AMA Answers #3

The final answers to questions y'all asked on my "Ask Me Anything" post.  If anyone asks questions on it from here on out, I'll just answer them in the comments on that post, okay?

Elizabeth Grace Foley

Do you keep a pen-and-paper record of books read?

In a way.  I keep a more-or-less-daily journal, and in that, I record when I start and finish reading a book.  I also record watching movies and TV show eps in it.  I also still have the written record of all the books I read from about 4th through 12th grade, which is cool to read through sometimes.  Gives me good ideas of books to get for my kids, too.

What do you think is the best/most accurate book-to-movie adaptation you've seen?

Oh my.  Um.  Well, hmm.  I'm not a huge stickler for accuracy in my adaptations because if it's just lifting the words off the page and sticking them in actors' mouths, it's kind of pointless -- I want an adaptation to bring something new to the experience, to make it richer somehow instead of just showing me the exact things I get from reading the book myself.

That being said, I don't know if any adaptation has ever captured a book's spirit quite so well as Anne of Green Gables (1985).

Have you seen Cranford?

Not yet!  My library has it, so I'm hoping to see it soon.


Heidi Peterson

How about your favorite western book? 

Oooooh, good question!  Um, the one I've read most often is probably The Virginian by Owen Wister.  I really love Hondo by Louis L'Amour too, though.

And how many states have you traveled in total?

Forty-eight!  Still haven't hit Alaska or Hawaii.


Ashley

Well, what is your favorite Pixar movie?

Toy Story (1995).  Just posted my list of my 10 favorite animated movies here yesterday :-)

Also, are you a Star Wars fan?

I am!  I love Han Solo the mostest, but also Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Marvel or DC?

Marvel.  There's only one DC hero I love, namely Robin, but I love ever so many Marvel characters!  Especially Wolverine.  And Thor and Spidey and Professor X and Captain America and and and and...

Have you ever been to an amusement park?

I have been to lots of them!  (Okay, six.)  I'm very fond of amusement parks.  Especially roller coasters.  I could ride roller coasters all day.  Which is why my favorite amusement park is Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, which has lots and lots and lots of roller coasters!  In fact, it's called the Roller Coaster Capital of the World :-)

If you couldn't live in the state where you live now, where would you live?

If I could pick any state, you mean?  I really loved living in North Carolina and Wisconsin, so either of those.


Ekaterina

What is your favorite Austen novel?

Persuasion.  And Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth are also my favorite Austen heroine and hero.

What is your favorite film adaptation?

The Man from Snowy River (1982), which is inspired by a poem of the same name, by A. B. "Banjo" Paterson.  It's also my favorite movie of all time :-)

If you were on an isolated island, which books would you want to have with you?

The Bible, complete works of Shakespeare, and the complete Sherlock Holmes canon.  I'd do pretty well with those!

What was the book that made you fall in love with literature?

If you mean what book made me realize I could love classic literature, then it was The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, which I first read when I was 11.

Why did you start blogging?

Initially, way back in 2002, I started Hamlette's Soliloquy because I wanted to see if anyone would be interested in reading my rambly thoughts.  I liked the idea of having a place online where strangers could connect with me and we could discuss whatever I was interested in.

I started The Edge of the Precipice ten years later because I wanted to have all my book reviews together in one place where I could link them together with labels and make them easy for people to find.  I had written book reviews on several earlier blogs which I have since abandoned, then wrote some on Hamlette's Soliloquy too, but I really wanted one place for all my book-related thoughts that was self-contained.

I've also had a writing-focused blog, a crafting-focused blog, and a homeschooling-focused blog, but like I said, I've abandoned them for various reasons, mostly because I didn't have as much to say on those subjects as I'd thought.  I do have a recipe blog still, called We Cook Too Much, which I started because my sister-in-law wanted a searchable archive of the recipes Cowboy and I have tried and found tasty.  I update it sporadically.

Do you like white, milk, or dark chocolate?

Yes!  I even like white chocolate even though it isn't really chocolate.


Elizabeth Anne D.

Dark chocolate or milk chocolate?

I prefer dark if I have a choice, but milk is tasty too :-9  And thanks to all these questions about chocolate, I just ate a Lindt truffle.

Have you seen 'Merlin'? If so, what did you think of it?

