What's in a Word? - This One Goes to #11

BACON

Today's Top Ten Tuesday Topic is "Top Ten Words/Topics That Instantly Make Me Buy/Pick Up A Book."  If perchance this is your first experience with Top Ten Tuesday, you can find more information here.

When I was an irresponsible teenager child, there was a game we used to play called "Never Have I Ever."  If you've never heard of it, the rules were fairly simple - you would form a circle of chairs, one less in number than the number of participants.  The remaining person would then have to come up with a statement beginning "Never have I ever."  Anyone who had done this thing would then have to move to a new seat, while at the same time, the person in the center was trying to take one of theirs.  Those who likewise have not done this thing get a free pass for the round and remain seated.  Once all the seats are filled, there is hopefully a new person in the middle and play continues.

Now, there is a reason for me bringing up this game, and you may have guessed it already...

"Never have I ever bought a book because of a word or topic printed on the cover or within its pages."

If we were playing the game right now, I wonder how many others wouldn't get out of their chairs? I mean, it seems a fairly logical thing to me not to buy a book merely because a word caught your eye - flip through a book to see if you're interested, certainly, but not buy.  Say, for example, that you are walking through a bookstore and you spot a book called "Bacon".  Now, you may go to pick up the book, only to find that it is actually written by a vegetarian and is full of pictures of sad piglets.

This probably wouldn't be what you had in mind.

Therefore, here is my list of "Top Ten Words/Topics that Pique My Interest when Browsing Books."

1. Bacon - Do I need a reason? It's BACON!

2. History - For most of my life, I have been fascinated by history, so anything with this in the title will at least get a glance, especially those books about early European history or pre-revolution America, though books on the Civil Rights Movement rank fairly highly as well.

3. Mythology - AKA History that People Made Up to Make it More Interesting

4. Ireland/Irish/Gaelic - As my pen name might indicate to those of you familiar with the name, I'm Irish.  And by Irish, I mean I'm American of mostly Irish descent, so I'm trying to make up for the bit of me that isn't (I kid... somewhat)

5. Barbecue - It will become quickly apparent that I was hungry when I came up with this list, so my list may be somewhat biased.

6. Dessert - See?

7. Military/Army/Navy/Marines/Air Force - While I'm not much of a military buff, I do like books about them, especially the ones with photos and diagrams.

8. Fantasy - Most of my time at bookstore is spent wandering the science fiction/fantasy sections (or the used books, which are always a treasure).  My attention used to be primarily on the sci-fi, but has of late switched over to fantasy, as is evidenced by some of my previous lists.

9. Comics - While readings through the comics on a Sunday afternoon has its own charm, I've always preferred the collections.  Stories that would take weeks to play out in the paper can be seen all at once as a whole, and there's always those ones you missed or forgot about to look forward to.

10. Sale - What can I say?  A good bargain might make me consider a book I wouldn't otherwise buy.  After all, if I don't like it, I'm not too far in the hole as a result.

Bonus 11. Out-of-Print - Rare books!

There you have it!  This one's a fairly easy one (unless you procrastinate to look at cats, as I did), so I invite you to post your own lists in the comments below, or the link to your blog post so I (and my handful of readers) can read it there.

Not-So-Great Expectations - Top Ten Tuesday # Ten

Today's Top Ten Tuesday Topic is "Top Ten Books I Thought I'd Like MORE/LESS Than I Did".  If perchance this is your first experience with Top Ten Tuesday, you can find more information here.

At some point or another, it is highly probable that you, dear reader, will try something new, only to find that it doesn't meet up to your expectations. Perhaps you find that the regional specialty that came so highly recommended contains anchovies, or the cake you just ordered, maybe the one shown here, inexplicably contains that red dye that leaves a bitter taste in your mouth.  Also, you're allergic to red dye, so it really isn't your day.

Alternatively, there may come a time where some dish that you have had some misgivings about turns out to be delicious - so delicious, in fact, that you eat nothing else for the rest of the meal, leading your friends, family, and possibly even the wait staff a little worried about you.

Alright, so that last bit is a tad exaggerated, but it is an entirely plausible scenario, and the same can be said of books. We've all picked up a book at some point that either didn't live up to our expectations or surpassed them entirely... well, maybe not all of us, but the odds are in my favour.  Therefore, here is my list, which I have tried to split between disappointments and pleasant surprises, but that hasn't worked out so well.

