Viola Canina (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} viola_canina) wrote,@ 2008-12-04 10:50:00 |
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| Entry tags: | baku-man, death note, hikaru no go, literature, meme, vampire knight |
Literature : Meme
I found this at somebody's journal. It's a neat survey about books.
+++INTRODUCTIONS+++
01. What's your name?
Viola.
02. Do you read a lot?
Yes.
03. What's your favorite genre?
The most accurate description of what I like is… psychological prose, I think. I love reading about People and Their Issues™. I’m also fond of stories about animals, although they tend to make me sad for some reason. But yeah, basically I’m a fan of realistic and semi-realistic stuff.
+++FANTASY AND SCI-FI+++
04. Do you prefer fantasy or science fiction?
Some people are going to lynch me for this, but I… honestly don’t care for fantasy at all. Most things that involve magic tend to bore me out of my skull. Oddly enough, I don’t mind some supernatural elements in manga, but only if they’re like the Death Note. I’m not into classic Western fantasy at all. Dragons, elves, all that stuff. I adore ancient mythology and folklore though, but they’re different. Sci-fi, well… In theory, I do like sci-fi a bit more than fantasy. However, I don’t read it too often anyway, and I’m still stuck in the era of Herbert Wells.
05. What's your favorite fantasy book/series?
Erm. I loved The Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny in high school. That was about the only fantasy series I actually enjoyed very much (well, the first half of it, because Julian was barely there in the second half, and I had a crush on Julian). I also like some of Terry Pratchett’s works because they’re essentially parodies and Neil Gaiman’s urban fantasy works for me sometimes.
06. Who's your favorite fantasy author?
Uh. It’s a very difficult question, seeing how I don’t like the genre to begin with.
07. What's your favorite science fiction book/series?
I like some random short stories by different authors. Great answer, I know.
08. Favorite sci-fi author?
Let me answer this later.
+++MYSTERY, HORROR, AND THRILLERS+++
09. Which do you prefer: a puzzling mystery, or a terrifying thriller?
I’m very much into scary stories, so… thriller. I rarely read them though, I prefer horror in movie form. Yeah, horror is the only supernatural genre I love. I tend to avoid bloody stuff, but I like things that creep you out without being particularly gory.
10. Do you have a favorite mystery novel?
The Thirteenth Tale is one of my recent favorites, I guess.
11. A favorite horror novel?
The Ring series by Kouji Suzuki, definitely. It pretty much turns into sci-fi somewhere around book 3, but it still counts as horror.
+++ROMANCE+++
12. Do you read romance novels?
Well… no. Romance-oriented manga, yes, but not traditional prose. Many of my favorite books have strong romantic storylines, which is probably natural, I’m just not into books that are strictly about love and nothing more than that. I’m also slightly allergic to predictable happy endings, so I usually avoid stories where you can guess the plot by the cover picture.
13. How about gay romance novels?
They aren’t too popular in my stupid gay-hating country. When I want a gay or lesbian romance, I simply stick to fanfiction.
14. What's your favorite?
Viktoria Tokareva, a modern Russian writer, is fairly good at writing about women in love. If I must name something, um, her works are okay?
+++CHILDREN'S AND YA+++
15. What's your favorite children's book?
Anything by Astrid Lindgren or Tove Jansson. And maybe also some obscure Russian books. And then a ton of European novels that nobody remembers.
16. Is it the same book that was your favorite when you were a kid?
Yeah.
17. What’s your favorite YA book?
See, we don’t really use the term young adult here in Russia. We have children’s books, we have something that is probably considered teen lit, and anything that is more mature than that is viewed as adult literature which is not divided into any specific age groups. I understand the term, I’m just not used to it.
18. Did you actually read it as a YA?
N/A.
19. In general, do you prefer children's books over grown-up books?
By and large, I prefer stories about adults or stories about kids that are targeted at adults, but I think that Tove Jansson is a genius and Astrid Lindgren is a friggin’ saint. So it’s complex.
+++CLASSICS AND GENERAL FICTION+++
20. What's your favorite classic novel?
I’m a huge fan of European and American classics and modern almost-classics. I can’t pick a single book – I love John Steinbeck, Theodore Dreiser, Mark Twain, Victor Hugo and a billion of other writers. I won’t post the whole list here because it will never end. I’m not an expert on Joseph Heller’s works, but I have a thing for his Something Happened. It’s easily one of the most brain-breaking novels out there. Oh, and The Gadfly by Ethel Lilian Voynich simply killed me when I was a teen.
