Hello Two Thousand and Elevenses!*

I need to apologise for my 2.5 month absence. I spent November concentrating on NaNoWriMo and took a planned hiatus from blogging, as well as other activities like reading speculative fiction. In December I was recovering from NaNo, glutting myself on spec fic, and dealing with the real world (hectic end of year schedule at work, Christmas parties, etc). I had planned to start 2011 with a BANG! However I spent the last two weeks at my family farm just out of Toowoomba. We didn’t have internet access, and the one week holiday was turned into two when we were flooded in. I have a LOT to catch up with now I am back in the land of Interwebia and rather than doing a large post here, I am going to just mention the challenges I am doing this year, and catch up with my Manic Monday post I missed yesterday.

Get Steampunked! Challenge
I am doing the lowest level “Geared” where I read 5 steampunk books this year. You can find out more about the challenge at Dutchie’s challenge blog.

The Dystopia Challenge
Again, I am doing the lowest level - “Asocial” and committing to read 5 dystopian books this year. I will probably read more, but I don’t want to overtax myself. You can find out more about this challenge here.

The Stephen King Challenge
I am going to give this one a go. I've read a few of his books in the past but I am trying to spread my reading wings again and head out into different genres. I loved Talisman and Nightshift and have read a handful of others. I am aiming to read 6 Stephen King books this year. You can find out more at Book City Chick.

I am also attending two book clubs again this year. One is the Paranormal Romance book club at Galaxy, and the other is a general book club in Sutherland. I had discussions with an online friend about maybe starting a speculative fiction book club, but I don’t know if we’ll go ahead with that or not. I am planning on attending ARRC for the first time this year, although I still have to scrape up the money to buy my admission. Last year I sat by twitter and my phone hearing all about it. This year I wish to be in the midst of the action! ;-p Anyone want to help me rob a bank???

Anyway, I don’t want to make this too long. I just want to say that I have really missed blogging, I've missed hearing about all the gossip in the reader’s world, and I have millions of blogs to catch up on… I am planning on writing more reviews this year, and to be a better blogger. It is a New Year’s resolution after all :)





*Because it is nearly eleven o'clock and I am getting hungry. I may also be quietly wishing I will be reincarnated as a hobbit in my next life.

Book Survey IX

1. A book that made you cry:
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. I was reading it in class, and because I read faster than all my class mates they couldn’t understand why I was bawling my eyes out. I was 13 at the time and it hit me pretty hard.

2. A book that scared you:
The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin. I was about 9 at the time, and that book scared the bejesus out of me! The suspense and concepts in that book were probably a bit heavy for a nine year old (it is nothing like the movie!) but I had run out of things to read, so I was dipping into the family bookshelf again.

3. A book that made you laugh:
Piers Antony and Terry Pratchett novels always make me chortle.

4. A book that disgusted you:
The Sound and The Fury by William Faulkner. While I could appreciate it’s literary merit, I haven’t been able to reread it. Also, that scene with Miss Havisham in Great Expectations with the wedding cake and the ruins of her wedding dress still freaks me out. I picture the ravaged finery being infested by spiders and smelling of dust and mildew *shudders*

5. A book you loved in elementary school:
The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton. I loved the concept of the lands at the top of the tree, and I loved the crazy characters like The Saucepan Man and Moonface. One day I am definitely going to a costume party as the Saucepan Man LOL

6. A book you loved in middle school:
Looking For Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta. Yes, I read it as a new release! I was so addicted to that book that I reread it over and over and over. I also loved See How They Run by David McRobbie and A Bridge To Wiseman’s Cove by James Moloney.

7. A book you loved in high school:
The Dancing Bear by Peter Dickinson. My school was throwing them out and I nabbed a copy. It is being held together with a rubber band, but I still really love this book. It is about a slave boy and his bear on a quest to save the girl he loves (and his mistress) who has been stolen by raiders. It is set in the Byzantine Empire, and absolutely fascinating! I also loved Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park which is about a girl being lost in time and ending up in Victorian times in Sydney.

8. A book you hated in high school:
I can’t think of any books I hated in high school. I didn’t finish reading Wuthering Heights, but that is because I got bored half way through and needed to have a classic read for my major English assignment. I convinced my teacher that Lord of the Rings was a classic, and did my assessment on it instead.

