Book Survey IX

1. A book that made you cry:
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. I was reading it in class, and because I read faster than all my class mates they couldn’t understand why I was bawling my eyes out. I was 13 at the time and it hit me pretty hard.

2. A book that scared you:
The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin. I was about 9 at the time, and that book scared the bejesus out of me! The suspense and concepts in that book were probably a bit heavy for a nine year old (it is nothing like the movie!) but I had run out of things to read, so I was dipping into the family bookshelf again.

3. A book that made you laugh:
Piers Antony and Terry Pratchett novels always make me chortle.

4. A book that disgusted you:
The Sound and The Fury by William Faulkner. While I could appreciate it’s literary merit, I haven’t been able to reread it. Also, that scene with Miss Havisham in Great Expectations with the wedding cake and the ruins of her wedding dress still freaks me out. I picture the ravaged finery being infested by spiders and smelling of dust and mildew *shudders*

5. A book you loved in elementary school:
The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton. I loved the concept of the lands at the top of the tree, and I loved the crazy characters like The Saucepan Man and Moonface. One day I am definitely going to a costume party as the Saucepan Man LOL

6. A book you loved in middle school:
Looking For Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta. Yes, I read it as a new release! I was so addicted to that book that I reread it over and over and over. I also loved See How They Run by David McRobbie and A Bridge To Wiseman’s Cove by James Moloney.

7. A book you loved in high school:
The Dancing Bear by Peter Dickinson. My school was throwing them out and I nabbed a copy. It is being held together with a rubber band, but I still really love this book. It is about a slave boy and his bear on a quest to save the girl he loves (and his mistress) who has been stolen by raiders. It is set in the Byzantine Empire, and absolutely fascinating! I also loved Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park which is about a girl being lost in time and ending up in Victorian times in Sydney.

8. A book you hated in high school:
I can’t think of any books I hated in high school. I didn’t finish reading Wuthering Heights, but that is because I got bored half way through and needed to have a classic read for my major English assignment. I convinced my teacher that Lord of the Rings was a classic, and did my assessment on it instead.

9. A book you loved in college:
Just one? The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. I will never look at processed meat the same! I feel sorry that the author’s dream was shattered and people focussed more on the hygiene standards of the meat works rather than the living conditions of the poor in Chicago.

10. A book that challenged your identity or your faith:
I can’t think of any. I could name any number which challenged my (limited) faith in humanity. The biggest one, while an interesting read, was absolutely abhorrent. It was Sacrifice As Terror by Christopher C Taylor, and was about the cultural facets of the Rwandan genocide. Some of the content was extremely graphic, disturbing and horrifying, and I would rather pretend that people couldn’t do that to each other. However, on an intellectual level, it was absolutely fascinating! A lot of the atrocities were cultural in how they were perpetrated, and mimicked fertility rites and the like. Disturbing, yet it was fascinating the motivations for specific acts. I don’t recommend anyone reads it unless they are an anthropology or sociology major and focusing on violence and culture. Brilliant book, abhorrent subject.

11. A series that you love:
Just one?! *whimpers* Charles de Lint’s Newford stories. They aren’t a serial, but are more of a collection.

12. Your favourite horror book:
Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I also really loved Stephen King’s Night Shift.

13. Your favourite science-fiction book:
Dune by Frank Herbert.

14. Your favourite fantasy book:
*eyes pop out of my head* JUST ONE??!! I have been reading fantasy for so long that I haven’t just one favourite novel in this genre, but many. Magician by Raymond E Fiest is probably the most obvious answer I could give. Or JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. So I won’t be obvious. But how can I choose! *wails* I will just list a few: Someplace To Be Flying by Charles de Lint, The Painted Man by Peter V Brett, Bitten by Kelley Armstrong, Waylander (or Iron Hand’s Daughter, Druss The Legend, The Swords of Night and Day etc) by David Gemmell, Phoenix and Ashes by Mercedes Lackey – I have more… many many many MANY more….

15. Your favorite mystery book:
One written by Dick Francis. He is greatly missed!

16. Your favourite biography:
I don’t read those.

17. Your favourite coming-of-age book:
Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

18. Your favourite book not on this list:
I haven’t mentioned The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Pride and Prejudice or Persuasions by Jane Austen, or Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

Enid Blyton's novels to be modernised

Source: ABC

Phrases like "awful swotter" and "mercy me!" look set to vanish from children's vocabularies for good, with publishers announcing they are re-editing Enid Blyton's classic books.

The publishers of Blyton's children's books, such as the Famous Five series and Faraway Tree series, say they are erasing some words and phrases from the novels to replace them with modern versions.

