Okay, I stole this from Sean aka Kid Dork, but I don't plan to lose any sleep since he stole it, too. Furthermore, I've sitting on this for weeks. By all accounts this should mean the Internet's statute of limitations has expired; so I'm covered there, too.
One Book That Changed Your Life
This is a tough one. As a teenaged, much thinner version of myself, I would say that The Lord of The Rings was likely life-changing; if only because it provided escape from a life that needed an escape hatch. In my twenties, Herman Hesse's Siddartha was somewhat life-changing in that it provided an odd sort of spiritual comfort. There's a pattern here, folks, but no single answer.
One Book You've Read More Than Once
A toughie! I tend not to re-read books, mostly because I'm afraid repeats will spoil whatever magical experience I had the first time round. The Hitchhiker's series is one I've re-visited a few times, but (as embarrassing as this is) the books I tend to read more than once are the ones I've forgotten that I've read before. This happens much too frequently and only supports my theory that being an amnesiac wouldn't be so bad. I mean, really; you'd only need 1 book, 1 movie, etc. etc.
One Book You'd Want On A Desert Island
Hmmm.... Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell. Lengthy and totally immersive, which would help take my mind off starving and talking to volleyballs.
One Book That Made You Laugh
Another tough one! Douglas Adams's The Long, Dark Tea Time of the Soul. I still smile when I think about the part where a newly-minted ghost tries to use a telephone.
Umm, you had to be there, I guess.
One Book That Made You Cry
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers. Don't tell anyone.
One Book You Wish You Had Written
Every book I've ever loved, but if I had to pick just one - Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell because it's so damn well thought out!
One book that you wish had never been written.
JPod by Douglas Coupland. I copied this from Kid Dork, but he knows how I feel.
One Book You're Currently Reading
The Cobweb by Neal Stephenson and J. Frederick George. Not great, but a page-turner nonetheless.
One Book You've Been Meaning To Read
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. I've always meant to finish it just out of spite.
Monday, October 02, 2006
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2 comments:
Y'know, I ploughed through 'The Silmarillion' just to say I finished it--but now, years later, it's the one Tolkien I find I flip through the most. I haven't endeavoured a full re-read, but every now and then, reading about that bastard Feanor makes me smile.
Jonathon Strange--my wife Cheryl adored it, and is on me to read it. She was--as they say--quite taken with it.
As for Coupland, I pray he isn't up for the Giller for that book. I may move to Algeria if he is. Canada will be a wasteland to me then.
Re: your query, with the exception of the 'Worst Book' stuff, all of the rest can be best answered with two words - 'Catcher in the Rye.' That Holden Caufield guy kills me. All that "Hey Old Sport," stuff.
Apparently his brother wrote some killer stuff about goldfish or something too, before moving out to Hollywood and prostituting himself.
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