Thursday, January 28, 2010

Random Book Meme

Thomas, over at My Porch, participated in this fabulous book meme, and I just had to get in on the action.  Here are the rules:

1.) Go to your bookshelves...

2.) Close your eyes. If you're feeling really committed, blindfold yourself.
3.) Select ten books at random. Use more than one bookcase, if you have them, or piles by the bed, or... basically, wherever you keep books.
4.) Use these books to tell us about yourself - where and when you got them, who got them for you, what the book says about you, etc. etc.....
5.) Have fun! Be imaginative. Doesn't matter if you've read them or not - be creative. It might not seem easy to start off with, and the links might be a little tenuous, but I think this is a fun way to do this sort of meme.
6.) Feel free to cheat a bit, if you need to...

And here they are:



The Secret History by Donna Tartt.  I saw this book at the library I work at and promptly devoured it.  I've even given it to some college friends as gifts (they know why).  I found a copy of my own back in October for $1 at a library book sale.  It is a hardback in excellent condition.




The Italian by Ann Radcliffe.  I began reading Radcliffe in a Gothic lit. class in college.  I love Mysteries of Udolpho, but had trouble getting into The Italian.  Perhaps I will give it another go this year.



Niccolo Rising by Dorothy Dunnett.  I snagged this at a library sale table on Monday.  I really want to read Dunnett, but I've been a bit daunted by the size of her series.



The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway.  I have this book because I swear I'm going to re-read it one day.  I read it at the age of 15 and thought it was stupid.  I didn't understand why everyone was bored and drunk all the time.  I was far too immature for Hemingway!



Howard's End by E.M. Forster.  ONE OF MY FAVORITES.  This book pulled me out of a terrible depression in college.  I really, really, really need to re-read this book.  Ack!  I'm getting a huge re-read list out of this meme.  Oh noes!



Bleak House by Charles Dickens.  I read this book last year and it propelled the Victorian kick I'm currently enjoying.  My favorite Dickens so far.



Love by Angela Carter.  I haven't read Love yet because I'm saving it.  When I find out I'm enamored with an author "no longer with us" I try to space out that author's work to last.  However, I do collect Carter.  If I see one I snatch it up!



Jane Boleyn by Julia Fox.  I think I bought this last summer and I have yet to read it.  Every once in awhile I get on a nonfiction kick, and I thought this book looked intriguing.



Frost in May by Antonia White.  Actually, I'm planning on starting this book tomorrow.  A Virago Modern Classic (yet another collecting book)!



 Persuasion by Jane Austen.  My favorite Austen novel!  Anne Elliot is one of my favorite characters in literature -- she has a quiet strength and the novel, as a whole, is Austen's most rich.  Surprisingly, I've only read it once.  Sigh, yet another for my ever-lengthening re-read list!

Well, there you have it.  Now you go off and choose your ten (randomly, of course).  

4 comments:

Thomas Hogglestock said...

You like the classics don't you? Many interesting things on your list. Howards End is probably my favorite on your list.

Lindsey Sparks said...

Bleak House is my favorite Dickens as well. Jane Boleyn sounds interesting. I've read quite a few books on Anne and Henry VIII, and Jane always seems interesting. In the other books I've read, I usually simultaneously hate her and feel horribly sorry for her. It would be nice to know more about her.

Andi said...

Cool meme! I may have to do this one myself. I like the idea of books revealing something about us. Our darkest secrets and whatnot. ;)

Anonymous said...

Niccolo Rising reads very well as a stand alone novel. If you want to proceed with the rest of the series, then fine, but if you don't then you've lost nothing.