Words and phrases reportedly getting the chop include "house mistress", which will be replaced with "teacher", "school tunic" which will be pasted over with "uniform" and "dirty tinker", which now becomes "traveller".

But children's literature experts say it is tragic that these expressions could be lost forever.

Children's Book Council president Maj Kirkland told ABC Radio that the language in Enid Blyton's books is unique and loved by children.

"Well we could say let's not stop with Enid Blyton, why not change Shakespeare?" she said.

She says language is specific a time and place and is defined by the context in which it is used.

Ms Kirkland says children understand this.

"My son loved the Faraway Tree. He enjoyed the words as well and he used to walk around the house saying 'awful swotter'," she said.

"Young people are often underestimated.

"Children don't always have to know exactly what the word means to enjoy the sound of those words."

Ms Kirkland says language is constantly being changed and she says efforts should be made to retain historical works.

"We're in a state of change so much. We have text language that we use on Twitter and how quickly does that change?" she said.

She says strange words used in Blyton's novels actually help children expand their vocabulary and become better communicators.

"It's a good chance for the adult and the child to talk about what it meant at the time," she said.

"They do build their vocabulary and build their understanding of the world."

She says if the books are going to be changed in any way the publishers could instead publish a glossary at the end of Blyton's books to explain unfamiliar words.

My two cents: I grew up reading Enid Blyton. The earliest book that was read to me, the first book I read to myself, and the books I collected as a child were all written by Enid Blyton. I bonded with both my parents over her books, as they had also grown up reading them. I was transported to a time before my own, with charming language, engaging characters and a sense of naiveté that I wish most children were able to keep. I also claim she is the reason I have always been mainly a fantasy reader. The only problem I ever had with Enid Blyton was her passive racism – but I think that was a product of her time, rather than an act of hate. I know some of her books have previously been in the headlines because her use of golliwogs in Noddy (which were substituted in a politically correct re-release of her stories in the 80s), and I have to say I saw them as dolls as a child, not as humans, and I was too naïve to realise their cultural origins until it was pointed out to me years later. Calling gypsies “dirty tinkers” is a sign of the times also. This racism still occurs today, yet it is never really touched on by the media – and history ignores the fact that they were also targeted by Hitler’s death camps.  What I am alluding to is different from the above story. I was kind of surprised that this article mentioned the “dirty tinkers” phrase in the context of editing Enid Blyton’s novels yet didn’t expand on it. It didn’t talk about racism, cultural insensitivities or ageing mores, just that it has dated slang. Despite the fact that we have all grown up with these books, and their inherent racism, it does appear, according to this article, that the books are being re-released solely because of the dated colloquialisms? WTF? I am taken aback. Those words and phrases have been dated for decades – even my mother growing up in the 60's and 70's wouldn’t have used these in general usage. And I don't think it matters that the words are no longer in our everyday usage.I think that broadens a child's mind. I know it did mine. I still love reading a lot of pre-80's children's literature, and I am fascinated by the colloquialisms that have passed in and out of fashion over the years. And they do come back. I am distraught. I think Enid Blyton's books will loose their charm! What do you think?

Book Survey III

1. What author do you own the most books by?

Nora Roberts. I buy her books at second hand stores and chain stores. I can't get my books from normal stores.... I am too much of a nerd. Which is why I love speciality stores. I own over 100 NR books, and buy a new one every month or so. I also have about 30-50 Dick Francis books.

2. What book do you own the most copies of?

Pride & Prejudice. I own the vintage one I had as a kid, I used it for uni, so it is full of pencil marks. But that is okay because it is my own old copy, I am never gibing it away, and it is comparable in this instance to a text book. I got 100% on my major essay for P&P. John Gray was going to give me 99.5% for an incorrect quote until I showed him my copy. I am keeping it for prosperity only. Hideous cover by some random low-end publisher. Stephanie at work gave me a complete Jane Austen collection, which is terrific, but it is really heavy and it hurts my hands to read. So I bought a Vintage Classic edition of all her books for ease of access. I am keeping the complete works for when I travel overseas. I've had more in the past. But I think 3 is enough LOL

3. Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?

Subconsciously.

4. What fictional character are you secretly in love with?

Secretly? I never keep it secret. If I like a character, the world (even if it is just my little slice of it) will know about it.

5. What book have you read the most times in your life (excluding picture books read to children; i.e., Goodnight Moon does not count)?

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
Madeline Brent’s Merlin’s Keep
Raymond E Fiest’s Magician
JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings
David Gemmell’s Waylander and Iron Hand’s Daughter
Charles de Lint’s Ivory and the Horn, Mulengro, Someplace to be Flying, Yarrow.

