Hey, Folks.
Just another little activity to fill the days as we sit in our domiciles and await the glorious day when we get the all-clear signal. (And even when we do, I plan to hole up a bit longer, just to make sure. I’m more than happy to let other brave souls test the waters. I’m fine with not being the hero, no shame in my game.) Anyway, the theme for this quiz is “Books”. Answer any or all or none, it’s entirely up to you…
ONE
What book are you currently reading? If in between books, what was the last book that you attempted/finished? (Don’t worry if said book is a bit smutty. If you follow me on Goodreads, you’ll see that I recently lusted my way through a string of gay erotica titles. Again, no shame. That’s what I was reading; that’s what I reported. Honesty is so much easier than pretense.) And if you don’t read books, we need to sit down and have a discussion. Once we get the all-clear.
Speaking of Goodreads, you can hook up with me here. To be honest, I don’t spend a LOT of time on the site, but I do keep my reading activities updated as well as my shockingly-large inventory. You can learn a lot about a person from the literary choices they make.
TWO
This question is two-fold. What fictional character did you identify with as a child, and what fictional character do you identify with now? This doesn’t have to be an absolute. You can list multiple characters or a vague generalization. (“I always felt connected to characters who never got picked for playground competitions. My mother made me wear striped polyester pants in elementary school. Horizontal stripes. It took me a long time to feel whole again.”)
THREE
If you could turn back time and be given a chance to enter this world as an author who is now writing in the starry sky, who would you be? (In case it’s not clear, you can’t be someone who is still living. That would cause a disruption in the time-space continuum and we don’t have, well, time for that.) List multiple authors if you can’t narrow it down. Even the best of us change our minds at any given moment, so it’s always good to have a back-up reincarnation plan.
FOUR
What book(s) did you read later in life that you wish you had encountered much earlier? Alternative query: What book(s) have you read that actually made you question one of your fundamental beliefs? Alternative, Part Two: If neither of the preceding rings a bell, what book(s) do you continually reread because they still satisfy despite all the rinsing and repeating?
FIVE
What book have you read that would make a terrific movie, but no one has ever bothered to do so? (Be careful with your response. This is Bonnywood. We know movies, and you don’t want to feel like you’re wearing striped polyester pants again.) Alternative: What movie(s) do you consider to be terrible adaptions of otherwise really great books?
Okay, that’s all for now. Let’s see where you go with it.
Cheers.
Categories: Hope
Bonnywood Manor 
I’ve been suffering from “Reader’s Block” for almost 6 months. I pick up a book and my mind wanders. It’s very frustrating!
I used to read 3 or 4 books a week. I was always reading. Now blog posts are about it for me.
I got half way through the newest collection of Zora Neale Hurston short stories and when school closed, my ability to read went kaput☹
I’m sure exhaustion plays a role, but it’s not the main cause.
Maybe I need a consult with Dr Brian…🤔
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I’ve also not been reading at anywhere near the pace I used to do so. I typically would get through 4 or 5 books in a week, easy. I have a mildly-plausible excuse in that I have been trying to finish some of my work-in-progress books (It’s been 6 years since I last published one. Six years!), but really, I just don’t have the focus anymore.
I am fascinated that your last effort was a Zora Neale Hurston collection. You intrigue me more and more every day…
And yes, Dr. Brian might have a plethora of useless advice for your predicament. I really need to drag him out of retirement…
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I discovered Zora when one of my daughters brought Their Eyes Were Watching God to my attention. She’d been assigned to read it & thought I’d like it.
I never went to college and have always felt the loss of learning opportunities. The degree doesnt matter since I’m 100% disabled now anyway, plus if I *could* work, I’d still be with the company I spent almost 15 years with.
Anyway…I ramble… I decided to learn about…well, everything. Biggest on the list was to read all the “Great Novels”. I’d pick an author and read THE book or all the books😂 I’ve read SO many books. Hugo, Dostoevsky, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Dickens… I love Dorothy Parker!
Now you have more (useless?) information about my goofy self.💌
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I read a book about Marilyn Monroe while on winter break. It wasn’t well written but it was well researched and the author didn’t sensattionalise. I used to read a lot of fiction, but now it’s mainly biographies, when I get the chance to read. And … I think I might finish your questions in a blog post. Would that work? 🙂
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First, I’ve always been fascinated with Marilyn. She was actually very intellectual, despite the “blonde bombshell” trappings in which she was confined. I have an older blog post with a quote from her that I really need to dig out…
Second, I would be thrilled if you finished the questions in a blog post. Of course, you may have already done so (I’m miserably behind with my blog-reading), so please forgive if that’s the case…
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Nope, I haven’t done it yet. I’m still up to my hairline in work.
