Sunday 2 March 2008

Cool meme

I've been tagged by Em a while ago for this fun meme and I think it's high time for me to answer it!

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?
Honestly, if a book has received only positive reviews (which is very very rare), the only reason why I haven' t read it is because I haven't got around it yet. I can think of a number of books that have enjoyed a great commercial success that I'm not going to read, but that haven't had completely positive reviews. The Da Vinci Code springs to my mind. I've heard a lot of people saying it was great but also a lot saying it was crap. I have absolutely no intention of reading it. Same goes for big Irish hit Ps: I love you, mainly because I don't usually read chick-lit.
Probably I'm cringing away from On Chesil beach by Ian McEwan, and The Road by Cormac McCarthy, but I'm not saying I won't read them one day.

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?

I'd love to go with Stargirl to one of her enchanted places and ask her to teach me how to erase myself.
I would take tea with Jane Eyre and I'd ask her to tell me how is her life with Rochester going.
I would invite Liesel from the Book Thief to come to my library and read with me all day.

(Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): you are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realize it’s past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave?

I must say for me it was an so-called Italian masterpiece I promessi Sposi ("The Betrothed") by Alessandro Manzoni. It is a mandatory read in school, but I could never push myself to finish it. How I hated it!I only know one person who actually read it and enjoyed it. That's what mandatory reads do for you!

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

See above. One summer I actually managed to read half of it but then I gave up...
Of course in class we were all supposed to know it by heart.

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realise when you read a review about it/go to ‘reread’ it that you haven’t? Which book?
Not really.

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? (if you feel like you’d have to know the person, go ahead and personalise the VIP)
Whoa I'd love that job! If it's an Irish VIP I would recommend Roddy Doyle's The Commitments or The Snapper. So easy to read and so funny.
Anyone else, The last elf by Silvana De Mari. i haven't heard anyone yet who hasn't loved it.

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?
Japanese!!! I could read all the mangas in original, watch animes without subtitles, read their novels in original...heaven!

A mischievous fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick?
Charlotte's Web! It's short and would remind me every year about the beauty of the cycle of nature and about the importance of friendship.

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 (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)
First of all I've discovered Challenges! Before June last year I had no idea they existed. Since then I've read a lot of books that I would not have read, the best was The Giver by Lois Lowry.

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 favourite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead-let your imagination run free.
My dream library would be more about the room itself. It would be a room entirely dedicated to books. Wooden shelves over every wall, a comfy couch to read, nice carpet, a big wooden desk to write. All my favourite authors would have signed my copies of their works. I would have a specific section for mangas, comics, graphic novels and picture books. Everything would be by genre, and by author, all nice and tidy. I would also have a database on paper! like in a real old-fashion library. Also, I'd have original illustrations by Oliver Jeffers, Emily Gravett, Catherine Rayner, and other favourites on the walls.

There!
I've seen this all over the places so if you like it and haven't done it, go ahead!:)

8 comments:

Em said...

I had fun reading your answers. Glad you played. :-)

Ana S. said...

I actually tagged you for this one too, but then I forgot to let you know, for which I apologize :P Anyway, I'm glad you did it!

In my personal opinion cringing away from the Da Vinci code is a good thing :P

I picked Japanese too. And your dream library sounds great!

valentina said...

em - you're welcome, it was fun!

nymeth - ah no way!I didn't notice that:P
I read your answers, your library looks a lot like mine!

Melody said...

I enjoyed reading your answers! And speaking of On Chesil Beach, I'm currently reading it and though Ian McEwan is a talented author, it takes me some time to go through the pages. I think this isn't my cup of tea...

valentina said...

yeah,read your review,I think I'll keep cringing away :D

Jill said...

That is funny about the Promessi Sposi - I tried to read that in Italian, and I just couldn't get through it. So when I found a translation, I gave it another go - same problem! Yawn. Glad I'm not the only one. :-)

valentina said...

Darla, are you serious? I really can't believe anyone aside from unwilling italian students, would try and read it. I could stand the tv dramatisation, but even that was dull.

Jill said...

Yup. It was after I'd moved back from Italy and was looking for stuff to read so I could practice my Italian. But it was soooo boring!!