Disappointments

1. American Gods - Neil Gaiman: Originally recommended to me by a friend, I bought this book with high expectations.  Taken as a whole, the plot of this novel is amazing.  However, there were numerous elements within the story that I found distasteful or downright repulsive.  Still on my shelf as I don't have a book to fill its slot, but it's going to find a new home once I do.

2. The Great Train Robbery - Michael Crichton:  For similar reasons as American Gods, only this one I picked up because I'd read some of his other works and enjoyed them, so I expected better of this one.

3. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley: I'm not sure why this story rubs me the wrong way, but I simply haven't been able to enjoy it. I generally don't like darker stories, as will become apparent because up next is...

4. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson: I can't think of anything unique to say here, so I instead will point out that the Mazda logo looks like an owl.

5. Crime & Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky:  Upon reconsideration, I think it is more likely that I don't enjoy these because of the main characters' deliberate placement of themselves in a position that is at odds with that which is considered moral.

6. The Awakening - Kate Chopin: I honestly couldn't find anything to like about this book, despite the fact that the professor of the class for which I read it said it was an enjoyable and thought-provoking read.

Pleasant Surprises

7. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins: As I have stated in a past blog post, I knew absolutely nothing about this book when I picked up to read it, so it would make sense that I wouldn't have very high expectations of this book.  Still, it did beat my initial assumptions about it based on the summary on the cover.

8. Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austen: Ok, here we go - the reason I didn't expect to enjoy this one was because it's "for girls".  Yes, a tad immature, but I was a fairly immature person at the time I first read it.

9. Merlin - Stephen R. Lawhead: Merlin was far, far better than I expected after reading the prior book, Taliesin, which was honestly something of  a mental beating to read.

10. Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer: Around the time I read this, I was going through a bit of a sci-fi phase... as in I read almost nothing else.  So when I was handed this book and told to read it, I was somewhat dubious about it since it was about "faeries".  But I enjoyed it, so my worries were unfounded.

And there you have it!   I know there are a few items on this list that some of you may disagree with - if so, leave a comment below, I'd love to see your opinions!

Aunt Elinor had a Point - Top Ten Tuesday #9

Today's Top Ten Tuesday Topic is a rewind, meaning I can choose any past topic I wish.  Therefore, my topic for today is "Top Ten OCD Bookish Habits". If perchance this is your first experience with Top Ten Tuesday, you can find more information here.

Anyone and everyone who reads for pleasure has their own little quirks about how they read and treat their books.  In some cases, these are more extreme (see Aunt Elinor, Inkheart), but they tend to be fairly harmless.  I myself have my own collection of them, though none quite so... eccentric as Aunt Elinor's.  At least, I don't think they are... good heavens, now I'm in doubt...

Picking 10 - Top Ten Tuesday #8

Today's Top Ten Tuesday Topic is "Top Ten Favorite Books I Read Before I Was a Blogger".  If perchance this is your first experience with Top Ten Tuesday, you can find more information here.

Seeing as I have only been doing this for some two months, I am presented with something of a overabundance of choices.  Therefore, this list is pulled from my Facebook page.  Not because I couldn't pull up a list otherwise, but because I thought it'd be interesting to see what I have on there:

1. The Merchant of Venice - Shakespeare - To truly appreciate this book took me three re-reads and a BBC adaptation for me to come to understand this story... I'm still not sure I do, but I enjoy it anyway.

2. For the Time Being - Annie Dillard - If you've never heard of this one, here's a quick rundown - FTTB is a stream-of-consciousness novel about the author's experiences... with everything.  Well, not everything, but whatever came to mind at the time.  It's not for everyone, but it's a refreshingly different read.

3. Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson

4. The Three Musketeers - Alexander Dumas

5. Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe - Growing up, I was obsessed with adventure novels.  If there were adventures on the high seas, daring heroics, sword fights, and/or enormous battles, I read it.  These three were some of the best... and they're still on my shelf now.

6. Night Watch - Terry Pratchett - I've mentioned Pratchett several times, but I've actually only been aware of him for a few years.  I was introduced to him at college... and promptly read most everything he'd written through the course of a summer.  I've read this one every time I go on a vacation.