6. What was your favourite book when you were ten years old?

Either something by Enid Blyton, Tamora Pierce or Isabelle Carmody, or a book in the Dragon Lance or Magic: The Gathering franchises.

7. What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?

I started reading The Gone-Away world, but ended up giving it to my brother. He loved it, so it wasn’t a waste. It was a freebie from the publisher.

8. What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?

The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.

9. If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.


10. What book would you most like to see made into a movie?

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

11. What book would you least like to see made into a movie?

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - because they could get it SO wrong...

12. Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.

There have been some crazy ones… But I can't remember them. I rarely do.

13. What is the most lowbrow book you’ve read as an adult?

Are you serious? Have you seen some of the trashy paperbacks I read these days? Some of them are quite lowbrow LOL

14. What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?

The Sacrifice as Terror - it is a book about the sociology of the Rwandan genocide. Fascinating but brutal.

15. What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you’ve seen?

I've only seen Macbeth, but that was in a warehouse. The witches were made up of 2 people each - the second was on the shoulders of the other. These came apart and cavorted as demons, covered in red body paint, and one kept pawing my leg. It was fabulous, as it was very informal, as in we were in and part of the set. I had a place at court LOL Lady MacBeth had this gorgeous red dress that had laces on the back, sort of a cross between an evening dress, a sundress and a medieval gown.

16. Do you prefer the French or the Russians?

I haven't read any Russian authors.

17. Roth or Updike?

I've not read either author.

18. David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?

I've not read either author.


19. Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?

Hard one!! I love Shakespeare, Milton is fascinating, but I have to say Chaucer has a place in my heart. I love Middle English. I still need to refer back to a ME dictionary for some words though, so it isn't the sort of thing I can read on the train unless I take a bag of references with me LOL

20. Austen or Eliot?

Austen. I have an obsession. However, I just bought Middlemarch, so I will finally start reading Eliot.

21. What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?

1984.

22. What is your favourite novel?

Just one? Refer above to question 5.

23. Play?

Macbeth, Peer Gynt or Doll's House.

24. Poem?

Oh, hard question! Either Henry Kendall's Bell Birds or Last of his Tribe, most by William Blake, La Belle Dame Sans Merci by John Keats or Robert Browning's My Last Duchess. There are just so many! I also have a fascination with haiku and eastern poetry.

25. Essay?

Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal.

26. Work of nonfiction?

Anything on archaeology which was written by an academic author (i.e. not the mush published by non-academic publishers)

27. Who is your favourite writer?

Charles de Lint, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Jane Austen, Raymond E Fiest, David Gemmell, Dick Francis, Charlotte Bronte, Madeline Brent, Victoria Holt, etc


28. Who is the most overrated writer alive today?

Dan Brown.

29. What is your desert island book?

Complete Works of Shakespeare or Chaucer's Canterbury Tales or Langland's Piers Plowman. They are the sort of books I can mull over for years.

30. And… what are you reading right now?

Way too many books!!!!!! About ten, including books by Lillith Saintcrow, Lora Leigh, Susanna Clarke, Rachel Caine, Amber Benson, JRR Tolkien, Simon R Green, Anne Rice, and Emily Bronte.

Book Survey I: The IntrovertZ

http://www.theintrovertzcoach.com/booksurvey.html

(Just a quick warning - I am posting pics of book covers, and one is to do with human remains... be prepared to scroll if you are sensitive)

What book are you reading now?
Redemption Alley - Lilith Saintcrow is my main squeeze at the moment but I am also (inactively) reading:
The Vampire Lestat - Anne Rice
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke

What are your favourite books? [You can put specific books or genres or both.]
Mostly the come under the heading of Fantasy: Epic Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Dark Fantasy and Paranormal Romance, etc. However I also love Classics, Gothic Romances, Science Fiction and Mysteries.

How did you learn to read?
My dad started reading to me at a very young age. Books like Brer Rabbit's A Rascal and Black Beauty are some of the earliest books I both remember having read to me, and learning to read.

What foreign languages do you read?
Anglo Saxon (Old English). I also know enough German to know if you are talking about cats and dogs.

What's the funniest book you ever read?
Probably something like Terry Pratchett.

What books have changed the way you look at the world or the way you live your life?
Bog Bodies: Mummies and Curious Corpses when I was in Year Four at school. I had that book out of the library for most of the year, and constantly reread it. I was absolutely facinated by the cultures preserving their dead, the practices they performed, and the biology behind the preservation. I pinpoint that as one of the turning points in regards to choosing archaeology as a career and discovering it was my vocation.