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I am currently reading ‘Heroes’ by Stephen Fry, a follow up to his ‘Mythos’. Both are his retelling of the Ancient Greek myths in a kind of just giving you the important bits ‘…for Dummies’ way. This has given me enough knowledge of the various incestuous and creatively cruel immortals to cry out the answers when watching (the higher class) quiz shows, which does make Mrs Bryntin look at me very oddly.
Also, it makes me look a lot more intelligent than the bloke some of the UK chose for a PM, as Ancient Greek knowledge is all he’s any good at, whereas I now not only know a bit of that, I can also tie my own shoelaces, speak in sentences and walk past a large breasted blonde without feeling I have to impregnate her.
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There’s a lot going on with your comment, Bryntin. I feel compelled to assist you in some way, but I’m not sure if what I have to proffer has any relevance, whatsoever. On the flip side, the mere fact that you are reading actual books whilst most folks on this spinning mess of a planet read nothing more than the back of cereal boxes gives me some degree of hope…
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Yeah, I read. Many people are surprised by that.
Strangely. I have never been a great reader of poetry and verse, so I have no idea where my current output of that comes from.
What I am completely rubbish at though, is remembering much of it ‘on demand’… but bits of things pop up in my head at random times, so it must go in there somewhere.
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1/Dance Of The Reptiles Carl Hiaasen 2/As a kid-None; Now, Dexter Morgan!? ( Might have something to do with binge-watching while being in lockdown) 3/ Peter Cook. 4 /Slaughterhouse 5, Kurt Vonnegut; The questioning of beliefs, The Capture and Trial of Adolph Eichmann Moshe Pearlman (learning that horror is so matter of fact and monsters walk amongst us.) A reread is Earth Abides, George R. Stewart. 5/ Herb’n’Lorna, Eric Kraft. Not so much a bad adaptation for a movie but deeply disappointing; The Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy.
Now, about those horizontal striped pants- that’s straight out of ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ Anyway wearing something like that guarantees an ass kicking at any school, anywhere, My sympathies to your childhood self. Also, I see from Goodreads you want to read Kings ‘The Stand’? Noooo, not now, believe me.
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Dexter Morgan, eh? That certainly puts a new spin on many of your poetic enterprises. (Not that I’m judging, of course. We have the entire series on DVD. Loved it. Except for that last episode…)
Speaking of the Eichmann book, we studied Hannah Arendt’s “The Banality of Evil” many decades ago in college, and it still lingers…
I have added “Earth” and “Herb” to my Kindle wish list…
And yes, “The Stand” is not a particularly good choice at the moment, but I’ve read it before and I’m fully prepared. I just happened to catched the massive “uncut edition” on sale not too long ago, and I snapped it up, as I haven’t perused that version…
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Earth Abides is very dated, was when I read it, but ‘The Stand’ might not have been written if not for it. I looked back at my books and there is a world weary slant to it. Ah well, you are what you read. Plus I seem to be the sole CONTRARY viewer who liked the last Dexter episode. He tries to become what he thought he was at first, dead inside?
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I never respond to quizzes, but this one tempts me. So
1) The Meaning of Lift by Melinda Gates
2) Maybe a character in Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
3) Douglas Adams, Pearl Buck, Nelson Mandela
4) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5) Winterdance by Gary Paulsen
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Thank you for taking the time, Peggy. (I often don’t participate as well, so it was a bit hypocritical for me to throw this quiz out there.) I think your choices are terrific, although I haven’t heard of the last one. I’ll have to check it out…
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I think you’d love Winterdance.
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Currently reading Susan Orleans’ THE LIBRARY BOOK, and recommend it highly. Orleans manages to make what sounds like a rather mundane topic absolutely riveting. The central story of the book is the massive 1986 arson(?) fire of the main branch of the Los Angeles Library System, but she weaves into it spellbinding stories about library history and fascinating and quirky people. She’s a masterful writer, and I often find myself rereading sentences to savor her word choice and the way she puts words together.
You didn’t exactly ask this question, but I’ll answer it anyway. The book I currently most recommend is THE RENT COLLECTOR, by Camron Wright. From the description, it sounds dreary, but it’s anything but. The setting is a municipal waste dump in Cambodia, where the residents live and eke out a living scavenging through the mountains of garbage. As grim as that sounds, it wasn’t! It’s a love letter to literacy and to people helping one another in the hardest of circumstances. It was uplifting, captivating, and even funny.
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Both of the these books sound very intriguing and I have added them to my Kindle wish list. Normally I would race off to the local Half-Price Books store (I love those treasure emporiums), but as you’re aware, things are a bit confined right now. Thanks for the suggestions!
