Book Meme

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?

Hm. I've had a lot of friends and family try to sell me on reading Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers. But I'm so down on inspirational fiction as a genre, as a reaction to the few years where I read it exclusively, because I thought I was protecting my mind from sinful influences or something, that I haven't been able to bring myself to attempt it yet.

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?

Lord Peter Wimsey, Richard Sharpe, and Joscelin from the Kushiel series. For dinner. But they probably wouldn't get along at all, what with Lord Peter being so suave and sophisticated and Sharpe so NOT and Joscelin would be stuck as the peacemaker which isn't really his strength, so maybe I'd have them each over separately. For dinner. Just dinner. Nothing beyond that. And that's my story and I'm sticking to it...

(Y'all don't believe me, do you?)

(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?

The Red Badge of Courage. Only I've already had to read it TWICE, in 7th grade and 11th grade, so I should already be in my early grave...

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?

I don't think I've done that. 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 personalize the VIP).

If this VIP isn't much of a reader, I probably shouldn't start them on Shakespeare or even Austen because the language itself would be too daunting for them. OK, I'm going to assume this is a political VIP, and one who's reasonably intelligent despite not being a big reader. I'll give him John Keegan's The Mask of Command because it's all about the use and abuse of military power, and the mini-biographies of the four leaders (Alexander the Great, Wellington, Grant, and Hitler) give it a strong narrative thread.

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?

French. I need it for my research, and I think it would help me write better English dialogue for my French characters, but I don't know when I'm going to find the time to teach myself.

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?

Pride and Prejudice. I already read it almost every year anyway.

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)?

How good the current generation of YA is.

That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she's granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leather bound? Is it full of first edition hard covers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favorite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead-let your imagination run free.

It's a big, lofty room on the top floor of my dream home, wall-to-wall books, nothing special in terms of leather-bound or first editions, just books I love, with favorite authors given prominent placement. I have a comfortable couch to lounge on and a great big desk where I sit at a window looking out over mountains, ocean, or both. Above my desk hangs this sword. It's a plain blade, but it's the one the Big Damn Hero of my WIP is given by his general at the end of the book, that he carries throughout the series, and in this particular fantasy the good fairy has also made it so my WIP sells and the series makes my name as an author.