BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE IT IN ME TO DO THIS MEME ONE DAY AT A TIME FOR THIRTY DAYS. SORRY FOR THE TL;DR BUT WHO’S READING THIS BLOG, RIGHT.
Day 01 – The best book you read last year
It’s possibly the only book I read for pleasure last year, but yeah, definitely Richard Siken’s Crush. I remember the exact moment I found this book in Kinokuniya. ALL THE FEELINGS. I mean, technically, I’d already read 90% of the poems in the anthology – I’d even saved them in Evernote – but actually holding a physical copy in my hands = BRB SHAKING AND CRYING. I remember the plane ride home and wanting to bury my face between the pages when I got to The Torn-Up Road: “His shoulders blot out the stars but the minutes don’t stop.” HNNNGGajf;adf
Day 02 – A book that you’ve read more than 3 times
The Little Prince and Invisible Cities. BTW I JUST CAME FROM THE GRAND OPENING OF ELAN, REESE’S SHOP OF BLING AND SHINY THINGS, AND LOOK! A PICTURE! #building-up-my-blogger-cred
I mean, it’s a terrible cellphone pic, but it is also The Little Prince on a star, and a discount coupon! WHICH I WON LEGITIMATELY (the coupon, not The Little Prince), along with an umbrella in the raffle. I AM DRUNK ON THE SENSATION OF WINNING. (I’M SORRY IF I SEEM TO BE PERPETUALLY SHOUTING, I FEEL LIKE WINNING SHOULD COME WITH A WARNING ABOUT CAPSLOCK AS SOME SORT OF SIDE EFFECT. I FEEL LIKE I HAVE SUFFICIENTLY ANNOYED THE UNIVERSE AND HAVE THUS BEEN BANNED FROM WINNING ANYTHING EVER AGAIN.)
Day 03 – Your favorite series
Does The Sandman count? Because I swear it changes lives. Right now, though, the only series I’m reading is Discworld.
Day 04 – Favorite book of your favorite series
The Sandman – the entire Brief Lives, probably, since it’s the most emotional one, but some of my favorite issues are the standalone stories like Soft Places and Ramadan.
Discworld – The Watch books are my favorite. I’m trying to read them in order now. XD And Small Gods, which was my first Pratchett book ever, and the most adorable thing in the world, with a side of religious/political satire.
Day 05 – A book that makes you happy
Anything by Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett. THHGTTG was, for the most part, the only thing I read throughout college. For stress relief. <3 Also, Anansi Boys. :D
Day 06 – A book that makes you sad
Ender’s Game and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. They both make me HYSTERICAL WITH SADNESS. Kavalier & Clay, for its beautiful words, remains my most painful reading experience.
Day 07 – Most underrated book
I… have no idea. Pretty much everything I love is popular in its own niche.
Day 08 – Most overrated book
Most titles in best-seller lists, I’m guessing! And maybe Harry Potter, but that doesn’t mean the hype is undeserved.
Day 09 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Maybe 20th Century Pleasures: Prose on Poetry by Robert Hass? I’m not sure this counts; Meditations at Lagunitas is one of my favorite poems ever, and I do generally love Hass’s writing. But still, it’s a book about poetry, and I thought I’d get lost in the technicalities – I’m not saying I didn’t – but I love how Hass’s essays still have a conversational touch to them and how he sometimes ends up sharing personal anecdotes. I actually haven’t finished the book. I’d only borrowed it from the university library the week before finals week and, haha, I have photocopies of the chapters I’ve read and loved (the perks of being a student XD). Hass on Rilke’s Elegies in Looking for Rilke:
No one has ever composed a more eloquent indictment of fucking: if it is so great, why hasn’t it catapulted all the dead directly into heaven, why is the world still haunted by the ghosts of so much unsatisfied desire?
*_______*
Day 10 – Favorite classic book
Oh, Les Miserables, hands down.
Day 11 – A book you hated
I wouldn’t normally use the word “hate” but… After DarK. As a rule I don’t read Murakami’s novels (except for Hard-Boiled Wonderland, which I think is different from his more popular/notorious novels), but I got this one for free and it’s short and anyway Murakami is extremely readable and if anything, I read him for the ease in his prose. The thing is. The thing is the prose in this one is jarring – be it a fault of Murakami’s own writing or the translation – and the camera technique was poorly executed. (As a book in itself, it’s really weak. None of the characters or the dialogues or the themes ever stuck.)
Day 12 – A book you used to love but don’t anymore
The Wheel of Time and Sword of Truth series – they really do go together, they’re eerily similar. XD Robert Jordan – RIP – is a pretty horrible storyteller, but I did stick with him for the adventures and quests and world-building. I dropped it off after the 3rd book, though. The pace and writing didn’t seem worth putting up with and anyway I found that none of the women were actually likeable. I stuck with Sword of Truth for much longer – mostly because it’s easier to read. And I did sincerely love it. On retrospect, after Richard asserts himself into power, he becomes annoyingly self-righteous and preachy and you end up wanting to stab him with the ~*sword of truth*~. A lot of people have pointed out the preachiness but I didn’t notice until long after I’ve stopped reading it.
Day 13 – Your favorite writer
Neil Gaiman, obvs.
Day 14 – Favorite book of your favorite writer
I will interpret this question as my favorite books by Neil, and not Neil’s favorite books, okay. XD I feel like none of his novels were ever as strong and life-changing as The Sandman (I think Sandman is also where his prose shines best), but American Gods comes closest, although I actually do love all his books. American Gods is also the first Gaiman thing I’ve ever read. And they’re making a series out of it! And Neil Gaiman hinted on a sequel! And there’s a 10th Anniversary Edition that I want but cannot afford! (That said, I also love his short fiction collections, ie. Fragile Things and Smoke and Mirrors.)
Day 15 – Favorite male character
Tyrion Lannister from A Song of Ice and Fire. He is also my favorite in the TV series in every way possible. Couldn’t pick a better actor <3, although arguably he is too charming and likeable. (Ok, I also adore TV!Viserys, but this is a meme about books, so.)
Day 16 – Favorite female character
Granny Weatherwax from Pterry’s Witches novels. UNREPENTANTLY BADASS (in fact she is first seen in Bad Ass Village). I love this line from Witches Abroad:
. .because, and I wants you to understand this prop’ly, after you went I had to be the good one. You had all the fun. An’ there’s no way I can make you pay for that. . .
THE REST OF THE MEME ON A DIFFERENT POST BECAUSE I’M GETTING BORED WITH THE LENGTH OF THIS ONE.