Friday Five–February 26, 2010

1) What’s your favorite magazine?
The only magazines I read are knitting magazines, but it’s tough to say. Interweave Knits used to be my favorite, but I haven’t loved their issues since they switched editors a little while back. I like Knitscene (which is published by Interweave Press) and usually Knit.1, which is published by Vogue Knitting (the latter of which is hit and miss, for me). So that’s a really long way of saying that while I read many knitting magazines, I don’t really have a favorite. lol

2) What book are you currently reading?
I’m reading two books! yay for reading multitasking, even though it’s something I don’t normally do. In print, I’m reading Shadowland: The Immortals #3 by Alyson Noel, a young adult supernatural story. On my Nook (yes, Nook! I need to do a Nook post, don’t I?), I’m reading Dracula by Bram Stoker. I figured it was time I read this famous classic, and learned what real vampires are like.

3) What’s the worst book you ever read?
eh, worst is such a harsh word, no? ok, I’ll bite. I’ll pick something I read last year since that’s what’s fresh in my mind. I HATED Sundays at Tiffany’s by James Patterson & Gabrielle Charbonnet. My review says it all.

4) What makes a book perfect for you?
Hmm. I don’t know about perfect, but a book I love is one that has characters who stay with me. In other words, a book I want to return to later, or characters/plots that stay in my memory long after I’ve read the book. Those are the keepers for me. I’ve read plenty of books, but many are forgettable. The better ones are hard to find, but when you do, it’s a great experience as a reader.

5) If you could buy any book right now, which one would it be?
Well, I’m still working my way through my book stash–somewhat–so I’ve been downloading free books on the Nook. But if it were released, I’d buy Mockingjay (The Final Book of The Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins. It’s being published later this summer, and I can’t wait to find out how this trilogy ends.

It’s the last day of the year, and you know what that means … nostalgia and looking back. What were your favorite books of the year? (Books that were new to you in 2009, if not necessarily published this year.)

I read more books in 2009 than I had in 2008, so I have quite a few to choose from. Here are my favorites from this year:

• Harry Potter book 1 (and the rest of the series) by J. K. Rowling
  I finally read HP! I don’t really know why I waited so long, because once I read the books, I loved them, as well as the film adaptations. This is one case where the books lived up to all the hype surrounding them. I totally get it now.
• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
  I loved everything about this book–the characters, the writing style, the story. The subject matter is pretty grim, but told in a powerful way. These are characters who have stayed with me, months after I’ve read the book.
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (and the sequel)
  I wasn’t sure if I’d like this one too much, but I’m so glad I read it. It’s filled with action and suspense, but underneath is a striking morality tale–kind of like HP, but without the wizardry, maybe? I can’t wait for the third novel, which comes out later in 2010.

Friday Five–December 4, 2009

1. What song do you play the most?
According to iTunes, Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody (23 plays)
According to Last.fm, Rob Pattinson – I’ll Be Your Lover Too (98 plays [oh geez.])

2. What song do you play the least? 30 Seconds to Mars – A Modern Myth (0 plays)

3. What’s the last song you added? Lady GaGa & Beyonce – Telephone

4. What’s your favorite playlist? I haven’t made a playlist in a really long time. I lost all my playlists when my iTunes 7 went wonky, so I haven’t really made any since then, even though I’ve since upgraded iTunes and it’s working properly again.

5. What kind of iPod (or MP3 player) do you have? I have an iPhone 3GS and an iPod Touch. Lately I’ve been using the iPhone pretty exclusively, but I need to transfer my new music purchases onto the iPod.

Friday Five for 13 November 2009:
http://community.livejournal.com/thefridayfive/75517.html

1. Do you believe in ghosts?
I’m really not sure. Personally, I’ve never had a ghostly experience, so I can’t say either way. But I’m fascinated by the idea of them, and love reading ghost stories and watching shows like Ghost Hunters.

2. Do you believe in extraterrestrials?
As with ghosts, I’m not sure. Maybe. There’s got to be some other form of intelligence elsewhere in the universe, right? Earth can’t be it.

3. Do you believe in mythical creatures (unicorns, vampires, etc.)?
Only in fictional settings.

4. Do you believe in a higher power (God, Allah, Buddha, Hecate, Zeus, etc.)?
I used to be very religious, but no longer am. I’m agnostic. Not sure either way whether there’s a god out there…

5. Do you believe in the power of crystals?
Nope. I think objects like that only have the power that we (humans) assign to them.

(Sorry if the formatting [or lack thereof] is slightly wonky; our Internet is down due to the nor’easter, and I’m posting this from the WordPress app on my iPhone. I don’t see options for inserting links or bold/italic/etc. The app is rather basic.)

Another test post…just upgraded some plugins, seeing if they’re working again.

Friday Five for 4 September 2009:

1. What story did you love reading, as a child? I had an oversized, illustrated copy of The House That Jack Built that I loved. I read it so much, the spine kind of fell apart. My copy was slightly more cartoonish, but this is a nice illustrated version at Project Gutenberg.

2. What remains to be your all-time favorite book? All-time is tough, but I think it’s probably Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, only because I’ve read it so many times that I’ve lost count. The characters are very well-written (not flat at all), the plot is kind of fantastic at first (time travel), but it quickly doesn’t matter because the book is so engaging. I’ve followed the series over the years–in fact, the next book releases at the end of this month–but none of the other books in the series compare to the first, for me.

3. What book do you usually recommend to people? hmm…I don’t normally recommend things. Actually, I think I ask for recommendations more than I give them.

4. If you were a character in a book, who would you be? I tend to read depressing books, so even though they’re my favorites, I wouldn’t want to be any of them, lol! Maybe Jo March in Little Women.

5. If you could write a book, what would it be about? It would be a sad story, of course, probably about love and loss, because I am all emo like that. I haven’t worked on it in a long, long time, but I had started a “thing” a while back (I don’t really think it’s a book yet, more like a short story in progress) and it was pretty depressing, lol. Maybe I’ll dig around on my external hard drive and find that piece and work on it.

Friday Five for 26 June 2009:

1. If you could only hear one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
This is a tough question. Sometimes I get into phases where I’ll only listen to one artist or band for days at a time. After consulting my iTunes library and looking at my play counts, I’ll say Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. That song is perfect in every way.

2. What one song would you like to be played at your funeral?
For a while, it’s been Closing Time by Semisonic. If you listen to the lyrics, it seems funnily appropriate. And I wouldn’t want my funeral to be a weep-fest anyway. No Sarah McLachlan songs at my wake, either!

3. What one song is best to describe your feelings right now?
Considering I’m kind of stressed, maybe…Under Pressure?

4. What one song would you like to hear when you’re sad and depressed?
When I want to feel better (sillier), I put on Cupid’s Chokehold. That song cracks me up.

5. What’s one song that you wish you’d written?
Can’t narrow it down, but anything by Tori Amos or Jewel. Love them.