Ever since I saw this one on QOC's blog, I've been working on it. Answers would probably change week to week, but here's my take on it.
1. How many hours a day do you spend reading?
At work, probably 4 hours, between internet and paper. At home, probably about 2 hours.
2. How fast do you read?
Very fast. I can polish off a Dick Francis book in about an hour and a quarter.
3. What is your favorite book?
Too many to list. “Lord of the Rings” is way up there. So is “The Practice of the Presence of God.”
4. Who is your favorite author?
Robert Webber is very good, as is J.I. Packer. Tolkien and Dick Francis are up there, too.
5. What is your favorite action/adventure novel?
I really like Alistair MacLean’s books for action. Probably “Where Eagles Dare” or “The Golden Gate” are my favorites of his.
6. What is your favorite mystery novel?
Dorothy Sayers’ “Murder Must Advertise.”
7. What is your favorite romance novel?
Either “Ever After” by Elswyth Thane or “Pride and Prejudice.” Although there’s a sci-fi romance I read back in junior high called “Time Piper” that I really liked, too.
8. What is your favorite character novel?
I have no idea. I generally don’t read novels for “character.”
9. What is your favorite fantasy/sci-fi novel?
The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. But the Riddlemaster trilogy by McKillip comes pretty close.
And in my opinion, you can’t mash fantasy/sci-fi together, so I’ll split it. Favorite sci-fi novel is “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card. I’ve read it so many times I’ve just about got it memorized. Also, “Starship Troopers” by R.A. Heinlein is one of my very favorite books.
10. What is your favorite history book?
“The Story of Christianity” by Justo Gonzalez.
11. What is your favorite biography?
“Tolkien” by Humphrey Carpenter. I’m actually not a big fan of biographies.
12. What is your favorite other non-fiction book?
Rather a broad category. There have been a couple books I’ve read in seminary that I really liked – “Baptism” by Michael Green and “Worship Old and New” by Robert Webber.
13. What is your favorite play?
Hamlet. Both the Branagh and Gibson movies are awesome.
14. What is your favorite of the genres mentioned in questions 5-12?
Fantasy.
15. What is your favorite type of character?
Sarcastic but honorable.
16. If you could host a party with 7 literary characters, who would they be and why?
Note: My definition of “literature” includes popular novels.
Mat Cauthon (from Wheel of Time) – the life of the party type.
Elizabeth Bennett – to cut Mat down to size when he gets too fresh.
Miss Manners (okay, maybe it’s a stretch, but she’s DEFINITELY a character, even if not precisely literary) – to cut EVERYONE down to size.
Merlin (from the Stephen Lawhead trilogy) – to perform magic, preach, and toss off wise remarks.
Deth (from the Riddlemaster trilogy) – to provide music (for those who’ve never read it, he’s a harpist over 1,000 years old).
Corran Horn (from the X-Wing series) – to tell stories about his stints as X-wing pilot, police officer, and Jedi Knight.
Jeeves – to keep everything running smoothly.
Puddleglum – to make sure no one has TOO good a time.
17. Do you like film adaptations of books? If so, which is your favorite? Which is your least?
Not usually. I really liked “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” “The Fellowship of the Ring” was really good too – the other two, not as much. Also, I thoroughly enjoy “A Little Princess” – the Wonderworks version, most definitely NOT the modern version, which I intensely disliked. “The Princess Bride” is the only movie I know which is better than the book.
18. Who is your literary role model?
I don’t think I have one.
19. Which literary house would you like most to live in?
Rivendell.
20. Which literary couple would you like most for parents?
Um, how about Faramir and Eowyn?
21. Pick 3 literary characters you would like to have as siblings.
Merry and Pippin would be good (although you’d have to watch out for practical jokes, I think). Malcolm (from George MacDonald’s books) would be good, since he’s so devoted to family.
