an excuse to talk about books
I *borrowed* this meme from CaliforniaTeacherGuy (he tagged everyone!). I love any excuse to talk about books, so here it goes.
1) One book that changed your life: Edna St. Vincent Millay's Complete Works--she was the first poet to really zap my adolescent heart. If I remember correctly, I had just had a tumultuous two week relationship that had ended badly. I read her Well I have lost you sonnet as if it had been written solely to ease my particular pain. I can still quote it to this day.
2) One book that you've read more than once: The Hobbit. What can I say? My dad used to quote the first paragraph to me when I was in first grade. I read it about once a year--always during the winter. "It was a hobbit hole--and that means comfort!"
3) One book you'd want on a desert island: My complete Diary of Samuel Pepys. That man could keep me entertained for a long, long time--well passed when the rum would run out.
4) One book that made you laugh: Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis. The man was a comic genius, and the book is a gem. It would be a toss up between him and Wodehouse for my favorite comic novelist of all time.
5) One book that made you cry: Little Women. This book didn't make me cry once--it makes me cry every time. I even sniffle when I recommend it to students.
6) One book you wish had been written: The final Dirk Gently novel. Douglas Adams died before he completed it, and the first chapter is genius.
7) One book you wish had never been written: A Day No Pigs Would Die. This book scarred me in seventh grade. I still have dreams about the end. Sheesh. If it had to be written, I wish I had at least missed out on reading it.
8) The book you're currently reading: The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde. It's light, funny, and a good time. Fforde's writing just gets stronger and stronger.
9) A book you've been meaning to read: Wicked by Gregory Maguire. I've heard the music; I have the book; I just haven't gotten to it yet. On the nonfiction front, I'm looking forward to Helen Thomas' Watchdog's of Democracy. It looks fantastic.
10) Tag people: Tag. You're it.
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