Your Year in Literature - a forum game

To Posterity and Beyond! · Post by **Cori** » December 27th, 2013, 8:47 am

Here's a different way to look at what you've read in 2013 ... try and answer the prompts below with the titles of books you've read this year!

If possible, don't repeat any titles.

Describe yourself:
How do you feel:
Describe where you currently live:
If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
Your favourite form of transportation:
Your best friend is:
You and your friends are:
What’s the weather like:
You fear:
What is the best advice you have to give:
Thought for the day:
How you would like to die:
Your soul’s present condition:

Meme via Catherine Pope.

http://blog.catherinepope.co.uk/?p=2339

Answers for 2014
Questions and answers for 2015
Questions and answers for 2018

To Posterity and Beyond! · Post by **Cori** » December 27th, 2013, 8:48 am

Describe yourself: Our Little English Cousin (by Blanche McManus)
How do you feel: The Comfort of Things (by Daniel Miller)
Describe where you currently live: Frost in May (by Antonia White)

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: The Soul of London (by Ford Madox Ford)
Your favourite form of transportation: Revolutionary Road (by Richard Yates)
Your best friend is: Reuben Sachs (by Amy Levy)

You and your friends are: Finding Flow (by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi)
What’s the weather like: The Wind in the Willows (by by Kenneth Grahame)
You fear: Mortality (by Christopher Hitchens)

What is the best advice you have to give: Summer Will Show (by Sylvia Townsend Warner)
Thought for the day: Dear Sugar (by Cheryl Strayed)
How I would like to die: Endangered Pleasures (by Barbara Holland)
My soul’s present condition: Neverwhere (by Neil Gaiman)

RuthieG · Post by **RuthieG** » December 27th, 2013, 9:21 am

Great fun, although I had to cheat and use a couple of poems and songs:

Describe yourself: The Westminster Alice (by Saki)
How do you feel: Boneshaker (by Cherie Priest)
Describe where you currently live: In Kent with Charles Dickens (by Thomas Frost)
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Utopia (by Sir Thomas More)
Your favourite form of transportation: My Enemy the Motor (Julian Street)
Your best friend is: My Comforter (anon.)
You and your friends are: The Inexplicables (by Cherie Priest)
What’s the weather like: The Hillside Thaw (by Robert Frost)
You fear: The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain (by Charles Dickens)
What is the best advice you have to give: Eight Little Letters Make Three Little Words (by Bert Kalmar)
Thought for the day: Beat the Reaper (by Josh Bazell)
How you would like to die: Better Far to Pass Away (by Richard Dennys)
Your soul’s present condition: Miss Pim's Camouflage (by Dorothy Stanley)

Ruth

J_N · Post by **J_N** » December 27th, 2013, 10:32 am

Fun... but not entirely accurate

Describe yourself: Thinking, Fast and Slow (Daniel Kahneman)
How do you feel: Quiet (Susan Cain)
Describe where you currently live: North and South
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Rivers of London (Ben Aaronovitch)
Your favourite form of transportation: Perdido Street Station (Miéville, China)
Your best friend is: The Hobbit
You and your friends are: Life, the Universe and Everything
What’s the weather like: Cloud Atlas
You fear: The Fault in Our Stars
What is the best advice you have to give: Oh! Well! You Know How Women Are! and Isn't That Just Like a Man!
Thought for the day: I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (Greenberg, Joanne)
How you would like to die: After the Party (Lisa Jewell)
Your soul’s present condition: Kingdom of the Wicked (Landy, Derek)

thestorygirl · Post by **thestorygirl** » December 27th, 2013, 10:58 am

I'll skip a few more personal ones...

1) Describe yourself... The Tapestry, by MaryAnn Minatra
2) How do you feel... Rescuing Ambition, by Dave Harvey
3) Describe where you currently live... The Country of the Pointed Firs, by Sarah Orne Jewett
4) If you could go anywhere, where would you go... Wonderland Creek, Lynn Austin
5) Your favorite form of transportation... Bread Upon the Waters, by Anne de Graaf
6) Your best friend is... All Creatures Great and Small, by James Herriot
7)
8) What's the weather like... A Voice in the Wind, by Francine Rivers
9)
10)
11) Thought for the day... Pearl in the Sand, by Tessa Afshar
12) How would you like to die... Your Beautiful Purpose, by Susie Larson
13) Your soul's present condition... Pollyanna Grows Up, by Eleanor H. Porter

This was fun!

Lucy_k_p · Post by **Lucy_k_p** » December 27th, 2013, 1:25 pm

I'm glad I started using Goodreads. I'm away from my bookcase and couldn't think of half the things I'd read this year. What a great idea, and I managed to be semi-accurate as well. (Some LV books are included in here.)