21. What about general fiction?
Depends on what the term means.
22. What classic novel do you just not get?
I find William Faulkner’s prose hard to process. I’m very ashamed of it. I also have gigantic issues with our great ol’ Fyodor Dostoyevsky – the man can write, but I disagree with just about every single thing he believes in.
23. Do you have a favorite play or drama?
Rhinocéros by Eugène Ionesco, I suppose.
24. What do you think of Shakespeare?
Mostly good things.
+++POETRY+++
25. Could you pick a favorite poem?
A single one? No way.
26. What about a favorite poetry collection?
I don’t read them as collections… normally I just pay attention to specific poems.
27. Who's your favorite poet?
I like a number of Russian female poets.
+++COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS+++
28. Do you read comics or graphic novels?
Manga. I don’t know much about Western comics.
29. Do you have a favorite series?
I’m deeply in love with Death Note, Baku-man is my personal ongoing Holy Bible and Vampire Knight is my guilty pleasure. I don’t mention Hikaru no Go too often, but it’s amazing, and there’s a million of other series that I find enjoyable.
30. A favorite book?
As in… a single comic book and not a series? Uh, I don’t quite get it so let’s say… volume 10 of Death Note? Teru is introduced in this book and there’s also a chapter about his childhood, which is my most favorite thing in the universe, more or less.
+++SHORT STORIES AND NOVELLAS+++
31. Do you prefer short stories (or short novels) over full-length novels?
It really depends on my mood and my Needs of the Moment™.
32. What’s your favorite short story?
The Hour After Westerley by Robert Coates. I’ve been in love with it for more than a decade. It has a special meaning for me.
33. Favorite short story collection?
Timeless Stories for Today and Tomorrow edited by Ray Bradbury. It has all sorts of unique, haunting stories, including the aforementioned The Hour After Westerley. I’m lucky to own a very old, rare copy of this book. Incidentally, some of these tales can be seen as fantasy or sci-fi. Maybe. If you absolutely must define them somehow.
34. Do you have a favorite short story author?
No, usually I like some stand-alone stories.
+++NONFICTION+++
35. What kind of nonfiction do you usually read?
Anything that is related to my research. Religious literature, because I’m a highly curious atheist. Sociopolitical essays. Eh. There are way too many things that I’m at least slightly interested in.
36. Do you have a favorite nonfiction book?
It’s impossible to name one. Hah, my answers to such questions are so dull.
37. Read any interesting biographies?
I’m not terribly fond of biographies.
38. History books?
Right now I’m trying to deepen my knowledge of World War II.
39. Politics?
Mostly modern publications about the state of things in Russia.
40. Religious texts?
Yes. Especially Christian ones. I have this really difficult, almost abusive love-hate relationship with Christianity.
41. How about books on mythology, fairy-tales, or other cultural stories?
I adore them!
+++ELEMENTS OF FICTION+++
42. What's the most important element of a novel? Plot? Characterization? Style? Themes? Happy ending?
For me, it’s… characterization and themes, yeah.
43. What kind of plot interests you the most?
Anything about The Nature of Human Beings™.
44. What kind of characters usually appeal to you?
Tragic and morally warped – er, complex ones. Like, I dunno, Javert and Lorenzo Montanelli and, for God’s sake, Teru Mikami.
45. What is your favorite book overall?
My all-time favorite writer is John Steinbeck, but Margaret Atwood is dangerously close to that title because of her novel The Blind Assassin. Oh, and I have to add Yukio Mishima to that list, too, thanks to his The Sea of Fertility.
+++PASS IT ON+++
46. What's the last book you read?
Several stories by Margaret Atwood and The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches by Gaétan Soucy. The latter is a delightfully twisted and dark piece, by the way.
47. What are you reading now?
Nothing, alas. I need to pay a visit to the library.
48. What are you going to read next?
Whatever destiny chooses for me!
49. Is there a book you would recommend to everyone on your friends list?
My friends have very different preferences, so I can’t recommend a single book to everyone.
