Oh, all right

Since both Tess and Rachel tagged me for the "8 random things about me" meme, I'll stop dithering and post already :)

Eight random facts about me:

1. My nickname on Yahoo and Librarything, Ariadne02, dates back to 1989, when my college boyfriend ran a BBS and I had to choose a handle to post under. I'd just read June Rachuy Brindel's novel Ariadne and thought the name was cool. The "02" was added later, because some other Ariadne had gotten to Yahoo before me.

2. I've seen every episode of American Idol since Season 2, except for the early auditions when they show the people who really suck.

3. When I worked as a temporary secretary for the Michigan Dept of Transportation, I read a book a day, making my way through every novel written by Jean Plaidy, Valerie Anand, and Norah Lofts that the East Lansing Public Library owned.

4. I was a vegetarian for about six years but gave it up when I left Ann Arbor and finding food to eat became too much of a chore.

5. My most infamous ancestor is Alice Bishop, one of the first women executed in the American colonies (again, "hanged" - not "hung").

6. I have scars on both of my knees after slipping on pavement while running to take my final exam in medieval English history during grad school. Rather than stop at the infirmary, I took my two-hour final, trying not to get blood on anything (sorry), after which my knees got badly infected. I got a B+ in the course. I'm not sure what the moral of this story is.

7. During middle school, I wrote a program in BASIC on my family's Apple IIe that did a fair job of mimicking ELIZA (a computer program that manipulates strings of text to emulate a psychotherapist's responses to statements).

8. I can bake a mean baklava.

I'm not tagging anyone else because this one's been around the block for a while, but if anyone else wants to join in, please do.

Book meme du jour

I finished up my "romancing the past" chapter yesterday morning, and my brain hurts from writing almost continuously for the past three weeks. This meme on Susan's blog caught my eye, so I thought I'd break my blogging silence by participating. Besides, this way you get to see how obscu-- er, wide-ranging, my reading tastes are.

A book that made you cry: Liz Curtis Higgs' Thorn in My Heart. This novel (a retelling of the biblical Jacob-Leah-Rachel triangle set in the 18th century Scottish lowlands) ought to be sold with some small packets of tissues.

A book that scared you: Rett MacPherson's Died in the Wool. Very creepy, especially for a cozy mystery, where I don't usually expect such things.

A book that made you laugh: James Morrow's The Last Witchfinder. The introduction, in which Newton's Principia Mathematica describes the secret lives of books (and what they write about when humans aren't watching) is hilarious. Also Jane Harris's The Observations.

A book that disgusted you: It's a toss-up between Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front and Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. Ugh. I read both in Miss Lerner's 9th grade English class, which was held right before lunch. I didn't eat very well that year.

A book you loved in elementary school: I'm sure we read books in elementary school, but I can't think of any specific titles. One book I enjoyed when I was that age, though, was Lorraine Beim's Just Plain Maggie, written sometime in the 1950s I think, about a girl named Maggie and her experiences going off to summer camp. My grandmother used to work at an education library and saved me a bunch of the discards. This was one of them.

A book you loved in middle school. Why can't I remember reading anything in middle school? I graduated, didn't I? Need to come back to this one.

A book you loved in high school: James Hilton's Lost Horizon, which may be my favorite book of all time. Dryly witty, tragic, romantic, well told, plus a great "what if" storyline you're tempted to believe in - what more can be said? I don't think I realized how truly clever the writing was until I reread it years later.

A book you hated in high school: Way too many, but see above, under "books that disgusted me."

A book you loved in college: I didn't take any English lit courses in college, only French lit, which probably explains a lot. I don't know if I'd say loved, but I thought Alain Robbe-Grillet's La Jalousie was very creative in terms of technique. Driss Chraibi's La Civilisation, Ma mère was enjoyable. And who can forget Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's Le Petit Prince.

A book that challenged your identity: Beats me. I must be reading the wrong books.

A series that you love: Rett MacPherson's Torie O'Shea mystery series - I pre-order these and buy them in hardcover (extremely rare). Also, Katheryn Kimbrough's Saga of the Phenwick Women. This is a 40-book gothic romance series, an extended family saga covering 300+ years of American history. All of the book titles are named after women from the same family. I should probably be ashamed to say I learned a lot about US history from these books because I know they're potboilers, but they were also great fun.

Your favorite horror book: Can't read the stuff, it creeps me out.

Your favorite science fiction book: Probably Dan Simmons' Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion. Or anything by Sheri S. Tepper, Grass in particular.

Your favorite fantasy book: I'll probably get flak for this, but it has to be Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon. Followed closely by Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince and Dragon Star trilogies.

Your favorite mystery book: Barbara Vine's Anna's Book.

Your favorite historical novel: I think I covered this a while back.

