For The Love Of Books

[teddy_radiator]

I stole this shamelessly and gleefully from kellychambliss, one of my idols. Hers said only one at a time, but I'm greedy.

Give me a letter or letters and I will hold forth on the following topics:

A. Author You’ve Read The Most Books From
B. Best Sequel Ever
C. Currently Reading
D. Drink of Choice While Reading
E. E-Reader or Physical Books
F. Fictional Character You Would Have Dated In High School
G. Glad You Gave This Book A Chance
H. Hidden Gem Book
I. Important Moments of Your Reading Life
J. Just Finished
K. Kinds of Books You Won’t Read
L. Longest Book You’ve Read
M. Major Book Hangover Because Of
N. Number of Bookcases You Own
O. One Book That You Have Read Multiple Times
P. Preferred Place to Read
Q. Quote From A Book That Inspires You/Gives You Feels
R. Reading Regret
S. Series You Started and Need to Finish
T. Three Of Your All-Time Favorite Books
U. Unapologetic Fangirl For
W. Worst Bookish Habit
V. Very Excited For This Release More Than Any Other
X. Marks The Spot (Start On Your Bookshelf And Count to the 27th Book)
Y. Your Latest Book Purchase
Z. ZZZ-Snatcher (last book that kept you up WAY late)

Comments

[toblass.livejournal.com]

W. Because we all want to know that we are not alone...

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

Icon LOVE!!!

I think everyone knows I'm shamelessly cruel and selfish with my books. I don't physically treat them well, especially paperbacks. I dog ear them and eat over them and generally treat them mean.

[akatnamedeaster.livejournal.com]

Ah a girl after my own heart. Paperbacks are eaten over, bathed with, and generally trashed. Thank goodness for used bookstores and thrift shops.

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

Absolutely! I once said I treat a book like a whore at a frat-house gang bang.

[tamlane.livejournal.com]

Q! I love quotes. :D

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

It's funny when I think of quotes that stay with me. It's not from my favourite or most-read book. One of the most memorable to me comes from the final book of Stephen King's Dark Tower series. I ended up hating that series. It was a mental mind-fuck and a con, and at the end I felt as betrayed as a cheated lover.

One of the most endearing characters in the story was this little animal called a Billy bumbler (described as a cross between a raccoon and a dog) by the name of Oy. It was fiercely intelligent and loyal and likeable, and when it was killed near the end of the story defending and saving the main character from certain death, it was one of the most emotional moments in the entire series.

When they buried it, I remember crying, and I'm tearing up now, at the words, "the burial didn’t take long; the body was far smaller than the heart it had held."

I have read far more enjoyable stories, but this quote stayed with me long past the feeling of betrayal and frustration.

In the end, I hope that the same can be said for me.

[tamlane.livejournal.com]

Ack! Animal deaths are so much worse than human deaths in books. That's a lovely quote. Thank you. :)

[curly-queue.livejournal.com]

E = because I ship myself with my ereader.

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

LOL I love mine as well! ;)

I suppose as time has passed, I've become very attached to my Kindle. I still love and collect books and that will never change. Stgulik gave me two awesome books for my birthday and I treasure them, but for sheer greediness, I adore my Kindle because I can take everything with me.

I gave my Mother a Kindle last Christmas, and she has loved it so much I wish I had given it to her much sooner. She doesn't go anywhere without it.

But having said that, I'll not kick a good book out of bed any day.

[minaharker87.livejournal.com]

I'm going to be greedy because you said that more than one letter would be okay:
I'd love to read your answer to F, G, H and T.

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

Bring it on!! ;)

F. Fictional Character You Would Have Dated In High School
Well, I was a sucker for trouble, so I would have dated sour, grumpy ugly Severus Snape in a heartbeat. I loved bad boys.
G. Glad You Gave This Book A Chance
Dark Lover, by JR Ward. A friend had given me the e- and audiobooks to the entire Black Dagger Brotherhood series and almost a year went by before I looked at them. One day my Muse told me to read them, and I was so glad I did. The writing style completely ignited my inspiration, and gave me the guts to pull Her Minder and start over, writing with more bite and style. Even though the series has started to pall a little bit for me (the last one was a return to style, however), I am still a huge fan of them, even though I don't truly agree with her attitude on fanfiction.
H. Hidden Gem Book
Is a little short book called Bed and Breakfast, by Lois Battle. It's set in Beaufort, South Carolina, and it's the story of one particular Christmas when an elderly lady named Josie decides she wants to reunite her scattered daughters and their families for Christmas. It's a lot darker than it sounds, but the ending is so lovely.
T. Three Of Your All-Time Favorite Books
Whoa - that's a tough one. As me on any given day, and I'll probably give you three different answers.
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All - Allan Gurganus
Shogun - James Clavell
Beach Music - Pat Conroy

[akatnamedeaster.livejournal.com]

P.

For me it's the bathtub.

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

I love to read in bed. It's the last thing I do at night. We have one of those huge garden tubs; in the six years we've been here it's been used once - we're shower people, and when/if we ever redecorate, I'm ripping it out and turning the whole room into a shower room.

