BOOK Q&A:

I found a books and literature Q&A around the bloggy interwebs and I thought I would join in on the fun. I collect books like other people collect sports figures, music, or novelty shot glasses. I worked at an alternative type bookstore for years and this certainly didn't help matters, but I've been a literary fiend since I could read. 

What are you reading right now?

"Germs, Guns, and Steel" by Jared Diamond

Do you have any idea what you’ll read when you’re done with that?

This one is probably going to take a while. I keep attempting chapters before in bed, but I end up reading 3 words before falling asleep. So, recommend something to me! What should I read?

What 5 books have you always wanted to read but haven’t got round to? 

There are some recommendations that were made by trusted fellow book snobs that I have sitting on my shelf waiting to be tackled... for years. These include "Pale Fire" by Nabokov and "Perfume" by Patrick Suskind. I have an endless to-read list other than those and a few include "A Wrinkle in Time" L'Engle, "Wigfield: The Can-Do Town That Just May Not" by Amy Sedaris and Stephen Colbert, and "The Thing About Life Is That One Day You'll Be Dead" by David Shields.

What magazines do you have in your bathroom/lounge right now?

Bitch, Bust, and Mental Floss magazines lay around our house at all times.

What’s the worst book you’ve ever read?

"Juiced" by Canseco. It's the baseball steroid tattletale book and a recommendation from my Him. It took me two hours to read, and I want those two hours back!

What book seems really popular but you actually hated? 

  Twilight is a given. Poor society.

What’s the one book you always recommend to just about everyone? 

"The Vagina Monologues" by Ensler. It's pretty user friendly and a good first stepping stone for anyone interested in expanding their feminist brain.

What are your 3 favourite poems? 

This is my favorite question so far. I don't read a whole lot of poetry, but some of the ones that I have read have changed my life forever. So much so, that when thinking of a tattoo to notate my newly found self-acceptance and femininity I chose a paragraph from my favorite poem of all time: "Loose Woman" by Sandra Cisneros. Its in a place that not many people get to see (purposefully) and I've been told that it's ominous... but I find it empowering. It plays to the idea that a woman is two sides and everything in between; a force to be reckoned with. A powerful being that doesn't care what you think. That its a beautiful/striking/exciting thing.

Where do you usually get your books?

Bookman's and other used book stores. As much as I want to keep the hard copy book stores in business, I cant bring myself to pay $15 for a trade paperback at Barnes and Noble.

Where do you usually read your books?

Anywhere/everywhere.

When you were little, did you have any particular reading habits? 

My mom would take us to the library on a weekly basis and we would check out the maximum 24 books every time. We could hardly wait to get home and devour every page. This was one of the greatest gifts my Mother ever gave me.

What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down?

"The Hunger Games". I was so desperate for a light but good fictional read after so much non-fiction and they hit the spot. All three of them.

Have you ever “faked” reading a book? 

Sometimes in conversations I talk about how much I love a book blah blah blah when I've read the majority but never finished it. That used to happen a bunch.

Have you ever bought a book just because you liked the cover?

Fuck yeah. The cover can set the tone for an unknown title!

What was your favourite book when you were a child?

Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew, and the Edward Eager magic books. I adored ALL of those immensely. I remember my mom telling me that the "Babysitter Club" books were a waste of paper and literary garbage. I then communicated this verbatim to the Elementary School Librarian who was absolutely appalled. I guess I owe some of my book snobbery to my Momma.

What book changed your life? 

"Cunt" by Inga Musico. That woman altered my life course forever.

What is your favourite passage from a book?

There are a million, but I suppose I can share a full excerpt from "Loose Woman"

They say I’m a beast.
And feast on it. When all along
I thought that’s what a woman was.

They say I’m a bitch.
Or witch. I’ve claimed
the same and never winced.

They say I’m a macha, hell on wheels,
viva-la-vulva, fire and brimstone,
man-hating, devastating,
boogey-woman lesbian.
Not necessarily,
but I like the compliment.

The mob arrives with stones and sticks
to maim and lame and do me in.
All the same, when I open my mouth,
they wobble like gin.

Diamonds and pearls
tumble from my tongue.
Or toads and serpents.
Depending on the mood I’m in.

I like the itch I provoke.
The rustle of rumor
like crinoline.

I am the woman of myth and bullshit.
(True. I authored some of it.)
I built my house of ill repute.
Brick by brick. Labored,
loved and masoned it.

...

I’m an aim-well,
shoot-sharp,
sharp-tongued,
sharp-thinking,
fast-speaking,
foot-loose,
loose-tongued,
let-loose,
woman-on-the-loose
loose woman.
Beware, honey.

I’m Bitch. Beast. Macha.
Wachale!
Ping! Ping! Ping!
I break things.

What is your favourite classic book? 

"Huckleberry Finn" really stood out to me in 7th grade. For reasons that many wouldn't think. While it's not a "favourite" book, it was a pivotal book and I think that carries just as much weight.

For the full set of questions, you can go here.

 What books are YOU reading right now? What book changed your life the most?

Maybe most importantly, what book do you think I should read next?!?!?

Why don't you fill this out too? Make sure to link me, I love reading about other people reading!

xoxox