Kimbooktu tagged me with a meme of her very own making. Here goes…
- Hardcover or paperback, and why?
Both really. I like hardcover books of my favorite authors, the books I want to keep forever and ever. Otherwise paperback is perfectly fine. I like reading paperbacks because they are usually smaller and lighter. Plus they are less expensive than hardcovers. - If I were to own a book shop I would call it…
Great Expectations. My Bookman and I would be in business together of course. There would be a cafe in it and we’d serve coffee, tea, and a small selection of vegan cookies and pastries that would be so tasty even you non-vegans wouldn’t miss the milk, butter and eggs. - My favorite quote from a book (mention the title) is…
Oh dear, this is impossible to answer. Emerson is highly quotable and I always find a favorite with each essay of his I read, so trawl my past Emerson posts and you will find many gems. - The author (alive or dead) I would love to have lunch with would be…
I would love to have lunch with Virginia Woolf but I am afraid she and I would probably not get along so Ralph Waldo Emerson would have to be my luncheon date. - If I was going to a deserted island and could only bring one book, except for the SAS survival guide, it would be…
Only one book? The collected poetry of Mary Oliver. I don’t think she currently has a collected poetry but If I’m going to be stuck on an imaginary island I can imagine up that book. - I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that…
would allow me to read while I slept. Think of all those wasted hours in bed that could suddenly be put to very good use. - The smell of an old book reminds me of…
prowling for books in libraries and bookstores. There is nothing more specific for this one. - If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title), it would be…
Thursday Next in The Eyre Affair. Books, adventure, a pet dodo, a cool car, what more could a girl want? - The most overestimated book of all time is…
This is a dangerous question because no matter what I answer it will be someone’s favorite book. I’ve mentioned before The Great Gatsby and I don’t get along, but so I don’t repeat myself, I’m going duck as I toss out Catcher in the Rye - I hate it when a book…
has typos–misspelled words, words left out, and grammatical errors. Drives me nuts. Makes me want to call the publisher and demand the copyeditor be fired.
There you have it. Now I am supposed to tag five people. So Dorothy, Sylvia, Danielle, Iliana, Gentle Reader, will you play? And of course, anyone else who wants to play too, consider yourself tagged!
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In reference to number 10, I HATE HATE HATE errors in books, but I find them too often. It depresses me and is kind of embarrassing (I’m a copy editor).
A lot of times, friends will borrow a book and call me up to tell me that they found editing marks throughout it. It’s like a tic — I don’t even realize I’m doing it.
I love reading the answers to these memes. And you saved me–I was sitting here in front of my computer stumped as to what I would post on tomorrow. And here is the solution!
And I agree with typos–it’s jarring when it happens as you expect it to have been edited carefully!
Right on re: Catcher. I adore Gatsby but wouldn’t even use Tender Is the Night as a doorstop, so I can be sympathetic.
Oh yes, I’m with you on the typos and stuff in books — but er — I’m often guilty of grammatical errors on my post, so I should shut up.
Glad I’m not the only one who found ‘Catcher in the Rye’ “overestimated” — I didn’t love it, but my friend did. It was one of those moments of grief between us.
Mary Oliver — she currently has two 2 volumes of collected poetry. “New and Selected Poems: Volume One” and (surprise, surprise!) “New and Selected Poems: Volume Two.” Of course, since she’s still alive, and writing, there are a few poems not included in the collections.
Thanks for tagging me — I’ll do the meme soon! I like your bookshop name.
Please hurry up and open Great Expectiation (preferably in Pennsylvania). It sounds WONDERFUL!
I didn’t like ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ either. I sighed and rolled my eyes throughout. But then, I think it is one of those books that you either really love or hate.
And yes, I second Emily: open ‘Great Expectations’! (But I’d prefer a location in the North of England.
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Oh, I didn’t like “The Catcher in the rye” either. I consider it one of those books that men really really love because they so identify with Holden. I don’t get it, at all!
