thecoffeehouse | December Book Post

+ Favorite books as a child?
The golden books series and this big ol' book that I can't seem to remember the title, but it had a bunch of short stories in it.

+ Do you have any particular books you re-read for the Holidays?
I don't read many books.

+ Are books a thing on your wish list? If so, any particular books on your list this year? I don't read many books.

+ Do you tend to buy books for other people?
If they ask for it, yes.

+ What's your thought on The Hobbit being stretched into three movies?
I'm not so sure yet. I'd have to see the first movie and tell you then! I think anymore everyone has to do 3 movies, but the LoTR movies were far from disappointing, so hopefully this one follows suit!

+ Read any good books this month?
Nope. LOL

Is it finding time to read or is it just generally not an interest of yours?
If it's finding time to read, I know several people who listen to audiobooks while driving, doing housework, etc.

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brisus - 2012-12-17 00:39 (UTC) - Expand

+ What were your favorite books as a child?
hmmm as a child i liked nancy drew and the babysitters club, but picture books i remember liking were jillian jiggs and hairy mclary from donaldson's dairy

+ Do you have any particular books you re-read for the Holidays?
not specifically for the holidays, no. but since i tend to have time off i often re-read feel good books i love

+ Are books a thing on your wish list? If so, any particular books on your list this year?
yes! new cecila ahren, new stephanie plum book, but i'll wait til after christmas to buy them, just in case (no one is likely to buy them for me lol)

+ Do you tend to buy books for other people?
only for my niece

+ What's your thought on The Hobbit being stretched into three movies?
lol i don't mind, in general, but as a new zealander i kinda hate my life

+ Read any good books this month?
i read my first jodi picoult book, vanishing acts and it wasn't too bad actually.

Jodi Piccoult has a bad rep, I think. I enjoy her books, although sometimes they can be very sad.

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everythingshiny - 2012-12-16 20:24 (UTC) - Expand

Awww, your family doesn't buy books for you?

I've read one Jodi Picoult book and enjoyed it. But she does seem to be somewhat looked down upon.

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everythingshiny - 2012-12-16 20:30 (UTC) - Expand

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skieswideopen - 2012-12-16 20:33 (UTC) - Expand

as a new zealander i kinda hate my life

*hugs* Lol. There does seem to be a theme coming from your neck of the woods at the moment. Is it very bad?

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everythingshiny - 2012-12-18 00:49 (UTC) - Expand

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everythingshiny - 2012-12-18 08:14 (UTC) - Expand

+ What were your favorite books as a child?

WOW. I was just talking about that, so I'm going copy and paste that. (Thank you, generous DW comment limits!)

Oh, I was a voracious reader when I was a kid, I read 'em all -- classics and trash, and the middling stuff in between.

I totally remember Arthur (though I loved the show more than books, I had no idea that he was was supposed to be an anteater), Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark (I still get this visceral reaction to the illustrations, what a nightmare), Goosebumps, Baby-sitters Club (Claudia was my Asian-American low-achieving soul-sister, mostly because I too had an annoyingly perfect older sister who was good at everything, and I was the ... creative one), the Nancy Drew books with the shiny yellow hardcovers, R.L. Stine, Harry Potter (I thought it was so neat that when the first book came out when I was eleven and Harry was eleven... Needless to say, I outgrew Harry pretty quick.)

Oh! Diana Wynne Jones! Then C.S. Lewis! (Philip Pullman!) Tolkien! (I wish I had read T.H. White at this point, I didn't read The Once and Future King until I was in college, but I knew immediately that it was the sort of book I would have loved, completely, when I was twelve.)

The summer where I read nothing but Dickens and supermarket romances! The year I decided that I would read ALL THE CLASSICS. (I didn't realize this would be a life-long task and even what a classic/the literary canon was is highly debatable. I'm still at it though.

Man, childhood was perfect. You had so much time, and what better use of your time is there but to read? I think college really broke my reading habit. I had so many readings, it felt wrong to read a novel instead.

This is a freaking novel, sorry.

+ Do you have any particular books you re-read for the Holidays?

Not really, since the only holiday I celebrate this time of year is New Year's, and that's not really ... conducive to quiet reading time.

