Meme: Eva's Reading

A reading meme from Eva; I was tagged by ravenous reader:

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

I have to say The DaVinci Code. After hearing so much about it, and what the premise was, I just couldn't bring myself to read it. Plus, A. tried to get me to watch the movie version with him and I fell asleep in ten minutes! I still feel sure it's a great book, though...

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event, who would they be and what would the event be?

I would like to sit in a life-drawing session with Asher Lev, Eben Adams and Kerewin Holmes (from Chaim Potok's My Name is Asher Lev, Robert Nathan's Portrait of Jennie and Keri Hulme's The Bone People). They're three of my favorite characters who are artists, and it would be cool to see how they draw, learn from them and critique each other!

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 realize it’s past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave?

Robinson Crusoe. I've never made it through the first chapter. But since it's a classic, I guess I could cram it down. Maybe I'd even like it.

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?

I am honest to a fault. I can't remember having claimed to read a book I haven't. Maybe in high school I once did, and forgot the incident? But I've embarrassed myself and stopped many a conversation by admitting ignorance of a book!

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

I don't think I've had this happen either, though I know I've done the opposite- once I started to read a book a roommate loaned me, and realized halfway through I'd read it before. It made such little impression on me the first time, I'd forgotten all about it! I felt really bad, she loved it, and said it made her cry, and I handed it back to her after thirty pages saying "sorry, I've already read this and I didn't like it." I think she got offended. It was The Joy Luck Club.

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?

I've got a headache from thinking about it for an hour so I'll just say: I don't know.

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?

Spanish! I've a meager enough grasp of the language to have tasted some fine literature and been left frustrated with the vastness I could not comprehend. I'd like to feast on Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Miguel de Cervantes, Jorge Luis Borges and many others in their original voices...

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?

The Little Prince. An easy read, and it always reminds me of what is most important in life- those we love.

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?

A genre I've never attempted before that's in my TBR now is vampire and werewolf stories. I've read lots of good blog reviews on some, and it's gotten me mighty curious about trying to read them.

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.

The dream library! Built in floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, that won't bow from the weight of books. Pale oak, maybe. One of those cool library-ladders with wheels on it to reach the top shelves. Soft carpet, windows looking on a garden, a few comfy armchairs, really good lighting. And all my favorite books, of course! In hardbound editions, with the best jacket illustrations or cover designs on them. The classics bound in leather. The YA books with excellent illustrations. That would be plenty for me.

Now I have to tag four other book bloggers for this meme:
Laura, Charlene, Lauren & Dana and Petunia, your turn!