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I'm powerless to not do a book themed meme when I see one so when I spotted this one over on Katya's blog, I had to nick it. Feel free to gank it for yourself should you be so inclined.
A book that made you cry: I don't often cry when reading books but the last book that made me cry is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. I still can't get over Dumbledore being dead.
A book that scared you: The Shining and It both by Stephen King creeped me out no end. To me they're his scariest books. And I remember reading Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi - it got passed around my group of friends - and that really scared me. I remember us talking about the idea that Charles Manson would be up for parole in 1978 and us all saying that we were afraid they'd parole him then - 1978 was only a couple years away at that point.
A book that made you laugh: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole made me laugh out loud many times with its outrageous characters and situations. I'm not sure I've ever read a book more outrageous.
A book that disgusted you: I remember reading my sister's copy of Xaviera Goes Wild! by Xaviera Hollander when I was about 12 years old and nearly throwing up at the German Shepherd masturbation scene.
A book you loved in elementary school: Harriet the Spy and it's sequel The Long Secret by Louise Fitzhugh. Do you know anyone who read those books and loved them and didn't want to spy on everyone like Harriet?
A book you loved in junior high: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. It's still one of my favorite books of all time and I re-read it yearly.
A book you loved in high school: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. One of my other all-time favorites. A good lesson regarding integrity at a time when a sense of integrity is a good thing to learn.
A book you hated in high school: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. That book alternately annoyed and bored the shit out of me.
A book you loved in college: I first read In Cold Blood by Truman Capote when I was in college and I credit it and Helter Skelter for kicking off my fascination with true crime stories.
A book that challenged your identity: I'm not sure about whether this qualifies as challenging my identity but A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving did change how I view fate, destiny and how I determine my direction in life.
A series that you love: I can't stop with one series because I am a fiend for books in series. If I love a book and it's characters I love seeing them in a series. It's like seeing old friends again. I started my series love when I was 8 years old with the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Other series I love are the Mitford series by Jan Karon - they're a bit corny but I love their simple, gentle nature, the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovtich, The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis and naturally the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. There are more I could list but I'll get to them later.
Your favorite horror book: The afore mentioned The Shining by Stephen King.
Your favorite science fiction book: I'm not a fan of sci-fi but I loved Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut.
Your favorite fantasy book: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Your favorite mystery book: It's a series, actually - the Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mystery series by Sue Grafton. I'm waiting right now for S is for Silence to be delivered.
Your favorite graphic novel: Ghost World by Daniel Clowes.
Your favorite biography: I don't often read biographies which is a switch because I read every biography in my elementary school's library when I was a kid. I can't say I have a favorite but one that I've read and enjoyed was Me: Stories of My Life by Katharine Hepburn.
Your favorite "coming-of-age" book: She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. I'm not sure if it strictly qualifies but I think you see a woman grow up and change find herself over the course of many years.
Your favorite classic:: That's so hard to pick. I could go on and on about classic books that I love. I'll just pick the first classic book I can remember reading - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I still love that story - romance, mystery, tragedy, mean characters, pure-hearted characters. Honestly, someone needs to make a classic literature meme.
Your favorite romance book: As a rule I don't read romance but I would qualify another series I love - the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon as being enough of a romance to qualify.
Favorite kids book: If we're talking about books for very small children I'd pick as my favorites the Curious George books by H.A. Rey.
Favorite cookbook: The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook
Your favorite book not on this list: Stones From the River by Ursula Hegi and Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore are two all-time favorites of mine.
10Comments:
This is a really cool list, and kudos for all of the awesome books. As an English teacher, I can't believe I'm at such a LOSS for what to say for some of them. I've bookmarked this entry so I can go back and re-visit when I get closer to the end of the school year and have more time to think.
A Confederacy of Dunces made me cry laughing. I still tell people that I need to be "gainfully employed" :) I am so stealing this!
I love the Stephanie Plum, Sue Grafton, and Harry Potter series.
Dixie - you tapped into two of my favorite things: memes and books!
Check out my blog for my responses...
Love, love, LOVE Catcher In The Rye. Holden Caulfield is teen angst, turbo-charged. But I can re-read it today at 38 and still come away feeling it applies.
Of course, I try to ignore that fact that it's the book of choice for serial killers and whackos worldwide... lol
"...it's the book of choice for serial killers and whackos worldwide."
That made me laugh like a fool!
You know, I never did like Catcher in the Rye and I don't really know why. I'm going to have to check out Ghost World. I was a biographer reader when I was a kid too; now, not so much.
Dix, I enjoyed your meme and agree with you on quite a few likes/dislikes. I posted this meme in my blog if you get a chance to check it out.
Sadly "Catcher in the Rye" was wasted on me. Perhaps I was 42 years old when I read it - I found Holden Caulfield to be incredibly annoying.
I followed my "second book rule" which is when I read a book by an author of some significance and don't like it, I read another book by the same author, just to make sure. I read "Franny and Zooey" - and again, was annoyed by the characters. So, I'm done with Mr. Salinger for now.
I am at home!
I stumbled onto your blog and found a southern girl in Germany...I was for a while, but now back in the south. Your favorite cookbook tells all~ I have every annual edition for years.
Drop in for a glass of sweet tea!
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