22. Who is your favorite literary villain?
I don’t like villains. In fact, if a book’s villain is too intensely bad, I’ve been known to give up reading it. If rating by how much they stick with me, Dorothy Dunnett’s villain Graham Malett is one of the worst, in my opinion. Padan Fain from the Wheel of Time is pretty bad, too.
23. Name a character that most people dislike, but that you do not. Why do you like them?
I don’t know if most people dislike Smeagol/Gollum, but I’ve always felt very sorry for him.
24. Which minor character deserves a book all to themselves, in your opinion?
Reepicheep.
25. Which character do you identify most with in literature?
I don’t. Although I wouldn’t mind being noble like Aragorn :).
26. If you could go into a novel, which one would it be and why?
Lord of the Rings, so I could explore Middle Earth.
27. Do you prefer hardback or paperback?
Paperback.
28. Do you like dustcovers?
Yes.
29. Do you like introductions, forwards, afterwards, and appendices?
Yes, and I tend to read them all. Footnotes are good too, which is one of the reasons I really enjoyed "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell."
30. Do you like reading literary criticism?
Very occasionally. Thomas Howard’s reviews of Charles Williams’ books really helped me understand them better.
31. Do you like new or used books? What about ex-library?
All of the above. Library book sales rock!
32. Are you likely to buy new books without having read them, or would you buy a used copy (or check it out from the library) to see if it is good or not?
I almost never buy a new book without reading it first, unless it’s highly recommended by someone whose taste I trust.
33. Name 3 - 7 books that you rarely see on people's favorite book lists that are high on your own.
“Song for the Basilisk,” Patricia McKillip.
“The Betrothed,” Sir Walter Scott.
“Berserker Man,” Fred Saberhagen
“The Worm Ouroboros” and “The Well at the World’s End” by William Morris
“Merlin,” Stephen Lawhead
34. Which is your least favorite book of those that are considered "classics"?
I never really liked “The Scarlet Letter.”
35. Do you like books read aloud, or do you prefer silent reading?
Both.
36. When you read, do you see things in your mind like a movie, or just in vague pictures?
Usually just vague pictures. I think. I don’t particularly know, actually.
37. Do you like to read in silence, or with background noise/music?
Either. Enya is good to read to.
38. Can you read in the car without getting carsick?
Yes. Although I had to learn how, meaning my parents had to clean up after me when I was young.
39. Do you go to booksales?
Absolutely!
40. Name one literary quirk of yours.
I don’t like classics very much.
--DJ
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
What Do We Believe?
A couple of weeks ago, I performed a small act of service by buying a book I only sort of wanted at the local Christian bookstore, just to support them. (The service was very small: the book was discounted.) Called "Letters to a Diminished Church," it's a collection of essays written in the 50s by Dorothy Sayers, better known for her Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries.
It took me ages to pick it up and actually read it. Now that I have, it's hard to put down. Sayers is an excellent writer, very incisive and witty, and she articulates many things that I've thought about but haven't worked through entirely.
In a show of great restraint, I'm posting only a short excerpt from only one of her essays. It was both entertaining and a bit disturbing, seeing how well I identified with many of the misconceptions she listed. The excerpt comprises the rest of this post:
"Judging by what my young friends tell me, and also by what is said on the subject in anti-Christian literature by people who ought to have taken a little trouble to find out what they are attacking before attacking it, I have come to the conclusion that a short examination paper on the Christian religion might be very generally answered as follows:
Q: What does the Church think of God the Father?
A: He is omnipotent and holy. He created the world and imposed on man conditions impossible of fulfillment; he is very angry if these are not carried out. ... He likes to be truckled to and is ready to pounce on anybody who trips up over a difficulty in the law or is having a bit of fun. He is rather like a dictator, only larger and more arbitrary.
Q: What does the Church think of God the Son?
A: He is in some way identified with Jesus of Nazareth.... Unlike God, he is friendly to man and did his best to reconcile man to God. He has a good deal of influence with God, and if you want anything done, it is best to apply to him.
Q: What does the Church think of God the Holy Ghost?
