Catch 22 is the greatest book ever written. Don't you agree?
No, but it's definitely one of the greatest.
What’s one book you'd love to see turned into a movie? Pretend there was an endless budget and time to make it, so doesn't matter the length of the book...just which one would you want to see acted out?
Hmmm... maybe the Maddaddam Series? Or 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami... both would be very visually stimulating and action packed along with being meaningful.
What is your reading routine like? How much time would you say you spend reading in a given week? How does this compare to time you spend on other hobbies?
I read before work for about a half hour every day (I get to work early because if i leave 10 minutes later, my commute is 20 minutes longer, so I figure I'd rather spend the time in my car reading in the parking lot), and then about 40 minutes durring my lunch break... and then about an hour or two before bed every night. That equates to about... 12 to 18 hours a week, give or take. Dang, that's a lot more than I thought. My other hobbies include... biking, which I generally don't do in the winter, but otherwise I would spend about 3 to 7 hours a week biking... in the winter I spend this time doing various exercises. Makeup is a new hobby of mine, that's about 30-40 minutes a day... so about 3.5-4.5 hours a week. I'm trying to build up writing to being a hobby again... but that's too new to have a real time frame yet.
What's the first book you remember reading?
Not sure... maybe one of the Little Bear books... the one about birthday soup, maybe. At the end of that book he ends up getting the birthday cake he really wanted but didn't think he was getting... but damn if that book didn't make me want soup.
What's the last book that really moved you?
Oh I don't know... I don't really truly enjoy a book unless it moves me somehow, or invokes a real emotion from me... so I guess the book I'm reading now... which is Kafka on the Shore by Haruku Murakami. I am constantly having to force my way through certain situations in that book because it invokes such strong emotions.
What's the last book that so annoyed you that you bailed on it without finishing it?
This is kind of sad, but I ditch books pretty often. If I can't get swept up in the story, then what the hell is the point?
What book (that you might not have picked up on your own) are you glad was forced upon you in school?
Ordinary People. I don't know how else I would have found that book, but it really resonated with me, and related to a lot of what I was going through at the time.
Do any books perpetually live in your purse, briefcase, backpack, car, desk, or other such easily-accessible place as emergency or back-up reading options?
Well I always carry the book I'm reading around with me, but I don't actually have a specific book that I constantly carry around. If I did have such a book though, it would be The Last Night of the Earth Poems, by Charles Bukowski
Do you use something other than a bookmark to keep your place? If so, what?
Whatever I can get my hands on I guess. Right now I'm using a price tag from a shirt I got for my birthday. This actually looks like a real bookmark though, because it's kind of a fancy tag and it has a ribbon that was safety pinned to the shirt so it has one of those tail things that some bookmarks have and everything.
What do you think of the Twilight saga?
I read a bit of the first book. It's an extremely easy read so I got through the first quarter of it in about an hour. It's trash, really. Some people like trash. Romance novels have been around for decades. This trash is pointed at teenage girls, and there is certainly a lot more positively influential literature out there, but there's also a lot more negatively influential TV and magazines out there, so... I guess if you're going to attack something, go after 16 and Pregnant or something.
Pick 5 of your favorite books and rename them.
Slaughterhouse-5 = Live in the moment 1Q84 = Go into an alternate reality to interact with the person you need to find in this reality A Handmaid's Tale = It's a man's world, and they want more The Mars Chronicles = This is an allegory for the American Colonies Any book of poetry by Bukowski = life is bleak and I'm a shitty drunk dude
Sometimes, when people watch movies, they find themselves gasping or exclaiming out loud, or talking to or shouting at the characters. Have you ever done that while reading a book?
I don't think so... I've gasped and put my hand over my mouth or something equally... Blanche DuBois... (Hey look at that, I made a literary reference in a book survey... do I get a prize?)
Everyone always says the book is better than the movie. Have you ever found the opposite to be true?
I said that about Girl, Interrupted. The book is boring and not much happens. It's also not very well written.
If you wrote a book and had to use a pseudonym, what would you pick? For example, would you anagram your real name, or pay tribute to a favorite author or a relative? Or just pick something out of thin air?
Oh good question. I love my name, so this is hard. My name suits me so well... quirky and odd, and somehow nerdy... I'd need to mimic that somehow. That would take a lot of planning though, and I don't have the resources right now.
Have you ever re-read a book you first disliked or hated, and found that you liked it much better the 2nd time? Or, vice versa? If so, why do you think you changed your mind?
I rarely reread books, especially ones I hated. There are way too many out there that I want to read and probably will never get to. I think the only two books I've ever read twice were Steinbeck's East of Eden, and Gone with the Wind.
Personally, I like to read the jacket/flyleaf of a book, to get some idea of what I'm getting into. Some people, though, hate to read that, lest they run into a spoiler. Which type are you?
