Books, books, books

Dear Astrid (I might have to change my mind about the dear if this will prove to be too difficult for my little sleep-deprived brain) tagged me for this meme about books.
No idea why she would choose me ;-)
Let's jump right in. No, stop, first I need music. The Doors, I think.
Ok, now.

1. The book you are reading at the moment.
"Over sea, under stone" by Susan Cooper, the first novel of the "The dark is rising" series. Yes, I do love to read children's books sometimes. I read the series in German when I was about 15 and just now bought it in English as well.
I'm also reading "Dangerous depths" by Kathy Brandt, a thriller, and a book about the Hope diamond. On my nightstand I have some other books ready for re-reading.

2. Next book you will read or want to read.
I want to read "A horseman riding by" by R. F. Delderfield once more. I read it as a child for the first time and many times since.

3. Your favorite book.
Sorry, I can NOT answer this question. How do I say a book is my favorite? Does it depend on how many quotes I know from it? How often I read it? No, can't do.

4. Your most hated book.
There are two and both of them are autobiographies, one by Agatha Christie and one by Bernhard Grzimek, a German zoologist. They were so badly written that I think my hair stood all the way up and you know I have long hair.

5. A book you could read again and again.
There are many books that I read again and again. My books by Deric Longden - and not only his cat books - and the ones by Terry Pratchett, Marcia Muller, Lincoln and Childs .... I could go on for a while if you have enough time?

6. A book you have been able to read only once (whether you liked it or not).
"The name of the rose" by Umberto Eco. I liked it, but now the images from the movie are so strong in my head that I have problems concentrating on the book. I don't know how to describe it better. In some cases I avoid to watch movies based on books, just for that reason.

7. A book that reminds you of someone.
There is an old German series about a Swabian family, by Fritz Steuben. Of course it played before I was born, but the family life reminded me a lot of mine. Except for the fact that I never got the doll house that the girl in the books got, with working lights! I was so jealous.

8. A book that reminds you of somewhere.
The Sharon McCone books by Marcia Muller. They play in and around San Francisco, a town I love and that I haven't seen for too long. I really feel as if driving along and find myself calling out "I was there!"

9. First book you ever read.
I really don't remember. I could read by the age of 3 (what a show-off, I know), so I guess it was one of the fairy tale books at home. Grimm's or possibly One Thousand and One Nights.

10. A book by your favorite writer.
Again, how could I choose a favorite writer? I'm a huge Terry Pratchett fan, but I think I'll choose Deric Longden's "The cat who came in from the cold". Longden can make me laugh, no matter what mood I'm in. Even his saddest book has this incredible humor.

11. A book you loved the first time you read it, but you can't stand now.
The books by Patricia Cornwell or Elizabeth George. Girls, you took it too far. It's getting boring and I don't even want to read your first books anymore.

12. A book you have been recommended by a friend or acquaintance.
Does family count as well? The first I can think of is "Little big man" by Thomas Berger.

13. A book that makes you laugh.
"The cat who came in from the cold", Deric Longden. If you don't know it and if you like cats just a bit, read it (and all his others, just the thought of him fighting the snails in his garden makes me crack up and roll on the floor!).

14. A book from your childhood.
"Mamal" by Niels Meyn. The story of one of the first mammals in dinosaur age. There are many more of course.

15. The fourth book counting from the left in your shelf.
That would be from the children's book section then. "Catrin in Wales" by Mabel Esther Allan. Any idea why I would have bought that book? ;-)

16. The ninth book counting from the right in your shelf.
Fantasy section. Mary Stewart's "Tag des Unheils" (The wicked day), part of her Merlin and Arthur series.

17. Close your eyes and pick a random book from your shelf.
Difficult as I have to open the book cases first and therefore will know what genre I pick. I could go to the history books to impress you, but I'll choose the humor section.
Ok, it was volume 6 of Wilhelm Busch's complete works. You know, the guy who wrote and drew "Max and Moritz" for example?

18. The book with the prettiest cover you own.
Almost all of my cookbooks. I don't cook much, but I love cookbooks, especially my vintage ones.

19. A book you have always wanted to read.
The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien. Somehow I never made it.

20. The best book of all the compulsory readings you had to do at school.
People, I'm old, how should I remember? So I'll say Macbeth, even if it's not a book, strictly spoken.

21. The worst book of all the compulsory readings you had to do at school.
Again a play, sorry. And I will get in big trouble for saying this, but I don't like Goethe much and I'll choose "Faust". Don't ask me why, I just don't.

22. The book in your shelf with the higher number of pages.
Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.

23. The book in your shelf with the smaller number of pages.
James Hilton's "Goodbye, Mr Chips". I just bought that novel which was written in just four days.

24. A book no one would think you've read.
Probably the autobiography of Dawn Fraser, the Australian swimmer. Not many people know I admire her.

25. A book which main character defines you.
Probably all of my cat books in which the cat "owner" is an inferior being held as a slave by the feline masters ...

26. A book you'd read to your kids.
All books that I loved as a child. One example, "Dunkles Glas und Fisch in der Lampe" (Dark glass and fish in the lamp), a German book, by Ingeborg Engelhardt, about a glass maker in the the late days of the Roman Empire.

27. A book which main character fits your "ideal".
The Sharon McCone books by Marcia Muller. Strong woman, still very human with lots of mistakes. I could add more books with strong heroines. I'm a weakling myself *grin*

28. Thank God they made a film from this book!
Lord of the Rings - even if the movies are not 1:1 with the books (how could they?), I think they've done a pretty good job.

29. Why on Earth did they have to make a film from this book?
The Discworld books. What I have seen up to now does not make me want to see more. I rather wish I hadn't seen the ones I have :-(

This needs a P.S.
I'm a librarian. I have a catalog for my books and my books are separated into sections and in alphabetical order within their section. Can't help it, that's the way I am. And also forgive me for writing all titles in lower-case letters, I never know how to do that right in English, so I thought I'd just not do it at all and use the "non-native speaker" excuse.