Your favorite biography: Anything by David Duff, such as The Shy Princess about Princess Beatrice, Queen Victoria's youngest, or The Hessian Tapestry, about Princess Alice and her family. I don't read all that many biographies.

Your favorite “coming-of-age” book: I may have to come back to this one.

Your favorite classic: Lost Horizon, see above. Also Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop. For short stories, Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," which I wrote an essay on in 10th grade.

Your favorite romance book: See link for "favorite historical novel" above, plus Rebecca Ryman's Olivia and Jai and Laura Black's Ravenburn. Laura Black is a pseudonym for Roger Longrigg, who also wrote as Domini Taylor. Never say that men can't write romance.

Your favorite book not on this list: Way too many to name. For reference: (besides my own book, of course) Alison Weir's Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy, which I consult pretty often. I'm sure I'll think of more.

Ye olde historical novel meme

I'm kind of late to the party, but it's a slowish Friday night here, and I've already seen The Mask of Zorro once this week.

Straight Historical, Historical Mystery, Historical Fantasy, Historical Romance, or Time Travel?
Slight overall preference for straight historical, and historical romance probably least, but I read any and all of the above.

Historical Figures as Main Characters or Purely Fictional Characters in Historical Settings as Main Characters?
Doesn't matter at all to me. Hmm, now I'm sounding wishy-washy.

Hardback, Trade Paperback, or Mass Market Paperback?
Trade paperback, hardback second, mass market third. I like the feel of trade paperbacks, plus they're cheaper than hardbacks, and not as heavy to cart around.

Philippa Gregory or Margaret George?
Gregory, though I enjoyed George's Helen of Troy. Her Mary, Called Magdalene was too slow-moving for my taste. However, I still need to read the copy of The Boleyn Inheritance I got from Costco last month.

Amazon or Brick and Mortar?
Amazon, overwhelmingly so. Before buying the Gregory (see previous question), the most recent book I'd bought at a brick and mortar bookstore was Robert Harris's Pompeii, which I think is from 2003. Excluding Half Price Books and other used/remainder stores. (I remember weird things like this; I still haven't read the Harris.) Having an Amazon credit card is a big influence.

Bernard Cornwell or Sharon Penman?
Penman, one of my favorite authors of all time, although I did like Cornwell's The Last Kingdom.

Barnes & Noble or Borders?
Probably Borders, at least for browsing, though Champaign has both of them. The only reason we go to B&N more often than Borders is because Mark doesn't like Seattle's Best coffee.

First Historical Novel You Ever Remember Reading?
I think this was probably Anya Seton's Katherine, if we're talking adult-level fiction. If you count YA, Patricia Clapp's Jane-Emily could be the one.

Alphabetize by Author, Alphabetize by Title, or Random?
None of the above. They're shelved by date of acquisition - not deliberately so, but it's how the shelves get filled. The photo at top left shows most of my acquisitions from mid-2006 to present. Click to enlarge.

Keep, Throw Away, or Sell?
I keep nearly everything, except books I really can't stand. Those get sold or donated to the library sale. This is why I have a storage problem.

Jean Plaidy or Norah Lofts?
I enjoy them both, though neither as much as I did 10-15 years ago.

Read with Dust Jacket or Remove It?
Remove it, because my cats like books too much to leave them alone.

Stop Reading When Tired or at Chapter Breaks?
When tired or otherwise distracted. Doesn't matter if it's in the middle of a chapter.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
The former, although I will read some fairytale-like fantasy novels.

Buy or Borrow?
I'm a bad library patron - I buy almost everything, and the books I do borrow, I often return late. Good thing I work there.

Posie Graeme-Evans or Pamela Kaufman?
Neither one, really.

Buying Choice: Book Reviews, Recommendations, or Browsing?
A combination of all three.

Dorothy Dunnett or Anya Seton?
Seton, as I've read nearly all of hers. Dunnett seems to be an acquired taste I've yet to acquire.

Tidy Ending or Cliffhanger?
Tidy ending, although I will accept a little ambiguity now and then.

Sticking Close to Known Historical Fact, or Using Historical Fact as Wallpaper?
Close to historical fact, and I suspect most readers of this blog will agree.

Morning Reading, Afternoon Reading or Nighttime Reading?
Nighttime, unless it's the weekend, and then it's all of the above.

Series or Standalone?
Standalone, but I will glom onto some series. Like Margaret Frazer's Joliffe mysteries, Anne Perry's William Monk series, and more I can't think of now.

Favorite Book of Which Nobody Else Has Heard?
Alison McLeay's Sweet Exile, which I mentioned in my Top 5 list a while back. I'd also say Brian Wainwright's Within the Fetterlock, except that many readers of this blog have likely heard of it.