9. A book you loved in college:
Just one? The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. I will never look at processed meat the same! I feel sorry that the author’s dream was shattered and people focussed more on the hygiene standards of the meat works rather than the living conditions of the poor in Chicago.

10. A book that challenged your identity or your faith:
I can’t think of any. I could name any number which challenged my (limited) faith in humanity. The biggest one, while an interesting read, was absolutely abhorrent. It was Sacrifice As Terror by Christopher C Taylor, and was about the cultural facets of the Rwandan genocide. Some of the content was extremely graphic, disturbing and horrifying, and I would rather pretend that people couldn’t do that to each other. However, on an intellectual level, it was absolutely fascinating! A lot of the atrocities were cultural in how they were perpetrated, and mimicked fertility rites and the like. Disturbing, yet it was fascinating the motivations for specific acts. I don’t recommend anyone reads it unless they are an anthropology or sociology major and focusing on violence and culture. Brilliant book, abhorrent subject.

11. A series that you love:
Just one?! *whimpers* Charles de Lint’s Newford stories. They aren’t a serial, but are more of a collection.

12. Your favourite horror book:
Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I also really loved Stephen King’s Night Shift.

13. Your favourite science-fiction book:
Dune by Frank Herbert.

14. Your favourite fantasy book:
*eyes pop out of my head* JUST ONE??!! I have been reading fantasy for so long that I haven’t just one favourite novel in this genre, but many. Magician by Raymond E Fiest is probably the most obvious answer I could give. Or JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. So I won’t be obvious. But how can I choose! *wails* I will just list a few: Someplace To Be Flying by Charles de Lint, The Painted Man by Peter V Brett, Bitten by Kelley Armstrong, Waylander (or Iron Hand’s Daughter, Druss The Legend, The Swords of Night and Day etc) by David Gemmell, Phoenix and Ashes by Mercedes Lackey – I have more… many many many MANY more….

15. Your favorite mystery book:
One written by Dick Francis. He is greatly missed!

16. Your favourite biography:
I don’t read those.

17. Your favourite coming-of-age book:
Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

18. Your favourite book not on this list:
I haven’t mentioned The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Pride and Prejudice or Persuasions by Jane Austen, or Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

Book Survey I: The IntrovertZ

http://www.theintrovertzcoach.com/booksurvey.html

(Just a quick warning - I am posting pics of book covers, and one is to do with human remains... be prepared to scroll if you are sensitive)

What book are you reading now?
Redemption Alley - Lilith Saintcrow is my main squeeze at the moment but I am also (inactively) reading:
The Vampire Lestat - Anne Rice
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke

What are your favourite books? [You can put specific books or genres or both.]
Mostly the come under the heading of Fantasy: Epic Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Dark Fantasy and Paranormal Romance, etc. However I also love Classics, Gothic Romances, Science Fiction and Mysteries.

How did you learn to read?
My dad started reading to me at a very young age. Books like Brer Rabbit's A Rascal and Black Beauty are some of the earliest books I both remember having read to me, and learning to read.

What foreign languages do you read?
Anglo Saxon (Old English). I also know enough German to know if you are talking about cats and dogs.

What's the funniest book you ever read?
Probably something like Terry Pratchett.

What books have changed the way you look at the world or the way you live your life?
Bog Bodies: Mummies and Curious Corpses when I was in Year Four at school. I had that book out of the library for most of the year, and constantly reread it. I was absolutely facinated by the cultures preserving their dead, the practices they performed, and the biology behind the preservation. I pinpoint that as one of the turning points in regards to choosing archaeology as a career and discovering it was my vocation.

What books have affirmed what you believe about life or the way you look at things?
Um... I am not sure. I don't really read books about affirmation. Reading Charles de Lint's books has made me more accepting of my own inviduality, but that is because his characters are so interesting.

What books have you changed your mind about?
Anne Rice. I hated Interview With A Vampire, but I am liking The Vampire Lestat.

What are some of the scariest books you've ever read?
Books on genocide for "The Anthropology of Violence" subject I took at uni. It wasn't scary as in thrills, but scary how sensible the thought behind terror as a political tool can be made to seem.

