I saw this a while ago on Stuck in a Book.
1) What author do you own the most books by?
Let’s see. Probably a tie among Jane Austen (multiple copies of each of her books), Roald Dahl (lots of his books), Shannon Hale (all of her books), and Ian McEwan (many of his books).
2) What book do you own the most copies of?
Definitely Pride & Prejudice. I think I currently have five copies of it, in various forms.
3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
Not particularly. But I generally avoid such constructions in my own writing.
4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
Well, after just finishing The Actor and the Housewife, I think it’s best to keep my secret fictional crush, well, secret.
5) What book have you read the most times in your life (excluding picture books read to children)?
Probably Harriet the Spy. Or Pride and Prejudice. Or Anne of Green Gables.
6) What was your favourite book when you were ten years old?
Harriet the Spy. Or James and the Giant Peach.
7) What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?
I actually haven’t read anything terrible in 2009. Probably my least favorite, though still good, was The Memorist, by M.J. Rose.
8) What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?
So far, my favorite book read in 2009 is Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell.
9) If you could force everyone you know to read one book, what would it be?
It’s hard to pick a book everyone would like, but I think everyone (all Americans at least) should read To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.
10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for Literature?
I don’t know about the “next” Nobel Prize of Literature, but I wouldn’t be surprised if either Ian McEwan or Carlos Ruiz Zafon won it someday.
11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
Hmmm . . . movies never seem to hold up to the book, but I would like to see what a director would do with The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
I’m not sure on this one. There’s always the hope that the movie will do the book justice.
13) Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.
Let’s see. I had a weird dream the other day that I was on an airplane with Jemaine and Brett from Flight of the Conchords. Does that count? Probably not. I can’t think of anything else, though.
14) What is the most lowbrow book you’ve read as an adult?
Wow. Confessions is what you want, eh? Okay, it would probably be Angels and Demons or The Da Vinci Code. There. I said it.
15) What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?
Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy was quite tough, as was The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand.
16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you’ve seen?
I’ve seen only a few performed live: Hamlet, Macbeth, and The Taming of the Shrew. So pick which one of those is the most obscure to you.
17) Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
The Russians. As in writers, right?
18) Roth or Updike?
Updike.
19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
David Sedaris.
20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Shakespeare. Now, throw Dante or Austen in there and you have more of a debate.
21) Austen or Eliot?
Austen. Clearly.
22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
Oh, there’s so many. Homer, Dickens, Hemingway, Faulkner, Joyce, McCarthy, Chabon, etc.
23) What is your favourite novel?
I think I’m going to have to go with Pride & Prejudice. I just love it so much. But, to round out my current top four, there’s The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak; Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck; and Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier
24) Play?
Hamlet.
25) Poem?
The Flock, by Billy Collins.
26) Essay?
Something in Book by Book, by Michael Dirda.
27) Short story?
Oh, there’s so many. Probably “The Way up to Heaven,” by Roald Dahl or “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” by Flannery O’Connor.
28) Work of nonfiction?
84, Charing Cross Road, by Helene Hanff.
29) Who is your favourite writer?
Jane Austen and John Steinbeck.
30) Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
Dan Brown. Let’s just put it out there. Or possibly Stephenie Meyer.
31) What is your desert island book?
Besides the Bible and Building Boats for Dummies, it would be The Complete Works of Jane Austen, by Jane Austen. Sneaky. I know.
32) And what are you reading right now?
Love Begins in Winter, by Simon Van Booy
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree with you on To Kill a Mockingbird. I love that book!
Nice!!! I think I might borrow this meme.
Great meme! I have five copies of Pride and Prejudice, too :)
Great meme. Steinbeck is a serious contender for my top spot also.
I loved reading your answers. And booyah for another Austen fan!
I loved reading your answers – and there are many I would have answered the same! Like Updike, Sedaris, Shakespeare & Austen. And the book I’ve read most in my life is a toss-up between Anne and P&P (and possibly Wrinkle in Time).
I think I’m going to try this… So many of your choices suit my taste (except for Jane Austen). Woot!
I’m still in awe of Ayn Rand whenever my I see that huge copy of The Fountain, untouched and gathering dust, on the bottom shelf of my bookcase.