Books
I was tagged a week ago by CP, but with way too much going on at work and too many things in my personal life to distract me, I have not had time to respond.
This is a hard assignment. Since most of my fellow bloggers have already responded to this, I know you understand when I say that books aren't a hobby or a part of my life, they are an integral part of who I am. Narrowing the list of books I've read down to a few influences or opinions is like asking a parent to pick a favourite child. You might get a joking reply, but the reality is way more complex.
My opinions of books change with time, as well. I make a habit of rereading important books periodically, not necessarily for what the book has to say but as a way to assess my personal growth. For example, as a young adult I found the work of Milan Kundera to be profound, honest, and beautiful. I read The Book of Laughter and Forgetting when I was in high school, and moved on to The Joke, and The Unbearable Lightness of Being in my early twenties. I loved that he and his characters were Czech (as is my last name), and I loved his intellectual and artistic references. I loved his distant, nihilistic worldview. But when I reread him at thirty I thought, "What a fatuous narcicist. Cheer the f**k up, pal." This got me thinking about the ways my own worldview had changed, how life had given me perspective, how I'd let go of some of that overwhelming anger that drove me when I was younger and was actually engaging with my life. Great learning, but perhaps not what the author intended.
Like CP, I am currently not an owner of books. I sold most all of them before I moved to the UK because it seemed foolish to pay storage fees for paperbacks. And while I kept a few significant works that I knew I'd want to see again in a few years, I didn't pay the shipping on the non-essentials. I'm currently engaging in "Read and Release" at bookcrossing.com, so the shelves here only have things waiting to be read or recently completed. You are therefore left with whatever springs to mind. They may not be the answers I'd give if I were sititng in my library, and they are definitely NOT the answers I'll give you in 10 years. But they are my answers for now.
A book that has changed your life
Squares Are Not Bad, Violet Salazar
Written in 1967, this book is light blue, about eight inches square, and has simple illustrations. Mind you, I don't own it anymore...I had a wacko roommate during my first senior year of college, and I believe she stole this book from my belongings when she moved out. (She also tore down and ripped up my official party images of Castro and Gorbachev while she was "cleaning.") But the power of this book is so great that I can close my eyes and see it. It's selling for $40 on Alibris...I may just buy a copy for future reference.
Anyway, the BOOK...Circles live in Circle Town. Squares live in Square Town, Triangles live in Triangle town. And everyone knows that they themselves are smart and pretty and wonderful, and that the other shapes are stupid and ugly and bad, bad, BAD. Thanks to poor urban planning, however, Circle Town is built on a hill....and when the Squares start a rumble, all hell breaks loose. Everyone goes rolling down the hill, the Triangles and the Rectangles come running to see what's causing the ruckus, and when the dust clears they all see a few wounded shapes in a pile....they are piled in a heap that makes them look like a house or something. So the shapes start to think, "Hey! By ourselves we are merely circles/squares/triangles/rectangles, but if we work together we can create all sorts of things!" They form a train (or a "choochoo," as I called it in those days,) and they dance off into the night, singing a diversity song. "We are glad, glad, glad! Being different is not bad!"
Gave me my mantra for the first few years of my life. Heck, I think I said that to myself just the other day.
A book that you have read more than once
Animal Dreams, Barbara Kingsolver
A classic in chick-lit for the brainiac girl. There's a love story (with a dishy bad-boy ex-lover), social justice (involving Nicaraguans and Native Americans), poignant family tales (her distant father has Alzheimer's and is dying,) and all sorts of self-examination. This book always raises my spirits, so I reread it when I need a lift.
A book that makes you laugh
Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris
I agree with echo. This book is one of the funniest things on the planet. Laugh-out-loud funny. As are all works of Mr. S, but this one is the masterpiece, in my humble opinion.
I also agree with CP, though...A Confederacy of Dunces is sheer genius, as well, and I've had many a laugh whilst reading a Roberston Davies book, as well.
A book that makes you cry
Everything is Illuminated, Jonathan Safran Foer
The Adventures of Kavalier and Klay, Michael Chabon
Complete Poems, 1904 - 1962, e.e. cummings
A book you wish you'd written
The Holy Bible
Then I'd have a cohesive argument for those people that I instinctively know are bastardising God's word. Plus, I like to think I'd have added some humour and edited some of that "begatting" that happens early in the plot, as it's not really crucial to what comes next.
