11 questions: books and me

I’ve been double-tagged by Alina Sayre and Mike Schulenberg for eleven book-related questions (thanks for thinking of me!).

But before we get started, here’s the fine print:

• Post the rules.
• Answer the questions.
• Pass the questions on to eleven people by tagging and linking to them.
• Let them know you’ve tagged them.
• Then cover yourself in whipped cream and chocolate sauce and do the macarena on top of your car. Post the vid. (Ha, ha, just kidding. Wanted to make sure you were really paying attention. The legalese will get you, you know).

Moving right along: more about my reading habits than you ever wanted to know.

1.  If you could live in a fictional world, where would that be?

A world with a temperate climate, geological stability, no wars, chocolate, and an Internet connection. Since that excludes pretty much all fictional worlds, I guess I’ll settle for Earth, on the grounds that two out of five is as good as I’ll get.

However: When I was a teenager, I wanted to live on Pern. That is, until I realized that the odds were vastly in favor of me ending up a nameless scullery drudge, kicked around by the most despised Lord Holder. Besides, I like modern medicine and flush toilets, and the whole forced-mating part of having a telepathic bond with a dragon is rather squicky.

2.  Fiction or non-fiction?

Mostly fiction, though non-fiction is gaining ground. Research, you see.

3.  Do you read in noisy or quiet places?

I’ve been known to read while biking (just on the driveway, not on the street!) and to work at my computer without earphones while a department meeting goes on around me. I think I can handle reading in all kinds of human ear-friendly noise levels.

4.  Do reviews influence your choice of reads?

If they’re written by people whose opinions I trust.

5.  Audio books or paperbacks?

Paperbacks all the way! I’m phenomenally good at filtering out noise–to the point that I have sat in my college dorm room with the Inspector Gadget theme song on repeat for about an hour. Yeah, I was surprised that my dorm mates didn’t form a lynch mob, too.

Blame my parents for not reading aloud much to me (maybe that’s why I was such an early reader?), but I can not stand people narrating books to me. Especially since I read so much faster than a person can narrate clearly.

6.  What was the first book you remember reading?

Peter and Jane. Those enthralling tales that invite the reader to: Look! look! Look at Jane run! See! See! See Pat catch the ball!

The first real chapter book I remember reading is my sister’s copy of The Secret Island by Enid Blyton.

7.  Favorite author?

Changes on my age, my mood, the position of the stars, what I ate for dinner, etc. Favorites that have stood the test of time are Diana Wynne Jones, Terry Pratchett, and Megan Whalen Turner. Recent favorites are Brandon Sanderson and Carol Berg.

8.  Classic or Modern Novels?

Modern, with occasional forays into older literary works.

9.  Have you ever met your favorite author?

I have met Carol Berg, and she is a sweetheart. I’ve Internet-stalked a few others (but obviously NOT in a scary, obsessive way, because I am, of course, a sane balanced person). Does that count?

10.  Book groups or solitary reading?

I read by myself, thanks.

11.  If you could read only one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?

That’s easy. The book is Rabia’s Desert Island Edition of Collected Works and would include the Bible, all of the Discworld novels, everything written by C.S.Lewis and G.K. Chesterton, Diana Wynne Jones’ Crestomanci and Howl books, Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy and The Way of Kings and a magic section at the back full of blank pages on which a Surprise Book appears every week.

Yes, that’s cheating. But I’m a writer. Making stuff up, finding loopholes, and thinking outside the box is what I’m supposed to do.

So there you have it! Since this meme has been going around a while, I won’t tag anyone unless they volunteer in the comments (oh, what a rebel I am!).