+ Are books a thing on your wish list? If so, any particular books on your list this year?

I have a couple things I've been meaning to check out.

+ Do you tend to buy books for other people?

Not really! People's tastes are hard to calibrate, so I'd go for a giftcard or something.

+ What's your thought on The Hobbit being stretched into three movies?

WE HATES IT, PRECIOUS. I can see ... why ... and I certainly wouldn't want there only to be one more lovely December to go back to Middle-earth, but I've read lately of people calling Peter Jackson the new George Lucas, and that's rough, but kind of true?

+ Read any good books this month?

Yes! I finally started reading the Montmaray trilogy, a couple of years after everyone else. I am surprised at the lack of Toby/Simon fic out there.

Edited 2012-12-16 02:14 (UTC)

You could read party drink recipe books for New Year's. Very useful, that. ;D

I think school in general tends to kill off pleasure reading. I know they have to teach you to write essays and all that, and it's important; but can't they find some way to nurture the comprehension, vocabulary building, organization, research, and other associated skills without killing the joy?

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moetushie - 2012-12-16 03:01 (UTC) - Expand

C.S. Lewis! I forgot to mention that series, but I adored it as a child. I've not re-read them nor seen the movies as I think it might alter my perception now that I'm older. I prefer to remain in childish bliss on that front. LOL

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realpestilence - 2012-12-17 20:50 (UTC) - Expand

Man, childhood was perfect. You had so much time, and what better use of your time is there but to read?

I know! Wasn't it wonderful?

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moetushie - 2012-12-16 17:07 (UTC) - Expand

College really destroyed my reading habit too. And my writing habit. It started feeling like everything I was reading was for class and thus a chore and, further, that I should be getting more out of it... and that kind of killed dead my reading compulsion. :S

I've had too many favorite books to list (even if I could remember them all, ha). I've always read voraciously, pretty much anything I can get my hands on.

I don't tend to read books for any holidays, I'm more of a movie person that way. Maybe "The Gift of the Magi", of which I have a beautifully illustrated copy; or "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever".

Books are always on my wish list. Getting a big box of books from my parents was the most exciting gift when I was a teenager; and now, I look forward to at least one amazon card, so I can order a few of the many thousands of titles on my wish list. I have my eyes on many books on textile history, gender studies, WWII spy stuff, crafts, and maybe a few beginner cookbooks (hope springs eternal).

I love giving books as presents-there's nothing like sharing a title that impressed me with someone, and having them enjoy it. I also love to donate kid's books to various programs, because literacy is IMPORTANT, and too many people don't have easy access to reading material.

I despised what Jackson did to LOTR, and don't expect any better for The Hobbit. He seemed to have missed the point of so many plotlines and characterizations, deciding to self-insert instead.

I just finished re-reading The Hobbit, actually, so I'll let that be my favorite read for the month. Bilbo, ftw!

Re: WWII spy stuff, are you into fiction or non-fiction for that?
I took a course in grad school that focused on the subject and I have to say some of that time period was fascinating.

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+ What were your favorite books as a child?

Technically I was a preteen when I read these. But I fucking loved all of Janette Oke's works. The junior high library surprisingly had almost all of her bibliography and after I finished with the Love Comes Softly series, I went through the rest of them.

But strictly as a child, I really enjoyed the American Girl books a lot. I read a few of the Babysitter's Club books as well.

+ Do you have any particular books you re-read for the Holidays?

Not really. There are a few books that I re-read, but so far it hasn't been during the Holidays.

+ Are books a thing on your wish list? If so, any particular books on your list this year?

You better believe it. The books that are on my wishlist are the ridiculous expensive books I need for researching my original fiction while the other list is strictly for ebooks I want to purchase in the future.

+ Do you tend to buy books for other people?

I do, but only for select people. Most of the people in the life don't really enjoy reading like I do.

+ What's your thought on The Hobbit being stretched into three movies?

I think it's ridiculous. The whole trend started with Harry Potter 7, where it was justified what with the book being thick as all hell and having a lot of material to cover. But with the copy cats (I'm looking at you, Twilight, Hunger Games, etc.) it doesn't really seem plausible. I'm not familiar with LOTR, but most of these come down to one reason and that is more money. NHFT.

