Book Me-Me

I've been tagged for the book me-me by Valerie. It has taken me days to think about how I wanted to answer because the questions are so much fun. So~

1. Hardcover or paperback, and why?

Definitely paperback because I can read them in bed easily and they're smaller so I can have more books. I can never have enough~

2. If I were to own a book shop, I would call it…

I have no idea, but don't think I'd want to own a bookstore anyway. Two of my favorites are Kramer's in D.C. and The Strand in NYC and neither have catchy names.

3. My favorite quote from a book (mention the title) is…

Peter Toohey: "Mr Roark, we're alone here. Why don't you tell me what you think of me? In any words you wish. No-one will hear us."

Howard Roark: "But I don't think of you."

Fountainhead, Ayn Rand (I have always thought of this as the ultimate put-down.)

4. The author (alive or deceased) I would love to have lunch with would be…

I'm afraid the authors I most enjoy wouldn't enjoy lunch with me! I would be a blithering idiot and certainly wouldn't be able to eat a thing. But to answer the question, it would have to be Margaret Atwood. I found some of the same scenes in Surfacing and Cat's Eye and would just love to be a mouse in her pocket. Of all the books I've read, I had the greatest affinity with Cat's Eye, definitely.

5. If I was going to a deserted island and could only bring one book, except for the SAS survival guide, it would be…

It would depend on the length of my stay so in reality, probably a Bible, but for the sake of the fun of this, Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner.

6. I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that…

I'm not feeling any lack here and just discovered a tiny LED clip-on device this summer that lets me read in bed without disturbing Ian's sleep.

7. The smell of an old book reminds me of…

Vacations! I always leave room in my luggage so I can browse through used book stores and bring home more books.

8. If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title), it would be…

Francie Nolan from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, for her pluck and resilience. I thought of Susan Burling Ward from Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner, but she loses a child and I don't even want to go there.

9. The most overestimated book of all times is…

I don't know about of all times, but I think The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and also The Historian by Elizabeth Kostava were both long on hype and short on editing.

10. I hate it when a book…

that I have absolutely loved every page of comes to an end. That's it. It's over - like the Monty Python parrot that is "no more" - like how I felt when I finished Annie Proulx's The Shipping News.

And now for the tagging part - if they are so inclined - I'd like to hear from Leigh and Marie on these questions, and maybe Amy, when she gets back from taking care of her mother's affairs???