BTT-Quirky

This week’s question is suggested by (blogless) JMutford:

Sometimes I find eccentric characters quirky and fun, other times I find them too unbelievable and annoying. What are some of the more outrageous characters you’ve read, and how do you feel about them?

The first quirky character that comes to mind is Stephanie Plum who is hilarious and very real but sometimes she can border on annoying but Janet Evanovich always pulls her back from being unbelievable. There are other characters like this too: Anita Blake, Sookie Stackhouse, and Betsy Taylor the Vampire Queen are just a few of very good characters that I adore who also at times can get on my last nerve! I tend not to dislike quirky characters very much but that’s also a deal breaker for me, if the character annoys me too much then I’ll stop reading.

A. A. Milne (January 18, 1882 – January 31, 1956)

January 18th was the author A. A. Milne's birthday who was most famous for that chubby-little cubby Pooh Bear and since I was sick I never got to celebrate on my blog. Since tomorrow is the day that great man died I’d like to commemorate him today. I found this site which has uploaded the entire Winnie the Pooh book and included a few pictures. I actually have this old book and will do a post on it sometime next month.

I found these two videos on YouTube. The first is illustrations by E. H. Shepard set to the song House at Pooh Corner and the second one is a song sung by Gene Kelley that is based on a poem by A. A. Milne called Halfway Down the Stairs.

ToT-10 Things You’d Buy If You Had a Million Dollars

There’s no getting by easy on this one like saying “giving it to charity” or “saving it for my kids’ college”. You’ve got a million dollars, and you’ve got to spend it on yourself. Your list can add up to a million dollars, or each of the items on your list could be huge million dollar splurges. Your choice! Be greedy, spoil yourself!

My million dollar shopping list:

1. A nice house for hubby and me and another for my parents, both of which would be in Georgia.
2. New cars for all immediate family.
3. I'd like to run a used book-store.
4. Monthly spa days for mom and me
5. A ranch house somewhere quiet for vacations (Tennessee perhaps?)
6. A whole new wardrobe
7. Trips to every Disney theme park, including the cruise ship
8. Lots of animals
9. People to help clean up after said animals
10. Books!

Book Meme

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?
For awhile it's been The Book Thief but I'm actually slowly getting into it. The book is still not the easiest to read though. I'd probably have to say A Thousand Splendid Suns

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?
Stephanie Plum would be fun to have luch with as long as no one blows up her car while we're eating! Jean-Claude could take me to a French opera or ballet and I wouldn't mind visiting Eric's bar (from Sookie's world).

(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?
Probably some thick classic with hard-to-understand English.

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've said I've finished a book when I'm still reading it before but I've never out-right lied about reading a book before.

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'm very good at remembering what I have and haven't read. That doesn't mean that when I reread everything is familiar to me, some parts of the book I don't remember so it's like reading it for the first time.

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 and personalise the VIP)
The first book in Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. My husband doesn't read too often but he's read this entire series. It's been a couple of years since the last one was published and he'll still talk about them!

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?
French. I see it in books all the time and it drives me crazy when I have to get up and look it up in an online translator.

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?
It took me awhile to come up with an answer to this question. First I thought about Little Women which I've read four times but then I looked up and realized that either Winnie-the-Pooh or Alice in Wonderland would be a better choice.

I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed 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)?
The Mercy series by Patricia Briggs and the Ice Series by Anne Stuart. Both of these authors have become must-reads for me now.


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.
I love books in all shapes and sizes so it doesn't really matter to me what the books look like in my library, I just want the shelves full! I like the library in Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks because it is set up beautifully. The dusting would be a hassle but then I'd probably like that ladder!

New Stuff

Today I did something I haven’t done in almost 10 years! I wore glasses! Not only that but I actually brought a pair home! It’s going to take me awhile to get used to them (I’m already kind of woozy because I’m trying to wear them instead of going to put my contacts in) but I like them.

As you may have noticed, I haven’t really been doing any updating and I’m so far behind but this cold I’ve had has kicked my butt! I’m starting to feel better but still kind of tired. My Cold as Ice by Anne Stuart post will be up before too much longer.

Has anyone ever read The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor? I read a review of it at Rhinoa’s Ramblings and liked the way it sounded so I picked it up from the library today. It looks like I won’t get to read it for a little while though because I need to read The Thirteenth Tale. I know I’ll love it so I don’t know why I keep dragging my heals on this!

This is a picture of my glasses except mine are blue: