Liebster Love

Thanks to Caftan Woman for nominating me for a Liebster Award! This is just a fun award that bloggers use to show their appreciation for each other, and I certainly am honored that she included me in her round of nominations. The rules require me to answer Caftan Woman's 11 questions, list 11 things readers might not know about me, nominate up to 11 other bloggers, and pose 11 questions of my own to them. Here goes!

1.  What is your favourite book?


That is an impossible question for an English major to answer! I will say that I find The Hobbit, Jane Eyre, and The Last Unicorn endlessly readable, and I cry every time I read A Christmas Carol.

2.  Who is your desert island director?  Why?
Preston Sturges. If I'm stuck on a desert island, I want something to laugh about.

3.  If you had a choice, would you live in the past or the future?


Definitely the future! The past is no place for a liberated female.

4.  Who is your favourite performer to lip-sync to?

Bon Jovi. I'm going down in a blaze of glory, baby.

5.  Cats, dogs or lizards?

CATS! NO LIZARDS! ARGH!!!

6.  Where do you get the majority of your news?  Print?  Television?  Online?

Probably NPR. I listen to it a lot.

7.  Which juror are you in 12 Angry Men?

Henry Fonda for sure. I'm an old school idealist.

8.  Your favourite holiday?  Why?

Halloween. I love Gothic atmosphere, costumes, and candy. Christmas is too much to live up each year.

9.  Do you play a musical instrument?  Sing?

 No instruments, and I only sing badly (though with much enthusiasm).

10. What are the first three films you would induct into your personal Film Registry?

Cat People, The Searchers, Singin' in the Rain - not necessarily in that order.

11.  Boris Karloff or Bela Lugosi?
Karloff. He's so marvelous when he talks. I love him in Bedlam, Corridors of Blood, and The Mummy.


11 Things Readers Might Not Know About Me

1. I worked for a while at a men's federal prison teaching ABE/GED classes.
2. I have a PhD in 18th-century British Literature and Feminist Criticism.
3. I love the Muppets, but I don't like actual frogs.
4. I can't stand onions.
5. I used to teach defensive driving classes to US Army Rangers at a military base.
6. I can recite "The Raven" and "Kubla Khan" - along with numerous other poems - from memory.
7. I write introductions to editions of classic novels for various publishers, including Barnes & Noble.
8. I am left-handed and hate manual can openers.
9. My cat's name is Grendel Graymalkin Kagemusha Sparks, and he will be 20 this October.
10. I'm writing a novel about Long John Silver's daughter and her adventures.
11. I have been collecting LEGO for more than 20 years.

Liebster Nominees!

Classic Movie Man
Immortal Ephemera
Cinematically Insane
A Shroud of Thoughts
The Great Katharine Hepburn

11 Questions for My Nominees


1. Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire?
2. What's your favorite Val Lewton film?
3. Name one book about classic movies or stars that everyone should read.
4. What's the absolute worst old movie that you love anyway?
5. Who is your favorite character actor?
6. If you could adapt one literary work for film, which would it be and why?
7. What's the last book you read?
8. Name one of your favorite movie death scenes. What's so great about it?
9. Who should really have gotten the role of Scarlett O'Hara?
10. Coffee, tea, or alcohol?
11. What's your favorite Disney movie?