20 Reading Questions

So I am very, very tired (I have a 3 year old, an 18 month old, and I am in my first trimester, you see) but I wanted to write something today so I decided to do a bit of a more straightforward post. I saw this “20 Reading Questions” meme on twitter, and I genuinely enjoyed reading people’s answers, so I thought I’d do it.

I do not know the source of the meme. I tried to find it, but saw no links, just the meme.

Here goes!

1. Favorite genre to read: On the fiction side, usually fantasy. On the non-fiction, essays and apologetics.
2. Current book you’re reading: Ah, several. A Gentleman in Moscow. The Tragedy of the Assyrian Minority in Iraq. (Re-reading) The Outlaws of Sherwood. Pensees.
3. First book you remember loving: Either Mara Daughter of the Nile, or The Horse’s Boy.
4. A book/series you wish would be adapted to film: Not sure. I think maybe Marie Brennan’s A Natural History of Dragons might be a fun one with that clever mixture of pragmatic British-like tone, plus dragons and intrigue. I’ve only read the first one though.
5. Favorite protagonist: Orual from Till We Have Faces.
6. Favorite antagonist: Could I say Orual again…? Um, maybe the Sherif in Parke Godwin’s Sherwood. He kind of typifies the intelligent, slightly tortured, sympathetic villain that I like, but who is still very much the villain, and never “turns good.”
7. Do you write any stories? Yes, as might be evident by any perusal of this blog, I suppose (fantasy, essays, apologetics, historical fiction).
8. A movie that you think was better than the book: I didn’t read all three Hunger Games books, because I didn’t really like the first one very much. But I thought some of the movies were excellent.
9. Best book you’ve read this year: Probably Chaim Potok’s In the Beginning. It’s not my favorite of his, but it is still very, very good.
10. One of your favorite authors: C.S. Lewis (but then also Robin McKinley, G.K. Chesterton, and Chaim Potok)
11. Least favorite genre to read: I will never read horror. Ever. Or erotica. Also don’t like grimdark a whole lot. It wears on me right quick.
12. A book you’d recommend to a friend: Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson. I feel like I could recommend it to just about anybody, regardless of their taste. And The Abolition of Man, though that one requires a bit more perseverance and an interest in philosophy/theology. Also, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Oh, and The Ugly American.
13. Favorite film adaptation of a book: Probably the original Canadian Anne of Green Gable movies. I love those so much.
14. Book you’ve read the most times: The Abolition of Man, Mara Daughter of the Nile, The Blue Sword, the Bible.
15. A book you didn’t expect to like: I wouldn’t say that I ever started reading a book thinking “I’m not going to like this,” BUT I did start reading The Brothers Karamazov with far more of a sense of duty than desire, if that counts.
16. Favorite classic book: Either Persuasion or Jane Eyre. Or Ivanhoe.
17. Book that impacted you the most: Till We Have Faces (Lewis) and The Promise (Potok).
18. If you could meet one author, living  or dead, who would it be? C.S. Lewis
19. An author you think more people should know about: I mean it’s not like he’s unknown, but I think more people should read Chaim Potok’s books. He has this uncanny ability to evoke the deepest emotions without seeming to use any emotional language whatsoever, or even being overt about the subject matter. His themes are always woven throughout so subtly that you almost wonder if he even meant to put them in there, and his metaphors seem almost accidental while yet stunning.
20. Favorite book/series of all time: I can’t pick just one. Lewis’ Space Trilogy (particularly Perelandra) and Pilgrim’s Regress and The Weight of Glory. Anne of Green Gables (esp. Anne of the Island), G.K. Chesterton’s Heretics. Robin McKinley’s The Blue Sword.