# Survey for Term Paper



## AlexONeil (Nov 14, 2012)

Hey guys, I hope you guys can help me! For my Linguistics course, I have to write a term paper on different verb aspects. So I've decided to evaluate different genres of literature to see if there's a verb aspect that is more commonly used in a certain genre.

So what do I want from you? Your favorite books! I'm looking for romance, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, historical fiction, and of course the classics. If possible, I'd also like your favorite non-fiction book, and your favorite magazine. The magazine can be entertainment, DIY, news, or whatever.  

Thank you!


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## llankfo (May 2, 2013)

My favorite book of all-time is probably The Great Gatsby or Wuthering Heights (both tragic love stories :roll: ). My favorite non-fiction book is probably Malcolm X's autobiography, and I am a total sucker for fashion magazines (Vogue, Bazaar)


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## Kelcey (Mar 28, 2013)

Too many too choose from! *sighs*. For fiction.. Stephan king's Gerald's Game. Nonfiction (trying to remember ANY at all I've read) nope can't think of any... And I don't read magazines. Sorry I'm not much help.


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## sweetergrrrl (May 5, 2009)

I love romance novels (historical and time-travel are my favorites). My favorite book series though is the Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning. It is super amazing. I have been reading Nail It! magazine lately, though it only has two issues! It just came out in April. :lol:


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## fionas_mommy (Oct 27, 2012)

Hmm...fiction-wise, I think I'm torn between Time Machine by H.G. Wells (sci-fi), Khirbet Khizeh (historical fiction) or All Quiet on the Western Front, which is also historical fiction. Non-fiction...hmm..maybe Black Boy? Favorite magazine is either Rolling Stone or Foodnetwork haha


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## SammieStyles (Jan 18, 2013)

My top favourite book is the Harry Potter series
I don't really read non-fiction 
Favourite magazine is Cosmopolitan, teehee
And uhh my favourite horror book is the Silence of The Lambs


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## Inky (Dec 29, 2012)

Fiction wise, I'm very partial to romance, particularly suspense romance. Favorite authors include Linda Howard, Linda Jones, and Tami Hoag. Out of those authors, my favorite would probably be Shades of Twilight by Linda Howard. I also love Sidney Sheldon, and my favorite by him would probably be Master of the Game. Outside of romance/thriller, my absolute favorite book is One Good Dog by Susan WIlson. I challenge anyone to read it without crying :lol:

Non fiction, Wild Swans by Jung Chang. It's an account across a century, and three generations of women in China. It's just flat out amazing. Also When Rabbit Howls by Trudi Chase, which is a biography of a woman with Dissociative Identity Disorder (used to be Multiple Personality) with 92 personalities. Along the same lines is A Fractured Mind by Robert Oxnam.

Magazine, Juxtapoz. What can I say? I'm married to an artist :lol: http://www.juxtapoz.com/


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Oh god, it's a terrible idea to ask me about books. :lol: Trying to choose a favorite book is like trying to choose a favorite child! But I'll give it a shot...

Favorite fiction book: Okay, I'm sorry I can't choose. >> I have to say...anything by Tamora Pierce. I adore all of her books, it's so hard to choose one favorite. I guess my favorite series would either be The Immortals quartet or the Beka Cooper trilogy. That's about as much as I can narrow it down. :lol: My favorite genre is fantasy, closely followed by science fiction and historical fiction.

Favorite nonfiction book: Birdology, by Sy Montgomery

Favorite magazine: In Your Flock (a parrot/bird magazine)

(Also shoooot, this is going to give me more books I want to read...I'm already intrigued by the nonfiction books you mentioned, Inky!)


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

I usually stick to non-fiction, historical fiction, and comedy:

Non-fiction: 
- 900 Days: The Seige of Leningrad
- Daughter of Destiny - Benazir Bhutto's autobiography

Historical fiction:
- Mary, Queen of Scots
- Memoirs of Cleopatra

Comedy:
- Either one of Stephen Colbert's books
- Me Talk Pretty One Day

And of course Harry Potter. I've read those books so many time the harcover spines are ripped. Yes, I'm 27. I don't care.

I tend to lean towards the magazines with the most pictures, so that won't really help. 

And I don't know what genre this book would be, but it's just hilarious and brilliant: "Alphabet Juice" by Roy Blount Jr.

