Adam Burgess
For today’s “Anything Goes” Topic, I decided to have a little fun by completing this “A to Z Survey.” It’s hosted by Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner. Hope you enjoy!
William Burroughs, Dennis Cooper, William Shakespeare, and Kurt Vonnegut.
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (actually a prequel to Bronte’s Jane Eyre). Also, Jack Maggs by Peter Carey, which is a prequel to Dickens’s Great Expectations.
Imre: A Memorandum by Edward Prime-Stevenson and Insurgent by Veronica Roth.
I’m usually drinking coffee or tea – but that’s always, not just when reading. 🙂
Physical book, always. I only use e-readers when I absolutely have to (for instance, sometimes I teach courses where the text is only available online).
Well, I actually didn’t date in high school, but if I could return to high school age and date a fictional character from literature, hm, I’d probably fall for the Percy Jackson type, although I’d like to think I’d fall for a character like Joey from Andrew Smith’s Winger.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. I put it off for such a long time, but I finally read it just a week or so ago, and it was so good! Interesting, creepy, dark, and rich with history.
Creating my very first book blog. At the time, it was really an “all purpose” kind of blog. I was in graduate school and desperately needed a place to keep my thoughts on all the reading I was doing (massive amounts) but also a place to use as a creative and emotional outlet. It was such a huge help.
“Won’t” is a dangerous word. I don’t necessarily refuse to read anything. Okay, that’s not true. So far, I’ve refused to read the Twilight series. I also don’t read things like Christian fiction, romance (lower-case “r”), and such. I think these are all more like books/genres that I “don’t” read, though. I might, someday…. if all other books are destroyed? Nah, I’d just write my own. Nevermind.
The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism (2,624 pages). As far as fiction goes, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (1,463 pages) and War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1,424 pages). Other books I’ve read that are more than 1,000 pages include, Atlas Shrugged, The Stand, and Gone with the Wind. I’ve adored every single one of these books, with the exception of Atlas Shrugged, which is the book I most hate of any, ever.
The Harry Potter series!
I own six bookcases, four of which are full-size and two of which are half-size. Most of my books are in storage, though. No room for all of them. 😦
I usually read in my den/study, in a recliner my parents bought me for Christmas a few years back. Sometimes I’ll read on the living couch, though.
“Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your readings have been to you like the blast of a trumpet.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
I’m not sure I have any reading regrets. If I did, most of them have been corrected (not pushing myself to finish Pride and Prejudice the first time, for instance, because I thought it was going to be too “girly.” I’ve read it three times, since, and it’s one of the best – if not the best- novels of all-time.
I’ve only read the first book in this series, but I really do want to finish it. Same goes for Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Orlando by Virginia Woolf, and Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Andrew Smith, Kurt Vonnegut, Mark Twain, Jane Austen, Willa Cather, and J.K. Rowling!
I’m also looking forward to Hillary Clinton’s new book, Hard Choices.
I have a terrible habit of creating an “up next” pile and then never going to that pile when I finish a book. To be honest, I currently have SIX “up next” piles stacked on the tops of my bookshelves, but I’ve been choosing my reads from elsewhere.
I recently bought the Penguin Classics Deluxe edition of Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick.
I couldn’t put it down! One of the best I’ve read.
I’m so scared to read Atlas Shrugged. I shudder.
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Ugh. Parts of the storytelling were okay, but basically it’s just a disgusting piece of garbage. I literally reacted to it violently.
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I’m so glad you ended up loving Rebecca!
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Me too!
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So fun to learn more about you! After reading Paradise Lost, I would like to read the His Dark Materials series too, but think I can only handle the Divergent series for now. I saw on Twitter you’re reading Insurgent. Look forward to your review.
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Another recommendation for post-Paradise Lost is Herman Melville’s The Confidence-Man. It’s one of my favorite books of all time, and Melville intended it to be a sort of modern (Romantic-era), American Paradise Lost.
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I haven’t heard of The Confidence Man, but it sounds very interesting and I’m curious to explore Melville as a writer. I would like to try Typee some day too. Thanks for the recommendation!
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Rebecca!!! This was so clever. Great job!
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Mrs. Danvers! Right!? Creeeeep.
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Enjoyed your post. I’ve got about 16 bookcases around here and all are full. Keep an eye on your six, they tend to multiply when you aren’t looking.
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Haha. If I had room for more, it would be easy. I have an entire storage unit full of books.
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What a fun post! Thanks for sharing it through Armchair BEA.LOL at six “up next” piles. I have four at the moment, so you beat me!
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I can safely say that I will read your book before I reach for the Twilight series ever again. I don’t think you’re missing anything by skipping it.
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Great A-Z list, Adam! My longest book is a Norton as well….. I’ve done my own List, if you’d care to take a peek.
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Thanks for the Rebecca reminder. I’m going to get to that SOON. 😀 Great list!
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I decided to play along. Oh, check out My Cousin Rachel next by DuMaurier. Even though I loved Rebecca, it took me forever to pick up another one of her novels, and I enjoyed it, too, of course. http://notesfromtheofficersclub.blogspot.com/2014/05/i-saw-this-fun-bookish-survey-over-at.html
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This is a great post. You can learn a lot about people through the books they read, or don’t read. I have never read Twilight and probably never will.
I had to laugh at your worst bookish habit. I have several of those ‘up next’ piles in my office and it’s almost as if I forget they are there – I rarely choose anything from them.
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The Dark is Rising is one of the most underrated, underread YA fantasy series I can think of. So much love for it!
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Great idea for the free choice topic! I cannot wait for Riordan’s new book either!! Such a great series.
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I’ve got an ‘up next’ pile which I stupidly put under where the budgies sit. And – you’ll like this – they’ve done terrible things to Atlas Shrugged, which is one of my TBR books for this year!
(I did this on my blog as well – I see I’ve missed out W – oops :S)
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Ugh. Have you read any Rand? She’s basically the antithesis to Steinbeck/Zola.
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I did it too! My book read multiple times is the same as yours. I hardly ever re-read, but I keep coming back to Perks. http://blog.threegoodrats.com/2014/06/a-to-z-bookish-survey.html
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This is an interesting list! I enjoyed reading it.:)
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