Random meme

I've been tagged by the Book Hunter to do this, so I will.

Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person or persons who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.


Hey haven't I done this before?

It turns out I have, so you can read my old post about 8 random things about me.

There has been nothing new to add in the last 18 months.

Wait - that's not entirely true - there are two new things and one update.

1 - I had brain surgery in July last year.

2 - I went back to college in July this year.

3 - I stopped dying my hair in 2001 and now I am very gray. People at college have been very surprised to learn that the 6 year old child who lives me with me and my husband, is my son and not my grandson.

Everything else in the previous post is still true.

I respect peoples privacy, and while I realise this is all in fun, I still dont like tagging people with this and making them do it. So if anyone else wants to play, consider yourself honorarily tagged.

Reading Meme

Reading Meme
This came off Melanie's blog.

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?
Catcher in the Rye. It's the one book I STILL have never read, and I'm not sure I ever will, because I just cant find any connection with the main characters.

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?
Dirk Pitt, Horatio Hornblower and Captain Nemo - All Men of the Sea, so a world cruise sounds good to me.

(Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): you are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realise it’s past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave? War and Peace

Come on, we’ve all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it? The Kite Runner

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realise when you read a review about it/go to ‘reread’ it that you haven’t? Which book?
N/A I usually end up getting books I thought I HAVEN'T read, only to discover, that I HAVE read it.

You’re interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why? (if you feel like you’d have to know the person, go ahead of personalise the VIP)
Sophie's World - Everyone needs to know SOMETHING about Philosophy.

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?
French because I eventually want to read EVERY book and manuscript in the Bibliotheque Nationale.

A mischievious fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick?
84 Charing Cross Road - its the ONLY book I can re-read.

I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What’s one bookish thing you ‘discovered’ from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)?
In the 11 months since I started blogging, I have discovered Bibliography and Rare books. I never knew they could be so fascainating.

That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she’s granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leatherbound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favourite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead-let your imagination run free.

I'm not one for fancy rooms, so I just need a LARGE room with all 4 walls completely built up with wooden shelves from floor to ceiling - except around the door. A rail runs along the top shelf curving around the corners, and of course a ladder on wheels so I can swing along the shelves looking for books. A medium sized card catalogue in the middle of the room, with a few comfy chairs, some small tables with lamps on them (for good reading light) one for each chair, scattered around. Lastly a box on top of the catalogue with lots of BOOKMARKS in them. No fireplace - fire and books just do not make a good match - central heating is the way to go.

My library will be ONLY non-fiction. Mostly Bibliography, books about books (and no novels). Memoirs of booksellers, booksellers catalogues, Bibliographies, Discoveries of Old and Rare Books etc, etc. Other subjects will include Shakespeare, History, Historical Biographies,

There are only 4 rules in this library.

1 - Never pick up a book from the sidetable if it has a book mark in it. Wait till it is back on the shelf before you start reading it.

2 - All books are filed in author surname order - although the catalogue cards index will have cross-references for first names, titles and keywords about the book.

3 - ALWAYS use bookmarks when you need to. Do NOT turn down the corners.

4 - IF you damage the book, you pay the price - of whatever its currently valued at in the price guides.

Kimbooktu's Meme

This is an interesting meme that was created by Kimbooktu, that I found at Book Chase.

1. Hardcover or paperback, and why?
I prefer paperbacks. I find them to be more reader friendly.

2. If I were to own a book shop, I would call it...
BiblioHistoria. I think I would specialise in Non Fiction.


3. My favorite quote from a book (mention the title) is...
Don't have one - too many books to choose from


4. The author (alive or deceased) I would [most] love to have lunch with, would be...
Carl Sagan. I have read most of his books, he had a brilliant mind, and was able to make science exciting for the public. He was also a great writer.


5. If I was going to a deserted island and could only bring one book, except for the SAS survival guide, it would be...
probably Carl Sagan's Cosmos, the History of the Cosmos. (It is somewhat outdated now, but 27 years ago [1980] it was a great book).


6. I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that...
means I dont have to hold the books - especially when I'm in bed.

7. The smell of an old book reminds me of...
the Library Stacks

8. If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title), it would be...
Thursday Next from Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series. (The Eyre Affair is the first)

9. The most over estimated [over-rated] book of all times is...
the Bible

10. I hate it when a book...
starts out great, and then has a less than satisfying ending. The story just seems to fizzle out.


I'm supposed to tag five other bloggers for this meme. Instead I'll make this an open invitation to anyone who wants to jump in - consider yourself tagged.

Serious Reader Meme

Based on the post I did earlier today (called "What is a Serious Reading Habit"), I'd like to start a new Meme - with thanks to Literary Feline who inspired it.

Do you have an overwhelming desire to frequently discuss the books you read - in person or online?

Do you gravitate towards book news and litblogs to see what everyone is reading and what new books are coming out?

Do you belong to several online reading groups where the discussion of books is the main topic?

Do you talk your significant other's ear off about the book you are currently reading?

Do you keep a reading journal or jot down your thoughts of all the books you read?

Do you enter contests for books and then feel like you won a million dollars when you win a book?

Do you get free Advanced Reading Copies from the book publishers so you can read and review them?

If you have...

6 to 7 YES answers - You have a VERY serious Reading Habit (in fact you might be called a book addict or a bookworm).

3 to 5 YES answers - You like books, but you know how to make time for other things as well.

1 or 2 YES answers - Books are read only when required such as school or college. You'd rather be doing something else.

For the record, if you read my earlier post, I have 6 YES answers.
The Hubby just does not co-operate.
No need to tag anyone.
Feel free to leave a comment and say how many YES answers you got.