Roof Beam Reader

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!

Author you’ve read the most books from:

William Burroughs, Dennis Cooper, William Shakespeare, and Kurt Vonnegut.

Best Sequel Prequel Ever:

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.

Currently Reading:

Imre: A Memorandum by Edward Prime-Stevenson and Insurgent by Veronica Roth.

Drink of Choice While Reading:

I’m usually drinking coffee or tea – but that’s always, not just when reading. 🙂

E-reader or Physical Book?

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).

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School:

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.

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance:

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.

Hidden Gem Book:

Important Moment in your Reading Life:

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.

Just Finished:

Kinds of Books You Won’t Read:

“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.

Longest Book You’ve Read:

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.

Major book hangover because of:

The Harry Potter series!

Number of Bookcases You Own:

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. 😦

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:

Preferred Place To Read:

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.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read:

“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

Reading Regret:

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.

Series You Started And Need To Finish(all books are out in series):

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.

Three of your All-Time Favorite Books:

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Orlando by Virginia Woolf, and Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Unapologetic Fanboy For:

Andrew Smith, Kurt Vonnegut, Mark Twain, Jane Austen, Willa Cather, and J.K. Rowling!

Very Excited For This Release More Than All The Others:

I’m also looking forward to Hillary Clinton’s new book, Hard Choices.

Worst Bookish Habit:

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.

X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:

Your latest book purchase:

I recently bought the Penguin Classics Deluxe edition of Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick.

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):

I couldn’t put it down! One of the best I’ve read.

Hello, Everyone!

It’s Day 2 of Armchair BEA and I for one am having a blast. I think it’s serendipitous that the event falls on one of the few times of the year when I actually have a bit of a break, so I’m doing my best to really interact.  I joined last night’s Twitter party, which was super fun, and I’ve been visiting new and old blogs alike, commenting like a madman and getting to know some gnarly people.  What a community we have!

Anywhat, onto today’s themes:

Author Interaction 
Let’s talk interacting with authors IRL (in real life) or online.

As someone who has been doing this for quite a few years, now, I’m not ashamed to admit that I still go “fanboy” over author interactions, especially when it involves some of my favorites.  I’ve had the opportunity to chat with and work with some incredible writers who are also incredible people.  These include Andrew Smith (author of Grasshopper Jungle and The Marbury Lens), Catherine Ryan Hyde (author of Jumpstart the World and Pay It Forward) and Kathe Koja (author of Under the Poppy and The Mercury Waltz).  

What thrills me most about reading their books, now, is that I feel I know a bit about the minds and souls that created them.  These writers’ talent cannot be denied –it’s something that reading their books alone will testify to– but their kindness, thoughtfulness,  generosity, and general grooviness, well, that’s something you can’t get straight from the books, and I feel lucky to have “met” each of them (among many others) through blogging and interactions on Twitter/Facebook.

More Than Just Words 
On this day, we will be talking about those books and formats that move beyond just the words and use other ways to experience a story. Which books stand out to you in these different formats?

To be honest, I read primarily classics and literary fiction, both of which are all about, well, words. I haven’t read many graphic novels (although Blankets by Craig Thompson is fantastic) and while I could look back on my time as a reading teacher to discuss picture books, like King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub and Where the Wild Things Are, etc., I’m not sure that’s what this question is after.  I also do not really listen to audiobooks (except poetry), so that doesn’t work…

There are probably plenty of books that I’ve read in the last few years which do use images, and if I scroll back through my log I might find more to add to this discussion, but the one book I can think of now, off the top of my head, is one that has stayed with me for a long time: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness and Siobhan Dowd. The story itself is brilliant and touching, but the drawings add so much depth and emotion. It’s a piece of work I think most people will appreciate – beyond beautiful, and very difficult to describe. Go experience it for yourself, yeah?

I also really enjoyed the book Every You, Every Me by David Levithan. This one incorporates photographs into the story, in a kind of mysterious way.  It’s a great book with a great story, an the use of photographs to advance the plot and add layers of mystery and intrigue (and emotion) was very clever.

Thanks for visiting!