7. The Silmarillion - J.R.R. Tolkien - As much as I love his other works, The Silmarillion is my favorite.  A rich, colourful tapestry of mythology... and that's the best I can describe it.  You'll have to read it for yourself - that's the best plug I can give it.

8. The Time Machine - H.G. Wells - I would find it difficult to say that any of Wells' works are better than the others but, if I had to, I would have to choose this one.  Wells explored ideas that hadn't really been touched upon by authors before then, and time travel was one of the ones he did best.

9. Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton - The book is as good as the movie! Possibly better!

10. Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austen - Jane Austen was a brilliant writer and, while I haven't read her other works yet, I have seen most the BBC versions... and I plan on reading those too.

And there you have it!  Not the most in-depth I've gone into a list, but a fun one to put together.  I invite you to take a look at your facebook likes (if you have any), and see if there's any surprises there.  You never know!

Decidedly Unromantic - Top Ten Tuesday #7

Today's Top Ten Tuesday Topic is "Top Ten Characters I Would Crush On If I Were Also a Fictional Character". If perchance this is your first experience with Top Ten Tuesday, you can find more information here.

I don't know what twist of fate lead to the choosing of this particular topic, but I would very much like to find the individual who's responsible and dump a bucket of water on their head...

Recommended Reading - Top Ten Tuesday #6

Today's Top Ten Tuesday Topic is "Top Ten Books I Recommend the Most."  If perchance this is your first experience with Top Ten Tuesday, you can find more information here.

Upon discovering today's topic, I was rather pleased as it offers slightly more freedom than the last few topics have done (at least, according to my fairly strict interpretations of them).  As I can draw upon literally any book I have ever read (except maybe textbooks), I am not limited by restraints such as whether or not the book or its author happens to be one of my favorites.

Also, since I rarely ever recommend books to anyone, I can basically make up a list of whatever I want, though I can and will point people to it if they ask for my recommendations for books to read.  Therefore, without further ado, here is my list of Top Ten Recommendations:

Good Reader or Bad? - Top Ten Tuesday #5

Today's Top Ten Tuesday Topic is "Top Ten Books I HAD to Buy... But are Still Sitting on My Shelf Unread."  If perchance this is your first experience with Top Ten Tuesday, you can find more information here.

Today's topic proved to be fairly difficult for a number of reasons.  First, there is the fact that I tend to read books immediately upon purchasing them.  Well, not immediately, as that would technically require reading it while walking out of the store, but in the popular sense, I do.  Secondly, Wikipedia is of no help here at all as I have to own the books so I can't just list titles that sound promising.  Barnes & Noble might be helpful, but that would probably be cheating as I won't have owned the books long enough for them to count.  I'm not counting books that others have purchased for me as gifts either, so that severely limits the field.

Finally, I'm inventing reasons why this is proving difficult in order to put off actually trying to create a list.  Unfortunately, I've just run out and no longer have anything material prepared with which I could forestall the inevitable.

Therefore, here is my list:

1. Nanny Ogg's Cookbook - Terry Pratchett - Yes, technically it is a cookbook, but there's a section in the back on etiquette and dwarf culture and some of the recipes themselves are stories as well.

2. Collins Irish Dictionary - Can you really even READ a dictionary?  I mean, sure, it's nice to know that Magairlin means "orchid", but there's no plot there!

3. Digital Photographer's Handbook - I recently acquired a new camera and I've been meaning to go over this in order to better understand the nuances of good photography.  However, I haven't had much chance to use the camera so the book goes untouched.

4. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman - Ha! I found a book with a plot, that is meant to be read from front to back in a single or consecutive readings!  I read the first chapter or so of this and promptly bought it... haven't touched it since.

And that's it!  I haven't been to a bookstore in a good while so I haven't gotten many new books and I read all the ones I bought already.  I'm not sure if I should feel proud of this or glad that I haven't let (many) of my books go neglected.  Either way, I'm done - I've read everything else on my shelves that qualifies.  In order to make up for this, I invite you to recommend books to read in the comments, which I will go through and see if there's anything I feel like buying... and then letting dust collect on.