Describe yourself: From Hue and Cry to Humble Pie by Judy Parkinson
How do you feel: Ten Thousand Sorrows by Elizabeth Kim
Describe where you currently live: England, England by Julian Barnes

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
Your favourite form of transportation: The Mind's Eye by Oliver Sacks
Your best friend is: Better Angel by Forman Brown

You and your friends are: Redshirts by John Scalzi
What’s the weather like: The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov
You fear: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

What is the best advice you have to give: Everything's Eventual by Stephen King
Thought for the day: Why Read the Classics by Italo Calvino
How you would like to die: The Duel by Anton Chekhov
Your soul’s present condition: There is a Tavern in the Town by James Stephens

It looks like I have read 57 books this year (58 if I finish the one I'm currently reading by next week.)

barbara2 · Post by **barbara2** » December 27th, 2013, 2:58 pm

Describe yourself: And When She Was Good (Laura Lippman)

How do you feel: At Home (Bill Bryson)

Describe where you currently live: Sheer Opulence (Nicholas Haslam)

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: A Tramp Abroad (Mark Twain)

Your favourite form of transportation: The Voyage of the Beagle (Charles Darwin)

Your best friend is: Brother of the More Famous Jack (Barbara Trapido)

You and your friends are: Out of Eden (Stephen Oppenheimer)

What’s the weather like: Bright Earth (Philip Ball)

You fear: The Casual Vacancy (J. K. Rowling)

What is the best advice you have to give: Give Me Excess of It (Richard Gill)

Thought for the day: Botany for Gardeners (Brian Capon)

How you would like to die: All's Well That Ends Well (William Shakespeare)

Your soul’s present condition: Life After Life (Kate Atkinson)

gloriana · Post by **gloriana** » January 10th, 2014, 7:16 pm

Love this! Here are mine:

Describe yourself: Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)
How do you feel: Pure (Julianna Baggott)
Describe where you currently live: Longbourn (Jo Baker)
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Vacationland (Sarah Stonich)
Your favourite form of transportation: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (Ben Fountain)
Your best friend is: Maddaddam (Margaret Atwood)
You and your friends are: On Beauty (Zadie Smith)
What’s the weather like: The Year of the Flood (Margaret Atwood)
You fear: The Angel's Game (Carlos Ruiz Zafon)
What is the best advice you have to give: Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls (David Sedaris)
Thought for the day: A Tale For the Time Being (Ruth Ozeki)
How you would like to die: Life After Life (Kate Atkinson)
Your soul’s present condition: Asunder (Chloe Aridjis)

wib66 · Post by **wib66** » February 18th, 2014, 5:40 am

Describe yourself: Live Wire by Harlan Coben
How do you feel: Not Dead Yet by Peter James
Describe where you currently live: Rough Country by John Sandford
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Inspector Morse Country by Cliff Goodwin
Your favourite form of transportation: You Drive Me Crazy by Carole Matthews
Your best friend is: The Boss by Edward Sheldon
You and your friends are: The Lucky Ones by Rachel Cusk
What’s the weather like: The Best Awful by Carrie Fisher
You fear: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
What is the best advice you have to give: Die Dancing by Jonathan Gash
Thought for the day: Never Say Die by Tess Gerritsen
How you would like to die: Knit One Pearl One by Gil McNeil
Your soul’s present condition:Secrets by Jude Deveraux

I enjoyed doing that it was fun.

Vandermast · Post by **Vandermast** » February 21st, 2014, 12:53 pm

Oho! A challenge, eh? I only managed 26 books last year, so this is tricky!

Describe yourself: Jude the Obscure (Hardy)
How do you feel: Here Be Dragons! (Dennis McCarthy)
Describe where you currently live: Dark Eden (Chris Beckett)
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: A Kingdom Far and Clear (Mark Helprin)
Your favourite form of transportation: River of Stars (Guy Gavriel Kay)
Your best friend is: Two Brothers (Ben Elton)
You and your friends are: The Gods of Pegana (Lord Dunsany)
What’s the weather like: Spillover (David Quammen)
You fear: The Metamorphosis (Kafka)
What is the best advice you have to give: Persuasion (Austen)
Thought for the day: The Quantum Universe: Everything That Can Happen Does Happen (Brian Cox & Jeff Forshaw)
How you would like to die: Portrait of the Writer: Literary Lives in Focus (Goffredo Fofi)
Your soul’s present condition: The Trade Secret (Robert Newman, and incidentally the best book I read all year)

commonsparrow3 · Post by **commonsparrow3** » February 21st, 2014, 8:21 pm

What an enticing little game ... Hmm, let's see ... Books read in 2013?
Well, maybe if I can also include an unfinished book that spilled over into the early part of 2014 ...

