Another Book Meme

1. What author do you own the most books by?
If I exclude series-books, it's certainly Milan Kundera.

2. What book do you own the most copies of?
Probably the Bible seeing how many copies I've been given over the years.

3. Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
No.

4. What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
Um...

5. What book have you read the most times in your life?
It depends. Read from, then the Bible. Read all the way through, maybe Little House on the Prairie. It was a childhood favorite.

6. What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
No idea. Probably one of the Babysitters Club books or The Witch of Blackbird Pond, I remember reading that one in 5th grade, or maybe Tituba of Salem Village.

7. What is the worst book you've read in the past year?
I'm getting better at giving up on books that aren't working for me.

8. What is the best book you've read in the past year?
I love the Stravaganza books. I read one in the past year and the others thirteen or fourteen months ago.
I published a list of the books I liked best from my 2008 reading list in this post. I'm doing a horrible job of keeping track of my 2009 reading list.

9. If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
I'd offer a choice of two: Zahrah the Windseeker or All We Know of Love by Katie Schneider. I loved both of these books and most people have never even heard of them.

10. Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for literature?
Milan Kundera, most definitely.

11. What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
I'm generally not a fan of adaptations, but maybe The Sixteen Pleasures. The story is interesting and there are some goofy things like the protagonist's alter ego that I think would be easy to portray in film.

12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
The God of Small Things. I don't think there's any way a film (no matter how lush) could do it justice.

13. Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.
I'm sure I've had some, but I can't think of an example off the top of my head.

14. What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult?
Most? I'll openly admit that I read lots of lowbrow stuff. If I had to choose one, I'd say Coming Round the Mountain.

15. What is the most difficult book you've ever read?
Ulysses, ugh.

16. Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
Russians, probably.

17. Roth or Updike?
Roth.

18. David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
Eggers, I guess.

19. Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Shakespeare, I suppose. Not really my area.

20. Austen or Eliot?
Austen.

21. What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
Hamlet

22. What is your favorite novel?
The Storyteller by Mario Vargas Llosa. (see also question 28)

23. Play?
The Physicists by Duerrenmatt.

24. Short story?
"Encyclopedia of the Dead" by Danil Kis.

25. Epic Poem?
Oh, I don't know. I tend not to read much poetry.

26. Short(er) poem?
Again, I don't know. My favorite poetry books are Aloud and Invitation to the Voyage.

27) Work of non-fiction?
The Big Book of Martyrs. I know that seems like a cheeky answer, but I'm having a hard time with these favorites-questions. Other nonfiction that comes to mind: the OED, Imaginary Homelands,...

28. Who is your favorite writer?
I usually say that Kundera is my favorite writer, but that The Storyteller is my favorite book. Honestly, though, I haven't reevaluated these answers for a few years.

29. Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
I'm not sure I have an answer for this one. Paul Coelho maybe?

30. What is your desert island book?
The Complete Works of Shakespeare. A desert island book would need to stand up to multiple rereadings and this behemoth would have lots of variety.

31. And ... what are you reading right now?
I'm most actively reading God's Mercy by Kerstin Ekman, but I also have a number of other books in progress including The Autograph Man and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.