A: I don't know exactly. ... There is a sin against him that damns you forever, but nobody knows what it is.
Q: What was Jesus Christ like in real life?
A: He was a good man -- so good as to be called the Son of God. He was meek and mild and preached a simple religion of love and pacifism. He had no sense of humor. Anything the Bible that suggests another side to his character must have been interpolated, or a paradox invented by G.K. Chesterton. If we try to live like him, God the Father will let us off being damned hereafter and only have us tortured in this life instead.
Q: What is meant by atonement?
A: God wanted to damn everybody, but his vindictive sadism was sated by the crucifixion of his own Son, who was quite innocent, and therefore, a particularly attractive victim. He now only damns people who don't follow Christ or who never heard of him.
Q: What does the Church think of sex?
A: God made it necessary to the machinery of the world, and tolerates it, provided the parties (a) are married, and (b) get no pleasure out of it.
Q: What does the Church call sin?
A: Sex (otherwise than excepted above); getting drunk; saying 'damn'; murder; and cruelty to dumb animals; not going to church; most kinds of amusement. "Original sin" means that anything we enjoy doing is wrong.
Q: What are the seven Christian virtues?
A: Respectability, childishness, mental timidity, dullness, sentimentality, censoriousness, and depression of spirits.
Q: Wilt thou be baptized in this faith?
A: No fear!"
-- SJ (although mostly DS)
It took me ages to pick it up and actually read it. Now that I have, it's hard to put down. Sayers is an excellent writer, very incisive and witty, and she articulates many things that I've thought about but haven't worked through entirely.
In a show of great restraint, I'm posting only a short excerpt from only one of her essays. It was both entertaining and a bit disturbing, seeing how well I identified with many of the misconceptions she listed. The excerpt comprises the rest of this post:
"Judging by what my young friends tell me, and also by what is said on the subject in anti-Christian literature by people who ought to have taken a little trouble to find out what they are attacking before attacking it, I have come to the conclusion that a short examination paper on the Christian religion might be very generally answered as follows:
Q: What does the Church think of God the Father?
A: He is omnipotent and holy. He created the world and imposed on man conditions impossible of fulfillment; he is very angry if these are not carried out. ... He likes to be truckled to and is ready to pounce on anybody who trips up over a difficulty in the law or is having a bit of fun. He is rather like a dictator, only larger and more arbitrary.
Q: What does the Church think of God the Son?
A: He is in some way identified with Jesus of Nazareth.... Unlike God, he is friendly to man and did his best to reconcile man to God. He has a good deal of influence with God, and if you want anything done, it is best to apply to him.
Q: What does the Church think of God the Holy Ghost?
A: I don't know exactly. ... There is a sin against him that damns you forever, but nobody knows what it is.
Q: What was Jesus Christ like in real life?
A: He was a good man -- so good as to be called the Son of God. He was meek and mild and preached a simple religion of love and pacifism. He had no sense of humor. Anything the Bible that suggests another side to his character must have been interpolated, or a paradox invented by G.K. Chesterton. If we try to live like him, God the Father will let us off being damned hereafter and only have us tortured in this life instead.
Q: What is meant by atonement?
A: God wanted to damn everybody, but his vindictive sadism was sated by the crucifixion of his own Son, who was quite innocent, and therefore, a particularly attractive victim. He now only damns people who don't follow Christ or who never heard of him.
Q: What does the Church think of sex?
A: God made it necessary to the machinery of the world, and tolerates it, provided the parties (a) are married, and (b) get no pleasure out of it.
Q: What does the Church call sin?
A: Sex (otherwise than excepted above); getting drunk; saying 'damn'; murder; and cruelty to dumb animals; not going to church; most kinds of amusement. "Original sin" means that anything we enjoy doing is wrong.
Q: What are the seven Christian virtues?
A: Respectability, childishness, mental timidity, dullness, sentimentality, censoriousness, and depression of spirits.
Q: Wilt thou be baptized in this faith?
