Reading survey
I've started catching up on several weeks' worth of journals and blogs, and I found this meme that aurillia did, and thought I should do it myself.
1) What author do you own the most books by?
Hm. This requires a trip to my bookshelf.
Okay. The answer is Enid Blyton, unsurprisingly. I have 27 books by her (that I can easily find, there may be another couple floating around). Two of those books are three-books-in-one things, so if you count that seperately it would go up to 31. The runners up are Tamora Pierce with 23 (I've only read 20 of them, though) and David (and Leigh) Eddings with 22. However, if the question was what series do I have the most books of, it would be The Boxcar Children. I have 35 Boxcar Children books, and I'm not entirely sure how many were written by Gertrude Chandler Warner, but it won't be enough to beat Enid Blyton.
2) What book do you own the most copies of?
I have two copies of Pride and Prejudice (my whole family has a total of 6), Anne of Avonlea, and Seven Little Australians.
3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
Nope. I'm no prescriptivist! (... most of the time)
4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
... that list would be too long and embarassing to share. I have a tendency to get very caught up in plots and characters.
5) What book have you read the most times in your life?
Hm. Hard question. Probably either Obernewtyn, The Island of Adventure (Enid Blyton), The Boxcar Children (the first book), or any of the following L.M. Montgomery books - Anne of Green Gables, Along the Shore (selected stories from it, at least), or The Blue Castle. Oh, also Into the Land of the Unicorns by Bruce Coville - I read that one over and over and over when I was eight, probably the only book that I've read all the way through multiple times in a row.
6) What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
Anne of Green Gables.
7) What is the worst book you've read in the past year?
Hm. I don't really know. What books have I read in the past year again?
8) What is the best book you've read in the past year?
See the answer to question 7. I'm not so good at comparing books anyway.
9) If you could force everyone to read one book, what would it be?
I'm highly tempted to say Obernewtyn, but I think Ender's Game would be a better choice as it would suit more people.
10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for literature?
Oh, I don't know. I haven't been keeping up with literature. Let's just say Terry Pratchett.
11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
I think Ender's Game could make a fantastic movie, but it would require fantastic actors to pull off. Some of Isobelle Carmody's books - Scatterlings, The Gathering, maybe Alyzon Whitestarr. Robert J. Sawyer's books would probably make good movies. I could go on. Oh - the next fantasy epic should be To Ride Hell's Chasm by Janny Wurts. I think that could be adapted into a script quite well (though it could also be quite bad, depending on the adaptation). It has magic, adventure, demons, mystery, a princess-not-so-in-distress... what more does a cinema audience want?
12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
Obernewtyn. It wouldn't work. There are others I know I've though would be bad as a movie, but I can't remember them at the moment.
14) What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult?
The Road to Mars by Eric Idle. Although, I don't think I got past the first chapter, so it isn't really fair for me to criticise it. But I do anyway.
15) What is the most difficult book you've ever read?
Hm. Well, Love in the Time of Cholera was pretty slow reading, but I'm not sure 'difficult' is the right word. But I gave up outright on Wuthering Heights because I couldn't keep the plot and characters straight.
16) Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
I don't know if I've read any Russian literature, actually. Haven't read much French either, but I'll still have to go with them.
17) Umberto Eco?
Read In the Name of the Rose and absolutely loved it. Haven't read any others yet.
18) Roth or Updike?
Haven't read any of either.
19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
Ditto.
20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Hm. Well, Shakespeare is fantastic. I've never intentionally picked up any Milton, though I have come across his poems in various places. I've been meaning to read more of his stuff for a while. Chaucer is hilarious. I've only read some of the Canterbury Tales, I've been meaning to read the rest of his work for a while as well.
21) Austen or Eliot?
Austen. Haven't read any Eliot yet, though I have seen some television versions. Based on that I expect to like Eliot's books, but she'll never supplant Austen.
22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
Literature. Classic and modern. There are also a lot of classic sci-fi books I haven't read and really need to.
23) What is your favourite novel?
What, you're asking me to choose just one? Can't do, sorry. I don't think I could even pick five or ten absolute favourites.
24) Play?
Again. I'm not as familiar with plays as with novels and short stories, though.
25) Short story?
Again. I love short stories, and there are a lot of amazing ones out there. How could I pick?
26) Work of non-fiction?
Hm. The two that come to mind are probably The Betrayal of Arthur by Sara Douglass and The Last Place on Earth (original title Scott and Amundsen) by Roland Huntford.
27) Who is your favorite writer?
I can't pick one, but I'll try to give an incomplete list of authors I love. L.M. Montgomery, Isobelle Carmody, Sherri S. Tepper, Ursula K. LeGuin, Orson Scott Card, Peter S. Beagle, Terry Pratchett, Isaac Asimov, Robin Hobb...
28) Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
Um. Dan Brown? I tend to forget about authors I don't read or like.
29) What is your desert island book?
If I could only take one it'd be a massive anthology. Something like Dreaming Again - huge book with lots of very varied stories by a bunch of different authors. Besides, I still haven't read most of it.
30) And ... what are you reading right now?
I'm between novels at the moment. Just finished In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. Haven't decided what's up next. I ought to read more of the books I got at the Book Fair a couple weeks ago, but I feel like sci-fi and I think I've read all the sci-fi from that box already.
