Okay so maybe I won’t reveal all my secrets but Claire has interviewed me and I don’t want to disappoint. Here we go:

Claire: You always put a quote of the month on your blog, but which quote reflects your outlook on life the best and why?
BookGirl: One of my favorites comes from Ralph Waldo Emerson, “All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” I’m always signing up for classes because I enjoy learning and trying new things. I’ve taken everything from watercolors, violin, meditation, paper marbling and the list goes on. You should see some of the other things I hope to learn one day.

Claire: If you were to write a novel with the main characters being those from other novels, which characters would you choose and why?
BookGirl: There are so many novels I have found myself sad at ending them because I wish the characters would go on. I would love to revisit the characters from Loving Pedro Infante by Denise Chavez. Tere Avila lives in a tiny border town and is the president of the Pedro Infante fan club. Pedro Infante was a famous Mexican movie star. Throughout the novel we read about her wretched love life, friendships and dreams. I think it’d be great to give Tere another chance and maybe this time make her long for a different Mexican movie idol. Maybe she tires of Pedro Infante and wants the quiet intensity of a Jorge Negrete.

Claire: If you were restricted to only visiting five websites which one’s would you choose and why?
BookGirl: This doesn’t include blogs right? Because I can’t imagine not visiting my blog friends. Web sites I can’t live without would be Amazon.com for book buying; Chicklit.com for book talk; my public library for checking out books; Google for searching and Salon.com for news and articles.

Claire: Which character from which book most represents who you are and how you approach your life?
BookGirl: I’d like to imagine that I’m a bit like Vianne from Chocolat by Joann Harris. I have eclectic tastes, I consider myself a good friend and I do my own thing. Granted I can’t make the all those yummy concoctions but maybe one day I’ll add pastry chef to my list of classes I want to take.

Claire: What are your favourite and least favourite book to film adaptations and what about each swayed your decision?
BookGirl: Favorites would be Remains of the Day and The Enchanted April. I thought the acting and settings were perfect. I can’t think of any least favorites and that’s probably because if it’s a book I’ve loved and the film looks bad or has the wrong cast then there is no way I’ll go see it.

Whew. I think I’m done. Thank you Claire for the interview! Hope you enjoyed the answers.

I spent most of the weekend reading and working on some bookbinding projects. It rained most of the weekend so it was perfect weather for staying indoors and relaxing. Although, we did venture out to see the movie Crash.

For my bookbinding project I’m working on a small journal, which I hadn’t made in a while. I was surprised how easily the steps came back to me, even if I made an itty, bitty mistake on the first journal. Oh well. I even went back to the Stamp Asylum in search of other goodies. I’ll keep you posted on how the bookbinding goes.

On the books read front, I finished two books, Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi and The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg. I’ve added reviews for those and a couple of others in my book reviews section so check it out if you have a chance.

Finally, I’m joining the rest of the world by reading Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. I’m only 50 pages into it so far and it is a fascinating read. This may be the book that makes me change my mind about Kate Atkinson.

So I hope everyone had a nice long weekend and I look forward to catching up on all the blog reading I’ve missed this weekend what with all those books and bookbinding projects keeping me busy.

I’ve been tagged by Lizzie for a Book Meme.

Total number of books I’ve owned:
There are stacks in bookshelves, by my bed, on my nightstand and along the stairs. However I do prune the shelves every so often. For now the count is approximately 600 books.

Last book I bought:
Two actually – The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant and The Serpent in the Garden by Janet Gleeson

The last book I read:
Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi

Five books that mean a lot to me:
Very hard to narrow it down to five but these are some of the books I come to time and again. And, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while, no doubt you are tired of hearing me rave about these authors.
1. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
2. Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim
3. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
4. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
5. Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami

Which people would you most like to see fill this out in their blog?
Well, I think I may be the last person around doing this so I won’t tag anyone but if someone else puts up their answers let me know.