Roof Beam Reader
Adam Burgess
A Few of My Favorite Things
I saw this on a friend’s blog and it looked like fun. Also, it’s nearing the end of summer term and I’ve been grading papers like a crazy person, so I thought I’d pause and have a bit of fun.
A book you’ve read more than once: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Many times.
A book you would take on a desert island: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.
A book that made you cry: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan.
A book that scared you: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
A book that made you laugh out loud: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos..
A book that disgusted you: Hogg by Samuel R. Delaney. I couldn’t finish it…which is saying a lot. I finish everything.
A book you loved in preschool: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst!
A book you loved in elementary school: The Choose Your Own Adventure books and the Goosebumps series.
A book you loved in middle school: The Giver by Lois Lowry.
A book you loved in high school: Lord of the Flies by William Golding.
A book you hated in high school: Oh, I really hated The Great Gatsby. Isn’t that funny? I’ve read it many times, since, and even have a t-shirt of the book cover, now!
A book you loved in college: The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy and The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot.
A book that challenged your identity: Angels in America by Tony Kushner. Technically this is two plays, but damn. Also, In Tall Cotton by Charles G. Hulse – I read this one when I was in 7th or 8th grade & it helped me come to terms with my sexuality.
A series that you love: His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (since I mention my other favorite series’ later).
Your favorite horror book: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.
Your favorite science fiction book: Something by Vonnegut, I guess…. The Sirens of Titan or Cat’s Cradle, if we’re going to call those science-fiction.
Your favorite fantasy book: Absolutely the Harry Potter series. And I really loved The Crimson Shadow series by R.A. Salvatore as well. After Harry Potter, though, I think I have to go with The Lord of the Rings.
Your favorite mystery: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins or And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Or all of the Sherlock Holmes books, if I’m allowed to do that? Of course I’m allowed.
Your favorite biography: Salinger by David Shields and Shane Salerno.
Your favorite classic: Oh, good grief. Unanswerable. Let’s say The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, for the sake of saying something.
Your favorite romance book: Not sure what romance means, here. I don’t read “romance” but I definitely read “Romantic” literature. I’m guessing we’re looking for things along the lines of Nicholas Sparks, though, in which case – nil. I kind of just want to say Gone With the Wind to be ironic (because so many people describe it as a romance, but it’s not – oh, the same for Rebecca!)
Your favorite book not on this list: Let’s go with The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.
What book are you currently reading: A Writer’s Diary by Virginia Woolf
What book have you been meaning to read: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Roof Beam Reader 
Love the idea! I’m with you on all the favorite books but school age until high school, but throw in some Amelia Bedelia and Baby Sitters Club in there. The Haunting of Hill House is on my TBR list for this years Book Riot challenge. I’ve started and put down Between the World and Me twice. Normally, this would cause me to write it off completely but I’m determined to read this book.
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Oh, no, that’s too bad about the Coates book! I hope I have a more engaging experience with it; I plan to read that one and Just Mercy very soon, and probably The Book of Negroes as well.
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Love this, will no doubt steal it soon! A Writer’s Diary is fabulous, I hope you’re enjoying it.
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Yes, it’s so inspiring and reassuring. Woolf is one of my absolute favorites. I’m going to read Bell’s biography of her soon. 🙂
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I disliked The Great Gatsby when I first read it as well. I was wrong, it’s a great book.
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Two Boys Kissing was so well-done! I forgot about it when I did a similar quiz about a book making you cry, but pretty sure that one did for me, too!
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Yes, I was so impressed by that book! I’d been reading Levithan for years, ever since his first release, and always enjoyed his work. But that one was special.
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I love this.. doing it on my blog too..
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I must do a post on this one: bookmarking it! And on reading your post, my TBR pile has bloated again!
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I love this! I’ll be borrowing it 🙂
What do you think of The Giver by Lois Lowry in retrospect? It’s on my books-I-want-to-buy list.
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I read it again last year. Still love it.
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