1) What author do you own the most books by?
Hm. This requires a trip to my bookshelf.
Okay. The answer is Enid Blyton, unsurprisingly. I have 27 books by her (that I can easily find, there may be another couple floating around). Two of those books are three-books-in-one things, so if you count that seperately it would go up to 31. The runners up are Tamora Pierce with 23 (I've only read 20 of them, though) and David (and Leigh) Eddings with 22. However, if the question was what series do I have the most books of, it would be The Boxcar Children. I have 35 Boxcar Children books, and I'm not entirely sure how many were written by Gertrude Chandler Warner, but it won't be enough to beat Enid Blyton.
2) What book do you own the most copies of?
I have two copies of Pride and Prejudice (my whole family has a total of 6), Anne of Avonlea, and Seven Little Australians.
3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
Nope. I'm no prescriptivist! (... most of the time)
4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
... that list would be too long and embarassing to share. I have a tendency to get very caught up in plots and characters.
5) What book have you read the most times in your life?
Hm. Hard question. Probably either Obernewtyn, The Island of Adventure (Enid Blyton), The Boxcar Children (the first book), or any of the following L.M. Montgomery books - Anne of Green Gables, Along the Shore (selected stories from it, at least), or The Blue Castle. Oh, also Into the Land of the Unicorns by Bruce Coville - I read that one over and over and over when I was eight, probably the only book that I've read all the way through multiple times in a row.
6) What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
Anne of Green Gables.
7) What is the worst book you've read in the past year?
Hm. I don't really know. What books have I read in the past year again?
8) What is the best book you've read in the past year?
See the answer to question 7. I'm not so good at comparing books anyway.
9) If you could force everyone to read one book, what would it be?
I'm highly tempted to say Obernewtyn, but I think Ender's Game would be a better choice as it would suit more people.
10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for literature?
Oh, I don't know. I haven't been keeping up with literature. Let's just say Terry Pratchett.
11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
I think Ender's Game could make a fantastic movie, but it would require fantastic actors to pull off. Some of Isobelle Carmody's books - Scatterlings, The Gathering, maybe Alyzon Whitestarr. Robert J. Sawyer's books would probably make good movies. I could go on. Oh - the next fantasy epic should be To Ride Hell's Chasm by Janny Wurts. I think that could be adapted into a script quite well (though it could also be quite bad, depending on the adaptation). It has magic, adventure, demons, mystery, a princess-not-so-in-distress... what more does a cinema audience want?
12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
Obernewtyn. It wouldn't work. There are others I know I've though would be bad as a movie, but I can't remember them at the moment.
14) What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult?
The Road to Mars by Eric Idle. Although, I don't think I got past the first chapter, so it isn't really fair for me to criticise it. But I do anyway.
15) What is the most difficult book you've ever read?
Hm. Well, Love in the Time of Cholera was pretty slow reading, but I'm not sure 'difficult' is the right word. But I gave up outright on Wuthering Heights because I couldn't keep the plot and characters straight.
16) Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
I don't know if I've read any Russian literature, actually. Haven't read much French either, but I'll still have to go with them.
17) Umberto Eco?
Read In the Name of the Rose and absolutely loved it. Haven't read any others yet.
18) Roth or Updike?
Haven't read any of either.
19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
Ditto.
20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Hm. Well, Shakespeare is fantastic. I've never intentionally picked up any Milton, though I have come across his poems in various places. I've been meaning to read more of his stuff for a while. Chaucer is hilarious. I've only read some of the Canterbury Tales, I've been meaning to read the rest of his work for a while as well.
21) Austen or Eliot?
Austen. Haven't read any Eliot yet, though I have seen some television versions. Based on that I expect to like Eliot's books, but she'll never supplant Austen.
22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
Literature. Classic and modern. There are also a lot of classic sci-fi books I haven't read and really need to.
23) What is your favourite novel?
What, you're asking me to choose just one? Can't do, sorry. I don't think I could even pick five or ten absolute favourites.
24) Play?
Again. I'm not as familiar with plays as with novels and short stories, though.
25) Short story?
Again. I love short stories, and there are a lot of amazing ones out there. How could I pick?
26) Work of non-fiction?
Hm. The two that come to mind are probably The Betrayal of Arthur by Sara Douglass and The Last Place on Earth (original title Scott and Amundsen) by Roland Huntford.
27) Who is your favorite writer?
I can't pick one, but I'll try to give an incomplete list of authors I love. L.M. Montgomery, Isobelle Carmody, Sherri S. Tepper, Ursula K. LeGuin, Orson Scott Card, Peter S. Beagle, Terry Pratchett, Isaac Asimov, Robin Hobb...
28) Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
Um. Dan Brown? I tend to forget about authors I don't read or like.
29) What is your desert island book?
If I could only take one it'd be a massive anthology. Something like Dreaming Again - huge book with lots of very varied stories by a bunch of different authors. Besides, I still haven't read most of it.
30) And ... what are you reading right now?
I'm between novels at the moment. Just finished In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. Haven't decided what's up next. I ought to read more of the books I got at the Book Fair a couple weeks ago, but I feel like sci-fi and I think I've read all the sci-fi from that box already.