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1-Healing Secrets of the Native Americans by: Porter Shimer
2-The wicked witch of The Wizard of Oz. The reason being she was green and had her own army of flying monkeys.Now…Still her…we all strive for acceptance and power in one way or another..she was a lost soul who needed to be saved.I was that once.
3-Emily Dickinson
4-Conversations with GOD
5-The True Story of St. Nicholas by Rebecca Benson Haskell
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This is a very intriguing round of answers. I’m especially drawn to your response on #2. How much of what we think of others is the result of not fully understanding the others? That’s a gracious insight…
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Yes. It reminds me of being in high school. The most popular girl was truly despised , even though almost every girl wanted to be her best friend. The reason why she was so despised? Because of their own insecurities and not loving and accepting themselves. As I have gotten older realized there is so much more to life then wrestling with myself esteem .
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Thank you for taking the time to read my answers!
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Here is my post on these intriguing questions: http://sparksfromacombustiblemind.com/2020/03/27/a-bibliophile-quiz-from-brian/
As usual my answers were lengthy, and it would have been rude to take your whole comments’ section to answer the questions. Great idea btw!!
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And, as usual, I have greatly enjoyed your ruminations on said post, Have I mentioned lately how much I value our friendship. Even if so, it bears repeating: You are a treasure. And I will fight anybody who dares to differ.
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1. “The Pale Horse” – Agatha Christie. I just dumped “Before We Were Yours” by Lisa Wingate after 2.5 chapters because it was boring and you knew where that whole story was going.
2. As a child, Jo March (of course!) as an adult? No one comes to mind, tho I tend towards Auntie Mame.
3. John Donne, William Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams
4. I got nothing except for Alternative Part 2 – poetry, lots and lots of poetry
5. I do not want any of the books I’ve ever read and liked to be made into movies – they would get totally mucked up and ruin the book for me. Well actually no, because I wouldn’t watch a movie based on a favorite book. Movies based on books I’ve never read – then it’s just, ya know, a movie.
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1. You have managed to highlight one of the few Christie books that I haven’t yet read. I am feverishly clicking away on my Kindle to rectify this matter.
2. Both of these choices resonate quite well with me.
3. As do all three of these.
4. I read poetry every day. Every. Day.
5. I can understand this. There have been so many times when I hear about a new movie based on a beloved read, and I think, no. No, no, no. But still they do it.
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Amazon Prime video has a new mini-series based on the book and I watched part of part 1 and it sucks, but the premise was intriguing so I got the book from my library and it is quite a bit different from the mini-series and you will never guess who did it!
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Oh, what fun! Here’s mine:
1) Currently rereading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (I read two disappointing novels in a row and needed to read something I knew I’d enjoy); also reading, “Selected Writings of Julian of Norwich” (a 14th century mystic) and “More with Less” (really it’s a cookbook, but it includes some great essays and instructions).
2) Um… I’m not sure I “identified” with this character, per se, but as a kid I read Stuart Little over and over and over again. He had a romantic nature, great integrity and style to boot. (Never saw the movie because from the trailer it looked like they didn’t open the book, much less read it.) As for present day… hmm… guess I’m still partial to Stuart.
3) Most of the authors I’m thinking of had terribly tragic lives… oh! I’ll go with Agatha Christie! Not only was she immensely productive and popular, she had that mysterious 10-day disappearance. (Oh, there’s so much I could do in 10 days… )
4) I wish I had read anything Sci-fi and fantasy much, much earlier, especially Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett. I had no idea what I was missing. They would have helped me through some dark times, both with their humor and their wisdom.
5) This is interesting… I did a quick search on my suggested books-to-movies, only to find out either Netflix or Amazon Prime did a series for them! Meaning my weekend is planned! Whoo-hoo!
Speaking of books-to-series, and if you read and enjoyed Jonathan Strange (#1), did you catch Netflix’s series of it about five years ago? Oh. So. Good. 🧙🏽
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1. I have not perused Susanna Clarke’s novel, nor the other two. But I fully understand the bit about “disappointing novels” and the need for a comfort read.This is probably the basis behind my run of erotica-reading earlier this year. I knew exactly what to expect.
2. I don’t remember any experiences with Stuart Little as a young un. I knew “of”, but not “about”. In some ways, this might explain everything that happened to me since then.
3. I’m up for a 100-day disappearance. As long as loved ones understand that it’s about “me time” and not something more grisly.
4. Luckily for me, I tripped into fantasy literature at a very young age. This might also explain what has happened since.
5. I did not read or catch. Our Netflix bucket is brimming, but I have no qualms about adding even more. We have a stockpile that will get us through the next century.
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Reading 2 books
42nd Parallel by John Dos Passos
Double Life. A Bio of Norman Mailer
I guess as a kid I identified with Hornblower.
