Book It, Monkey-O August 27, 2006
Posted by Snow Monkey in Books, Memes.trackback
Following Nicole’s lead, I’ve answered the 10-book challenge.
1. A book that changed my life: The one that I’m trying to write. No, it’s not the great American novel. It’s not a novel at all. If I find a press, it will become a dusty academic tome.
2. A book that I have read more than once: The Chronicles of Prydain, by Lloyd Alexander. I’m as devoted to the five-volume saga of Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper, as some folks are to The Lord of the Rings or the Harry Potter books.
3. A book to take to a deserted island: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence Sterne. I’ll probably never read this go-nowhere meta-novel unless I’m trapped in nowhere myself.
4. A book that made me laugh: Any book by travel writer Tim Moore—but especially The Grand Tour, in which he drives around Europe in a vintage Rolls wearing a purple velvet suit.
5. A book that made me cry: I can’t remember any book having made me cry. I remember that E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web made me sad when I was a kid, however, so I’m going with that answer.
6. A book that I wish had been written: I’ve always wanted to read one of the great imaginary books of literature—for example, Abdul Alhazred’s Necronomicon (from H. P. Lovecraft’s stories) or Sir Lancelot Canning’s Mad Trist (from Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher”). I’ll go with The King in Yellow, which produces terrible consequences for anyone who reads it.
7. A book that I wish had never been written: Seduction of the Innocent, the 1954 book by psychologist Fredric Wertham that whipped up an anti-comic book frenzy across America. My mother, who was 11 at the time, resisted the ensuing comic book witch hunt.
8. A book that I’m currently reading: 100 Ghastly Little Ghost Stories, a Barnes and Noble instant-remainder anthology that includes works by writers ranging from J. Sheridan Le Fanu to O. Henry to Saki to Ramsey Campbell.
9. A book that I’m planning on reading: I have a copy of Scott Smith’s The Ruins sitting on my shelf right now. I’m a bit scared to start reading it.
10. A favorite book not already listed: We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson’s misanthropic masterpiece (you may remember the author from “The Lottery”). I liked it enough to buy a first edition.
I tag any member of my microscopic readership who would like to follow suit.
I love The Grand Tour. It is cool how we can ask 1000 people about the books they like and no one will have the same answer. Very cool.
If you like Tim Moore, then you might also like Tony Hawk (the writer, not the skateboarder).
Hey, this is neither here nor there about books…but I wondered if you saw the post on RQ today, titled “Conflicted Information.” Read the comments. There is a long discussion on singles adopting and their sexuality. I thought you would find it interesting because there are SO many comments along the “how dare they say I’m single and homosexual” lines, without nary a one that points out the clear bias against homosexuality running throughout the thread. One comment even says something like “this isn’t the only negative connotation associated with being a single a-parent”–not realizing that perhaps some of us don’t think of homosexuality as a “negative.”
Anyway, I thought you might find it telling.
Hmmm…
That is very interesting. Thanks for pointing it out.