Book meme: Day 06
Jul. 26th, 2010 04:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
algLast night I watched an episode of Leverage in which Jonathan Kent from Smallville beat up Jo Harvelle from Supernatural, and then Lindsey McDonald from Angel saved them. It was... weird.
Day 06 - Favorite book of your favorite series OR your favorite book of all time
As you might have noticed, I am not the sort of person who can pick a favorite $X of all time. Like, I don't have a favorite food. I don't have a favorite movie. I don't have a favorite drink (you're going to make me decide between champagne, coffee, and Diet Coke?! Cruel!). I do have a favorite piece of clothing, but I almost never wear that piece of clothing, so I'm not sure that it really counts.
If you ask me about my favorite book, I can easily reel off five or six that I love for different reasons -- usually for the stories they tell. If I like a book's story and characters and most of the prose, I can ignore the clumsy bits of the writing that almost all books have. No book is ever going to be totally perfect in every single way (as an editor, that was a really tough thing for me to learn to accept).
This means that I don't have a favorite book of all time. There is no one book I can point to and say, "This is the most amazing book I've ever read!" and have that be the end of the conversation. There are a lot of books that have changed my life -- some for the better and some for the worse. Some of them I even acquired and edited myself.
The closest I come to a favorite book of all time are the books I read as a disaffected, lonely kid that I can still go back and enjoy today. There's The Girl With the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts
, The Guardian Circle by Margaret Buffie
, the Bruno and Boots books by Gordon Korman
, From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
... and, of course, the book I probably should not have read at age nine, but I'm glad I did: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Now you! Is it easier for you to pick a "favorite book of all time" or the like? How ever do you manage? Feel free, as always, to post in the comments, or to link to a post at your own blog.
Other days of the book meme:
Day 01 - A book series you wish had gone on longer OR a book series you wish would just freaking end already (or both!)
Day 02 - A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about
Day 03 - The best book you've read in the last 12 months
Day 04 - Your favorite book or series ever
Day 05 - A book or series you hate
Day 06 - Favorite book of your favorite series OR your favorite book of all time
Day 07 - Least favorite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise
Day 08 - A book everyone should read at least once
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A book that disappointed you
Day 12 - A book or series of books you’ve read more than five times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood book OR current favorite YA book (or both!)
Day 14 - Favorite character in a book (of any sex or gender)
Day 15 - Your "comfort" book
Day 16 - Favorite poem or collection of poetry
Day 17 - Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)
Day 18 - Favorite beginning scene in a book
Day 19 - Favorite book cover (bonus points for posting an image!)
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite romantic/sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 22 - Favorite non-sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 23 - Most annoying character ever
Day 24 - Best quote from a novel
Day 25 - Any five books from your "to be read" stack
Day 26 - OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending
Day 27 - If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!
Day 28 - First favorite book or series obsession
Day 29 - Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)
Day 30 - What book are you reading right now?
Day 06 - Favorite book of your favorite series OR your favorite book of all time
As you might have noticed, I am not the sort of person who can pick a favorite $X of all time. Like, I don't have a favorite food. I don't have a favorite movie. I don't have a favorite drink (you're going to make me decide between champagne, coffee, and Diet Coke?! Cruel!). I do have a favorite piece of clothing, but I almost never wear that piece of clothing, so I'm not sure that it really counts.
If you ask me about my favorite book, I can easily reel off five or six that I love for different reasons -- usually for the stories they tell. If I like a book's story and characters and most of the prose, I can ignore the clumsy bits of the writing that almost all books have. No book is ever going to be totally perfect in every single way (as an editor, that was a really tough thing for me to learn to accept).
This means that I don't have a favorite book of all time. There is no one book I can point to and say, "This is the most amazing book I've ever read!" and have that be the end of the conversation. There are a lot of books that have changed my life -- some for the better and some for the worse. Some of them I even acquired and edited myself.
The closest I come to a favorite book of all time are the books I read as a disaffected, lonely kid that I can still go back and enjoy today. There's The Girl With the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts
, The Guardian Circle by Margaret Buffie, the Bruno and Boots books by Gordon Korman, From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg... and, of course, the book I probably should not have read at age nine, but I'm glad I did: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret AtwoodNow you! Is it easier for you to pick a "favorite book of all time" or the like? How ever do you manage? Feel free, as always, to post in the comments, or to link to a post at your own blog.
Other days of the book meme:
Day 01 - A book series you wish had gone on longer OR a book series you wish would just freaking end already (or both!)
Day 02 - A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about
Day 03 - The best book you've read in the last 12 months
Day 04 - Your favorite book or series ever
Day 05 - A book or series you hate
Day 06 - Favorite book of your favorite series OR your favorite book of all time
Day 07 - Least favorite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise
Day 08 - A book everyone should read at least once
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A book that disappointed you
Day 12 - A book or series of books you’ve read more than five times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood book OR current favorite YA book (or both!)
Day 14 - Favorite character in a book (of any sex or gender)
Day 15 - Your "comfort" book
Day 16 - Favorite poem or collection of poetry
Day 17 - Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)
Day 18 - Favorite beginning scene in a book
Day 19 - Favorite book cover (bonus points for posting an image!)
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite romantic/sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 22 - Favorite non-sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 23 - Most annoying character ever
Day 24 - Best quote from a novel
Day 25 - Any five books from your "to be read" stack
Day 26 - OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending
Day 27 - If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!
Day 28 - First favorite book or series obsession
Day 29 - Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)
Day 30 - What book are you reading right now?