Book Meme

Presbyterian Gal has kindly tagged me for this book meme. 

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?

Dean Koontz.  Nastiness I do NOT need in my head! 

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?

Anne Shirley (of Green Gables), Meg Murry O'Keeffe, and Vicky Austin (latter two are Madeleine L'Engle characters).  Event...hanging out and talking.  Wine available.  Does Anne drink?  Don't know. 

(Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): you are told you can't die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realise it's past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave?

Well, so far, War and Peace (see below).  But clearly I need to try it again. 

Come on, we've all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you've read, when in fact you've been nowhere near it?

War and Peace.  I'm pretty sure that now I have to go read it. 

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realise when you read a review about it/go to 'reread' it that you haven't? Which book?

I don't think so.  I tend to know what I have read, though not remember it well, so I get to re-read a lot. 

You've been appointed Book Advisor to a VIP (who's not a big reader). What's the first book you'd recommend and why? (if you feel like you'd have to know the person, go ahead of personalise the VIP)

The Chronicles of Narnia.  If the VIP is too stuffy to read "children's books" (which they are not) then he/she is worthless and not a very V or I P. 

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?  Echoing PG:  No contest: Spanish. In 4th semester Spanish in college we read Aura by Carlos Fuentes in Spanish.  It's a novel of the supernatural, and you totally don't get all the undertones reading it in English (which of course I did, to try to figure out what the HECK was happening!)  Demonstrated so clearly how much is lost in translation...

A mischievious fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick?
A Severed Wasp by Madeleine L'Engle

I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What's one bookish thing you 'discovered' from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)?
DEFINITELY books on church growth, preaching, etc.  Why am I reading these?  Because I am fascinated by what my RG friends are talking about. 

That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she's granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leatherbound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favourite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead-let your imagination run free.
First of all:  It's furnished and accessorized by Levenger.  No limit on price.  Go see what I mean if you don't konw them already. 

I'd love a library with the rolling ladder along the shelves...to easily get to those less-accessed items without dragging out the stepladder.  Several choices of places to sit, all with headrests (as a tall person it is hard for me to get comfortable in a lot of chairs).  Excellent indirect lighting.  Replacements for those items in my full set of Madeleine L'Engle that were destroyed in the fire of 1999.  A completely dedicated LIBRARY room.  One of the things that sold me on our current home was the full wall of built in bookshelves in my current library.  I realize I am fortunate to have one...but it also holds our big freezer and a lot of other extraneous items! 

TAG TIME: My mom, Elastigirl, Mrs. Swizzle, Rachel at the Big Dunk, Michelle.