+ Read any good books this month?

Not really. I'm trying to finish four more books for my reading goal, but nothing has really stuck out for me this month.

Yay for reading goals! :) It sounds like you're close to the finish line.

I'm trying to reach my reading goal as well, but the internet is so shiny and distracting!

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swordznsorcery - 2012-12-18 00:00 (UTC) - Expand

+ What were your favorite books as a child?

That would take all night! Favourite series, probably the Hardy Boys, Doctor Who and Biggles. I also had a love-hate relationship with Willard Price, who wrote some awesome adventure books where two teenaged brothers travelled the world. Sadly the ones set in Africa were eye-poppingly racist (they were written in the 1950s).

Non-series... my absolute favourites were (are!) probably "Children On The Oregon Trail" by A Rutgers van der Loeff, "The King Of The Copper Mountains" by Paul Biegel, and "Return To Treasure Island" by John Goldsmith. The latter is the novelisation of a TV mini-series that blew me away when I was ten. I still love the book and the series now. Pirates and swords make everything ten times better.

And many, many, many more.

+ Do you tend to buy books for other people?
Yes. I come from a family of big readers. And it's fun choosing books for people.

+ What's your thought on The Hobbit being stretched into three movies?
It's nuts. LOTR is ten times the length, and that was three movies (rightly so). Stretching "The Hobbit" out that long is clearly the work of Sauron.

+ Read any good books this month?
I've not been reading much lately, but "My Memories Of Six Reigns" by Princess Marie Louise was a good one (review here).

I come from a family of big readers as well. At Christmas, we tend to buy books and read them before wrapping them -- we claim it's because we want to be sure it's a good book but frankly we're all just read-a-holics. My dad is the biggest culprit of this.

+ What were your favorite books as a child?
Oh, so many! Narnia, the Little House on the Prairie series, Black Beauty, all of the Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon books, Lord of the Rings, Danny the Champion of the World and some other Roald Dahl, a bunch of Gordon Korman books, The Girl Who Owned a City...a bunch of others. Basically the only thing I did as a child was read. Like, all the time.

+ Do you have any particular books you re-read for the Holidays?
Not really. I'm more focused on holiday movies than holiday books. I'm certainly looking forward to having time to read, though.

+ Are books a thing on your wish list? If so, any particular books on your list this year?
Always! I want to read the new Dresden Files book, and I'd like to pick up a copy of Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayers because it's the only Harriet Vane book I don't have yet.

+ Do you tend to buy books for other people?
I love buying books for family members. I'm pretty good at guessing what they'll like, and I enjoy introducing them to new authors.

+ What's your thought on The Hobbit being stretched into three movies?
It seems a bit odd for a book that was basically intended as a children's novel, but I think I'll have to see the movies to make an informed judgement.

+ Read any good books this month?
I thought Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold was a nice addition to the Vorkosigan 'verse.

I feel like my reader card should be revoked because I've never read The Hobbit

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ejia_arath03 - 2012-12-19 00:02 (UTC) - Expand

Dr. Seuss, mostly. And an Andre Norton book I can't quite remember; it had a cat on it (although that's not much help as she loved to write about cats).

Every year I read Hogfather, and watch the Sky One two-part special.

I buy books only for myself. Which is good, because MORE MORE MORE MUAHAHAHAHA

I have no idea how Jackson is going to stretch such a short book into a film trilogy. I've heard he's trying to weave it more tightly into the main story, though.

This month I'm having another go at the Thursday Next books, because I finally found them again, hooray!

