The literary meme
Because I really ought to write something but Inspiration is still on holiday. And I can’t say I blame her. I found this meme at Of Books and Bicycles most recently, but it’s been doing the rounds.
What author do you own the most books by?
I suspect either Patrick O’Brian or Bernard Cornwell, since both of them wrote very lengthy series and I am a completist. When I find an author I like, I’ll gradually buy everything, at least until they start annoying me. I expect Sayers is a runner up, and of course there’s Austen and Trollope in there too.
What book do you own the most copies of?
I have multiple versions of Euripides’ Bacchae. Some are in their own volume, some are collected with other plays.
Did it bother you that those questions ended with prepositions?
Not until this question. Then the second question bothered me more than the first, but notice how I restrained my impulse to reword it.
Which fictional character are you secretly in love with?
I don’t think my affection for Richard Sharpe is much of a secret. I have dallied with James Bond and Peter Wimsey too and there’s always Darcy, of course.
Which books have you read the most times in your life?
Probably Jane Austen, since I used to re-read all the main novels every year. I’ve read all of James Bond repeatedly, most of Sayers half a dozen times, and childhood favourites like The Wind in the Willows innumerable times.
What was your favourite book when you were ten years old?
Absolutely no idea, I don’t remember being 10. I remember being very fond of ‘Five on Kirrin Island’ but couldn’t pin that down to a particular age. I expect I was firmly in the Enid Blyton camp, though I might have been on Malory Towers and St Clare’s by then.
What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?
Oh, there’s a lot of competition for this one. Could be Beat Not the Bones, by Charlotte Jay; could be Black and White and Dead all Over, by John Darnton; could be Gossip Girl. Although Philippa Gregory is right up there too.
What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?
Discounting authors such as Trollope or Proust, since they are really unfair competition, there are two books which really struck me: The Gone Away World, by Nick Harkaway; and Little Bee, by Chris Cleave. If I read a better book than Little Bee this year, I will be amazed.
If you could force everyone tagged to read one book, what would it be?
I wouldn’t. It’s a certain way of making sure that everyone hates it.
Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for Literature?
I don’t pay any attention to prizes. They all seem to be about so much other than the writing.
What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
I wouldn’t. Film is a completely different genre and I think films of books are rarely successful. So if I really like a book, the last thing I’d want is for it to be turned into some pale shadow of itself, with entirely the wrong actors playing the lead characters.
Which book would you least like to see made into a movie?
See above. But possibly, The Last Chronicle of Barset, because there would be some forced, happy Hollywood ending that would be entirely, utterly, completely and irredeemably wrong. Like the ineffably ghastly last scene in Pride and Prejudice that was tacked on for American audiences.
Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book or literary character.
As far as I know, I have never had such a dream. My dreams are all prosaic, like running out of teabags and having to go to Tesco’s; or action packed thrillers where I’m running away from someone who is trying to shoot me; or from monsters. Fortunately the element of fear is always missing.
What is the most low-brow book you’ve read as an adult?
Any number of them. Laurel K Hamilton? Philippa Gregory? Dan Brown? The Starter Wife? I read a lot of trash, it’s my equivalent of watching television and I can’t always deal with ‘literature’ on the train.
What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?
I don’t remember the title or author but it was something on Vulgar Latin, which was a compulsory course for my degree. Full of information about fricatives etc. Terrible, terrible stuff, in which I was not remotely interested.
What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you’ve seen?
A Winter’s Tale. Not an entirely successful performance but a marvellous venue, as I saw it in a Spiegeltent.
Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
French. I don’t read the Russians.
Roth or Updike?
Roth, on the grounds that I have read several of his novels and only read The Witches of Eastwick by Updike. Which I disliked.
David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
Firing squad. Both of them.
Shakespeare, Milton or Chaucer?
Can’t judge, haven’t read enough Milton or Chaucer.
Austen or Eliot?
Austen. May have read some Eliot, can’t remember.
What is the biggest or most embarassing gap in your reading?
No Russians, very little American lit, no Joyce, scarcely any poetry, don’t read post-colonial fiction, barely a thing in translation from anywhere, absolutely nothing about science, politics, current affairs. I don’t find any of it embarassing. I read what I read, and that’s an end to it.
What is your favourite novel?
Pride and Prejudice.
Play?
The Oresteia trilogy.
Poem?
Autumn Journal, by Louis MacNeice. Not that I am making a selection from a very wide pool, you understand.
Essay?
Something by Joseph Mitchell. Another category in which I have read little although I am beginning to appreciate the format.
Short story?
Pick any by A L Kennedy.
Work of non-fiction?
Up in the Old Hotel, by Joseph Mitchell.
Who is your favourite writer?
Depends what for. Of the Greeks, Euripides; of the classics, Austen or Trollope; of chick lit, I like Lisa Jewel; of military history, Bernard Cornwell; of detective fiction, D. L. Sayers; travel writing, Wilfrid Thesiger. And so on.
Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
There are too many to choose from.
What is your desert island book?
The collected works of Trollope. That should be a good few volumes.
And… what are you reading right now?
Traffic, by Tom Vanderbilt. About driving, drivers, traffic, and so on.
Not tagging anyone specifically, but join in if you feel like it and Inspiration has also deserted you.
Very enjoyable answers! I am always intrigued how different everyone’s reading profile is. I had no idea you had so much classical literature in your background (I have none). Trollope’s a good desert island pick, and I like Sharpe in the form of Sean Bean – is that who you had in mind when reading the novels?
Litlove – I’m a wannabee classicist. I’ve got a Latin degree and a Masters in Classical Studies from the OU, for which I read mostly Greek literature. I love it. Still planning that MPhil…
And yes, Sean Bean definitely contributes to the mental image of Sharpe! I saw the TV series years before I read the novels, and they have an oddly symbiotic relationship. Some of the novels were written in response to the BBC’s demand for more material to televise, and one of them is dedicated to Sean Bean. So I think how he played the role may have had an influence on how the character developed.
A completist! I’m so glad to know that word. These are such fine, firm answers, many of which I read while nodding my head “yes.” I am with you on Trollope — but I think Shakespeare works on the island too.
Oh, and this is the second time someone has mentioned Little Bee — I think I’m going to have to investigate.
This was hilarious to read, especially as secretly, I think much along the sames lines as you – most modern authors are terribly over-rated, I haven’t read David Sedaris or Dave Eggars ( and keep getting them confused) and I’m not ashamed of the gaps in my reading, because by my age, I want to read books I’m going to enjoy before I die! I know that sounds horrible, I should have another 40-50 years of reading ahead of me, but that’s not enough time left to waste on awful books or lame writing….Plus, you like Jane Austen as much as I do!
ooh Sean Bean! ok, another thing we have in common….
Bloglily – Now I am wondering if made up the word ‘completist’. But I stand by it. I agree that Shakespeare works on the island too, but I would have to omit the comedies. As for Little Bee, I heartily recommend it.
Susan – Life is too short to read books you don’t like, so there’s a good reason not to bother with either of the Davids. Sean Bean of course! Especially in his Sharpe days.