The Duchess Disappeared
Jun. 25th, 2013 10:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
todayiamadaisyOur third visit to the monthly trivia night, our third time winning a prize. Another first. I still haven't spent the book voucher I won last month, and now I've got one for a café too. I can't keep up with all these prizes.
A very long book meme, stolen from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sabethea.
1. Favorite childhood book?
The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge. Oh, I loved this. I loved it so much I couldn't bring myself to re-read it for years, in case it wasn't as good as I remembered. It was though. It's lovely.
2. What are you reading right now?
Right now, I'm reading this.
Oh, all right. I'm reading a book about playing the piano for pleasure. It's called Playing the Piano for Pleasure.
3. What books do you have on request at the library?
None. I don't go often go to the library.
4. Bad book habit?
I don't have any. Maybe reading at the table? Is it a bad habit if I only do it when I'm alone?
5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
Nothing. Refer question 3.
6. Do you have an e-reader?
Yes, I have a Kindle. I read about half and half between the Kindle and paper books. The Kindle is usually for things I'm happy to delete, things out of copyright or things I can't wait for an Australian release date for.
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
Usually just the one. I prefer to get lost in just the one world at a time. Also, I usually read books in a couple of big chunks, so I don't have time to fit in another book between times.
8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
No. I really don't spend that much time doing this. Other things affect reading time more. Working, for one, or sometimes doing some sort of craft project if I need to get it finished quickly. From time to time I will become obsessed with a stupid game (currently, Treasures of Montezuma 3).
9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)
It would be a toss up between Irene Iddlesleigh by Amanda McKittrick Ros, of which I managed just three short chapters before giving up, and The Monster in the Box by Ruth Rendell, which I just plain hated.
10. Favorite book you've read this year?
Probably Fifth Business by Robertson Davies. Good stuff.
11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
Not often, but I think my comfort zone is pretty wide.
12. What is your reading comfort zone?
(I think these two questions are the wrong way round.) I like a bit of non-fiction, some classics, some... things written in the same era as classics, some literary novels, some mysteries, some girls' school stories. A balanced diet.
13. Can you read on the bus?
No. That would make me queasy.
14. Favorite place to read?
I usually sit on the sofa, often with the cat. It's not my special Book Space or anything, though. Just a comfortable place to sit.
15. What is your policy on book lending?
I suppose. If I must. I'm not keen on it. I'm a bit like a dragon hoarding treasure that way. But if it's a book I was going to get rid of, I'll give it to you. Take it, really. And have this piece of cake too.
16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
No. That would be wrong. Very, very wrong.
17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
No, although I enjoy reading what other people have written. My library puts a piece of paper on the inside cover for people to initial, which I also enjoy. I like seeing the same initials crop up in the books I read.
18. Not even with text books?
No, because I would normally only read the text once in order to take notes. It would be unusual for me to go back to the text, unless I wanted to make sure of a direct quote or some such.
19. What is your favorite language to read in?
I appreciate that this question assumes more than one language. Thanks for that, meme. I would say English, as it's the one I read best. (For the record, I can also read French and I could probably manage a book in Italian, although it would take a while, unless it was, like, Miffy.)
20. What makes you love a book?
Different things for different books. The writing, the characters, the plot. It depends.
21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
Whether I think the person will like it? That's pretty much it.
22. Favorite genre?
Victorian sensation novels. Or more generally, popular novels written around the turn of the last century that I can find on manybooks.net. Those things are usually an indicator of quality. :-)
23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
I don't often read fantasy, and I don't wish I read more, but I do wish I could remember that I don't like it as much as I think I do.
24. Favorite biography?
My Way of Life by Joan Crawford. This has to be my answer because (a) it's brilliant and (b) it's the only biography I can remember reading. I'm not big on biographies.
25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
Yes. I'm going to write one of my own too. Every page will have JUST GET ON WITH IT written on it.
In a different font each time, so there's something for everyone.
26. Favorite cookbook?
I suppose I might say Delia Smith's One is Fun, which I bought when I first started living alone. Twenty years on, I still get a fair bit of use out of it, even though some of it is dated, like explaining where to buy exotic things like root ginger. My favourite anecdote in it is how she refused to make paella for years after hearing that a singing bird was one of the ingredients; but she makes it now, ever since her husband suggested leaving the singing bird out. He's obviously the thinker in that relationship.
27. Most inspirational book you've read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
I don't really do inspirational books. I had to read a thing for work called The Little Book of Talent. I suppose that could be inspirational, if you needed inspiration to keep a notebook to write ideas in. I found it less inspirational, more patently obvious.
