Book Tag

Saw this at Sheila's:

What are you reading right now?

Mostly "Gulliver's Travels" (also am reading a mystery for when I need something that doesn't require concentration and decoding of the 1700s spellings).

Most of the "novels" I read are Victorian-era, so it's kind of refreshing, after all the talk of "limbs" and very delicate euphemistic references to someone's "confinement" and such, to read about a guy who puts out a fire by peeing on it. Or who remarks about the Lilliputian soldiers looking up through the rents in his breeches and finding something for....what was the statement? Amazement and jocularity? (I do think I need the Cliff's Notes or some other "guide to the symbolism," I don't think I'm getting all of what Swift intended, because of my lack of experience of early 1700s British/European society and politics).


Do you have any idea what you’ll read when you’re done with that?

I don't know. I have a book on Britain in WWII that I might read next. (It's called something like "Mass Observation: Britain in WWII." Folio Press book.

What magazines do you have in your bathroom right now?

I don't really spend enough time in the bathroom to get involved with reading, unless I'm reading in the tub, and then, magazines aren't the best choice, the edges dip in and get all pulpy....

What’s the worst thing you were ever forced to read?

"Worst," I don't know. Thing I hated the most? Kate Chopin's "The Awakening." Please, Edna, just drown yourself already....

What’s the one book you always recommend to just about everyone?

Depends on the person but I've pressed "Middlemarch" on some people, and Connie Willis' "Doomsday Book" (and I claim to be an anti-fan of sci-fi.) I've also encouraged people to read "The Dancing Wu Li Masters" and "A Sand County Almanac" and "Bird by Bird."

How's that for diverse?

Admit it, the librarians at your library know you on a first name basis, don’t they?

Yeah, the university librarians. But that's partly because I'm on the Library Committee. Like Sheila, I'm much more of a book-buyer than a book-borrower.

Is there a book you absolutely love, but for some reason, people never think it sounds interesting, or maybe they read it and don’t like it at all?

I've had a few people give a cool reception to my suggestion of "Doomsday Book" but I can't say that there's any book that's met with disapproval across the board.

Do you read books while you eat? While you bathe? While you watch movies or TV? While you listen to music? While you’re on the computer? While you’re having sex? While you’re driving?

Let's see: "yes," "sometimes," "sometimes," "yes," "sometimes," "that's a rather extremely personal question and I honestly can't quite figure out how it would be DONE anyway, I mean the mechanics of it [and NO, don't tell me]" and "good heavens, no."


When you were little, did other children tease you about your reading habits?

Oh, hell, I was teased for EVERYTHING when I was little. Reading was no different.

What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down?

I hate to say it, but I don't remember. Sleep is very important to me - even more so than reading.