BOOK QUIZ

So, alright, I really don't expect anyone to actually read this. I'm just doing it for lulz. And to have something tangible to reflect upon my literary preferences whenever I decide to... reflect.

Top 3 authors:
1. Ken Kesey
2. Ray Bradbury
3. William Faulkner

Top 3 male characters:
1. Quentin Compson, from the Sound and the Fury (Faulkner)
2. Harding, from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Kesey)
3. Chief Bromden Jr., from One Flew Over

Top 3 female characters:
1. Lyra, from Philip Pullman's Dark Materials
2. Nadia, from the City of the Beasts trilogy, by Isabel Allende
3. Lalla, from Michael Ondaatje's Running in the Family

Top 30 fiction books in no particular order:
1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
2. Something Wicked This Way Comes
3. The Illustrated Man
4. The Martian Chronicles
5. Summerland
6. Farenheit 451
7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
9. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
10. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
11. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
12. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
13. The Hobbit
14. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
15. To Kill a Mockingbird
16. Wicked
17. Son of a Witch
18. A Lion Among Men
19. Mirror, Mirror
20. The Golden Compass
21. The Amber Spyglass
22. The Subtle Knife
23. the Artemis Fowl series
24. The Chronicles of Narnia
25. Sabriel
26. Lirael
27. Abhorsen
28. Shade's Children
29. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
30. Through the Looking Glass

Top 3 books most recently read:
1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
2. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
3. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Worst 3 books ever read:
1. Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen
2. The Ragwitch by Garth Nix
3. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

Top 5 scenes from any book:
1. When Ella breaks the curse in Ella Enchanted
2. When Lyra and Will say their last goodbyes in the Amber Spyglass
3. When Liesel kisses Rudy as he lies dead on the street
4. When the Chesire Cat tells Alice that "we're all mad here"
5. When Candle saves Liir's life by having sex with him while he's unconscious, or in a coma... I forget which.

The book(s) that made me cry the most:
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when Fred dies
2. the same, when Hermione is tortured and Ron's pounding on the door, half-sobbing
3. The Amber Spyglass (pretty much the entire last half of that book)
4. Basically all of Lois Lowry's books
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, when Sirius died. J.K. Rowling, you heartless bitch, I respect you for your gall and for being courageous enough to do what bitches like Stephenie Meyer could never bring themselves to do.

The book(s) that made me laugh the most:
1. the entire Harry Potter series
2. the Artemis Fowl series
3. the Twilight saga, because if I didn't laugh I'd cry from RAGE
4. Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
5. Dear Dumb Diary, for sheer immaturity and honesty

The 5 book(s) that made me feel the best at the end:
1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
2. Philip Pullman's Dark Materials
3. Michael Chabon's Summerland
4. Shade's Children by Garth Nix
5. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Contemporary or Historical?
1. Eh, a mixture. It really depends, because fantasy really transcends both. You find contemporary alternate universes and ancient Old Magic. It's all over the place.

Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror?
1. Fantasy, by far. But sci-fi is also spectacular. Don't really have much horror under my belt, but I still have half an anthology to finish of horror stories. Maybe I'll change my tune then.

Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback?
1. Paperback, if it's a bigger book (either by thickness or length by width.) If it's smaller, say, roughly the size of my hand length-by-width-wise, I'd rather it be hardback. Easier to hold, and snaps shut so spectacularly.

Barnes & Noble or Amazon?
Barnes & Noble, by far. I hate looking at books online; it just reminds me of all the knowledge I'll never retain... All the books I've never be able to get my hands on... *sigh*

Bookmark or Dog-ear?
I can't stand when people dog-ear the pages. It's cool if they've been that way before and they're smoothed out now, but if I see someone doing it I cringe, and a part of me dies. Bookmarks are nice, but I like little scraps of paper or cards rather than an actual bookmark.

