A Little Literary Snobbery Meme

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Posted on : 10:18 AM | By : Anonymous | In :


I found this on Holistic Mama, and it looked like fun. :)

What author do you own the most books by?

Probably C. S. Lewis for The Chronicles of Narnia (yes, for me, not the girls), and the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome.

What book do you own the most copies of?

We have two copies of How to Win Friends and Influence People, and several Bible versions (KJV, NIV and The Message). One of those was my great-grandfather's.

Did it bother you that those questions ended with prepositions?

Yes, lol. Although I didn't think too much bout it. I just knew it was awkward. I also don't get too concerned when I write on my blog. I keep those skills for when I am ghostwriting advertising copy.

Which fictional character are you secretly in love with?

I like the weird relationship between Rochester and Jane Eyre. I wouldn't say I am secretly in love with any character in a book, but I did like Mac in Alcott's Rose in Bloom, even though he's Rose's cousin. Things were different back then, lol.

Which books have you read the most times in your life?

Little Women I've read probably 8 times, and the whole Little House series through about 10 times. I've read The Continuum Concept 3 times, The Chronicles of Narnia three times (chronologically and as written). I've read the KJV Bible through once, and then I did the NIV, but I'm not sure that counts?

What was your favourite book when you were ten years old?

I loved Treasure Island, and I was a big fan of Frank Peretti, both the kids and adult books.

What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?

I hated a Rudyard Kipling short story book I read. I made it through and they were well written, but I just didn't like them. They seemed depressing.

What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?

I haven't been reading as much this year as I would have liked. I read Our Babies Ourselves: how Biology and Culture Shape the Way We Parent, which was excellent.

What book would you most like to see made into a movie?

I thought I wanted the Philip Pullman books to be made into a movie, but now I'm not so sure. And I was mildly disappointed with the Narnia movies so far. Some books are made to become a movie - for example Forrest Gump made an excellent movie, and the last Little Women movie was wonderful. I can't really think of one that should be a movie at the moment.

Which book would you least like to see made into a movie?

I don't ever want to see The Shack made into a movie. I don't think they can pull that off.

What is the most low-brow book you’ve read as an adult?

I've read a few Janette Oke books, lol. I don't think they are trash, but I also don't really see them as great literature. Christian romance novels are still romance novels, lol.

What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?

When I was 17 or so, I was in a children's theater production of The Phantom Tollbooth. Like any play, there was lots of waiting around so I picked the biggest book I could to read, which was Roots. Not only was it long, it was also disturbingly graphic which bothered me because it was true.

What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you’ve seen?

I haven't seen a Shakespeare play! Some day I would love to see Patrick Stewart in one, but I don't think that will ever happen.

Do you prefer the French or the Russians?

The French. :)

Shakespeare, Milton or Chaucer?

Shakespeare, because I can catch the humor.

What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?

I'm not sure there's an embarrassing gap, but I need to read some more Latin classical literature, and I'm not sure that I've read enough modern fiction. In fact, I think I've only read The Da Vinci Code.

What is your favourite novel?

Little Women

Poet?

T. S. Eliot or Longfellow

Work of non-fiction?

The Encyclopedia of Country Living, or Creating True Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh, or The Continuum Concept , actually there's lots of non-fiction I like. I am definitely a fan of fact rather than fiction.

What is the most influential novel you've read?

I first read Little Women when I was maybe 10? 11? I very much identified with the awkward Jo who loved to write and would get lost in books. I felt as out-of-place as she did, and her desire for adventure was my own wish as well. Her personality in the book is very similar to my own - an awkward perfectionist, lol. The book is sprinkled with Transcendental philosophy as well, and through reading the story of Louisa May Alcott I was introduced to her father, Emerson, Thoreau and the back-to-the-land and philosophical movements of the 1830's.

Who is the most overrated writer alive today?

Holistic Mama wrote Dan Brown, and I would have to agree, lol. And I may get a lot of flack for this, but J. K. Rowling - you are overrated too. I read a Harry Potter book to see what I was missing, I've watched a couple of movies, and I just can't seem to get into it. It's good old Narnia or Hobbiton for me.

Which less widely read novel would you recommend?

The classics are becoming unread, and they are so much richer than novels of today. It's the difference between soup from a can and homemade soup. Or cheap sliced bread from a store, and homemade bread. Or.. ok well you get the picture.

What are you reading right now?

Healing the Hyperactive Mind by Michael Lyon, M.D. More non-fiction! I am just fascinated with the way the brain works.

Comments (1)

Ok, this kind of freaked me out, because I started thinking maybe I had written this and forgotten... Seriously, who else knows the character Mac from Rose in Bloom! I have a partially written script from when I had a dream to bring that one to the screen ... and then I realized I might need to make them, um, not cousins. Maybe cousins-in-law?

And C.S. Lewis and Jane Eyre and Our Babies, Ourselves and, yes, even Frank Peretti and Janette Oke back in the day. Ha ha!

This was so fun to read! And, no, you definitely own it. Maybe I'll have to do my own version.