(no subject)
What's the last book you read?
Gothic and Lolita mook no. 23 Seriously though, I think it was Pushkin's Little Tragedies, I always read it before exams to calm me down and I was reading it on the morning of my Lit S paper.
How was it?
Gloriously beautiful. I still wish I understood Russian, because he wrote the entire book in iambic pentameter. My favourite is either Mozart and Salieri or The Miserly Knight.
What's your current favorite book?
trashy magazines Stephane Mallerame poems and I'm thinking of getting Nakabov stuff. Must ask Alicia to recommend (I read lolita already though). Oh! And I really liked Murakami's Kafka on Shore, although Dance Dance Dance still owns.
Who's your current favorite author?
Can't chose one so.....Murakami, Fritzgerald, Pushkin and (my indie victorian love) Somerset Maugham.
What's the first book you ever obsessed over?
It's either Secret Island by Enid Blython or Matilda by Roal Dahl. I loved Secret Island so much I started looking for one and I was so upset when I found out that Singapore trees didn't have holes big enough to stuff food inside. All it had was creepy bugs D:
Who's your favorite poet?
It's a tie between Rilke and Stephane Mallerme - interesting to note that Rilke was a "disciple" of Mallerme though...they have similar styles. Although, in terms of language and imagery, Mallerme wins hands down. Rilke on the other hand, is more emotive.
Your favorite short story author?
Murakami, Ray Bradbury and Guy de Maupassant...I loved Second Bakery Attack (I can SO imagine attacking Provence.....wait did I just say that?) and it's still my favourite lunching story. Ray Bradbury is an old favourite and I adore Musspasant's wit. Country Life is a story that EVERY PARENT (especially neurotic, worrying ones) should read.
What's your favorite genre?
Science-fiction and short story.....although I feel closest to poetry.
What's your least favorite genre?
Religious poetry. Not the Victorian or Blakean type, but the Dark Ages type where everyone writes in Old English. It's like...Byzantine era or earlier. >_< That stuff is horribly difficult to read. (on the other hand, it's considered the first kind of poetry to written.)
What's your "comfort book"?
Pushkin! Although Dahl comes in a close second.
Who are your five favorite authors?
Murakami, Bradbury, Pushkin, Maupassant and Beckett.
Do you ever skip to the end to find out what happens?
Almost never. If I don't like it, I just stop reading.
What's the worst book you ever read?
Wild Swans. When I first read it I was 10 and ZOMG it was 500+ pages of sheer torture. It was banned in Singapore till recently (my copy is bootlegged lol) Another bad experience was God of Small Things - which I will NEVER EVER touch again. EVER. The ending was seriously WTF.
Has a book ever made you cry?
Erm... Tokyo Babylon. But book as in "book" well...Danielle Steel's Long Road Home made me cry, but so did Graham Swift's Light of Day.
What's the book you love to reccomend to people?
Murakami! I think Elephant Vanishes is a good start - lots of things for everyone. If possible (or if I feel it is the "right" person), I'll make them read Ray Bradbury's October Country. Funny thing is, it's Mrs Jasmine Tan's favourite short story book too lol.
What's the first section you go to when you walk into a bookstore?
MANGA :D it's the first thing I see when I come up from the escalator to Kino anyway.
Do you buy books, or get them at the library or from friends?
BUY! Although if it's lolita books, I just borrow.
What's the most you've ever paid for a book?
Hmm.....My RG Veda artbook was around $400HK but it was a gift from my uncle. Most expensive book I've ever bought for myself was Moonshadow ($75++), but it's a comic book. Reading novel...I think it was around $40-ish. My money goes to artbooks really.
Was it worth it?
DEFINITELY. :D
Will you buy a book in hardcover or wait for it to come out in paperback?
Depends what I want it for. I like my artbooks hardcover for protective reasons, but stories in paperback so I can read it on the bus or train.
What's a book you bought on a whim, then regretted later?
Jean Paul Sarte's Nausea. OMG just reading it made me hate the world, hate myself and hate my damned existentialist life with suicide slitting wrists. Although, I finally understoof why modern existence is supposedly shit.
How do you feel about turning books into movies?
It's not the same, but some books are better off being movies.
Is there a book character that reminds you of yourself?
Amory Blaine (from This Side of Paradiase) sometimes.....and if I'm feeling romantically wishy washy, the speaker from Graham Swift's Light of Day.
Do you have a website dedicated to any of your favorite books?
Nope, unfortunately. I would like people to read more Pushkin though.
What book you have with you/next to you right now?
Blankets by Craig Thompson.