These questions are taken from a Shelf Awareness feature.
On your nightstand now:
Whole bunches of unread books, including Atonement, by Ian McEwan, In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan, and The Fall, by Albert Camus. The nightstand is also surrounded by three stacks of TBR piles: Books I Own, Library Books, and ARCs.
Book you’ve “faked” reading:
Tess of the D’Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy. I faked pretty well, too.
Book you’ve bought for the cover:
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. I bought it both for the actual cover art and the shiny Printz honor book medal.
Favorite book when you were a child:
I rotated a bit among James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl, Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh, and Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery.
Book that changed your life:
I’ve thought about this question for several hours now, and I can’t pick one. Mostly because books change my life everyday. Every time I open a book I gain new insight. I get to travel to new places, meet new people, and experience new things. That’s why I love to read!
Favorite line from a book:
I’m having a hard time with this one. The best I can do at the moment is this quote from Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen:
And what are you reading, Miss-?” “Oh! it is only a novel!” replies the young lady…in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humor are conveyed to the world in the best chosen language.
Top five favorite authors:
Jane Austen, John Steinbeck, Roald Dahl, Graham Greene, and Leif Enger
Books you recommend as regeneration when people say, “I’m bored by almost all contemporary American writers”:
On Chesil Beach, by Ian McEwan, Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett, and Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger
Book you can’t believe that everyone has not read and loved:
84, Charing Cross Road, by Helene Hanff
Book you are an “evangelist” for:
The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale
Book you most want to read again for the first time:
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen or Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh
{ 5 comments }
Great answers, Jessica.
I loved Bel Canto and On Chesil Beach.
I see several titles on here that I’ve never heard of. Must check them out!
I have to say I’m disappointed that there is only one woman among your five favorite writers–and she’s dead.
Rosemary Carstens
My favorite line from a book is from Anna Karenina, ‘All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.‘ It’s slightly more poetic in the original Russian: Все счастливые семьи похожи друг на друга, каждая несчастливая семья несчастлива по-своему
I did the unthinkable and actually already watched “Pride & Prejudice” before reading the book. Have to say that it’s one of my all time faves!
I’ve got all of the Austen books on my shelf – can’t wait until I have time to devour them… The Book Thief was a recent book club pick – I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy it, but I found that I liked it quite a bit…
Will have to check out some of the books you mentioned and add them to my list! :)
“A whole bunch of unread books” is probably the number one answer to the night-stand question!
Ah…somebody mentioned my favorite line from Tolstoy.
I’ll snag this meme from you! It seems very fun, looking at the addiction from a different (more refreshing) angle!
Comments on this entry are closed.
{ 1 trackback }