6.11.2010

WTF?! Friday PLUS Trivia: Bookworm

Now that all our vacation plans have been readjusted and reconfigured, it's time to start planning what I consider to be the most important part of any well-spent vacation: the Reading List. I mean, we're staying in a place with a washer and dryer, so basically I don't need to pack much in terms of "essentials" -- couple pairs of shorts, couple shirts, couple pairs of underpants, couple bras, toothbrush, shampoo, sunscreen. If I do it right, I can fit all that stuff in a gallon-size Ziploc bag. That leaves plenty of room in our trunk for books.

On one of the best vacations we ever had (when we went to Acapulco and found a scorpion in the bathtub), I read 10 books in 6 days. I am not making this up. The resort was mostly deserted, the pineapple and mango were fresh-cut every day, the rum drinks were stellar, the pool was perfectly situated within stumbling distance of the ocean, and so we basically sat around reading. It was divine. I am not the only person going on this trip who feels that a nice supply of books is a necessary ingredient of a delicious vacation.

Not counting the book I am reading righthisecond, which will definitely be finished before the end of the month (and probably by the end of the weekend, actually), I have three books in my queue. I'm going to run out of inventory before we leave, and will need to replenish the supply. Sometimes I ask Amazon to suggest some stuff for me based on what it already knows I like (because Amazon owns my soul), but sometimes ... well, let's just say that I tried to like The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse, but things just didn't work out between us.

What else can I do? I checked out some of the titles on NPR's summer booklist, but as spectacularly nerdulent as I am, not many of these books sound very ... er, exciting? Just based on the titles alone, the list is a little too highbrow for me. And I should have remembered that I only ever got one good book recommendation from NPR anyway: The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, which I read last year. Loved that, and the sequel. The rest? Eh.

(Don't even get me started on Oprah's book club selections. I've read two, and that was probably two too many, not counting the actual classics that I read in college anyway.)

All of this is a long was of saying: I have a lot of book shopping to do in the coming weeks. And while I do that, let me get into this week's trivia, which is all about books.

(Oh, and by the way, I realize that my "trivia" is really more like a game of "Scattergories" or "Stump the Schwab" or something, but too bad.)

Can you answer the following?
  1. Three mystery authors
  2. Three romance authors
  3. Three horror or thriller authors
  4. Three nonfiction or memoir writers
  5. Three sci-fi, fantasy, or "occult" writers
  6. Three books about the beach or set at the seashore
  7. Three books about stuff that happens to someone on vacation or while traveling
  8. Three books about places to visit
  9. Three books that were made into movies
  10. Three books that were mentioned or appeared in the TV show "Lost"
Standard trivia rules apply. My answers will be posted in comments late on Monday (after 5pm). Your answers might become suggestions for me, so make them good ones. Good luck!

5 comments:

  1. gloria has almost all the "bones" books, if you or shel want to read them. (we're driving, so we'll have plenty o' space.) i can raid her library tomorrow and give you a full rundown.

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  2. let me check and see if i'd like them. will get back.

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  3. I raided the Bethlehem Public Library and searched by Chick Lit. I didn't even know you could.
    Ok, on to your trivia:
    1- Stephen White
    2- Nicholas Sparks,Danielle Steel
    3- Stephen King, Dean Kootz, Anne Rice
    4- Memoirs of a Geisha
    5- Stephanie Meyers, Charlain Harris, Kathy Reichs
    6- Message in a Bottle, Nights at Rodanthe, Dear John
    7-
    8- Paradise Lost,
    9- Clockwork Orange, Lord of the Flies, Of mice and men
    I tried to get at least one answer per question. I didn't watch Lost so I couldn't come up with anythng there.

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  4. these are interesting answers. i've never heard of stephen white, what has he written?

    also: didn't know "chick lit" was an actual category, but i am not surprised. what did you pick up?

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  5. Here are my answers (admittedly, some of these are OLD SCHOOL, because I read A LOT):

    1. Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich, Agatha Christie
    2. Jayne Ann Krentz, Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Nora Roberts
    3. Steven King, Dean Koontz, Bram Stoker
    4. Laurie Notaro, Dave Barry, Hollis Gillespie
    5. Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Stephenie Meyer
    6. A Salty Piece of Land (Jimmy Buffett), Island of the Sequined Love Nun (Christopher Moore), Duma Key (Steven King)
    7. Travels with Charlie (John Steinbeck), Assassination Vacation (Sarah Vowell), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Hunter S. Thompson)
    8. A Year in Provence (Peter Mayle), Last Chance to See (Douglas Adams), Eat, Pray, Love (Elizabeth Gilbert)
    9. Jaws (Peter Benchley), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams), Striptease (Carl Hiaasen, who should NOT be held responsible for the crappy screenplay)
    10. Watership Down (Richard Adams), Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll), Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)

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