Now? I think I need a lifeline or whatever they do in that game show when the player is stumped
Mark Twain and Jack London
Great Expectations. I’d encountered it in high school as an assignment but I avoided it and flunked.
Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian. It was tried but the book is so violent that the producers gave up as I recall.
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I like John Dos Passos, and I can enjoy Norman Mailer, but he had some issues that I don’t agree with. Just being honest.
More honesty: I’ve never read anything by C.S. Forester. I’ll take the demerit in this case. It wasn’t intentional, just circumstance.
Good choices with Twain and London, but I lean towards Twain.
Odd bit of personal history about “Great Expectations”: I read it whilst perched on the back of my dad’s motorcycle as we endured a week’s long journey of an attempt at father-son bonding in my childhood, with the wind whipping away pages as I turned them. I am saving this comment, as you have triggered a story that bears further analysis.
I’m not familiar with this particular Cormac book, but it sounds like I should be.
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Mailer. Issues? He had enough issues and such a wide variety of them that I doubt there was anybody in existence that he didn’t put off in some manner.
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One of my all-time favourite books is Chalktown, by Melinda Haynes. I think it would make a great film, and I wish more people I know had read it so that I could talk about it with someone!
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I will do my best to track down Melinda’s novel, just do we can dissect it together…
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Oh Brian! How you do try me.
#1. You know I don’t read books. Sigh. I guess we’re going to have to go out behind the barn and have a little word of prayer.
#2. Hmmm. As a child…”Cinder-fucking-rella.” Who would I identify with now? Maybe Riley on “Peppermint.”
A#3. Oh, Geeze. Um…I don’t read books, but I know quite a lot about them and their authors. Maybe Hemingway? But…he killed himself. Maybe F. Scott Fitzgerald? But…he died young from a heart attack. Maybe James Fenimore Cooper? But…he died relatively young as well.
A#4. For crying out loud with the books! I have only read one book. Wasn’t life altering or anything. I did read my book. Oh wait…does reading the Bible count? I don’t read it anymore but I sure did when I was just a sweet young thing. Oh! And I was an avid reader of the dictionary. I loved it. For our first Christmas together, POS gave me a dictionary. I tried raising my children to use it. When they asked me what a word meant or how to spell it, I told them to look it up in the dictionary. “If I tell you, you will forget it by tomorrow. If you look it up, you will remember it forever.” (Not sure it worked, but I thought it sounded good.) I guess I continually read the dictionary.
#5. LOL. I think my book would make a terrific movie, but no one would believe it. I’ve heard tales of movies all but castrating books, but I have no idea since I don’t read. If the movie The Last of The Mohicans by Cooper is accurate, then it contains one of the saddest lines I have ever heard, although most of the time, it is edited out. Sigh.
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1. I’m not sure that “prayer” would the result of our barn-visit, but I’m sure it will be fun.
2. I can understand that Cinderella angle. (I desperately yearned for a rescuing prince in my wee years. Of course, I wan’t allowed to speak of such blasphemy, so I kept it to myself.) I’ll have to research the Riley/Peppermint angle, as I’m clueless.
3. Well, that’s a bit depressing, when you look at if from the death angle. But I’m still kicking at 55, so I guess I shouldn’t worry about, Wait a minute. Hemingway bit it at 61 or some such. I’d best keep taking my anxiety medication.
4. I also read the dictionary as a wee bairn. Page after page, late into the night. I firmly believed that knowledge would get me out of the hell hole. The jury is still out on my success.
5. If a movie was actually made about your life (it COULD happen, don’t be coy), what actress would best portray you?
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#1. The word of prayer was usually a “whooping.”
#2. Peppermint was a movie. I watched it the other night and it was really good. Just Jennifer Garner on a killing rampage for revenge. LOL
#3. They say all the good ones die young…so there ya go.
#4. I really enjoyed reading the dictionary. I remember learning to spell what was then the longest word in the English language. Still know how to spell it today…and pronounce it.
#5. I think as a wee one…Dakota Fanning (when she was a wee one.) I’m not sure about later. I know the few times my hair was a little shorter, men would come up to me and say I looked just like Angie Dickinson. One of the idiots actually asked for my autograph. She was in a movie with Lee Marvin and I showed it to my daughters. They freaked out when they saw it. They said, “mom! What are you doing in bed with that man!” Bwahahahahaha!
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I remember that movie with Angie Dickinson and Lee Marvin. And now I have a visual in my head that won’t go away…
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Bwahahahaha! I showed my son that clip on YouTube. He gasped and said “whoa!” LOL
I don’t know any modern day actresses who look like her. I, of course, never saw the comparison. I’ve always thought I was sort of funny-looking.
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