and years,
And grow in health and wisdom and riches!
3 Cheers for Pooh!
(For who?)
For Pooh--
3 Cheers for Bear
(For where?)
For Bear--
3 Cheers for the wonderful Winnie-the-Pooh!
(Just tell me, somebody--WHAT DID HE DO?)

And here's another one of my favorites, "Lines Written By a Bear of Very Little Brain." Again by A.A. Milne.

On Monday, when the sun is hot
I wonder to myself a lot:
"Now is it true, or is it not,"
"That what is which and which is what?"

On Tuesday, when it hails and snows,
The feeling on me grows and grows
That hardly anybody knows
If those are these or these are those.

On Wednesday, when the sky is blue,
And I have nothing else to do,
I sometimes wonder if it's true
That who is what and what is who.

On Thursday, when it starts to freeze
And hoar-frost twinkles on the trees,
How very readily one sees
That these are whose--but whose are these?

On Friday----

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Orson Scott Card calls Brandon Mull a "writer who is clearly going to be a major figure in popular fantasy." And I must admit that I agree with him after reading Fablehaven. Fablehaven is at its simplest the story of a pair of siblings--Kendra and Seth--who go to visit their grandfather for summer vacation. The two did not know their grandfather well. He's always seemed elusive, guarded, unsure. To put it quite simply, a strange man who doesn't act like a grandfather.

He puts his two grandchildren in the attic room. It serves as both bedroom and playroom. The two are given strict rules to obey. Rules that Kendra--for the most part--respects and obeys. Rules that Seth has no intention of following.

For the first sixty pages or so, Fablehaven doesn't seem that magical. It seems strange. Seth in his disobedience finds an unkempt, old woman in the woods living in a shack that he thinks might be "a real witch." And Seth and Kendra both briefly visit the woods and discover a park--a beautiful park--that looks like it came from a dream. Both of those events are weird, strange. But it doesn't get full-blown magical until the two decide to drink some milk.

Bet you didn't expect milk to play a big role in transforming the ordinary world into a magical one!

Seth and Kendra disobey another rule--one prohibiting them from drinking milk--and suddenly get turned on to the world of fairies. Their grandfather instead of being angry is well pleased with his clever grandchildren. For you see, their grandfather's secrets have been waiting and wanting to be discovered.

I don't want to spoil this one for anyone. So I won't tell you what kinds of adventures these kids have while visiting their grandparents. . . but it's exciting through and through. I don't think many will read it and be disappointed.

Travel the World: England: 100 Acres Woods: Winnie the Pooh

Last night I reread one of my favorite books of all time. A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh. I can't begin to count how many times I've read--either on my own or read aloud--this brilliant book. The characters? Christopher Robin. Winnie ther Pooh. Piglet. Rabbit. Owl. Kanga and Roo. And of course the ever-sullen Eeyore. They're so wonderful. So lovable. So perfect. The language? So beloved. So familiar. So right. I really couldn't imagine a world without Pooh. Pooh captures everything that is so right with the world. The innocence. The charm. The love. The kindness. There's just something so good, so pure about Christopher Robin and his chums.

Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it. And then he feels that perhaps there isn't. Anyhow, here he is at the bottom, and ready to be introduced to you. Winnie-the-Pooh.
When I first heard his name, I said, just as you are going to say, "But I thought he was a boy?"
"So did I," said Christopher Robin.
"Then you can't call him Winnie?"
"I don't."
"But you said--"
"He's Winnie-ther-Pooh. Don't you know what 'ther' means?"
"Ah, yes, now I do," I said quickly; and I hope you do too, because it is all the explanation you are going to get. (1-2)

Christopher Robin and his stuffed bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, love to be told stories. (I think everyone likes to be told stories.) Pooh especially likes to be told stories about himself because as Christopher Robin says, "he's that sort of Bear."

The first story about Winnie-the-Pooh starts off like this, "Once upon a time, a very long time ago now, about last Friday, Winnie-the-Pooh lived in a forest all by himself under the name of Sanders."

I just love that beginning. Don't you? It's silly; it's fun; it's just right. Once upon a time . . . about last Friday. Genius.

The stories themselves are very interactive. The narrator speaks to the child directly. I really think Pooh is the kind of story that is meant to be read aloud. And read aloud often. It bears much repeating. It only grows better each time it is experienced.

According to the 80th Anniversary edition of the book Winnie the Pooh has been translated into thirty-one different languages! Which makes him perfect for this Wednesday's edition of Travel the World.

And we're back to 37...

Alyssa of The Shady Glade is hosting a reading challenge. It runs from whenever you sign up (that would be January 23rd for me) until April 20th 2008.

I am copying the rules directly from her site. I hope she doesn't mind. If I don't copy the rules, I have a tendency to forget them and get all flustered later on. A flustered Becky is not a happy one.

You can overlap with other challenges. (Which is a VERY good thing.)

You must read at least one book that covers each of these 9 categories:

• Contemporary/Realistic Fiction
• Poetry, Drama, or Humor (any of these will work)
• Sports, Mystery, Supernatural/Paranormal (any of these will work)
• Fantasy or Science Fiction
• Historical Fiction
• Nonfiction
• Classic “juvenile” fiction (first published pre-1920)
• Graphic Novel
• Audiobook

There can be overlap between categories. For example, if you read a graphic novel that’s fantasy, then it counts for both. Or maybe your audio book is historical fiction. You get the idea. So you may have 9 books on your list, you may not.

Only 1 book per author is allowed. This means once you’ve read something by that author, you can’t read another book by the same author.

I don't have a list yet. I'm not really worried about making one. I will choose which books go for this challenge as I go.