Putting the "Me Me" in "Meme"

It's a funny thing about memes. Everybody pretends to hate them, and perhaps some people actually do, but then a few weeks or months pass and nobody tags you, and you start to feel a little sad. "What did I do?" you wonder. "Maybe I shouldn't have pretended to be so dismissive about memes. And can someone remind me again why they're called memes anyway?"

Fortunately, Carrie has rescued me from this small human tragedy.

1. Hardcover or paperback, and why?
Paperback, because hardcovers really hurt if they land on your face when you fall asleep while reading.

2. If I were to own a book shop I would call it…
Books, Ink. If being twee is wrong, I don't want to be right.

3. My favorite quote from a book (mention the title) is…
From one of my favourite novels, Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald:

"Most people think everybody feels about them much more violently than they actually do--they think other people's opinions of them swing through great arcs of approval or disapproval."

4. The author (alive or diseased) I would love to have lunch with would be…
No way I could ever do this. I get tongue-tied in normal human interactions. I don't need the added pressure of hero worship. But pretending that I'm a person completely devoid of social neuroses, I guess I'd have to say F. Scott Fitzgerald, since he wrote one of my favourite books and all. Maybe we could get drunk together. That would help.

5. If I was going to a deserted island and could only bring one book, except from the SAS survival guide, it would be…
You know, I've never found a satisfactory answer to this question. I've been in similar situations with camping trips or trips to non-English-speaking countries, where I knew I'd have to carefully plan which books to bring, and I've yet to find a book with the nigh-infinite ability to engage me. In a fit of desperation, I once even tried the Bible. No dice. I'm probably going to hell... which will probably be a lot like being on a desert island with nothing good to read.

6. I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that…
Turns back time so I could read all night and then get a full night's sleep.

7. The smell of an old book reminds me of…
This crazy used book store that was right around the corner from Rusty's and my first apartment. It occupied every room in an old house, and the entire place had that old book smell. I always imagined the owner did, too, and I wondered if she minded the fact that, say, her hair would smell like old books even when she was away from the shop. Or maybe she liked it, kind of like when you go camping and days later you catch a whiff of woodsmoke on your jacket and it makes you extra happy for just a moment.

8. If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title), it would be…
It'd be fun to be Jane Austen's Emma. She was flawed but charming, and she seemed to have a pretty nice life.

9. The most overestimated book of all times is…
Probably something really weighty and serious and important. In other words, something I haven't read and therefore can't comment on. That or a Harry Potter book.

10. I hate it when a book…
Sucks. I know that sounds like a facile answer, but I really do.

Oh, crap. I always forget that this is the part where I'm supposed to tag other people. Well, if you've been coming here for a while, you're familiar with my usual meme policy: consider yourself tagged if you'd like, but please post a link to your site in the comments so I can read your answers. And have a happy Monday!