About how many books do you think you have you read in your life?
Too many to number. Sometimes I read 100 books a year, sometimes its 300. When I was a 10 year old I was reading about 50. I am now 26, and I don't see this abating any time soon!

About how many books do you own?
I have no idea. Well into the hundreds.

How many books per month do you usually borrow from the library?
None. I used to borrow 5-10 a week but the libraries rarely have anything I haven't read that I am interested in reading.

How much would you say you've paid in library fines in your life?
A lot!

Do you read in bed?
Yes, it is my favourite place to read.

Do you ever read while walking or driving?
Not whilst driving, but I do walk and read quite a bit. There are times when I am working to or from the trainstation, and I just can't bear to put my book down.

OK, let's get real. Where is the strangest place you've read a book?
In lines for metal gigs, in lines at theme parks, in a canoe...

Do you listen to audio books?
No, they seem to defeat the purpose of a book. I am a very tactile person.

Has anyone ever read aloud to you or you to them? Tell us more.
My dad used to read to me when I was little. I think that is what started off my love affair with fiction. We didn't see a lot of Dad back then - he worked a LOT of overtime. So Mum would wake us up at 4am to say goodbye every morning, and wake us up late at night to say goodnight. Then he would sit snuggled in my bed and read to me.Those are some of my earliest and most treasured memories.

What book was the most difficult to read?
Wuthering Heights when I was 14. I put it down and said I would never read it again. I broke that promise, because I am now working my way through it again - when I am not reading anything else LOL

Do you read every word of a book, or skip parts that don't hold your interest?
Every word.

What books do you keep intending to read but put off?
George Orwell's 1984.

Do you buy new or used books, paperbacks or hardbacks, leather or collector's items?
All of the above! I prefer hardcovers for non-fiction, and I rarely buy collectors items. Ideally, new paperbacks. But I have no problem with buying second hand books - they have helped feed my addiction for the last 20 years LOL

What is the first book you remember reading?
Dad reading Brer Rabbit's A Rascal or Black Beauty. The first book I read myself was also Brer Rabbit.

Do you lend your books? Ever had to hire Large Louis to get it back for you?
I am no longer lending books. I have had too many things happen to my preciousouses in the last 6 months.

What were your favourite books when you were a child?
Enid Blyton, Tamora Pierce, Roald Dahl, Libby Hathorn, Gary Crew, David McRobbie, CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, Ann Martin, L.M. Montgomery, Jackie French, Paul Jennings, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Louisa May Alcott, Isobelle Carmody, John Marsden, May Gibbs, Victor Kellher, Gillian Rubenstien, Sonya Harnett, Catherine Jinks, Francine Pascal, Christopher Pike, Garth Nix… etc

What children's books do you most enjoy as an adult?
Tamora Pierce, JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, PC & Kirsten Cast, Richelle Mead, Rachel Caine, JK Rowlings, Libby Hathorn, Isobelle Carmody, etc.

What books would you especially recommend to young people?
All of those mentioned in the last two questions.

Do you ever read the ending first?
No.

DUELLING BOOKS

Did you ever agree to read the book somebody was pushing on you if they would read one for you in exchange? What were the books?
No, but I have a suggestions exchange with friends quite a bit.

Have you ever read a book more than once? If so, mention them and why you read them more than once, please.
A better question would be which books I haven't read more than once! Most books I read at least twice.

What frequently recommended books have you been unable to finish?
Dan Brown. Need I say more?

Which of these world classics did you actually plow through at one time or another in your life?
[x] The Iliad
[x] The Odyssey
[x] The Aeneid
[ ] Dante's Inferno
[ ] Paradise Lost
[ ] Goethe's Faust
[ ] War and Peace
[ ] Ulysses
[ ] Les Miserables
[ ] Atlas Shrugged
[x] Moby Dick
[ ] Gone with the Wind
[ ] Remembrance of Things Past
[ ] Churchill's History of England
[ ] Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire


What other favourite books of yours are extremely long?
Off the top of my head, I would say Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien and The Painted Man by Peter V Brett. This is just from visualising my bookshelf - I have a lot of thick books, but I couldn't pinpoint which without physically standing in front of my shelves.