1. Which book has been on your shelves the longest?
Hmmm, I have several books from my childhood still in my collection, such as The Real Mother Goose, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and others. I know for a fact that the oldest Charlie that I have still in my collection is not the original. That one fell apart. As did its replacement. Heh. (Indeed, the oldest Charlie is falling apart. I’ve got a few more versions of it, including a nice hardback edition with the original illustrations.)
Currently reading Treasure Island on my phone and rereading The Hogfather in my bedroom. I just finished Dyes by Ruth Kassinger, one of the books I’m reading for my thesis project. I really liked it and want a copy, but it’s only been released as a Library hardback. Bummer. I’ll pick another one of my thesis books once I finish evaluating Dyes, I’ll start on the next Discworld book when Hogfather is done (been rereading the Discworld books for awhile) and also pick another eBook (probably a classic, cuz they’re free) to read on the phone if I ever finish Treasure Island. (Good book, just haven’t found the time to finish it.)
3. What book did everyone like and you hated?
Hmmm, trying to recall a book that I hate. Probably one of the Eighth Doctor Adventures. I rarely found any of those to like.
4. Which book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t?
Good question. Probably the various & sundry cookbooks in my collection. I have every intention of reading them, someday…
5. Which book are you saving for “retirement?”
My cookbooks? Heh. The Frugal Gourmet isn’t going to read itself, you know!
6. Last page: read it first or wait till the end?
Read the last page first? What kind of silly talk is that?
7. Acknowledgments: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?
I usually read ’em.
8. Which book character would you switch places with?
None of ’em, really, though I must admit to being jealous of Harry Potter while reading Philosopher’s Stone. It was so exciting all the new stuff he was encountering. Made me feel like a giddy kid again.
9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?
Oh yeah, quite a few. Dancing the Code (a Past Doctor Adventure) makes me think of B-WISER camp. Transit (of the New Adventures of Doctor Who) makes me think of laying in bed at my college dorm staying up too late reading it. The Tripods trilogy (John Christopher) reminds me of reading in bed under the covers. Rereading the Narnia books in my old green rocking comfy chair in my old bedroom. Places often imprint themselves on the books I read.
10. Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.
Well, I managed to read Roald Dahl’s The Gremlins originally thanks to a friend who copied it (from a book in his library) for me. I now have the reprint they eventually reprinted. 🙂 I still have the copy too. (He laminated the pages and everything – what a wonderful friend!)
11. Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?
Oh, I’ve done that before a few times. After reading The House at Awful End (which was wonderfully silly and is even better when read by Sylvester McCoy) I bought several copies for some relatives. Gave one of Amy’s then-girlfriends a copy of Wyrd Sisters since she was asking for books which we enjoyed.
12. Which book has been with you to the most places?
Hmmmm, dunno. I used to carry books around with me in my purse, but now I read eBooks on my phone while away. I’d have to look in journals I’d written to see what I was reading when I was abroad. I have quite a few Discworld books which I purchased in Australia and then brought home. That’s a fur piece to be traveling…
13. Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad ten years later?
Never hated Dickens, but just didn’t appreciate him like I do now. Haven’t reread A Scarlet Letter, but I’m pretty sure I’ll think it as dire now as I did then. Hawthorne just didn’t have a sense of humor. (Dickens, OTOH, did.)
14. What is the strangest item you’ve ever found in a book?
Dried flower in an A encyclopedia. I likely put it there. (It was the only book I had from that particular encyclopedia set. Free sample, with the hopes that we’d buy the rest. We didn’t.)
15. Used or brand new?
I much prefer new. Used are OK in a pinch.
16. Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses?
Never read any King.
17. Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?
Holes – saw the movie, then read the book. Preferred the movie, though I enjoyed the book. Also, The Colour of Magic was a great improvement over the two books it covered (The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic). Still read Rincewind as Eric Idle, however. (Though David Jason does an excellent Rincewind in the movie, I think.) Oddly enough, I read Cut Me Own Throat Dibbler as Eric as well…
18. Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to celluloid?
Fantastic Mr Fox. Heh – not really. (Need to see it again to see if I like it or not.) Can’t think of any at the moment.
19. Have you ever read a book that’s made you hungry, cookbooks being excluded from this question?
Oh yeah. The Murder She Wrote series is notorious for making me hungry. Jessica Fletcher (or rather her ghost writer) describes food rather well. 🙂
20. Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?
My own. I’ve rarely steered me wrong. Heh.
BTW, my lap is full of cats. I am my UserPic today. 🙂