Eva's Very Own Meme

Tagged by Jill, Nicola and Gautami, how could I resist joining in on the fun of filling out Eva's meme?

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?

This question proved harder than some of the other ones. I have finally settled on Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind. I still do not know what all the fuss is about over the movie now that I have finally seen it, and I imagine that has quelled some of my interest in ever reading the book.

If you could bring 3 characters to life for a social event, who would they be and what would you do?

I can think of any number of characters I would love to bring together and hobnob with. This time around, my selected characters are gathering together for a book club meeting. What better way to spend an afternoon than discussing books? Please come join Elizabeth Bennet, Margaret Lea, Roger Mifflin, and me if you are free!

(This is borrowed from the Thursday Next series.) You are told you can't die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for a while, eventually you realize that it's past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave?

My first choice falls in the nonfiction category, which automatically disqualifies it. I have read some boring novels in my time and I obviously survived. I, Tutus: Book Two: Citizen of Rome by Don Phillips maybe. It is the sequel to another book I have read, which, while it did have its good points, I still had to drag myself through most of it.

Come on, we've all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted that you've read, when in fact you've been nowhere near it?

If the question above is taken at face value, I can honestly answer no. If you take out the last part of the question, that I have been nowhere near the book, well, then it's an entirely different matter.

I was assigned to read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley during a college literature course, and I lost interest in it pretty quickly. For the first and last time in my college career, I failed to complete a required reading assignment. I carried on as if I had read it during the discussions and exams that term, earned a decent grade, and have yet to try reading the book again although I would like to give it another try someday.

Has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realize when you read a review or go to "reread" it that you haven't?

No, I cannot think of any titles off hand where this has been an issue.

You're interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who's not a big reader). What's the first book you'd recommend and why? (Go ahead and personalize the VIP if it helps.)

A trick that sometimes works for me is to find out what type of movies the person enjoys watching or perhaps the person has a particular hobby or interest that might give me some ideas of where to start.

A good fairy comes along and grants you one wish: You will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?

My first thought is Russian--all those wonderful novels that I would be able to read in their native tongue. However, for more practical reasons, I think I would most likely choose Spanish in the end. I have not spent much time exploring literature written originally in Spanish, however, I am sure there are quite a few gems out there.

A mischievous fairy comes and says you must choose one book you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can reread other books as well). Which book would you pick?

I rarely reread books, and while there are many I would not mind returning to again someday, I worry that I would grow bored if I read the same book year after year for the rest of my life. One book I have reread and am sure I will read again someday is Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. That is a story I have yet to grow tired of.

I know that the book blogging community and its various challenges have pushed my reading borders. What's one bookish thing you discovered from book blogging?

I have been introduced to many new books and authors that I had never heard of before. There are probably even a few I would not have considered had a fellow blogger not offered especially alluring insight into the books that I would miss at quick glance of cover and synopsis.

That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now she's granting you your dream library. Describe it. Is everything leatherbound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few authors have inscribed some of the books? Go ahead -- let your imagination run free!

Ignoring the practicality of lugging all of my books upstairs, I have often mentioned to my husband that I would like to build a second story onto our house. The second story would be the home library. Maybe a spiral staircase leading up to the second floor from our living room. A little bathroom off to the side. Wall to wall bookshelves filled with books, those that have been read and those I have yet to read. They certainly will not be books for decoration only. There would be a love seat, perhaps, or a couple of comfortable armchairs. I would move the home office into the library as well, where both my husband and I can set up our computers and spend hours reading, gaming, or blog hopping. There would be a big window facing the street, which would include spots for both the dog and cat to lounge at their leisure, keeping us company.

Anyone who has not yet participated in the meme, please do give it a try!