Without further ado:
1. I taught myself to read sometime between age 3 & 4. I was already reading well beyond grade level when I started Kindergarten. My favorite books were my family's set of "Book Trails" from the 1920's and I practically had the first book (For Baby's Feet") memorized, I had read it so often.
2. My first Science Fiction book was Robert Silverberg's Lost Race of Mars, Scholastic Book Club paperback edition purchased in 1964 when I was in second grade.
3. I have collected every Star Trek novel written except for the Voyager and Enterprise series. I'm particularly fond of the ones that are about Vulcan history and culture.
4. I mostly buy hardbacks. If someone introduces me to an author who's been writing a series I'll get the previous books in paperback if that's the only way I can find them but any new ones, hardbacks.
5. I refuse to read a book out of sequence if it's in a series. I'll put it aside until I've found every previous book and read them all first. Imagine my frustration at having to wait for special orders on a series that goes back over a dozen years and althought the books aren't out of print, for some reason Amazon took FOREVER to get them to me. Worth the wait.
6. I have been sorely disappointed in several award winning literary books lately. I'm not an unintelligent or non-critical reader, but does literary have to be the same as STUNNINGLY BORING???? Sorry. I'm sure there are literary books that aren't. I will continue to try and find them.
7. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius wasn't.
8. I don't use the library. I can't bear not to own books I've read and enjoyed.
9. I have a few signed first editions - but very few. I'd like to have more. I'm very glad I got to see Terry Pratchett and get a signed copy of Thud.
10. I love to read out loud.
11. Like emeraldcite, I usually have several books going at once.
12. Also like emeraldcite I re-read constantly. I have a couple of series I take regular 'pilgrimages' through. McCaffery's Pern books, Bujold's Vorkosigan books, Pratchett's Discworld books, Stephen King, the aformentioned Vulcan themed Star Trek books, Silverberg's Majipoor books were recently added and I'll be re-reading the Baroque Cycle and Cryptonomincon by Neal Stephenson one of these days. I really wish I could afford the deluxe Baroque set from Hill House. At $200 a pop I don't think it'll happen soon.
13. I'm interested in everything about books. I read the "about the typeface" stuff some books put on the last page. I get a giddy fan girl rush everytime I read something that even hints of 'insider' info. I subscribed to the Publisher's Weekly "PWdaily" email update. I don't understand but a fraction of who they're talking about but it's cool anyway.
14. I'm disappointed when someone I like doesn't like the same books I like. Even worse is if they don't read at all.
15. The most memorable moments I've had were seeing Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (c.1410) and a Gutenberg Bible (c.1455) at the Huntington Library and The Book of Kells at Trinity College, Dublin (c. 800).
Dawno, meme, Absolute Write
Posts
6 comments:
Good list. I once read a scifi book when I was younger about humans on some planet and everything else was bigger than them. They were like mice. Their whole goal was to get to their ship, or something of the sort, and escape.
I don't remember much from this book. It's been fifteen years or more since I've read it and I haven't thought about it much since. I've been trying to figure out who it was...
I like owning the books I read. You can look at your shelves and get a sense of what you've accomplished in life so far...
I think the last hardcore sci-fi I read was by Arthur C. Clark. I just got three in the mail (not sure if they qualify as "sci-fi"... but sure look it): Dougkas Preston's Tyrannosaur Canyon, Doug Buch's The Mescalero Project, and Jeremy Robins' The Didymus Contingency (a Lulu POD book that's enjoying really good Internet sales and buzz).
Heh--you guys are fast. I finally got done with this, tonight.
Fab list, Dawno.
Whoops! I'll try again...
lol Jen.nifer! For those of you who'd like to go read her list (it's a good one) please go to:
http://www.jennifersando.com/
Post a Comment