Glorious Wikipedia! - Top Ten Tuesday #3

Today's Top Ten Tuesday Topic is "Top Ten Series I'd Like To Start but Haven't Yet".  If perchance this is your first experience with Top Ten Tuesday, you can find more information about it here.

Doubtless, without the creation of Wikipedia, this would be a very difficult topic indeed.  Not because I can't think of any series I'd like to start, but because I can't remember their names half the time.  Now, one would think that the library would be a suitable alternative but... well... you see, the only connection between words like "voluminous" and our library is that they have a dictionary that contains them.  That is, if they have room for one.  If I had to work off of what they had, all you'd have to read would be a list of items mostly consisting of "the guy (or girl) who does the thing, the name's on the tip of my tongue, honestly". This would not only be highly embarrassing, but also fairly boring, and driving my readers to boredom is fairly low on my list of goals for this blog. Luckily, with the assistance of the Internet, I was not only able to find the names of the series, but I found ten. Huzzah!

Therefore, without further ado, my list:

1. Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McAffrey
For most of my life, a collection of these books has been sitting on the shelves in my sister's room (and several other rooms as well, I think). I have technically started this as I found a portion of one of them within a textbook my dad brought home one day. Dragons are generally interesting, and dragon riders more so (see Eragon, How to Train Your Dragon, etc).

2. The Ender Saga - Orson Scott Card
As this series has been recommended to me several times, I suppose that at some point I will have to pick up one of them and read it. Only knowing what I've been told (and what I've read about them online), there is a certain worrying similarity (at the surface at least) to Starship Troopers, but I am hopeful the similarities end there because, frankly, that film was terrible.

3. The Tales of Alvin Maker - Orson Scott Card
As is going to become readily apparent, I haven't read much by Orson Scott Card.  In fact, I haven't read anything. This one I found while researching Ender, and I find the concept intriguing.

4. The Pathfinder Series - Orson Scott Card
This series I discovered via a friend's Amazon wish list.  It's also what I ended up getting him for Christmas since it seemed interesting enough that he wasn't going to hate it and thus associate me with bad gifts. Therefore, I suppose it is only fair that I should trust in my gift-giving choices and read it for myself.

5 & 6. The Sword of Truth - Terry Goodkind; The Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan
Frankly, I know almost nothing about these two series beyond the fact that they follow the "The _______ of the _______" title format (Lord of the Rings, Return of the Jedi, March of the Penguins, etc).  However, as they're often trotted out as examples of "must read" series, I intend to find out why.

7.  Dune - Frank Herbert
After Twilight, Dune is probably the series I've heard the most about, either through television, friends, or the Internet, which has spawned countless memes about "the spice," most of them involving cats.  Even without the cats, I am intrigued to find out more about it, and reading seems to be the best route to do so.

8. The Prydain Chronicles - Lloyd Alexander
When I was little, I remember seeing Disney's The Black Cauldron for the first time and not getting it.  Years later, I saw it again and, while I enjoyed it more that time, I still didn't understand it all that well.  I've long known that the film was based on a book series, but have yet to read it.  However, I intend to, at least to find out how that story was supposed to go.

9. Allan Quatermain - H. Rider Haggard
A long time ago, I attempted to read King Solomon's Mines but never really managed it.  I got about five pages in, put it down, and never picked it up again.  The time has come to find out what I missed (or narrowly avoided).

10.  The Robot Series - Isaac Asimov
Similarly to The Black Cauldron, my desire to read this series is based on a film "adaptation" and my curiosity to see the story as the author intended.  This is doubly true in this case as I, Robot was originally not written with any connections to the Asimov stories at all and what elements of the stories they did include were only added in later.

And that's my list!  I didn't talk as much about the series themselves as I originally intended, but that's okay.  While I do hope to enjoy all of these books, the primary reason I want to pick them up is often relational rather than rooted in their content (see #4, for example).  With that in mind, I'm going to do something I haven't really attempted yet - I'm going to ask a non-rhetorical question!

When you discover a new series, what has (or would likely have) greater influence on your decision to read it - the plug on the back (or inside if it's a hardcover) or other's opinions/recommendations of it?

