It’s Monday, What are you Reading?
It’s Monday, What are you Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by J. Kaye’s Book Blog to discuss what we are reading this week, as well as books completed the previous week.
Books I Completed Last Week:
Invitation Only by Kate Brian: I started this series two weeks ago, and I can’t seem to stop. I am obsessed.
Untouchable by Kate Brian: See above.
Official Book Club Selection by Kathy Griffin: I love her, and while the book wasn’t as laugh-out loud funny as I was expecting, it was sweet and honest and fun to read.
Books I’m Reading This Week:
The Road by Cormac McCarthy: I’ve had this book forever, and I’m slowly making my way through it.
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer: Okay, yes, seeing the movie made me want to reread the series. But I’m not linking to the book. That’s me being subversive.
So what are you reading this week?
Reading Meme
What was the last book you bought?
I bought Strangers in Paradise (book 1) the other day. I also picked up a copy of Inkheart. Half Price Books is my crack-cocaine.
Name a book you have read MORE than once
I’ve read Summer Sisters by Judy Blume at least 3 times. I’ve also read Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings by Megan McCafferty at least 4 times each, easy. There are a lot of books that I’ve read more than once, actually. I tend to find comfort in my favorite books. Oooh! Bridget Jones’s Diary. Princess Furball. Etc. etc.
Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?
I don’t think I have an answer for this. Jenny Downham’s Before I Die was incredibly powerful and moving, but did it alter the way I see life? I don’t know. Probably not.
How do you choose a book? eg. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews
It tends to be a combination of all those things. It used to be that I’d select books based on cover design, but these days, it tends to be summary, recommendations, and reviews. I read a lot of book blogs, and I do a lot of reading about books, so my list of to-be-read is astronomical. I’ll never get to all of them. I realize this. But the list keeps growing.
Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?
I generally prefer fiction. But I do have favorite topics of non-fiction. I like things having to do with body image and eating disorders, I like media studies, I like books about books, and I love, love, love memoirs.
What’s more important in a novel – beautiful writing or a gripping plot?
I can ignore mediocre writing if the plot is good enough. But I have to feel a connection to the characters, so if the plot is fast-paced but everything else about the book sucks, I won’t stay invested.
Most loved/memorable character (character/book)
Marcus Flutie from the Jessica Darling series. I still believe that he’s my future husband.
Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?
Silver by Norma Fox Mazer, Strangers in Paradise by Terry Moore
What was the last book you’ve read, and when was it?
It’s been a while since I’ve finished a book, to be honest. It’s kind of embarrassing, actually. I keep starting things and getting distracted. I’ll finish Silver in a few days. Does that count?
Have you ever given up on a book half way in?
All. The. Time.
Screaming baby sounds in the background.
I’m babysitting tonight, and the little girl has a cold and is therefore quite fussy. I’ve plopped her in front of the TV with some Baby Einstein DVD thing playing on a loop, and I’m just counting the minutes until it’s time for her to get her evening bottle and go to sleep.
In the meantime, a meme. I hate the word meme.
A. Attached or single? I’m kind of somewhere in between, to be honest. The boy slipped up the other day and almost called himself the boy I’m dating, but still remains adamant that that’s not what we’re doing.
B. Best friend? My mama.
C. Cake or pie? I’d choose a brownie over either, but I guess cake. If it’s cheesecake.
D. Day of choice? I’ve always really liked Fridays. There’s something about them that causes excitement in me.
E. Essential item? Deodorant. And my cell phone.
F. Favorite color? I really like bright green. I tend to wear a lot of black, but am attracted to brightly colored objects. Like hot pink.
G. Gummy bears or worms? Worms, I guess. I actually really like those gummy-cherries.
H. Hometown? A northern suburb of St. Paul. It’s totally upper-middle-class, white, and privileged. I live in South Minneapolis now, and that’s what I consider home.
I. Favorite indulgence? Cheap, uncomfortable high-heeled shoes.
J. January or July? Ugh. January, I guess, cause I’d rather be cold than hot.
K. Kids? Okay, this is a subject on which I could write a novel-length explanation, but for brevity’s sake, no. I do a lot of nannying and babysitting, and I’m a student teacher, but I don’t know that I want my own kids. I’ll jump off that bridge if and when I come to it.
L. Life isn’t complete without? Laughing until it hurts, used books, really great sex, ice cream.
M. Marriage date? I’m determined to get married on Halloween. It will be in October, at the very least.
N. Number of brothers and sisters? I have one sister, who resides in Washington state. She’s in town for the RNC, and we’re currently housing about 6 anarchists in our basement.