Just out of curiosity, how are you going to compare all the verbs?

Good luck with your paper!


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## smuffini (Mar 5, 2013)

the sky is falling by Sidney sheldon


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## Hedgehogluvr386 (Jun 16, 2012)

Favorite? can I choose  ? I would say either Eragon or Hunger games trilogy.. I enjoyed both! Non-fiction and Magazine... not sure...


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## AlexONeil (Nov 14, 2012)

Well, after talking with my professor during his office hours today, he recommended that I focus a little elsewhere. Since novels are most narrative, apparently the verb usage is all very similar. So instead, I'm going to pick a novel, a narrative poem, and a play to compare their verbs. I'm going to use the Ellen Hopkins book Crank for my narrative poem. I'd like to keep the topic the same, so has anyone read a play and/or novel that centers around drug addiction?

abbys--

Most verbs are in simple form, where it's just the verb (she ran). But other verbs are in perfect aspect (she _had_ ran), progressive (was runn_ing_), or perfect progressive (_had _been runn_ing_). If you know what you're looking for, it's pretty simple. So I'm going to take a ratio of all verbs compared to the different aspects. An example would be out of 250 verbs, 189 were simple, 34 were perfect, 20 were progressive, and 7 were perfect progressive. Simple form is extraordinarily common, so while they're meaningful, they're not what I'm looking for. Does that help?


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## momIImany (Oct 14, 2012)

check out these links. Maybe they will help.
http://www.snopes.com/glurge/iammeth.asp 
http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/2011/ ... addiction/
http://jeffedens.tripod.com/id30.html
http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/sad/ad ... -poems.asp


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

AlexONeil said:


> Most verbs are in simple form, where it's just the verb (she ran). But other verbs are in perfect aspect (she _had_ ran), progressive (was runn_ing_), or perfect progressive (_had _been runn_ing_). If you know what you're looking for, it's pretty simple. So I'm going to take a ratio of all verbs compared to the different aspects. An example would be out of 250 verbs, 189 were simple, 34 were perfect, 20 were progressive, and 7 were perfect progressive. Simple form is extraordinarily common, so while they're meaningful, they're not what I'm looking for. Does that help?


I'm just picturing you reading book after book and writing down every verb on a notepad.


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## AlexONeil (Nov 14, 2012)

Fortunately, I just need a sample of 500-1000 words. So a typical two page spread is all I'll have to evaluate. I do have to go through and highlight the verbs though, which will be a pain. I hate verbs, but at least I don't have to say if it's monotransitive, ditransitive, intrasitive, copular, blah blah blah.


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## eskye (Oct 5, 2012)

For fiction I really dig White Noise by DeLillo and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, maybe Native Speaker or Atonement. While I love genre fiction, my favorites are always in literature.

As for nonfiction - Some Dreamers of a Golden Dream is a wonderful example of new journalism. Dunno if shorts count for you though, so I'll also include Your Inner Fish and Eating Animals.

For magazines, I read Herpnation.

Good luck on your term paper! Just finished my last papers and finals for the semester.


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## JulieAnne (Sep 3, 2012)

My favorite series is the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evonovich. The first book is One For The Money. It's very much a comedy lol.


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## ahowey472 (Dec 16, 2012)

I recently re-read James Herriot's, All Creatures Great and Small. I like all his books and any books about animals.
After watching The Hunger Games movie that the boys had on, I ended up reading that book and the other 2 last winter. They were very different but I read all 3.
I like quilts and have gone to many quilt shows. Jennifer Chiaverini has a series of books... Elm Creek Quilts... about quilts and quilters, so far my favorite is The Runaway Quilt. There is some history about the underground railroad in this book and the one that follows. 
Two of my sons like to cook, so The Food Network magazine is a favorite.


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## momIImany (Oct 14, 2012)

JulieAnne ~ I love that series. Being originally from NJ, I can relate to all the stuff happening in the books. I know the places that she writes about and I can visualize her family. And it's mostly true ~ everyone in Jersey carries/owns a gun! I love the grandmother too. I wasn't fond of the cast they used for the movie, I didn't think they picked the right people.


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## JulieAnne (Sep 3, 2012)

momIImany- I TOTALLY AGREE! i love Katherine Heigl though but ya.. i wasn't terribly happy with the cast.


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