The Problem with Being Dead - Top Ten Tuesday #2

Today's topic for Top Ten Tuesday is:

Top Ten Authors That I'd Put On My Auto-Buy List

Upon reading today's topic, there was a certain amount of tangent thinking that took place before actually considering the topic itself.  When they were coming up with the topics for TTT, I'm sure Broke and Bookish didn't mean for "auto-buy" to be taken literally, but I did so anyway.  After all, the idea of boxes suddenly appearing on your doorstep with crisp, new books in them does have a certain appeal to it.

However, this train of thought merely served as a delay in admitting that I had a slight problem with today's topic.  That is, the majority of my favorite authors are dead and, with the exception of the Tolkien Estate, it is unlikely that they're going to be releasing anything anytime soon.  Calls to several of their former residences resulted in voice mails from some confused current residents.  There was one voice mail from Alexandre Dumas' house that might have been angry.  I can't be sure, it was in French.

All kidding aside, I did manage to rally and come up with a list of authors who I would buy anything they published. It's not quite ten, but close with Wikipedia's help where I couldn't remember a name.

1. God - Seeing as I don't subscribe to Nietzsche, God still counts.  Easily the most-published author all time, I would gladly read any further writings He puts out. At the very least, it would certainly be amusing to see how they worked out the copyright on that one.
2. J.R.R. Tolkien - Granted, he is actually dead, but his son Christopher has done a commendable job ensuring that anything his father meant to publish comes to light.  Be it further ventures into Middle Earth, short stories like Roverandom, or translations of classics like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, I am up for anything.
3. Terry Pratchett - Seeing as I have read every book in the Discworld series (except maybe I Shall Wear Midnight - I honestly forget), it would be remiss of me not to include him.  Hoping for more of Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg or Moist Von Lipwig!
4. Brandon Sanderson - Thus far, I have yet to come across anything by Sanderson that I didn't enjoy immensely, and I am hoping the trend continues.  The Way of Kings is an excellent read, if you have the constitution to make it through its 1200+ pages.
5. Eoin Colfer - I have immensely enjoyed the Artemis Fowl series thus far.  Still have a ways to go but I'm curious to see what else he publishes.
6. Suzanne Collins - While I do have my reservations about the Hunger Games trilogy (which I will put up here, eventually), I enjoyed them enough that I would gladly give her next book a go.
7. Cornelia Funke - If you have not yet read the Inkworld books, do so!  They are excellent books, taking a brilliant concept and carrying it to fruition masterfully.
8. Stephen R. Lawhead - I haven't read much of Lawhead yet, mostly just the Pendragon Cycle, but I intend to keep going having gotten a taste of his work.
9. John Green - Seeing as I have read all of his books; am subscribed to Vlogbrothers, Crash Course, ReadIt1st; and have a ticket to Vidcon, John Green certainly is deserving of a spot on this list!

And there you have it!  Almost made it to 10, but I couldn't think of a 10th. If you'd like to suggest a 10th, feel free!  I may just give them a try.

This Might Be Cheating... - Top Ten Tuesday #1

Since I have restarted blogging, I've come to wonder what I was thinking in choosing Tuesdays and Thursdays as the days on which I will write as these are the longest days of the week.  If I meant that they somehow defied the standard progression of time and lasted 25 hours instead of the usual 24, this would be "fine", if regrettably insane.  Rather, I mean they are the days on which I spend the most time at the office.  Still, I plan to stick to my schedule regardless of the inconvenience.

As this is my first foray into Top Ten Tuesday, it may also be the first you've heard of it.  Therefore, a quick rundown might be due:

Top Ten Tuesday is a blogging feature conceptualized by the writers of Broke and Bookish.  The rules are simple - each week, there's a new featured topic which you can use to create your list, and then you just link it back to them.  It isn't necessary to come up with ten items for your list, but ten works best both functionally and alliteratively.  Two would be too few, twelve too many, and anything from twenty on up would be considered Cruelty to Bloggers unless it is a very broad topic.

Today's topic is "Top Ten Favorite Characters in X Genre".  Now, the likely assumption would be that the "x" is meant to imply "insert your own choice of genre here".  However, I have decided instead to see it as the algebraic "x", a variable with no set value except when one is applied to it by either the formula or the person working on it.  Thus, I am simply going to list my top ten favorite characters - thankfully, they're mostly characters from fantasy novels, so I am only cheating a little.