I decided to respond to a meme at RaJ’s blog.
One book that changed your life:
Jostein Gaarder’s “Sophie’s World.” It’s a novel that simultaneously introduces you to philosophy. I’d reccommend it to anyone who wants to get a grip on philosophy and its history without going through dry or difficult texts, or who simply wants to read a book that is vastly different to any other. I was fourteen when I read this, and it completelty changed the way I looked at the world and thought. There were some boring bits, where history was involved, but most of it was greatly absorbing and you never knew what was going to happen next.
One book you’ve read more than once:
Ooh, so many choices… How ’bout “Eight Days of Luke” by Diana Wynne Jones? I have almost ever novel she’s ever written, which takes up a huge chunk of my bookcase. I love the way she seamlessly weaves myth and legend into modern tales, as well as accurately reflecting life for young people. For her characters, life is messy and blurred and confused a lot of the time, which is exactly what growing up is like. This particular book also stars one of my fave gods, a certain trickster.
One book you’d want on a desert island:
Only one??? Well, a journal, a large hardcover one with ruled pages, and the lines not far apart. Seriously, some journals seem to assume that your handwriting is still at grade three level. No thankyou, my letters are small. But if I could have a journal and a normal book… it would be my Natural History Museum’s book of dinosaurs. It’s one of the best dinosaur books in existence, and I got it for my eighth birthday. (Flashback: tiny girl sits with enormous book on her lap, intently reading about Carnegie and Edward Drinker Cope, taxonomic definitions, and erect, semi-sprawled and sprawled stances) You know, I think that if my grade three reading teachers had understood that I was reading books that incoporated some high-school/university concepts in them, then perhaps they would have understood why I had so much difficulty behaving when we were reading “Dog In, Cat Out.”
One book that made you laugh:
Er… *scratches head* “Undead and Unemployed.” It’s the second in the series about Betsy, who inadvertently became the Vampire Queen and now just wants to live a normal life and buy lots of shoes, but is imposed upon by her duties and the greatly handsome but infuriating Sinclair. It is a romance novel, I guess, which isn’t a genre I usually read, but since the characters aren’t getting it on every second page and the series is hilarious, I’m willing to read it. This is probably the best in the series, while the third is the next best; the first book kind of wandered everywhere while the fourth one doesn’t have the usual humour.
(An honorable mention goes to Scott Adams’ “Clues for the Clueless,” particularly for the wonderful strip about how your mother is allowed to tell people whatever embarrassing story about you that she likes.)
One book that made you cry:
In primary school I read a book entitled, as I recall, “The Monster Garden” by Vivien Alcock. It was about a girl who ended up with her own unique creature that came about after a dish of cells was struck by lightning. The creature was so gentle, so nice, and most of the humans were so cruel. I empathised with both Frankie and the creature, though I think the creature more.
One book you wish had been written:
*thinks* Hmmm. A novel about the forgotten gods, like Rhiannon and the Morrigan, and how a teenage girl awakens them and revives the Dark Paths. *shrugs* I’m planning to have a go at it myself eventually. A bit like the later chapters of the HP fanfic Faith, like here.
One book you wish had never been written:
I love Diana Wynne Jones’ works, but I wish she had never written “Hexwood.” It brought back horrible feelings of remembered shame and pain and twistedness from when I was small. It is a good book, but to someone like me, who was tormented endlessly by my fellow children, Mordion’s feelings are horribly familiar.
One book you’re currently reading:
“Soul Music,” by Terry Pratchett. Really, I love his Death.
One book you’ve been meaning to read:
*thoughtful* Um… “American Gods,” by Neil Gaiman.