May I ask anyone who has a moment for help in translating something VERY short for me? Just a sentence, or two. I have been looking through web site after web site and cannot figure out how to do it. I’m NEW to the blogging thing so it might take me a few moments to figure out where to even find any responses, if I don’t reply here, please send it to: fairyprincess_sela@yahoo.com
The following is what I need help with: “Ja maakt elke dag helemaal gek, en, gekker en nog gekker”
PLEASE help, I would honestly truly appreciate it.
Sela Birsingh
I totally agree with you on “Catcher,” I found my self saying “So what?!” throughout. But many of my male reader friends love it while many female readers agree with me- do you think it could be a gender divide?
Will Great Expectations do mail order? I mean the cookies…
Elissa, I giggled about your friends finding editing marks in books they borrow from you. If typos drive me crazy I can only imagine what they must do to you!
Danielle, glad to provide a blog topic for you!
MellaDP, so If I don’t like Gatsby I should stay away from Tender is the Night too I guess.
Dark Orpheus, thanks for the Mary Oliver info. Now the hard part will be deciding which volume to grab as the plane spirals out of control towards that island!
Thanks Dorothy!
Emily, let’s see, if I didn’t go to library school and saved the money I’d spend on tuition to open Great Expectations…just might work
Victoria, if I were ever to live outside the US it would be England so you have a chance that Great Expectations might open near you.
Courtney, I can’t say how relieved I am that so many people don’t like Catcher in the Rye either. Everyone I know who has read loved it or maybe they were just afraid to admit they didn’t like it.
Sela, good luck with your translation.
Pandora, there definitely seems to be a gender divide at least judging from the comments here.
Sylvia, I’m sure we can make arrangements
Super fun questionnaire. I answered it on my blog, and posted an intriguing question of my own. Am interested to hear what you have to say in answer!
Such a good meme, and great answers. You and Dorothy W. rocked this one. Wouldn’t it be fun to have lunch with Jane Austen and Virginia Woolf? Do you think they’d get along?
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re: Fitzgerald. Throughout Tender is the Night, I found myself reading the same paragraph over and over again, desperately trying to figure out what its component sentences had to do with one another. I thought it worse than Joyce in that respect. I guess I should say, “I didn’t understand it,” but in a very fundamental sense of the phrase. It’s the classic Flawed Masterwork – I found it too frustrating to be worth its greatness.
I liked This Side of Paradise, which is a lot more like Gatsby, but what I really love is his short fiction. If you felt inspired to try him again, I’d suggest the collection including “Babylon Revisited.”
Oooh, Thursday Next, good one! Shoot! When I finally post my answers to this meme, I don’t know how I’m going to beat that.
RR Librarian, I liked your additional question!
LK, I think Jane and Virginia would get along famously!
MellaDP, if I ever work myself up to Fitzgerald I will definitely try his short fiction. Thanks for the recommendation!
JS, it’s ok, you can be Thursday Next too
I want to go to your bookstore/cafe. It sounds so comfy and lovely and I want try those vegan treats! Let me know when you open shop
And, thank you for the tag. I love these things!
While I am definitely not vegan, I would still be happy to try the cookies. Perhaps this is because I am a skeptic that wants to be proven wrong. If you can make a thick, chewy oatmeal raisin cookie, let me know.
Not sure why someone thought this would be a good place to ask for Dutch translation help. It seems like they are just trying to farm email addresses.
I am here to study up for my answers to the questions, since I was tagged by Sylvia. Getting the creative juices flowing. On overestimated books, I was going to say “anything that every school kid in America had to read in the 70s.” Catcher in the Rye falls in that category, but somehow I escaped that requirement. I have never heard anything about it that made me want to read it; even though I am male. I think teachers liked assigning us books merely because they had been banned. While ‘banned’ does not equal ‘bad’, the converse is not true either: ‘banned’ does not equal ‘good’.
Iliana, I’ll see what I can do about the bookstore/cafe!
Bikkuri, we’ll get to work on perfecting our oatmeal raisin cookies! As for Catcher in the Rye, I didn’t have to read it until I was in college and took a young adult literature class.
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What a wonderful meme!