Well, I used to talk to people who I knew had similar tastes in books as I do... and just go from there. Now I use Good Reads... or I find an author I already love and read everything they wrote.
Do you ever read the Acknowledgements?
Once or twice I've read it.
If you could make sweet, sweet love to any fictional character you've read about, who would it be? And if you could date/marry/fuck a character, who would it be?
I'm positive the answer to this question is yes, but I really can't think of anyone... you might think this is weird as hell but I want to fuck the shit out of Tyrion Lannister. I think it's his big sexy brain and how quick and witty and daring he is...
What's one book you would pass on to your future spawn (or niece)?-- doesn't have to be a kid's book.
Oh a million and one of them.
If you could live in a fictional universe that you've read about, which one would it be?
I'm a big fan of Dystopian novels... this doesn't work for this question... but I guess I would have to pick something like Harry Potter... that's really the only appealing alternate universe in a book that I've read that I'd like to live in.
Have you ever flipped to the last page of a book and read the last page? Is so, do you remember which book is was, and why you were compelled to do it? If not, what is your opinion of people who do this (they are out there!)?
I used to do it once in a while. Not anymore. Sometimes I'm tempted and stop myself. I don't really know why... I get it though.
In the midst of a really juicy gripping chapter, do you find your eyes skimming to the end of a paragraph or the end of the chapter to kind of seeing where things are going?
Yes... definitely... when you're like "holy fuck shut up and tell me the outcome of this situation already" and then you go back when your anxiety is finally subsided from knowing and read the entire thing.
Everyone has been so immersed in a book that they think: "Okay, just one more chapter, and then I'll stop." But they keep reading, and hours go by. Have you ever missed something really important because you were so engrossed in a book? If so, what was it? Also, if so, does this happen to you often?
I don't think I've ever missed anything... I've been late to appointments that weren't all that important though.
What are your favorite children's books?
Matilda specifically, but really anything by Raul Dahl (I read them all... even the adult books as a child), anything Ramona and Beezus, Wayside School is Falling Down, The Harry Potter books, even though they weren't even around when I was a child... ugh I read so much that this is difficult...
What are your favorite young adult books?
The Giver, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Hunger Games series, Flowers for Algernon... I didn't read many young adult books... the content was generally too advanced when I was a child, and the writing was too below my level when I was a young adult... I read more young adult books as an adult adult, hah
Who is the scariest literary villain and why?
Oh crap, Avalon said "Delores Umbridge" and my eyes almost popped out in a rage. That bitch was the worst person in literature. Definitely one of the best written characters though.
Should any books be banned? If so which ones?
The Bible? Haha, I might get spit on for that one a little. I kid! Not banned, but maybe... only operated with a proper license.
Should the government be able to track the books you buy or take out from the library?
Fuck no... but you know that they do it.
What is the most shocking or disturbing book you have ever read?
All the good ones are a little disturbing... but I can't really think of one that really truly disturbed me.
Who is your #1 favorite author?
Oh I don't have a number one... but my top faves are Vonnegut, Atwood, LeGuin, Bradbury, Murakami, Bukowski... I think that's it.
Is it really reading if you're reading a romance novel that you can buy at the grocery store?
Technically, yes. It's not really literature, though.
Which banned/challenged books have you read and your thoughts? Do you agree the book should be banned/removed/changed?
I've read many banned/challenged books. No book should be banned, but parents should be aware of what their children are reading just as they should be aware of what they're watching on TV
If you had to read one book for the rest of your days, what would you pick?
Gone with the Wind. I know it's corny, but that book is a classic for a reason.
If you could take any book/characters morals & make 'em your own, whose would you choose?
Maybe... oh god I can't remember his name... but the dad from Something Wicked this Way Comes. That was one insightful and deep guy.
If you could reverse the process & turn any movie into a book, what movie would you choose?
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Tell me that's a book. That would be awesome.
What philosopher's book makes you want to cry?
The Stranger.
What is the longest period of time you've continuously read for? And accounting for some sleep have you read for more than a day straight?
Oh I have no idea. I'm a slow reader.. I need to squeeze every meaning out of every word in books... and it can be mentally exhausting so I can't read for very long... maybe 4 hours would be the longest.
Who is the most pretentious character in literature?
Patrick Bateman, American Psycho. What an ass.
What’s the title of a book you thought was amazing but no one else seems to know it exists?
The Raw Shark Texts. Amazing. Surreal. Heartbreaking.
Some books have great titles, but don't make your desert island top five list, and some amazing books have mediocre titles. What are your favorite book titles?
Something Wicked This Way Comes (great book too) The Three Stigmata of Palmer Elderitch (also great) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time A Confederacy of Dunces Me Talk Pretty One Day Oryx and Crake
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