28. Favorite reading snack?
No snacks! You'll get sticky fingers on the page.
29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I read the first three all together, then had to wait with everyone else for the fourth. By the time it came out, I couldn't read it on its own merits. That was a lesson to ignore self-appointed experts in the lead-up to a new release. Not just for Harry Potter stuff; that applies to everything.
30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
I suppose that would depend on the critics I read, wouldn't it? I'm not sure I take critics that seriously. If I read reviews prior to reading a book, it's usually more to find out whether I'd be interested in the subject of the book rather than what the critic thinks of it. If I read reviews after I've finished a book, it's usually because I found it interesting/enjoyable/though-provoking enough to wonder what other people made of it, but I don't think that would necessarily change my own opinion of it.
31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
May I direct you to my books tag, meme? I have no problem with it.
32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you choose?
Dutch, because I have a book in Dutch that I acquired in a box from a second-hand book shop and I've always wondered what it's about. (I just went to find it so I could include the title, but it wasn't where I thought it was. Now I'll never know.)
33. Most intimidating book you've ever read?
Are books intimidating? I've never thought so. The first time I read a novel (Around the World in 80 Days) in French, when I was at school, that was slightly intimidating, I suppose. Dispiriting might be a better word. Just flicking through the pages and realising how many words I was going to have to look up.
34. Most intimidating book you're too nervous to begin?
Again, are they intimidating? There are books that look long and/or challenging, which I put off reading because they seem like they're going to be hard work. But that's not nerves so much as laziness.
I suppose, as in question 1, I might be nervous about starting a book I really want to like, in case I don't like it. That's anticipation rather than intimidation, though.
35. Favorite poet?
Gerald Manley Hopkins (although I do love Ogden Nash too).
36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
When I go to the library, I usually get three or four books, but I rarely go, so none.
37. How often have you returned a book to the library unread?
A few times. Sometimes in a batch of three or four books, there'll be one I pick up when I get home and wonder what made me think this would be good.
38. Favorite fictional character?
Er... that's a hard one. All the characters that come to mind (Anne Shirley, Lord Peter Wimsey, Bertie Wooster) have multiple books to make an impression. That doesn't seem fair to the one-offs.
39. Favorite fictional villain?
Captain Hook. I was going to say he is my hands down favourite, but that would be mean. Hooks down.
40. Books I'm most likely to bring on vacation?
Easily portable ones.
41. The longest I've gone without reading.
Without reading anything at all, even street signs? Maybe a few hours. Without reading a book? I don't know. A few days, maybe.
42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
I mentioned Irene Iddlesleigh by Amanda McKittrick Ros earlier. That was... turgid. Also, there is a book called The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente. I couldn't even make it through one saccharine chapter. I could feel my teeth rotting as I read it.
43. What distracts you easily when you're reading?
The cat. The phone. One of them can be ignored, the other usually just wants a knee to sit on.
44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
I think The Fellowship of the Ring is pretty much perfect, although I'm less enamoured of the other two (and the more I think about it, the less I like The Hobbit).
45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
I recently saw The Great Gatsby, so that's fresh in my mind.
46. The most money I've ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
I don't know. Probably several hundred dollars on textbooks, if that counts.
47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
Sometimes. If I am having doubts about the book, I will often skim or even skip to the end, to see if what lies ahead is intriguing enough to continue.
48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
Boredom. I used to persevere, and I still might sometimes, but mostly I think I don't have to be bored if it's something I'm meant to be reading for pleasure.
49. Do you like to keep your books organised?
More or less. They're split between fiction and non-fiction, then loosely grouped by genre, but I'm not all Dewey Decimal system about it. Or whatever they use now.
50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you've read them?
Keep the ones I can see myself coming back to, eventually give away the rest when the clutter gets me down.
51. Are there any books you've been avoiding?
All the ones I owe money to.
52. Name a book that made you angry.
The Ruth Rendell one I mentioned earlier, in which Wexford's entire department (apart from Burden, amazingly) annoyed me beyond all measure. Though that was nothing compared to my mother's reaction to The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. Years later, she will still occasionally go quiet and say, 'That man!'
53. A book you didn't expect to like but did?
Jane Eyre, which I put off reading for a long time because I didn't like the cover of my family's copy. It turns out you can't judge a book by its cover. Who knew? Anyway, I did like Jane Eyre the book and Jane Eyre the character, but I do not get why Rochester is thought of as so great. What a creepster. I'd rather take my chances with Heathcliff.
54. A book that you expected to like but didn't?
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, which sounded interesting (Jesuits in space) and won prizes for being good. We just didn't click.