O. Oranges or apples? Apples. Hands down, every time.
P. Phobias? Wasps, deep water, plane crashes.
Q. Quotes? Anything by Dorothy Parker.
R. Reasons to smile? The boy calling for no reason. Dancing around in my pajamas at any hour of the day. The Office starts its new season soon. I passed my teacher-license tests. I’m generally happy and in a good place.
S. Season of choice? Fall. I love everything about it. My closet is full of cardigans, I love the crunching of leaves under my feet, and Halloween is my favorite day of the year.
T. Tag 5 people. Pass.
U. Unknown fact about me? I think that Tori Spelling is completely underrated as an actress and comedienne.
V. Vegetable? Broccoli.
W. Worst habit? I pick my nose.
X. X-ray or ultrasound? What an odd question. Neither, if I have the choice.
Y. Your favorite food? I like grilled cheese sandwiches with tomatoes. I also love rootbeer floats.
Z. Zodiac sign? Taurus. I think that means I’m stubborn or something.
Overhsare Meme
Found throughout various blogs, I’m a sucker for memes that let me talk about myself, because let’s face it: I like to talk about myself. So without further ado, let’s begin, shall we?
1. Name the singer/band/performer you are most embarrassed to admit you actually paid good money to see in concert.
Most people would argue that I should write the name “Hanson” down here, but I disagree. I first went to see Hanson when I was 12 years old, when they performed the free show at the Mall of America. It was insane on all levels, but it was probably the most fun that I’ve ever had at a concert. I saw them again when I was 19. I don’t regret either concert, nor am I embarrassed to admit that I still listen to them from time to time. They’re good people.
2. Which reality TV show have you watched more than once (come on. I don’t believe you if you say “none,” unless you don’t own a TV)?
I don’t watch much TV in general these days, and the few things I do watch are not reality TV, but I will admit that I watch American Idol every now and then, and I fucking loved Lisa Loeb’s short-lived show on E! called #1 Single. That show was high-quality entertainment.
OH AND ALSO: Kathy Griffin’s My Life on the D-List is starting up again, and even though I don’t have cable, you can be sure I’ll be couch-hopping to various places that do.
3. Which complete trash novelist have you not only read but enjoyed enough to read more than one book of his/hers?
A lot of what I read is trashy. I collect the Sweet Valley series by Francine Pascal as well as an assorted number of other YA series from the days of yore. I’ve also read all three of Stephenie Meyer’s books in the Twilight series (and will pick up Breaking Dawn when it comes out for sure), and while I pretty much hate everything that they are and stand for, I secretly enjoy them.
I’m also a fan of Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series, which is all kinds of trashy. What else, what else? There’s a shit-ton, you guys. I read a lot of crap.
4. What sappy musical could you watch over and over and over again?
Isn’t the phrase “sappy musical” kind of redundant? I like to say that I’m not a big musical fan, but that statement is contradicted by the fact that I know all the words to the soundtracks for Wicked and Rent. I also love the movie Once, which is all kinds of sappy but remains to this day the most beautiful little love story/musical that I think I’ve ever seen
5. Who was your first celebrity crush?
Jonathon Taylor Thomas and Devon Sawa? Yeah, pretty much. I was so in love with JTT. And Devon Sawa’s little cameo in Casper was the stuff of a 9-year-old girl’s wet dream. I still think Devon Sawa is kind of attractive, actually, but the fact that Jonathon Taylor Thomas stopped growing at the age of like, 14 kind of weirds me out.
6. Who is the most embarrassing celebrity on whom you have a slight crush today?
Similar to the question about embarrassing concert-going experiences, I’m not sure that I have any embarrassing celebrity crushes. I have a terrible girl-crush on Jessica Alba. This is only embarrassing in the sense that she cannot act her way out of a paper bag. But she’s so lovely
7. What movie that everyone else and his cousin and even his dog has seen have you never seen?
There are a lot, I’d wager. I’ve never seen The Godfather trilogy, nor have I seen Casablanca. I haven’t seen It’s a Wonderful Life, either. I’m woefully uncultured, and I totally don’t care.
8. What were you drinking the first time you ever got drunk?
This is a tricky question, because I’m not much of a drinker. I got tipsy for the first time when I was 18, on Southern Comfort (woof) and Bud Light (good lord).
The first time that I got rip-roaring drunk, it was on White Russians, screwdrivers, and Red Stripe.
9. Which old re-run will you still pause to watch if you’re flicking through the channels and see that it’s on?
I’ve been known to watch re-runs of Friends, Sex and the City, and Saved by the Bell. But really, thanks the the wonder that is TV on DVD, I don’t really do the whole re-run thing.
10. What book/movie/t.v. show that only a fifteen-year-old would think is funny makes you laugh?
Any Judd Apatow movie, ever.
