Answers, partly!

As I am once again travelling this week, I'm just going to check in by answering a couple of general questions -- I'll write more in a few days about specific questions on the specific books we've mentioned. This summer is crazy; I am not sitting still long enough to string two sentences together! (but it sure has been fun....)
To begin:



Bibliolatrist asks:
Of these books, which would you save from a fire, assuming you could save only one? Why this one? (And I'm already knocking on wood that this never happens, don't worry!) If you had to sacrifice one to save the rest, which would you toss? Why?

Ooh, Literary Survivor!! Well, I'd probably save The Master and Margarita, mainly because it is such a classic, and it really made me think while I was reading it. For pure literary value, it would be this one. Every rereading would provide more food for thought, and I am sure it will take a few rereadings before I am really sure what it is all about!



Bookfool asks:
Which of these books was your favourite, and why?

Despite Bulgakov being the most literary and the one I'd feel compelled to keep in case of fire, I think my favourite among this list, the one that gave me the most enjoyment in reading, would be The Laughter of Dead Kings, by Elizabeth Peters. Why? Because I simply love Elizabeth Peters and would read any and all of her books over again and again. This one was particularly fun, as it took the characters from her Vicky Bliss series and connected them to my favourite, the Amelia Peabody series. Wonderfully fun and campy summer reading, with a dose of Egyptology thrown in. Kudos for the fencing scene - you could read this one to prepare for the upcoming Olympics, ha ha.

For other light summer reading, I'd also recommend Koontz's Odd Hours or Kaya McLaren's Church of the Dog. More on those later... promise!