Alphabetize by author, alphabetize by title, or organize not at all?
It goes by personal preference. The less amazing series/authors go in the back, and the best ones are displayed right in front by author, and kept together in chronological order within the author category.

Star Wars or Star Trek?
Star Wars, only because of the one and only graphic novel I own. It fucking kicks ass, I wish I had the rest of the series. But alas.

Keep, Throw Away, or Sell?
YOU DO NOT THROW A BOOK AWAY UNLESS IT IS UNREADABLE. That is all. I like to exchange books rather than sell. But more than anything, I keeeeep.

Keep dust-jacket or toss it?
Keep it in a box somewhere. Those are important!

Read with dustjacket or remove it?
Remove and keep it safe. It won't get dusty what with all the reading I'm doing.

Little Women or Anne of Green Gables?
Anne of Green Gables. The characters in Little Women are so dreary, and Anne is like the original Ginny Weasley.

Short story or novel?
Mmm, novels. I like plays better than short stories, but I'd rather write a short story than a novel.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
It depends. Usually I'll stop when I can't keep my eyes open anymore, but sometimes if I have to do something else, or if I know that I'm too distracted and I'm not absorbing the story properly, I'll just stop where I stop.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
Once upon a time. Faerie tales are the mother of all literature.

Tear Jerker or Belly Laugh?
Belly laugh, by far. It happens far more often; it's hard for me to cry because of a book. Movies do it better, but only because in a book I can refuse to believe what's happened (like when Fred died) but in the movie I'll see his dead broken body lying there... I really do appreciate anything that can make me cry, though. Eternal respect and all that.

Charlotte, Emily, or Anne Brontë?
Judging by the fact that I don't know any of these characters, I will go ahead and say Elizabeth Bennett.

Buy or Borrow?
...Alright, I know it's horrible, but I love to steal books. It usually happens that we're reading at school and I just get this connection with a particular book; if a book touches me particularly I must have that exact copy. So, uh, I just... Just, y'know, sneak it.

Buying choice: Book Reviews, Recommendation, or Browse?
Y'know, it's very rare that I actually buy a book. I usually get them from others. So I guess that falls under recommendation.

Collection (short stories by the same author) or Anthology (short stories by different authors)?
It depends. Anthologies, I suppose; I have more of them and they're good for having a variety of styles/genres.

Crane or Conrad?
Calvin (and Hobbes.)

Standalone or Series?
Ah... I'm gonna have to go with series for most fantasy, and standalone for other genres. It's just that fantasy has so many places it can go, and if there has to be fifty books to explore all the options, so be it.

Tidy ending or Cliffhanger?
Tidy ending in that major things are explained, but enough of a cliffhanger where it's open for interpretation. This is why I choose to believe that Rowling's 7th book epilogue wasn't written by her. It was just something some young cheeky fangirl wrote and snuck into the manuscript by some convoluted and Godforsaken turn of events. I mean, Rose and Hugo? REALLY?!

Morning reading, afternoon reading, or nighttime reading?
Afternoon, if the weather's nice. Nighttime, all the time.


New or used?
UsedusedusedusedusedusedusedusedusedusedUSED.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
Uhhh... Something Wicked This Way Comes. I know it's not that obscure, because ol' Ray's pretty fuckin' popular, but I've yet to come across-- OH WAIT, THE BOOK THIEF. Terribly wonderful book. Tear jerker. Oh, shit, that should have gone in the crying section. Pretend it was there. Markus Zusak. Read it.

Upon reflection, that book is terribly sad. I'm so glad I remembered it. It should be first on my tear jerker section. Maaayn.

So I don't forget...

"This isn't about helping the poor little rich guy, or the sex, or pride or anything other than the glorious chance of two people finding each other and going through hell or high water to keep hold of that."

Came across this today, and it stuck to me.

काठेरिने

My writing fucking sucks lately. I can hardly even write a letter. I've got so many vague ideas but it's impossible to pull them together. Faulkner doesn't even help. Fuuuhhhh.