GREEN EGGS AND HAM!!!
♥

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realpestilence - 2012-12-17 20:42 (UTC) - Expand

+ What were your favorite books as a child? Anything Astrid Lindgren or Enid Blyton, especially Lindgren's "Ronja røvardotter" (Ronia the robber's daughter), anything involving the "Barnen i Bullerbyn" (The Children of Noisy Village) and "Mio, min Mio" (Mio, my Mio). I also re-read Ende's book "Momo" like a million times.
+ Do you have any particular books you re-read for the Holidays? No, not really.
+ Are books a thing on your wish list? If so, any particular books on your list this year? Books always make up the bulk of my Christmas wish list. We have a great tradition in Iceland of giving books as Christmas presents and there are always a lot of exciting new titles released around the holidays. My list mainly consists of Icelandic books, so I don't know if it gives any meaning listing them here but I'm going to anyways. What I'm mostly hoping to get are these:
Audur Jónsdóttir - Ósjálfrátt
Kristín Marja Baldursdóttir - Kantata
Óttar M. Nordfjörd - Una
Audur Ava Ólafsdóttir - Undantekningin
+ Do you tend to buy books for other people? I always give my parents and sister a book for Christmas and that's not changing this year.
+ What's your thought on The Hobbit being stretched into three movies? I haven't seen part one yet, so I'm holding off judgment on that - but my initial reaction was not good. I don't see how they are going to stretch the story for three long movies... but I am excited about seeing part one on Monday (in 2D!).
+ Read any good books this month? The only books I've read this month were about Chagall (for a final paper). If anyone wants to learn more about him, I can recommend Jonathan Wilson's Marc Chagall, which was recently published (in 2007, if I remember correctly). It made for an interesting read.

I've read a few Swedish books the past couple years (translated to English) and quite enjoyed them. I also tried a few French and some Norwegian ones in the past, but don't think I've read any Icelandic authors. Do you know if any of these are translated/released internationally? Or do you have Icelandic authors you'd recommend?

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missdillydally - 2012-12-16 19:32 (UTC) - Expand

+ What were your favorite books as a child? Green Eggs & Ham when I was very young. I liked YA scifi books as well. The Ladies of Mandrigyn by Barbara Hambly was one of my all time favorites when I was younger.
+ Do you have any particular books you re-read for the Holidays? not really
+ Are books a thing on your wish list? If so, any particular books on your list this year? The Dream of Perpetual Motion by Dexter Palmer, March by Geraldine Brooks, The Last Policeman by Ben Winters
+ Do you tend to buy books for other people? Yes!
+ What's your thought on The Hobbit being stretched into three movies? no opinion
+ Read any good books this month? The last book I read that I really enjoyed was Blind Your Ponies by Stanley Gordon West. I'm in the midst of reading a couple at the moment, but neither are really grabbing my attention all that well.

Oh, I want to read March! I read a lot of Louisa May Alcott as a child.

+ What were your favorite books as a child?
I loved the Animorphs series...In the storybook years I loved Jumangi, Animalia, anything with captivating illustrations. I was recently reminded of an awesome children's poetry book The Dragons Are Singing Tonight and wondered if many other people my age would remember it.
+ Do you have any particular books you re-read for the Holidays?
No. In fact this reminds me I still haven't read A Christmas Carol.
+ Are books a thing on your wish list?
Not this year; I've done a lot of book shopping so I don't really need more right now.
+ Do you tend to buy books for other people?
If I know it's something they want; I'm not good with gifting things as recommendations.
+ What's your thought on The Hobbit being stretched into three movies?
I thought the first installment worked out pretty well; they've managed to emotionally build up the stakes a lot from how it felt in the book so that the story feels worthy of a more epic feel, even if not quite deserving of three hours. I also think more people need to realize that there are supplemental stories worked in that aren't originally from The Hobbit but from the extended LOTR canon, so as far as I know it's not just adapting one book (Only having read the main four books, I'm only going by what I've heard). But I still don't know how they're going to stretch the rest into two more movies, and of course it's debatable whether a lot of that backstory really needs to be filmed.
+ What's the best book you've read this month?
Well, because of a combination of low reading time and losing track of the book, it's taken me almost a year but I just finished The Stand by Stephen King. It's far from a perfect novel but I fell totally in love with a couple of the characters and I'm kind of obsessed.

Edited 2012-12-17 06:05 (UTC)

I knew they'd supplemented with things in the movie, but didn't know it was from Tolkien's other work. My wish was for The Silmarillion to be adapted though. I think Peter Jackson would have done well with that.