[akatnamedeaster.livejournal.com]

I'll take your tub, since, while showers are fine, there's nothing like a good, long soak in nice smelling things. Makes me wish I had a free hour right now.

[perverse-idyll.livejournal.com]

How about M (because I'm not quite sure what they mean by that) and U? Because I'm all in favor of fangirling.

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

I think my major book hangover came from reading, of all things, the books I talked about in tamlane's query - the Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. I didn't so much read them as read at them. It was a difficult series for me to fathom, and I want to go back and re-read them one day. I ensconced myself in a comfy chair and read the last two almost back to back - they were baffling, and nerve-wracking, and I shouldn't have cared so much about them but I did, and when the end came I was so angry and ticked off at King I think I would have punched him. The next day I felt so out of sorts from the story; it left me with a nagging headache and a feeling of being betrayed for all the time and attention I'd given the series.

I actually threw the final book across the room and ranted for an hour about them. Later, when I read his 'final word' at the end of the last book, I thought a little better of him, and felt a little more disposed to being kinder to him.

He said, "It was all about reaching the Tower, you see—mine as well as Roland’s—and that has finally been accomplished. You may not like what Roland found at the top, but that’s a different matter entirely. .. There’s nothing left to say on the subject. I wasn’t exactly crazy about the ending, either, if you want to know the truth, but it’s the right ending. The only ending, in fact. You have to remember that I don’t make these things up, not exactly; I only write down what I see."

---

I have to admit that the one story I unapologetically fangirl for is a work of fanfiction called Seven Preposterous Things, by bloodcult. It's unfinished and possibly abandoned, but I don't care; I love what's written more than any other fanfiction, and as much as any favourite book. I re-read it all the time; it's the most wonderful, best fanfiction piece I've ever read, and I've read some astonishingly beautiful fanfics (one called Elegy for a Goat immediately comes to mind, in fact, it probably is second place in this category for me).

I do simply adore books like The Godfather, Thorn Birds, and the entire HP series, of course, but I fangirl like mad for 7PT. Poor Bloodcult; I bet she cringes every time she sees me make mention of it. I used to pester her to finish it; now I'm just happy it exists at all.

[perverse-idyll.livejournal.com]

I haven't read much King because he doesn't write in my genres - although the Dark Tower series may be an exception - but I've always respected him and his love of and fierce commitment to his work. He's a consummate storyteller and a fantastic cheerleader for the imagination. And I can understand both sides of the dilemma about endings, both the reader's frustration and the writer's conviction at the conclusion of a long journey that they had no choice. That the ending, for good or ill, had to be this way. The more complex a work, the more room there is for a divergence between the writer's intent and the reader's hopes.

I just googled Seven Preposterous Things and read the first chapter, and you're not kidding. Bloodcult is a wonderful writer. I'm putting the fic on my list of must-reads, so thank you for mentioning it. I don't mind that it's an abandoned WiP. Some of my favorite fics fall into that category.

You're so kind and lovely about my foray into Severus/Aberforth, and I want to apologize for not responding to your comment on my journal when I re-posted it a month ago. I didn't realize anyone had left a comment until I visited my journal last night for the first time in weeks to add two new titles to my recs list. Seeing your appreciative words cheered me right up. :)

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad! I think Elegy is breathtaking; I recommend it all the time.

I just recently participated in the SSHG_Promptfest, and what King had to say was foremost in my mind. I normally write HEA in longer fics, but this one didn't, couldn't end that way.

What King said about the ending on his story being the right ending, the only ending, really softened my heart toward this series. It was exactly what had happened to me. I wrote it the way my Muse gave it to me, and that was the only way it could go. My attitude about the entire Dark Tower series changed almost in that instant.

I don't know if I could ever recommend Dark Tower, but it is a huge endeavour. It's not for the faint of heart and can be horrifically self-indulgent at times, but you are right; he is a true champion of the Muse as inspiration, and I love that about him.

Yay! For trying 7PT. It's a gem, whether she writes another word of it or not. It's everything I want to read in a story - humour, great, spot-on characterisations (her Severus is so real you can smell him) hanging onto a superbly crafted story. She is a fantastic writer.

[mimimanderly.livejournal.com]

I would totally recommend the Dark Tower series, even though I, too, was a bit disappointed by the ending. To be fair, I think that with such a major and lengthy work, no matter what the ending, it would fall short of expectations. Few writers can make characters as real to me as King does. I'm currently reading his Under the Dome -- very different than the TV series. Much darker, and the nasty characters are so much nastier. But it is a huge book, and I expect the ending will disappoint. But that doesn't matter; King still provides a hell of a ride, so one can forgive him if the final destination sometimes doesn't live up to the journey to get there.

[kellychambliss.livejournal.com]

Y, please!

[teddyradiator.livejournal.com]

My latest book purchase was a shameless plug - the short volume of erotic stories in which one of my stories is featured. Complete Control. I was (and remain) very excited to be published.