I've had the shittiest day. I'm glad Elisa's was perfect though.


Fuck me, man. Fuck me and my life.

Listening to: Beast of Burden, by the Rolling Stones

More adventures completed. No photographic evidence as of yet, though. My disposable cameras have to yet to be used completely, and consequently there are no photos developed. It's interesting: having to wait; not knowing exactly how a picture came out; knowing that you only have this many pictures left until it's done; not being able to delete pictures. You've got to learn to pick and choose.

I bought two kites today. They're these little butterflies, about the size of my hand. Adorable. Elisa's is purple, and mine's orange and blue. Awweeesssooommmeee.

Uhhh, nothing much else. Oh, a Freudian slip. Woman versus women. Intentional or no? Meaningless or meaningful?

Also, what does the phrase "on yo nutzz" mean? Lulz. hahaha

12. Adventure in the Desert

There's this whole other world out there that I used to know nothing about. I'm so glad we decided to become acquainted.

Wild Horses

It's hard losing friends. All I have now is Elisa, and Catherine. Even my sister seems so far away.

I wonder, should I complain about not getting any attention? Or about not being able to like anyone? Or being so naive in my innocence, worn so proudly like a badge of white pinned to my sleeve?

I think life would be so much easier if I could carry music around in my pocket. Honestly. It'd be like having a soundtrack to my life, and I wouldn't feel so alone. I'd be like girl under a tree with a book alone, but the music in my ears would fill the space in my heart and I'd feel so okay.


"Wild horses couldn't drag me away..."

♥

I enjoyed your company, dearest Viktorria
love, Zoey
aka, Little Kitty
also, reeeooowwwww

Falling from grace, gracelessly

We adventured yesterday, did things we didn't normally do. Three hour escapade in the desert, meeting up with Dad Heather in a cave for a picnic, clambering onto the roof for music and staying for a nap underneath the clear, inquisitive, curious stars. They are what make me love this place. A midnight nap, and dragging things off the shelves to create something from what most consider nothing, flowers pressed in Bibles, music, music, and more, changed, music; sweaters and tucked in shirts and fathers calling to pick me up.

Bewks

1. Grimm's Faerie Tales
2. Wicked
3. Son of a Witch
4. A Lion Among Men
5. the Catcher in the Rye
6. Aesop's Fables
7. Love in the Time of Cholera
8. Middlesex
9. Fight Club
10. Rant
11. Summerland
12. The Magician's Nephew
13. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
14. A Streetcar Named Desire
15. Fahrenheit 451
16. The Illustrated Man
17. The Martian Chronicles
18. Something Wicked This Way Comes
19. Tortilla Flats
20. To Kill a Mockingbird

There. Now it's official, because I can't change any of it.

*eyes edit button* Oh, wait...

♀♥♀

What's the difference between thinking you love someone and loving someone, right now? Love is intangible; you cannot prove or disprove its existence. It exists in hearts and minds and music and bones, and if you believe you love someone than you must actually love someone. Perception is reality, after all. Retrospect may shed a different light, but from embarrassment or pride or disgust or regret: they do not erase what has been. You cannot unlove what you have once loved.

Isn't it remarkable how ridiculously thin the line between love and hate is? One minute you're spitting and punching and kicking and the next you're kissing and biting and loving, and it's all the same, the fire still burns the same way, you get off on one just as well as the other.

You can never really forget the reasons why you loved someone. Even after so many days, after countless months, after so many years-- the reasons can be examined with a cold eye and a silent heart, if you're lucky. If you're not, your heart bursts into flames again, the smoldering coals escalating into a roaring beast, and what can you do but be hopelessly in love again? Could be the blink of an eye, a moment, a heartbeat, a day, a lifetime, from that point on.

Could be forever.

And Time Marches on. No matter what we thought we heard, we were never promised anything else.