Describe yourself: Working (Studs Terkel)
How do you feel: So Brave, Young, and Handsome (Leif Enger)
Describe where you currently live: On the Map (Simon Garfield)
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Into the Beautiful North (Luis Alberto Urrea)
Your favourite form of transportation: The Underground Railroad (William Still)
Your best friend is: The Good Thief (Hannah Tinti)
You and your friends are: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows)
What’s the weather like: Winter's Bone (Daniel Woodrell)
You fear: The Desperate Hours (Joseph Hayes)
What is the best advice you have to give: Warriors Don't Cry (Melba Pattillo Beals)
Thought for the day: How Can We Keep From Singing (Joan Oliver Goldsmith)
How you would like to die: Long Walk to Freedom (Nelson Mandela)
Your soul’s present condition: Help, Thanks, Wow (Anne Lamott)

To Posterity and Beyond! · Post by **Cori** » January 1st, 2015, 9:02 am

Let's be green and recycle the old topic.

Your 2014, described by the titles of the books you read, in the categories from the top post (as many or as few as you'd like to include) ... GO!

Describe yourself: The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
How do you feel: Curious by Todd Kashdan
Describe where you currently live: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: The Casino by Margaret Bonham
Your favourite form of transportation: Houdini's Box by Adam Phillips
Your best friend is: Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple

You and your friends are: A Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym
What’s the weather like: All Clear by Connie Willis
You fear: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

What is the best advice you have to give: Focus by Daniel Goleman
Thought for the day: Yes Please by Amy Poehler
How you would like to die: An Experiment in Leisure by Marion Milner
Your soul’s present condition: Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson

DACSoft · Post by **DACSoft** » January 1st, 2015, 9:48 am

I'll try:

Describe yourself: The Belovéd Vagabond (William J. Locke)
How do you feel: The Lucky Seventh (Ralph Henry Barbour)
Describe where you currently live: Castle Richmond (Anthony Trollope)
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: The Panama Canal (Duncan E. McKinlay)
Your favourite form of transportation: The Country's Need for Greater Railway Facilities and Terminals (James J. Hill)
Your best friend is: Quarter-Back Bates (Ralph Henry Barbour)
You and your friends are: The Motor Boys in the Clouds (Clarence Young)
What’s the weather like: Dust of the Desert (Robert Welles Ritchie)
You fear: The Monster (Edgar Saltus)
What is the best advice you have to give: On Your Mark! (Ralph Henry Barbour)
Thought for the day: Why Frau Frohmann Raised Her Prices (Anthony Trollope)
How you would like to die: The Vanishing Man (R. Austin Freeman)
Your soul’s present condition: The Morals of Marcus Ordeyne (William J. Locke)

Happy New Year!
Don

J_N · Post by **J_N** » January 1st, 2015, 2:12 pm

Describe yourself: The Secret Keeper
How do you feel: Is It Just Me?
Describe where you currently live: City of Bones
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Across the Nightingale Floor
Your favourite form of transportation: Gone With the Wind
Your best friend is: Mostly Harmless
You and your friends are: Dirty Beasts
What’s the weather like: Winter of the World
You fear: Menschen im Krieg
What is the best advice you have to give: Why is the Penis Shaped Like That? and Other Reflections on Being Human
Thought for the day: What's God Got to Do with it?
How you would like to die: How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous
Your soul’s present condition: The Age of Innocence

Lucy_k_p · Post by **Lucy_k_p** » January 1st, 2015, 3:24 pm

Here we go again:

Describe yourself: Passing by Nella Larsen (LibriVox Recording)
How do you feel: Possessing The Secret Of Joy by Alice Walker

Describe where you currently live: Sanctuary by Edith Wharton (LibriVox Recording)
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal (Available to read online)
Your favourite form of transportation: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

Your best friend is: Three Sister by Anton Chekhov (A version is available on LibriVox, but I read and performed in a modern translation).
You and your friends are: Women of the Revolution: Forty Years of Feminism edited by Kira Cochrane

What’s the weather like: The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere by John Chu (Available to read online)
You fear: Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, Volume 1 by Charles Mackay (LibriVox Recording)

What is the best advice you have to give: Why Marry? by Jesse Lynch Williams (LibriVox Recording)
Thought for the day: Golden Bats and Pink Pigeons by Gerald Durrell

How you would like to die: The Battle of the Underworld by Katie Paterson
Your soul’s present condition: A Martian Sends a Postcard Home by Craig Raine

You can read my further thoughts on the books I read this year at my Dreamwidth.