What books have affirmed what you believe about life or the way you look at things?
Um... I am not sure. I don't really read books about affirmation. Reading Charles de Lint's books has made me more accepting of my own inviduality, but that is because his characters are so interesting.

What books have you changed your mind about?
Anne Rice. I hated Interview With A Vampire, but I am liking The Vampire Lestat.

What are some of the scariest books you've ever read?
Books on genocide for "The Anthropology of Violence" subject I took at uni. It wasn't scary as in thrills, but scary how sensible the thought behind terror as a political tool can be made to seem.

About how many books do you think you have you read in your life?
Too many to number. Sometimes I read 100 books a year, sometimes its 300. When I was a 10 year old I was reading about 50. I am now 26, and I don't see this abating any time soon!

About how many books do you own?
I have no idea. Well into the hundreds.

How many books per month do you usually borrow from the library?
None. I used to borrow 5-10 a week but the libraries rarely have anything I haven't read that I am interested in reading.

How much would you say you've paid in library fines in your life?
A lot!

Do you read in bed?
Yes, it is my favourite place to read.

Do you ever read while walking or driving?
Not whilst driving, but I do walk and read quite a bit. There are times when I am working to or from the trainstation, and I just can't bear to put my book down.

OK, let's get real. Where is the strangest place you've read a book?
In lines for metal gigs, in lines at theme parks, in a canoe...

Do you listen to audio books?
No, they seem to defeat the purpose of a book. I am a very tactile person.

Has anyone ever read aloud to you or you to them? Tell us more.
My dad used to read to me when I was little. I think that is what started off my love affair with fiction. We didn't see a lot of Dad back then - he worked a LOT of overtime. So Mum would wake us up at 4am to say goodbye every morning, and wake us up late at night to say goodnight. Then he would sit snuggled in my bed and read to me.Those are some of my earliest and most treasured memories.

What book was the most difficult to read?
Wuthering Heights when I was 14. I put it down and said I would never read it again. I broke that promise, because I am now working my way through it again - when I am not reading anything else LOL

Do you read every word of a book, or skip parts that don't hold your interest?
Every word.

What books do you keep intending to read but put off?
George Orwell's 1984.

Do you buy new or used books, paperbacks or hardbacks, leather or collector's items?
All of the above! I prefer hardcovers for non-fiction, and I rarely buy collectors items. Ideally, new paperbacks. But I have no problem with buying second hand books - they have helped feed my addiction for the last 20 years LOL

What is the first book you remember reading?
Dad reading Brer Rabbit's A Rascal or Black Beauty. The first book I read myself was also Brer Rabbit.

Do you lend your books? Ever had to hire Large Louis to get it back for you?
I am no longer lending books. I have had too many things happen to my preciousouses in the last 6 months.

What were your favourite books when you were a child?
Enid Blyton, Tamora Pierce, Roald Dahl, Libby Hathorn, Gary Crew, David McRobbie, CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, Ann Martin, L.M. Montgomery, Jackie French, Paul Jennings, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Louisa May Alcott, Isobelle Carmody, John Marsden, May Gibbs, Victor Kellher, Gillian Rubenstien, Sonya Harnett, Catherine Jinks, Francine Pascal, Christopher Pike, Garth Nix… etc

What children's books do you most enjoy as an adult?
Tamora Pierce, JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, PC & Kirsten Cast, Richelle Mead, Rachel Caine, JK Rowlings, Libby Hathorn, Isobelle Carmody, etc.

What books would you especially recommend to young people?
All of those mentioned in the last two questions.

Do you ever read the ending first?
No.

DUELLING BOOKS

Did you ever agree to read the book somebody was pushing on you if they would read one for you in exchange? What were the books?
No, but I have a suggestions exchange with friends quite a bit.

Have you ever read a book more than once? If so, mention them and why you read them more than once, please.
A better question would be which books I haven't read more than once! Most books I read at least twice.

What frequently recommended books have you been unable to finish?
Dan Brown. Need I say more?

Which of these world classics did you actually plow through at one time or another in your life?
[x] The Iliad
[x] The Odyssey
[x] The Aeneid
[ ] Dante's Inferno
[ ] Paradise Lost
[ ] Goethe's Faust
[ ] War and Peace
[ ] Ulysses
[ ] Les Miserables
[ ] Atlas Shrugged
[x] Moby Dick
[ ] Gone with the Wind
[ ] Remembrance of Things Past
[ ] Churchill's History of England
[ ] Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire


What other favourite books of yours are extremely long?
Off the top of my head, I would say Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien and The Painted Man by Peter V Brett. This is just from visualising my bookshelf - I have a lot of thick books, but I couldn't pinpoint which without physically standing in front of my shelves.