22. Your "comfort" book
I have about four, actually...the book of Psalms (KJV), Kidnapped, The Encyclopedia Sherlockiana, and The Federalist Papers (seriously).
23. Favourite book cover including a picture!
Here's some of them (wait 10 seconds for the next batch):
24. Favourite fictional relationship (romantic, friendship, familial)
Oh, that's impossibly hard. How about one of each? (And that still doesn't include all my faves.)
Romantic: Lucy Snowe and Prof. Emanuel (Villette, C. Bronte). At first, all I could think was "How does she ever fall in love with such a rude, authoritarian guy?" But, of course, the professor has a nice side, she falls in love with him, and I ended up rooting for them, too. I especially admire how they ultimately respect each other's differences and don't try to convert/change each other.
Friendship: Alan Breck Stewart and Davey Balfour (Kidnapped, Stevenson). Alan is egotistical and Davey is self-righteous...they have a hard time getting along. But in the end, they become as close as brothers and stick by each other no matter what. My favorite chapter in the whole book is "The Quarrel", because it illustrates the very worst and best moments of their friendship.
Familial: The Holmes brothers (Sherlock and Mycroft). Ahem, there's no sibling rivalry between them (yes, BBC writers, I'm glaring at you). Mycroft governs England, Sherlock polices it. Sherlock genuinely believes Mycroft's the smarter brother, and Mycroft isn't ashamed to say that Sherlock "has all the energy of the family". Sherlock even seems to trust Mycroft more than Watson. So even if they don't meet but a few times a year, I think Mycroft and Sherlock--in their own eccentric way--are pretty close siblings, not to mention two of the coolest in fiction. ;)
25. Most annoying character ever
Mary Russell, from The Beekeeper's Apprentice (Laurie King). Most obnoxious, irritating, cringeworthy character EVER. And then King marries her off to my favoritest character in the world...who, by the by, is old enough to be Mary's grandfather. O_O
Honorable mentions: all the main characters in Wuthering Heights. Oh, and Ishmael in Moby-Dick.
26. Most quotable novel or 5 of your favourite quotes from any books.
Some of my faves:
- "I never make exceptions. An exception disproves the rule." (Sherlock Holmes) {A bit narrow-minded, but I love the mathematical spirit behind it.}
- "'I will have no man in my boat,' said Starbuck, 'who is not afraid of a whale.' By this, he seemed to mean, not only that the most reliable and useful courage was that which arises from the fair estimation of the encountered peril, but that an utterly fearless man is a far more dangerous comrade than a coward." And later on: "Starbuck was no crusader after perils; in him courage was not a sentiment; but a thing simply useful to him, and always at hand upon all mortally practical occasions." (Moby-Dick)
- "I don't know that I care much about living on and on after everyone I know is dead. I'd rather live an ordinary time and die and go to Heaven." (Digory, The Magician's Nephew)
- "No man of sense who has been generally improved, and has improved himself, can be called quite uneducated as to anything." (Doyce, Little Dorrit)
27. Any five books from your "to be read" stack. What makes you select a book for your “to be read” stack?
Hornblower and the Hotspur, The Mark of Zorro, The Children of Hurin, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and War and Peace. (More complete list here.)
How do I compile my reading list? It's an interesting question... People probably think that I only read classic lit--which is mostly true, but I don't mean to boast or appear snobbish about it, because I'm not. It's more of a result than a cause--older books tend to have better morals, less chance of objectionable content. I'll gladly give a contemporary book a try, but so often I've had to give up on it, that it's much easier just to stick to the classics. So it's my concern about content, rather than any sense of "elitism", that I read classic lit.
Besides that aspect, it's hard to say how I select a book...variety's the keyword, I guess. There's books I feel I ought to read...Beowulf, Shakespeare, Greek classics. (Though Shakespeare gets on my nerves...) Then there's the "Boy's Own" adventure books, a great genre. Sci-fi, sea-stories, and those grittier kinds of adventure stories are even better, not to mention highly educational. Romance stories...good ones are hard to find, but I like them. Detective fiction is always interesting. Historical fiction, if well-written, is good. And finally there's the weirder stuff, like Kafka and Wells, which (if it's good) joins my favorites, just because it got me to think outside the box. Oh, and one more--Joseph Conrad. He writes about psychology/life/people like nobody else I've read. And I couldn't rave enough about his amazing writing style...
In the past, I used to read one series or author for weeks before moving on. I don't do that as much, anymore, but I still like reading by authors...I like getting a good understanding of their beliefs, perspective, era, and style; and that's what makes the connection between the works of any great author.
Lately, too, one of my goals has been to branch out and read classics from a broader range of countries, not just England. So more Russian, American, Italian, Spanish, and French books will be showing up on my reading list. :)
28. Some firsts: First book you remember loving/being obsessed with. First book that made you cry. First book you gave to someone else as a gift.
- I think it was either The Chronicles of Narnia or the Trixie Belden series...don't remember which came first. Narnia...pretty self-explanatory. Trixie Belden, because the mysteries are really good, the supporting characters are lovable, and Trixie herself is very clever, brave, and stubborn (in a good way). Very underrated series.
- A Tale of Two Cities, maybe? I know I was all weepy at the end of The Return of the King. But who wouldn't be, after 1000 pages of drama, and my top two favorite characters practically dying...
- The Boxcar Children: Mountain Top Mystery, to my brother.
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