On books

Julia's tagged me for a meme:

◊ One book that changed your life:

Two that I can think of presently:Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, andThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

I remember reading Little Women back when I had read through all my Ladybird books, all my brother's Ladybird books, and everything else that had pictures in it. Then I borrowed my older sister's copy and read through it twice. The first time because it was *so* much more grownup than everything I'd ever read (at 7, it's a challenge) and it didn't have pictures, and the second time to understand the story. I went on to read Good Wives, Little Men, and Jo's Boys.

I read The Great Gatsby in high school and promptly fell in love with all of F. Scott Fitzgerald's work. He knew how to write about his particular slice of society in the 1920s. I've since read all his novels and short stories, as well as his wife Zelda's work.

◊ One book that you've read more than once:

How about a series? Or three? Or four? Frank Herbert's Dune series. The prequel series Prequel to Dune and Legends of Dune by Frank's son Brian, and Kevin J. Anderson. These are books that circulate constantly between me, my older brother, and my older sister, because we're avid fans. There is currently a 2-book sequel to the original 7-book series, which begins after Chapterhouse: Dune. Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune aim to complete the epic. While Mr. Herbert and Mr. Anderson are good writers, I doubt they can ever capture the tone, the spirit, and the timbre of Frank Herbert.

Additionally, Carl Sagan's Contact, C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, and Nick Bantock's books. All of them. All visual feasts.

◊ One book you'd want on a desert island:

Ohhhhhh. That would be hard: one with humor, à la Gilligan's Island, or one with intensity, à la Castaway? For the former, a book of Roald Dahl's morbidly funny short stories; for the latter, Carlos Ruiz Zafón's The Shadow of the Wind.

◊ One book that made you laugh:

I'm not sure I've read any book that's made me laugh out loud; I've read books with humor in them. However, I'm seen the Sedaris siblings' names often enough that I'd like to try their books out.

◊ One book that made you cry:

Recently, Alice Hoffman's The Ice Queen.

◊ One book you wish had been written:

Well, Frank Herbert died before he could finish his Dune series, leaving short notes about what happened after Chapterhouse: Dune. Like I said before, I don't think Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson should mess with it. *So there!*

◊ One book you wish had never been written:

I can't target a specific book, mainly because I read the jacket notes before borrowing. I can't afford to have the negativity. I'll have to say anything obscene, with depradation, degradation, and self-conscious arrogance.

◊ One book you're currently reading:

From my 2006 book list, I'm almost done with Donna Leon's Blood from a Stone. Chris Ballard's The Butterfly Hunter, about unusual professions, is interesting.

◊ One book you've been meaning to read:

It's driving me crazy because I know what the book jacket looks like, but not the title and the author. The front is a black-and-white photo, digitally manipulated, of a man holding his coat open, but there is no man inside. It's supposed to be a good book about the end of the world and the souls in purgatory. Help me, librarians out there!

***Props to Sandy--it's The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier. Yay, happy happy dance!***

Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan.

◊ Some favorite books not on this list:

George Orwell's Animal Farm. Jack London's The Call of the Wild and White Fang. Dogs and loyalty, amen. John Robbins' Diet for a New America and The Food Revolution. Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, Eiger Dreams, Into the Wild, and Under the Banner of Heaven. Patricia Cornwell's Dr. Scarpetta novels. Enid Blyton's children's books. Peter Hoeg's Smilla's Sense of Snow. Edward Gorey's "children's" books, because he is just so strange. Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

I could go on and on but I'll stop now. You got me going, Julia! I'm passing this meme to whoever is in love with books and wants to answer them. Let me know who you are, I'd love to stop by and look at your lists!