The House that Los Built

“Name a favorite literary couple and tell me why they are a favorite. If you cannot choose just one, that is okay too. Name as many as you like–sometimes narrowing down a list can be extremely difficult and painful. Or maybe that’s just me.”

For the Booking Through Thursday meme:

What was the last book you bought?

I had to actually think about this; I've been using interlibrary loan so much that I haven't set foot in a bookstore or ordered from Amazon in weeks. Note to self: get thee to a bookstore. And a yarn shop. Touch something shiny.

Anyway, the last paper book (a comic, actually) I bought would have to be the first issue of Doctor Who: The Forgotten, which arrived last week and was greatly enjoyed.

Name a book you have read MORE than once

Little Women | The Westing Game | A Wrinkle in Time | Crime and Punishment (my head can be a weird place) 

Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?

Crime and Punishment really messed me up for about 4 years, especially after I'd read Thus Spoke Zarathustra. I'm still feeling the aftershocks 25 years later. Damn, I'm getting old.

How do you choose a book? eg. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews

Actually, I filter through all sorts of means, although I'm least likely to actually read a book someone has recommended to me, no matter how much I may actually WANT to read the book. My mood generally dictates my reading, and sometimes I want a particular texture in the reading which may be physical (color), emotional, or social.

Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?

Fiction, definitely, although as I get older it's harder to commit to multiple worlds at once.

What’s more important in a novel - beautiful writing or a gripping plot?

I'm going to be a weasel here and say both; I like a balance between the two. Too much of the former feels self-indulgent and pointless, too much of the latter rushes me through too quickly and I get indigestion.

Most loved/memorable character (character/book)

Today, it's Meg in A Wrinkle in Time. Charles Wallace is a close second.

Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?

Robert Fagles' translation of The Odyssey. Cornelia Funke's Inkheart. David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest. Homer's getting the most action these days.

What was the last book you’ve read, and when was it?

Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. I re-read it a couple of weeks ago to teach it.

Have you ever given up on a book half way in?

Yes, although I try to follow a 100 page rule on novels of 300 pages or more--if I'm not invested 100 pages in, I shelve it and hope that later in life it will appeal.