50. Tag five people to fill out this meme:
I won’t tag anyone… but please do it! I want to learn more about your tastes.
+++INTRODUCTIONS+++
01. What's your name?
Viola.
02. Do you read a lot?
Yes.
03. What's your favorite genre?
The most accurate description of what I like is… psychological prose, I think. I love reading about People and Their Issues™. I’m also fond of stories about animals, although they tend to make me sad for some reason. But yeah, basically I’m a fan of realistic and semi-realistic stuff.
+++FANTASY AND SCI-FI+++
04. Do you prefer fantasy or science fiction?
Some people are going to lynch me for this, but I… honestly don’t care for fantasy at all. Most things that involve magic tend to bore me out of my skull. Oddly enough, I don’t mind some supernatural elements in manga, but only if they’re like the Death Note. I’m not into classic Western fantasy at all. Dragons, elves, all that stuff. I adore ancient mythology and folklore though, but they’re different. Sci-fi, well… In theory, I do like sci-fi a bit more than fantasy. However, I don’t read it too often anyway, and I’m still stuck in the era of Herbert Wells.
05. What's your favorite fantasy book/series?
Erm. I loved The Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny in high school. That was about the only fantasy series I actually enjoyed very much (well, the first half of it, because Julian was barely there in the second half, and I had a crush on Julian). I also like some of Terry Pratchett’s works because they’re essentially parodies and Neil Gaiman’s urban fantasy works for me sometimes.
06. Who's your favorite fantasy author?
Uh. It’s a very difficult question, seeing how I don’t like the genre to begin with.
07. What's your favorite science fiction book/series?
I like some random short stories by different authors. Great answer, I know.
08. Favorite sci-fi author?
Let me answer this later.
+++MYSTERY, HORROR, AND THRILLERS+++
09. Which do you prefer: a puzzling mystery, or a terrifying thriller?
I’m very much into scary stories, so… thriller. I rarely read them though, I prefer horror in movie form. Yeah, horror is the only supernatural genre I love. I tend to avoid bloody stuff, but I like things that creep you out without being particularly gory.
10. Do you have a favorite mystery novel?
The Thirteenth Tale is one of my recent favorites, I guess.
11. A favorite horror novel?
The Ring series by Kouji Suzuki, definitely. It pretty much turns into sci-fi somewhere around book 3, but it still counts as horror.
+++ROMANCE+++
12. Do you read romance novels?
Well… no. Romance-oriented manga, yes, but not traditional prose. Many of my favorite books have strong romantic storylines, which is probably natural, I’m just not into books that are strictly about love and nothing more than that. I’m also slightly allergic to predictable happy endings, so I usually avoid stories where you can guess the plot by the cover picture.
13. How about gay romance novels?
They aren’t too popular in my stupid gay-hating country. When I want a gay or lesbian romance, I simply stick to fanfiction.
14. What's your favorite?
Viktoria Tokareva, a modern Russian writer, is fairly good at writing about women in love. If I must name something, um, her works are okay?
+++CHILDREN'S AND YA+++
15. What's your favorite children's book?
Anything by Astrid Lindgren or Tove Jansson. And maybe also some obscure Russian books. And then a ton of European novels that nobody remembers.
16. Is it the same book that was your favorite when you were a kid?
Yeah.
17. What’s your favorite YA book?
See, we don’t really use the term young adult here in Russia. We have children’s books, we have something that is probably considered teen lit, and anything that is more mature than that is viewed as adult literature which is not divided into any specific age groups. I understand the term, I’m just not used to it.
18. Did you actually read it as a YA?
N/A.
19. In general, do you prefer children's books over grown-up books?
By and large, I prefer stories about adults or stories about kids that are targeted at adults, but I think that Tove Jansson is a genius and Astrid Lindgren is a friggin’ saint. So it’s complex.
+++CLASSICS AND GENERAL FICTION+++
20. What's your favorite classic novel?
I’m a huge fan of European and American classics and modern almost-classics. I can’t pick a single book – I love John Steinbeck, Theodore Dreiser, Mark Twain, Victor Hugo and a billion of other writers. I won’t post the whole list here because it will never end. I’m not an expert on Joseph Heller’s works, but I have a thing for his Something Happened. It’s easily one of the most brain-breaking novels out there. Oh, and The Gadfly by Ethel Lilian Voynich simply killed me when I was a teen.
