Fun Friday–A Literary ABC Meme
I wrote my own meme for today’s Fun Friday. If you like it, feel free to re-post on your blog or Facebook page, and be sure to come back and share the link in a comment!
The Literary ABCs
List your favorite . . .
Austen (Jane) novel: Persuasion
Brontë sister’s novel: Jane Eyre
Clancy or Crichton novel and/or movie: Jurassic Park (book & film adaptation)
Dickens novel and/or film: Bleak House (it’s the only one I’ve read through, and I love the 2006 miniseries adaptation)
English class you took: History of the English Language
Frequently read author: Currently, Julie Garwood (I’m re-reading her romance novels from the early 1990s)
Grisham novel and/or movie: Novel—The Rainmaker; film—A Time to Kill
Historical novel or era*: Lieutenant Hornblower by C. S. Forester
*Written at a time well after that in which it’s set.
Iconic fictional character: Harry Potter
James Joyce or Henry James? Henry James—Turn of the Screw especially
King in literature (i.e., a character who’s a king, real or fictional): King Henry V of England (Shakespeare’s version)
Lord of the Rings character: Éomer (was there any doubt?)
Movie made from classic literature: Persuasion 1995
Newberry Medal–winning book: Sarah, Plain and Tall (1986)
Oldest book you own (not necessarily “favorite,” just oldest): The entire Harvard Classics set, © 1909
Pirate in literature: Tie: “El Salvador” and “Shaw” (Ransome’s Quest)
Quiet place to read: In bed
Robin Hood version (which film/TV series?): Disney’s animated version
Shakespeare play or poem: Much Ado about Nothing
Twain (Mark) novel/story/essay: “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” (short story)
USA Today Bestseller: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Villain: Voldemort
Walt Whitman or William Wordsworth? Whitman (Leaves of Grass is one of my favorite works of literature)
Xanthippe (an ill-tempered woman, a shrew): Lady Beatrice from Much Ado abuot Nothing
Yawn-inducing bedtime read: Something by Dickens
Zealously protected book you’ll never part with: Victoria by Willo Davis Roberts—I’ve had it since I was fourteen or fifteen, it was what really got me motivated to start writing, it’s taped together, and I haven’t read it in years, but I’ll never part with it.
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KayeDacus.com 
How fun! I have 10 prairie bonnets and a prairie dress to sew today for my Little House birthday party tomorrow, but I hope to find time to do this meme today on my blog.
I didn’t realize you were such a Harry Potter fan. I heart Harry. I was resistant to reading the books because I don’t usually like things that “non-readers” get so into. But I finally read them after book 7 came out (and I hate cliffhangers, so I’m really glad all the books were done before I started reading them!). And then I re-read them. And I’m sure I will re-read them again many, many times.
What are your thoughts on Twilight? I’ve been resisting it for the same reason, but a good friend whose taste I respect has been trying to talk me into reading it.
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I started reading the Harry Potter books around the time the sixth book came out. There was such an uproar about it in the Christian writers’ community, about how horrible it was that there were books out there for kids featuring “witchcraft” (like there have never been any of those before!). But then I also heard J. K. Rowling defend the morality that she built into her stories. So I realized I couldn’t make a judgment on them just based on what everyone else was saying.
I started by renting the three movies that were out by that time. I’d seen the first one a year or so before that, but had been doing other stuff while it was on and didn’t really pay too much attention to it. But I received all three from Netflix at the same time and spent a Saturday afternoon/evening watching them back-to-back. The next day I ordered a boxed-set of the first five books from Amazon. Then came the DVDs and audio books.
And to see just how much I enjoyed the books, here’s my recap of going to the release “party” for Deathly Hallows: https://kayedacus.com/2007/07/21/harry-potter-the-event-reading-it/
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Thank you for your advice on Third Limited. I’m used to the screenplay format. I’m adapting one of my screenplays into a novel.
My first choice was Objective Third. However, seems I may have a better chance of being published in Third Limited.
Best Regards,
Michael
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Michael–
Objective Third is a viable option for novelists—however, it is extremely hard to master and usually turns into head-hopping. Learning how to writing in Limited Third will not only make your manuscript more marketable, it will strengthen your writing skills immeasurably as you learn how to observe others through the lens of your character’s viewpoint.
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Dear Kaye,
Thank you so much for the advice. Since I live in my main charactures head ( Limited )seems I view everyone else in Objective? Since I never enter their mind.
Again, I thank you.
Michael A. Haver
Phoenix, AZ
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I LOVE Turn of the Screw! And I’ve never known anyone else who’s read it.
I had to read it in college for American Novel class. I think that was the first book I read where I understood that a character’s POV can’t always be trusted. It’s been years since I read it. I should read it again.
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It was the first gothic novel and the first psychological horror/thriller novel I’d ever read (though, yes, I know it’s very mild by today’s standards). After having had a really bad experience with my first exposure to Poe (see last year’s Halloween post for that story), I’d always avoided anything that seemed like it was too similar to his stuff. But reading Turn of the Screw taught me that there’s a big difference in reading it and seeing it on film. I definitely prefer reading it. And while I’ve never read The Pit and the Pendulum, I have read some of Poe’s other stories since then. But I still think I prefer Turn of the Screw.
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You mean Turn of the Screw is a movie too?
I was reading the story in my dorm room late at night. All the lights off. My roommates all gone. I was somewhere near the end of the book, and one of my roommates decided to sneak into the room and jump out at me in the dark and scare me.
She’d never done that before, and she never did it again. I have no idea why she picked that night to do it. 🙂
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Yes, there are a couple of movies of Turn of the Screw, but the movie I was referencing was The Pit and the Pendulum which I saw when I was in sixth grade—and then had nightmares for months afterward.
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What a fun meme! I’m working on my answers and will let you know when they’re posted!
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I just went to imdb.com. There’s a bunch of TOTS movies, the latest one in ’99. Did you know Colin Firth was in it?
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Yep. I’ve had that one sitting in my queue on Netflix for several months. I need to bump it up to the top and watch it now, after this conversation!
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I’m going to see if I can get it interlibrary loan. But I want to reread it first. Let me know what you think of it when you watch it.
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Here’s the link to my post:
http://booktalkandmore.blogspot.com/2009/06/literary-abcs.html
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I just finished watching Persuasion! Now I’m wathing Masfield Park.
Still no SIG. In case you didn’t notice, I’m impatient. Now I think it will be here on Monday.
Short post today. We’re having big, turn-off-the-computer, storms. Sorry if my grammar/puntuation is terrible, I’m really tired.
G’night!
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To echo Becky’s comment, I’d like to know your thoughts on Twilight too.
Good job not skipping any letters. People who can’t think of an X are wusses.
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http://cjencyclopedia.typepad.com/waiting_for_prince_charmi/2009/06/meme.html
Jennifer
PS: There are a lot of books on the USA Best sellers list I don’t think should be there 😀 which always amuses me, there’s no accounting for taste.
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