55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
I really don't understand the concept of 'guilty' reading. Read it or don't. It's up to you. No-one else cares. In terms of 'pleasure' reading, though, I do enjoy a good Victorian sensation novel.
A very long book meme, stolen from
sabethea.1. Favorite childhood book?
The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge. Oh, I loved this. I loved it so much I couldn't bring myself to re-read it for years, in case it wasn't as good as I remembered. It was though. It's lovely.
2. What are you reading right now?
Right now, I'm reading this.
Oh, all right. I'm reading a book about playing the piano for pleasure. It's called Playing the Piano for Pleasure.
3. What books do you have on request at the library?
None. I don't go often go to the library.
4. Bad book habit?
I don't have any. Maybe reading at the table? Is it a bad habit if I only do it when I'm alone?
5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
Nothing. Refer question 3.
6. Do you have an e-reader?
Yes, I have a Kindle. I read about half and half between the Kindle and paper books. The Kindle is usually for things I'm happy to delete, things out of copyright or things I can't wait for an Australian release date for.
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
Usually just the one. I prefer to get lost in just the one world at a time. Also, I usually read books in a couple of big chunks, so I don't have time to fit in another book between times.
8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
No. I really don't spend that much time doing this. Other things affect reading time more. Working, for one, or sometimes doing some sort of craft project if I need to get it finished quickly. From time to time I will become obsessed with a stupid game (currently, Treasures of Montezuma 3).
9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)
It would be a toss up between Irene Iddlesleigh by Amanda McKittrick Ros, of which I managed just three short chapters before giving up, and The Monster in the Box by Ruth Rendell, which I just plain hated.
10. Favorite book you've read this year?
Probably Fifth Business by Robertson Davies. Good stuff.
11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
Not often, but I think my comfort zone is pretty wide.
12. What is your reading comfort zone?
(I think these two questions are the wrong way round.) I like a bit of non-fiction, some classics, some... things written in the same era as classics, some literary novels, some mysteries, some girls' school stories. A balanced diet.
13. Can you read on the bus?
No. That would make me queasy.
14. Favorite place to read?
I usually sit on the sofa, often with the cat. It's not my special Book Space or anything, though. Just a comfortable place to sit.
15. What is your policy on book lending?
I suppose. If I must. I'm not keen on it. I'm a bit like a dragon hoarding treasure that way. But if it's a book I was going to get rid of, I'll give it to you. Take it, really. And have this piece of cake too.
16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
No. That would be wrong. Very, very wrong.
17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
No, although I enjoy reading what other people have written. My library puts a piece of paper on the inside cover for people to initial, which I also enjoy. I like seeing the same initials crop up in the books I read.
18. Not even with text books?
No, because I would normally only read the text once in order to take notes. It would be unusual for me to go back to the text, unless I wanted to make sure of a direct quote or some such.
19. What is your favorite language to read in?
I appreciate that this question assumes more than one language. Thanks for that, meme. I would say English, as it's the one I read best. (For the record, I can also read French and I could probably manage a book in Italian, although it would take a while, unless it was, like, Miffy.)
20. What makes you love a book?
Different things for different books. The writing, the characters, the plot. It depends.
21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
Whether I think the person will like it? That's pretty much it.
22. Favorite genre?
Victorian sensation novels. Or more generally, popular novels written around the turn of the last century that I can find on manybooks.net. Those things are usually an indicator of quality. :-)
23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
I don't often read fantasy, and I don't wish I read more, but I do wish I could remember that I don't like it as much as I think I do.
24. Favorite biography?
My Way of Life by Joan Crawford. This has to be my answer because (a) it's brilliant and (b) it's the only biography I can remember reading. I'm not big on biographies.
25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
Yes. I'm going to write one of my own too. Every page will have JUST GET ON WITH IT written on it.
In a different font each time, so there's something for everyone.
26. Favorite cookbook?
I suppose I might say Delia Smith's One is Fun, which I bought when I first started living alone. Twenty years on, I still get a fair bit of use out of it, even though some of it is dated, like explaining where to buy exotic things like root ginger. My favourite anecdote in it is how she refused to make paella for years after hearing that a singing bird was one of the ingredients; but she makes it now, ever since her husband suggested leaving the singing bird out. He's obviously the thinker in that relationship.
27. Most inspirational book you've read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
I don't really do inspirational books. I had to read a thing for work called The Little Book of Talent. I suppose that could be inspirational, if you needed inspiration to keep a notebook to write ideas in. I found it less inspirational, more patently obvious.
28. Favorite reading snack?
No snacks! You'll get sticky fingers on the page.
29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I read the first three all together, then had to wait with everyone else for the fourth. By the time it came out, I couldn't read it on its own merits. That was a lesson to ignore self-appointed experts in the lead-up to a new release. Not just for Harry Potter stuff; that applies to everything.
30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
I suppose that would depend on the critics I read, wouldn't it? I'm not sure I take critics that seriously. If I read reviews prior to reading a book, it's usually more to find out whether I'd be interested in the subject of the book rather than what the critic thinks of it. If I read reviews after I've finished a book, it's usually because I found it interesting/enjoyable/though-provoking enough to wonder what other people made of it, but I don't think that would necessarily change my own opinion of it.
31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
May I direct you to my books tag, meme? I have no problem with it.
32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you choose?
Dutch, because I have a book in Dutch that I acquired in a box from a second-hand book shop and I've always wondered what it's about. (I just went to find it so I could include the title, but it wasn't where I thought it was. Now I'll never know.)
33. Most intimidating book you've ever read?
Are books intimidating? I've never thought so. The first time I read a novel (Around the World in 80 Days) in French, when I was at school, that was slightly intimidating, I suppose. Dispiriting might be a better word. Just flicking through the pages and realising how many words I was going to have to look up.
34. Most intimidating book you're too nervous to begin?
Again, are they intimidating? There are books that look long and/or challenging, which I put off reading because they seem like they're going to be hard work. But that's not nerves so much as laziness.
I suppose, as in question 1, I might be nervous about starting a book I really want to like, in case I don't like it. That's anticipation rather than intimidation, though.
35. Favorite poet?
Gerald Manley Hopkins (although I do love Ogden Nash too).
36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
When I go to the library, I usually get three or four books, but I rarely go, so none.
37. How often have you returned a book to the library unread?
A few times. Sometimes in a batch of three or four books, there'll be one I pick up when I get home and wonder what made me think this would be good.
38. Favorite fictional character?
Er... that's a hard one. All the characters that come to mind (Anne Shirley, Lord Peter Wimsey, Bertie Wooster) have multiple books to make an impression. That doesn't seem fair to the one-offs.
39. Favorite fictional villain?
Captain Hook. I was going to say he is my hands down favourite, but that would be mean. Hooks down.
40. Books I'm most likely to bring on vacation?
Easily portable ones.
41. The longest I've gone without reading.
Without reading anything at all, even street signs? Maybe a few hours. Without reading a book? I don't know. A few days, maybe.
42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
I mentioned Irene Iddlesleigh by Amanda McKittrick Ros earlier. That was... turgid. Also, there is a book called The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente. I couldn't even make it through one saccharine chapter. I could feel my teeth rotting as I read it.
43. What distracts you easily when you're reading?
The cat. The phone. One of them can be ignored, the other usually just wants a knee to sit on.
44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
I think The Fellowship of the Ring is pretty much perfect, although I'm less enamoured of the other two (and the more I think about it, the less I like The Hobbit).
45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
I recently saw The Great Gatsby, so that's fresh in my mind.
46. The most money I've ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
I don't know. Probably several hundred dollars on textbooks, if that counts.
47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
Sometimes. If I am having doubts about the book, I will often skim or even skip to the end, to see if what lies ahead is intriguing enough to continue.
48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
Boredom. I used to persevere, and I still might sometimes, but mostly I think I don't have to be bored if it's something I'm meant to be reading for pleasure.
49. Do you like to keep your books organised?
More or less. They're split between fiction and non-fiction, then loosely grouped by genre, but I'm not all Dewey Decimal system about it. Or whatever they use now.
50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you've read them?
Keep the ones I can see myself coming back to, eventually give away the rest when the clutter gets me down.
51. Are there any books you've been avoiding?
All the ones I owe money to.
52. Name a book that made you angry.
The Ruth Rendell one I mentioned earlier, in which Wexford's entire department (apart from Burden, amazingly) annoyed me beyond all measure. Though that was nothing compared to my mother's reaction to The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. Years later, she will still occasionally go quiet and say, 'That man!'
53. A book you didn't expect to like but did?
Jane Eyre, which I put off reading for a long time because I didn't like the cover of my family's copy. It turns out you can't judge a book by its cover. Who knew? Anyway, I did like Jane Eyre the book and Jane Eyre the character, but I do not get why Rochester is thought of as so great. What a creepster. I'd rather take my chances with Heathcliff.
54. A book that you expected to like but didn't?
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, which sounded interesting (Jesuits in space) and won prizes for being good. We just didn't click.
55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
I really don't understand the concept of 'guilty' reading. Read it or don't. It's up to you. No-one else cares. In terms of 'pleasure' reading, though, I do enjoy a good Victorian sensation novel.