Oh wow, The Stand, that is one big brick of a book. Good on you! I've been struggling with Infinite Jest since Summer. The plan was to finish before the new year, but it's looking unlikely.

+ What were your favorite books as a child?

The first thing I thought of was The Westing Game, but that's grade school. I had a Super Mario Bros. book where Mario and Luigi have a fight about something, but have to work together to get out of a dungeon that contained the possibly inadvertent yet delicious tongue-twister "Flee! Flee! The fire from the fire flower will fry our flesh!"

+ Do you have any particular books you re-read for the Holidays?

Not for the holidays, no.

+ Are books a thing on your wish list? If so, any particular books on your list this year?

I found myself the new Murakami Ryu novel, and I've been steadily buying up manga... so I guess the answer is no, it didn't make it to my list.

+ Do you tend to buy books for other people?

I do, if at all possible.

+ What's your thought on The Hobbit being stretched into three movies?

I think I need to see it to really have an informed opinion. I'm worried though that it won't be a good quality effort because it's being stretched like this.

+ Read any good books this month?

The new Kaoru Mori collection Anything and Something released this month, and it was lovely.

+ What were your favorite books as a child? I remember reading a lot of Enid Blyton books as a child. I liked the Famous Five and The Faraway Tree.
+ Do you have any particular books you re-read for the Holidays? Nope. I'm really bad at reading actual, like, books. Fic, I like reading fluffy Christmas fic though.
+ Are books a thing on your wish list? If so, any particular books on your list this year? Most of the books on my wishlist are academic "serious" books so not very Christmassy. I think I have a Neil Gaiman on there too.
+ Do you tend to buy books for other people? Sometimes. Sometimes I buy my day a scifi novel- I tend to look for "best of the year" lists and then go through the recced books on there. I find it really difficult to buy ~~presents~~ books because a. I'm never sure if its something they'll look at again after the first time and b. Whether its something they'll actually like.
+ What's your thought on The Hobbit being stretched into three movies? I've never read it. And I've never seen the LOTRs trilogy or read those books. I've tried reading them, but I found them very dry and far too much effort to get into. I give up on books that don't grab me in a couple of chapters.
+ Read any good books this month? I've read good novel length fic but no books. It's on my list of things to do next year, start actually reading books. :D

Those pesky fics really do butt in on book time, don't they. I've been reading a lot more since I got the iPad, but the word count is in no way reflected in my book count :/

+ What were your favorite books as a child?
The Lord of the Rings, Trinity, Exodus (those two being by Leon Uris). I learned to read at a very early age and by five, my grandmother was putting books of this caliber in my hand and I was not allowed to read stuff by the likes of Judy Blume and company, the books that kids my own age were reading. This only added to ammunition that my so called 'schoolmates' used to taunt and ridicule me. All I have to say... who's laughing now? :P

+ Do you have any particular books you re-read for the Holidays?
Not particularly anything that I reread just because it is the holidays. Trinity is my go to comfort read though and that gets re-read often.

+ Are books a thing on your wish list? If so, any particular books on your list this year?
Not anything that most could afford... I would love some first edition copies of books by Jules Verne, Dickens, Doyle, and although perhaps a bit more affordable, P.G. Wodehouse.

+ Do you tend to buy books for other people?
That is all I buy for my GodImps and the children in the family. They get enough toys from other people, sad, really, but I make sure to give them good books (with a bit of my grandmother's influence, none of this YA lit- they can get that at school). My GodImps got copies of Lincoln's Last Days and my older cousins got copies of Killing Kennedy and Killing Lincoln.

+ What's your thought on The Hobbit being stretched into three movies?
Good because we will hopefully get to see a movie that stays true to the books and doesn't cut important corners. Bad because you know full well it wasn't done not to cut corners, but was done to insure the most money the producers could get.

+ Read any good books this month?
I've started reading the Irish Country Doctor series by Patrick Taylor and it is a very cute read. I'm currently reading Killing Kennedy and it is wonderful- regardless of your politics and what you think of O'Reilly, set those opinions aside and read it (as well as the Lincoln book... highly recommend). I finished a trilogy by Robin Hobb about dragons that was wonderful. There were a few others, but those were my favorites.