Because I should be doing any number of other things, here's a meme I snaffled from
harrigan.
I won't answer all the questions at once but I might bundle some as I think they would have the same answer.
So question number 1
1. Favourite book from childhood.My earliest favourite was
The Poky Little Puppy. Apparently I got my parents to read it too me over and over. I remember being impatient and wanting to learn to read for myself because I didn't like being read to - it was too slow, and I had to wait for someone to be available when I wanted to read ALL the time. The first book I remember loving was Dr Seuss's Sleep Book. Then I moved to the Andrew Lang Fairy tale books - all the different colours and all the different stories, the Martin Pippin books by Eleanor Farjeon. I loved Donald Suddaby's retelling of Robin Hood, the Greek myths anthologies, Leon Garfield and E Nesbit. Then I slid from magic into history with Rosemary Sutcliff and Henry Treece, thanks to my awesome primary school teacher when I was nine and ten, Mrs Goodier. It was her doing that I ended up wanting to be an archaeologist.
But my absolute childhood favourite is still my all time favourite book - The Lord of the Rings. My uncle lent me his copy when I was eleven. I read it cover to cover then started over again the minute I finished it. I wept buckets when Theoden died. I was terrified when the Black Riders hunted the hobbits through the Shire.
I bought my own copy even though it was expensive (compared to my usual 25p paperbacks! Yes, I know it, was a bloody long time ago, when books were cheap!). I read it so often the edges of the pages wore away and the whole book fell apart and had to be repaired by a friend of my Mum's who did DIY bookbinding. The cover was the one by Pauline Baynes, who also drew the poster map, and did covers for C S Lewis's Narnia books.
I no longer have that copy, because I lent it to an ex boyfriend who fucking LOST IT. This was *cough* forty years ago *cough* and I haven't forgiven you, Mike, you toe rag.
The rest of the list, which I will come back to as and when:
2. Best bargain.
3. One with a blue cover.
4. Least favourite book by favorite author.
5. Doesn't belong to me.
6. The one I always give as a gift.
7. Forgot I owned it.
8. Have more than one copy.
9. Film or TV tie-in.
10. Reminds me of someone I love.
11. Secondhand bookshop gem.
12. I pretend to have read it.
13. Makes me laugh.
14. An old favorite.
15. Favourite fictional father.
16. Can't believe more people haven't read.
17. Future classic.
18. Bought on a recommendation.
19. Still can't stop talking about it.
20. Favourite cover.
21. Summer read.
22. Out of print.
23. Made to read at school.
24. Hooked me into reading.
25. Never finished it.
26. Should have sold more copies.
27. Want to be one of the characters.
28. Bought at my fave independent bookshop.
29. The one I have reread most often.
30. Would save if my house burned down.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dizzojay.