A: No fear!"
-- SJ (although mostly DS)
The Modern Bards
A long time ago in Ireland and other Celtic places, no one insulted or mistreated a bard. This was not (always) due to some belief in the bard's otherworldly powers. In fact, there was a very practical reason: if you failed to give a bard his proper due, he could write songs that would besmirch your honor and belittle your reputation as they were sung from one end of the Emerald Isle to the other.
I've wondered sometimes who the modern bards are. And listening to NPR today on the way in, I found some. A commentator mentioned that a new SEC appointee wanted to do a good job and not let another Enron scandal happen on his watch, lest he be the butt of late-night comedians' jokes.
All hail, Bard Leno and Bard Letterman!
--DJ
I've wondered sometimes who the modern bards are. And listening to NPR today on the way in, I found some. A commentator mentioned that a new SEC appointee wanted to do a good job and not let another Enron scandal happen on his watch, lest he be the butt of late-night comedians' jokes.
All hail, Bard Leno and Bard Letterman!
--DJ
Monday, April 24, 2006
10 Things to Enjoy When Husband Leaves for Four Days
1. It doesn't happen frequently or for very long at a time.
2. There is no schedule to maintain. Trip to Target at 5:30pm? No problem!
3. Kids don't mind if you serve them pasta and toast at 7:00 and call it supper.
4. You can have spend-the-nights with best friends and watch Pride and Prejudice.
5. (The new Pride and Prejudice, not the six-hour one. We may have spend-the-nights but we're not young and stupid anymore.)
6. You get lots of text messages.
7. You can justify the following: extra videos, new computer games, special baking projects, and popcorn for breakfast.
8. You can up and decide to take an outing without leaving a note on the door or supper in the crockpot.
9. You get lots of sympathy and lots of people praying for you.
10. He comes home again.
-- SJ
2. There is no schedule to maintain. Trip to Target at 5:30pm? No problem!
3. Kids don't mind if you serve them pasta and toast at 7:00 and call it supper.
4. You can have spend-the-nights with best friends and watch Pride and Prejudice.
5. (The new Pride and Prejudice, not the six-hour one. We may have spend-the-nights but we're not young and stupid anymore.)
6. You get lots of text messages.
7. You can justify the following: extra videos, new computer games, special baking projects, and popcorn for breakfast.
8. You can up and decide to take an outing without leaving a note on the door or supper in the crockpot.
9. You get lots of sympathy and lots of people praying for you.
10. He comes home again.
-- SJ
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Mundania VI
* Spring comes slowly here in the North. Remember that my point of reference is South Mississippi, where it's green by the end of February, warm by the end of March, and hot by the end of May. The fact that I can't put away all pants and long sleeves yet -- in the middle of April already! -- is driving me crazy.
* On the other hand, it is marvelous to see green coming out everywhere. Spring is my favorite season, at least until we get to autumn.
* I want to learn to garden, so have started out small: Addie and I made a small vegetable patch in the backyard. It's about 5'x2'. It looks like we buried a rather short person back there.
* I'm developing a respectable little tummy as Baby grows. Because of a disagreement between myself and the ultrasound, I'm not sure exactly how far along I am, but it's somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-24 weeks. The official word on the sex of the baby is, basically, It's a girl unless it's a boy. Oh, well.
* Addie, upon being told that her Aunt Pam and Miss Rachelle both have babies in their tummies like Mama, dubbed all three babies "Amsel." Source uncertain. That's how she prays for them: "And please bless Amsel, Amsel, and Amsel."
* Stuart has decided that if the baby is a girl, we'll name her Eve. If it's a boy (which both kids insist it is), we'll name it Adam. Which is better than his first suggestions of Cyclops and Minotaur.
* Darren has had a recurring problem with what is essentially -- ready for this? -- a cold sore on his eye. No, not a sty. Yes, like on his cornea. Want to hear about the treatment the first time, when the sore was rather advanced by the time he got to the eye doctor? No, didn't think so.
* Last night I dreamed that I went to a session in Knoxville (yes, I was wearing a navy skirt), where the speaker came down hard on my method of discipline with Stuart. I was so outspoken in my objections that I was sent out of the session. I think this indicates a subconscious victory over longstanding insecurities.
* The vegetable garden is putting up tiny radish and lettuce plants.
-- SJ
* On the other hand, it is marvelous to see green coming out everywhere. Spring is my favorite season, at least until we get to autumn.
* I want to learn to garden, so have started out small: Addie and I made a small vegetable patch in the backyard. It's about 5'x2'. It looks like we buried a rather short person back there.
* I'm developing a respectable little tummy as Baby grows. Because of a disagreement between myself and the ultrasound, I'm not sure exactly how far along I am, but it's somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-24 weeks. The official word on the sex of the baby is, basically, It's a girl unless it's a boy. Oh, well.
* Addie, upon being told that her Aunt Pam and Miss Rachelle both have babies in their tummies like Mama, dubbed all three babies "Amsel." Source uncertain. That's how she prays for them: "And please bless Amsel, Amsel, and Amsel."
* Stuart has decided that if the baby is a girl, we'll name her Eve. If it's a boy (which both kids insist it is), we'll name it Adam. Which is better than his first suggestions of Cyclops and Minotaur.
* Darren has had a recurring problem with what is essentially -- ready for this? -- a cold sore on his eye. No, not a sty. Yes, like on his cornea. Want to hear about the treatment the first time, when the sore was rather advanced by the time he got to the eye doctor? No, didn't think so.
* Last night I dreamed that I went to a session in Knoxville (yes, I was wearing a navy skirt), where the speaker came down hard on my method of discipline with Stuart. I was so outspoken in my objections that I was sent out of the session. I think this indicates a subconscious victory over longstanding insecurities.
* The vegetable garden is putting up tiny radish and lettuce plants.
-- SJ
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Easter Day!
When Darren and I were first married -- sometime in that pause between the wedding and Addie's birth -- I remarked that I'd like Easter to be a "big deal" in our household. The way I grew up, we anticipated Christmas for an entire month or more before the actual day; but Easter we usually greeted with, "Oh, it's next Sunday?" Even to my young mind, it was obvious that while it was important that Jesus was born, it was much more critical that He died and resurrected. Once married and free to set my own family traditions, I wanted to do things differently. Exactly how to make Easter a big deal, however, was a bit fuzzy.
About two and a half years later, God led us into the sacramental and liturgical church. I discovered with delight that I didn't have to do anything at all: the historical Church built its entire year around the Feast of the Resurrection. From Advent, to Christmas, to Lent -- through Palm Sunday and Holy Week -- everything climaxed in that glorious white and gold celebration of Jesus' victory over death.
Today, even Addie and Stuart are excited that it's Easter. Granted, that's partly because they know Lent is over so we'll buy ice cream again. But the seed of joy has been planted. Easter is, indeed, a big deal.
As one of my favorite authors wrote, I'm a convert so must check the tendency to gush. But on this Day of Days, fresh from Lenten restrictions and back among my friends online, I'm feeling very gushy. Happy Easter!
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
-- SJ
About two and a half years later, God led us into the sacramental and liturgical church. I discovered with delight that I didn't have to do anything at all: the historical Church built its entire year around the Feast of the Resurrection. From Advent, to Christmas, to Lent -- through Palm Sunday and Holy Week -- everything climaxed in that glorious white and gold celebration of Jesus' victory over death.
Today, even Addie and Stuart are excited that it's Easter. Granted, that's partly because they know Lent is over so we'll buy ice cream again. But the seed of joy has been planted. Easter is, indeed, a big deal.
As one of my favorite authors wrote, I'm a convert so must check the tendency to gush. But on this Day of Days, fresh from Lenten restrictions and back among my friends online, I'm feeling very gushy. Happy Easter!
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
-- SJ
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