Nope, never have.  Sorry!

~~~~

Thanks for all the awesome questions, everyone!  This has been a ton of fun.  I think when I hit 900 posts on Hamlette's Soliloquy sometime this summer, I'll done one of these over there too.

AMA Answers #2

More of my answers to your charming questions on my "Ask Me Anything" post last week.  (And if you still want to leave a comment asking questions, you certainly may.  I'll finish up answering the rest in a couple days.)

CGrace

-What is the most difficult/hard to finish book you've ever read? Did you end up getting through it?

Hmm.  Probably The Iliad.  I did finish it, but it took me over a month, and I was not particularly enthusiastic about it.

-What are you primarily- a reader who writes, or a writer who reads? Somebody asked me this recently and I thought it was a fascinating question.

That IS a fascinating question!  I think I am a reader who writes.  I tend to write books because I myself want to read them, and no one else has written them yet, so I have to.

-If you were stranded on a desert island with one book character, who would you select?

Robinson Crusoe.  He's so clever and resourceful!  And also has remarkable faith.

(Yes, I know this wasn't the most faithful adaptation ever.
HOWEVER!  Pierce Brosnan is always a good idea.)

-Favorite Ice Cream Flavor? :)

Mint chocolate chip :-9


Naomi Bennet

How did you meet 'Cowboy'? :-)

We met at college, at the beginning of my sophomore year, his freshman.  We had two classes together that fall semester, Self-Defense and German.  I found him conceited and annoying, but he was friends with some of my friends, so I kept bumping into him outside classes, and once I got beneath what I had perceived to be hubris, I discovered he was intelligent, kind, and sincere, just without a great deal of social grace, shall we say.  Also, he had magnificently broad shoulders and really cute dimples :-)  And he kept showing up places where I was, like sitting by me in chapel, eating lunch with me and our mutual friends, so I got the feeling he liked me.  (He swears this was unintentional.)

During the spring semester, he asked to borrow some notes from me.  I screwed my courage to the sticking point and wrote in the margins, "If you like me so much, why don't you ask me out already?"  So he did.  We've been together ever since.  

Have you read Gone with the Wind? Like, Love or Hate?

I have.  I liked it fine, but have no great desire to read it again any time soon.  I do watch the movie every few years, though.

Have you ever visited the UK?

No, but it's on my bucket list!  I want to visit Baker Street, the Globe Theater, Stratford on Avon, interesting Jane Austen sites, something J.R.R Tolkien-related... all sorts of literary places :-)

What's your favourite Jane Austen movie?

The 1996 Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow.

Have you seen Little Dorrit?

No :-(  I have to admit I'm not a huge Dickens fan.  However, lots of people speak so highly of that adaptation that I've added it to my to-watch list.  (Plus, Matthew Macfadyen!)

Have you ever found a note in a library book? Or written one, for that matter?

I have found all sorts of interesting things in library books, sometimes tucked in the pages, sometimes scribbled in the margins.  I've found grocery lists, old cash register receipts, and sometimes a note to someone else.  I've also read books where someone felt compelled to correct a typo, and sometimes I've found a comment or word written in, for whatever reason.  I myself Do Not Ever Write In Library Books.  I've probably accidentally left some oddment I was using as a bookmark in one at some time or other, though.  

OH!  I just remembered that after reading The Man in the Box by Mary Lois Dunn for the third or fourth time, I wrote a poem about it (I was probably 14 or so) called "To the Reader:  An Ode" (not at all a pretentious 14-year-old, you can see), copied it off on a sticky note, and stuck it inside the front cover of the book.  I used to go and check and see if it was still there when I went to the library, and for a long time, it was.

That's all for today, kiddos.  Thanks for all the fascinating questions!  

AMA Answers #1

Here I am, beginning to answer the questions people asked me in response to my "Ask Me Anything" invitation in my 400th post.  Thanks for all the cool questions, everyone!  I'll be answering more in a couple of days.

Daniel

"What is your favorite book (If you had to pick just one)"

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.  Only within the last few years have I admitted that, though.  Until I was about 30, I would have said, The Black Stallion by Walter Farley because that was my favorite book since I was about 7 years old, and I have a really hard time admitting to myself that I like something better than what has always been my most favorite.  However, I do now love Jane Eyre more, and have admitted it to the world.

Olivia

"What are your top five TV shows?"

Combat! (1962-67)
Angel (1999-2004)
The Big Valley (1965-69)
Five Mile Creek (1983-85)
Cheyenne (1955-63)

Interestingly, I only watched one of these in its original run, namely Angel.  The rest I've discovered via reruns or videos.  Angel is also the only one I started watching as an adult.

"You love the character of Boromir (as rightly you should!). Do you think that people tend to judge him too harshly?"

I think a lot of people do.  I know that before I went to see The Fellowship of the Ring in the theater for the first time (remember, I had never read the books before I saw the movies), I mentioned to some friends that I was excited about Sean Bean being in it, and one of them said, "Oh, no!  But he's playing the bad guy!"  I was like, "Oh, I'm used to that, I don't care."  I came out of the movie going, "How can you say he's the bad guy?"  Because I don't think of him that way at all, but a lot of people seem to dismiss him as weak or selfish or mean or bad.  (I wrote a big post about him here a while ago, if you want to know more of my thoughts about him.)

"Do you enjoy animated movies?"

Indeed, I do!  I love many animated movies, and I'm working on a list of my top ten to post on my other blog soon.

"Who is your favorite actor (or top three)? How about favorite actress (or top three)?"

Actors:

1.  John Wayne
2.  Hugh Jackman
3.  Val Kilmer

Actresses:

1.  Maureen O'Hara
2.  Sandra Bullock
3.  Doris Day

"And, just because you gave me this question, chocolate and peanut butter or chocolate and mint?"

If I had to choose only one for the rest of my life, chocolate and peanut butter.  But I dearly love chocolate and mint too.

Isaac Benjamin

"Have you read the Poetics by Aristotle?"

Not in its entirety, no.  I did read selections from it, years ago, when I took a class on the history of dramatic criticism.

"Have you read the divine comedy by Dante? Does the first third of it make you squeamish?"

Nope.  So, also, nope.  I've read a few selections from it, and I've read kind of a summary so I know the basics of what it's about, but that's it.  I haven't read his Inferno either.

Post 400 -- Ask Me Anything!

This is my 400th post on this blog!  Pretty crazy, huh?  I thought I'd open this up to all my blogging friends -- ask me anything, book-related or not, and I'll answer your questions in future posts.  As long as they're tasteful, of course ;-)