Books!

Last evening, I attempted to answer the questions below, regarding books I have read. Well let me tell you ’twas an awfully difficult task, when one thinks of parsing books heretofore regarded as ones closest friends. True to my word however, and I did intend to keep it, I answered these motley questions as best I could. These darlings are treasures of some regard and, hold a very special place in my heart. They have kept me company on rainy Saturday afternoons, cheered my spirits after the death of an aunt and caused me to rethink my place in this universe. I do so hope this list sends you bounding off to your own collections, the book store or the library this weekend. Cheers to something new and to old friends revisited!

Having finished, I’ve now realized I can’t find my beloved Wind in the Willows. Oh well guess I’ll head over to Toad Hall via Project Gutenberg and observe the shenanigans there. Feel free to join me if in the neighborhood!

A Luncheon, where the company is true – Ratty, Badger, Mole & Toad

Image: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/the-wind-in-the-willows/images/30730319/title/wind-willows-photo

Best book you read last year – The Shack by Paul young   A book that you’ve read more than 3 times – Pride & Prejudice  by Jane Austen                                         Your favorite series – Harry Potter / Lord of the Rings / Children of Dune/ Chronicles of Narnia can’t really choose

Favorite book of your favorite series – I am going to buck convention and go with a prequel – The Hobbit by Tolkein

A book that makes you happy – The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle by Beatrix Potter                                        A book that makes you sad – Tale of Two Cities [I rather fancied Sydney Carton]

Most underrated book – Sections of Orange by Anton Nimblet                                                                 Most overrated book –Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving – Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons & Women in Love D.H. Lawrence
Favorite classic book – Hard perhaps Emma  or Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
A book you hated –Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
A book you used to love but don’t anymore – I never kiss and tell
Your favorite writer – Paulo Coelho
Favorite book of your favorite writer – The Alchemist
Favorite male character – Bertram Wilberforce Wooster from P.G. Woodhouse’s Jeeves collection          Favorite female character – Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Ephraim’s Daughter Longstocking

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Not Exactly what was meant by quote but, this is my blog I’ll do what I want

Favorite quote from your favorite book:

He thought his happiness was complete when, as he meandered aimlessly along, suddenly he stood by the edge of a full-fed river. Never in his life had he seen a river before—this sleek, sinuous, full-bodied animal, chasing and chuckling, gripping things with a gurgle and leaving them with a laugh, to fling itself on fresh playmates that shook themselves free, and were caught and held again. All was a-shake and a-shiver—glints and gleams and sparkles, rustle and swirl, chatter and bubble. The Mole was bewitched, entranced, fascinated. By the side of the river he trotted as one trots, when very small, by the side of a man who holds one spell-bound by exciting stories; and when tired at last, he sat on the bank, while the river still chattered on to him, a babbling procession of the best stories in the world, sent from the heart of the earth to be told at last to the insatiable sea. – The Wind in the Willows

But I love this too!

“My spelling is Wobbly. It’s good spelling but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places”. Winnie the Pooh

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A book that disappointed you – Veronica decides to Die
Favorite book turned into a movie – Lottie and Lisa by Erich Kästner AKA The Parent Trap
Favorite romance book – Emma / Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen [Mansfield Park was a better story but Emma is light, frothy and Darcy is my one true love!]
Favorite book from your childhood – The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams / Little Lord Fauntleroy – Frances Hodgson Burnett / Nurse Matilda by Christianna Brand / The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge [too many to name I can’t choose, so many already left out]
Favorite book you own – Ishmael by Daniel Quinn / Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t – Howard’s End by E. M. Forster
A book that you wish more people would’ve read – Escape to Last Man Peak– Jean D’Costa
A character who you can relate to the most – Emma, I really did think I knew how my world was to be run.
A book that changed your opinion about something – Ishmael by Daniel Quinn [take yourself and your ego out of the equation for just a moment. Are we really the centre of the Universe?]
The most surprising plot twist or ending – Life of PI by Yann Martel [yes & no didn’t throw me for a loop but still a good one]

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Favourite title – Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst              A book everyone hated but you liked – Bergdorf Blonds by Plum Sykes [you should hate it on principle, isn’t after all serious literature but in manner of Pride and Prejudice is a frothy delight!] 

Your favorite book of all time – The Wind in the Willows

BM