21. What about general fiction?
Depends on what the term means.
22. What classic novel do you just not get?
I find William Faulkner’s prose hard to process. I’m very ashamed of it. I also have gigantic issues with our great ol’ Fyodor Dostoyevsky – the man can write, but I disagree with just about every single thing he believes in.
23. Do you have a favorite play or drama?
Rhinocéros by Eugène Ionesco, I suppose.
24. What do you think of Shakespeare?
Mostly good things.
+++POETRY+++
25. Could you pick a favorite poem?
A single one? No way.
26. What about a favorite poetry collection?
I don’t read them as collections… normally I just pay attention to specific poems.
27. Who's your favorite poet?
I like a number of Russian female poets.
+++COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS+++
28. Do you read comics or graphic novels?
Manga. I don’t know much about Western comics.
29. Do you have a favorite series?
I’m deeply in love with Death Note, Baku-man is my personal ongoing Holy Bible and Vampire Knight is my guilty pleasure. I don’t mention Hikaru no Go too often, but it’s amazing, and there’s a million of other series that I find enjoyable.
30. A favorite book?
As in… a single comic book and not a series? Uh, I don’t quite get it so let’s say… volume 10 of Death Note? Teru is introduced in this book and there’s also a chapter about his childhood, which is my most favorite thing in the universe, more or less.
+++SHORT STORIES AND NOVELLAS+++
31. Do you prefer short stories (or short novels) over full-length novels?
It really depends on my mood and my Needs of the Moment™.
32. What’s your favorite short story?
The Hour After Westerley by Robert Coates. I’ve been in love with it for more than a decade. It has a special meaning for me.
33. Favorite short story collection?
Timeless Stories for Today and Tomorrow edited by Ray Bradbury. It has all sorts of unique, haunting stories, including the aforementioned The Hour After Westerley. I’m lucky to own a very old, rare copy of this book. Incidentally, some of these tales can be seen as fantasy or sci-fi. Maybe. If you absolutely must define them somehow.
34. Do you have a favorite short story author?
No, usually I like some stand-alone stories.
+++NONFICTION+++
35. What kind of nonfiction do you usually read?
Anything that is related to my research. Religious literature, because I’m a highly curious atheist. Sociopolitical essays. Eh. There are way too many things that I’m at least slightly interested in.
36. Do you have a favorite nonfiction book?
It’s impossible to name one. Hah, my answers to such questions are so dull.
37. Read any interesting biographies?
I’m not terribly fond of biographies.
38. History books?
Right now I’m trying to deepen my knowledge of World War II.
39. Politics?
Mostly modern publications about the state of things in Russia.
40. Religious texts?
Yes. Especially Christian ones. I have this really difficult, almost abusive love-hate relationship with Christianity.
41. How about books on mythology, fairy-tales, or other cultural stories?
I adore them!
+++ELEMENTS OF FICTION+++
42. What's the most important element of a novel? Plot? Characterization? Style? Themes? Happy ending?
For me, it’s… characterization and themes, yeah.
43. What kind of plot interests you the most?
Anything about The Nature of Human Beings™.
44. What kind of characters usually appeal to you?
Tragic and morally warped – er, complex ones. Like, I dunno, Javert and Lorenzo Montanelli and, for God’s sake, Teru Mikami.
45. What is your favorite book overall?
My all-time favorite writer is John Steinbeck, but Margaret Atwood is dangerously close to that title because of her novel The Blind Assassin. Oh, and I have to add Yukio Mishima to that list, too, thanks to his The Sea of Fertility.
+++PASS IT ON+++
46. What's the last book you read?
Several stories by Margaret Atwood and The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches by Gaétan Soucy. The latter is a delightfully twisted and dark piece, by the way.
47. What are you reading now?
Nothing, alas. I need to pay a visit to the library.
48. What are you going to read next?
Whatever destiny chooses for me!
49. Is there a book you would recommend to everyone on your friends list?
My friends have very different preferences, so I can’t recommend a single book to everyone.
50. Tag five people to fill out this meme:
I won’t tag anyone… but please do it! I want to learn more about your tastes.
