On your nightstand now: Thus Was Adonis Murdered by Sarah Caudwell, The Late Bloomer’s Revolution by Amy Cohen and Midwife of the Blue Ridge by Christine Blevin
Favorite book(s) when you were a child: I don’t remember a specific favourite, but I loved Enid Blyton’s Famous Five and Secret Seven series (both of which I read in French). Blyton was recently voted Britain’s “most loved writer,” ahead of Roald Dahl, J.K. Rowlings, Jane Austen and William Shakespeare.
Top five favorite authors: Amy Tan, Nathalie Goldberg, Barbara Kingsolver, Nancy Mairs, Margaret Laurence (at the moment and in no particular order)
Book you’ve faked reading: I’m not sure I’ve ever actually faked reading a book. However, there are a couple I had to read in school that I wish I’d faked reading! Call of the Wild by Jack London and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad come to mind.
Book(s) you are an evangelist for: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, A Door into Ocean by Joan Slonczewski and The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
Book you’ve bought for the cover: I don’t think there are any books I’ve bought solely for their cover, with the exception of Ammonite by Nicola Griffith (I already owned a mass-market paperback copy but loved this trade paperback so much more!); however, there are several where the cover definitely influenced my buying them, including The Honey Thief by Elizabeth Graver, Truth & Beauty by Ann Patchett and What the Living Won’t Let Go by Lorna Crozier.
Book that changed your life: Real Food for a Change: Bringing Nature, Health, Joy and Justice to the Table by Wayne Roberts, Rod MacRae and Lori Stahlbrand, which inspired me to eat organic.
Favorite line from a book: I can’t think of one at the moment.
Books you recommend as regeneration when people say, “I’m bored by almost all contemporary North American writers“: Well, I must admit I’m not sure what that means (how can you be bored by all contemporary writers??), but I’d have to recommend The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver and The Hours by Michael Cunningham.
Book you can’t believe that everyone has not read and loved: The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, A Door into Ocean by Joan Slonczewski, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
Book you most want to read again for the first time: The Diviners by Margaret Laurence
I can totally see why you would fake reading Heart of Darkness....heck, I faked reading many of Joseph Conrad's works....they are just awful.
ReplyDeleteInteresting questionaire!!! I enjoyed reading your answers.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your answers. Looking at the books you bought for the cover I would have bought those too. Very nice covers.
ReplyDeleteThanks all for your comments. Unfortunately, I did read Heart of Darkness, though all I remember all the rivets. Oh and "the horror, the horror," of course!
ReplyDeleteOh so good to read your answers! I'm so glad you dropped in on my blog - I see you are a fellow fan of Barbara Kingsolver :)
ReplyDeleteI just discovered Margaret Laurence this year. I read The Stone Angel and was just blown away by the characterization. I really want to read more by her.
Thanks Iliana! Margaret Laurence is fantastic, I only wish she'd written more books. I highly recommend all the books in the Manawaka series, especially (obviously) The Diviners.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm itching for Barbara Kingsolver to write another novel!