A book that you wish had never been written
My joking response to this is The Catcher in the Rye, as it's provided a justification for some seriously bad behaviour in this world. Don't get me wrong, it was my constant companion as a kid, but I'm just saying...
My actual answer is:
The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen
What a load of depressing, uninteresting, annoying blather. If I met any of these people I'd give them a good smack. Especially that brother that's lost his job teaching at the university. Sheesh. Can't really go into too much detail here, as CP has the task of identifying the point in the novel at which I threw it across the room. But MAN I hated this book. Didn't finish it. Got it out of the house the day that I decided I'd had it with it and wouldn't be sacrificing any more of my time. P-L-E-H, PLEH.
Books you are currently reading
Principles of Macroeconomics, Joseph G. Nellis and David Parker
Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Martin Christopher
Managing Business FInance, D.R. Myddelton
Saving Fish from Drowning, Amy Tan
Special Topics in Calamity Physics, Marisha Pessl
The Areas of my Expertise, John Hodgman
The Undercover Economist, Tim Harford
So Many Ways to Begin, Jon McGregor
This is a hard assignment. Since most of my fellow bloggers have already responded to this, I know you understand when I say that books aren't a hobby or a part of my life, they are an integral part of who I am. Narrowing the list of books I've read down to a few influences or opinions is like asking a parent to pick a favourite child. You might get a joking reply, but the reality is way more complex.
My opinions of books change with time, as well. I make a habit of rereading important books periodically, not necessarily for what the book has to say but as a way to assess my personal growth. For example, as a young adult I found the work of Milan Kundera to be profound, honest, and beautiful. I read The Book of Laughter and Forgetting when I was in high school, and moved on to The Joke, and The Unbearable Lightness of Being in my early twenties. I loved that he and his characters were Czech (as is my last name), and I loved his intellectual and artistic references. I loved his distant, nihilistic worldview. But when I reread him at thirty I thought, "What a fatuous narcicist. Cheer the f**k up, pal." This got me thinking about the ways my own worldview had changed, how life had given me perspective, how I'd let go of some of that overwhelming anger that drove me when I was younger and was actually engaging with my life. Great learning, but perhaps not what the author intended.
Like CP, I am currently not an owner of books. I sold most all of them before I moved to the UK because it seemed foolish to pay storage fees for paperbacks. And while I kept a few significant works that I knew I'd want to see again in a few years, I didn't pay the shipping on the non-essentials. I'm currently engaging in "Read and Release" at bookcrossing.com, so the shelves here only have things waiting to be read or recently completed. You are therefore left with whatever springs to mind. They may not be the answers I'd give if I were sititng in my library, and they are definitely NOT the answers I'll give you in 10 years. But they are my answers for now.
A book that has changed your life
Squares Are Not Bad, Violet Salazar
Written in 1967, this book is light blue, about eight inches square, and has simple illustrations. Mind you, I don't own it anymore...I had a wacko roommate during my first senior year of college, and I believe she stole this book from my belongings when she moved out. (She also tore down and ripped up my official party images of Castro and Gorbachev while she was "cleaning.") But the power of this book is so great that I can close my eyes and see it. It's selling for $40 on Alibris...I may just buy a copy for future reference.
Anyway, the BOOK...Circles live in Circle Town. Squares live in Square Town, Triangles live in Triangle town. And everyone knows that they themselves are smart and pretty and wonderful, and that the other shapes are stupid and ugly and bad, bad, BAD. Thanks to poor urban planning, however, Circle Town is built on a hill....and when the Squares start a rumble, all hell breaks loose. Everyone goes rolling down the hill, the Triangles and the Rectangles come running to see what's causing the ruckus, and when the dust clears they all see a few wounded shapes in a pile....they are piled in a heap that makes them look like a house or something. So the shapes start to think, "Hey! By ourselves we are merely circles/squares/triangles/rectangles, but if we work together we can create all sorts of things!" They form a train (or a "choochoo," as I called it in those days,) and they dance off into the night, singing a diversity song. "We are glad, glad, glad! Being different is not bad!"
Gave me my mantra for the first few years of my life. Heck, I think I said that to myself just the other day.
A book that you have read more than once
Animal Dreams, Barbara Kingsolver
A classic in chick-lit for the brainiac girl. There's a love story (with a dishy bad-boy ex-lover), social justice (involving Nicaraguans and Native Americans), poignant family tales (her distant father has Alzheimer's and is dying,) and all sorts of self-examination. This book always raises my spirits, so I reread it when I need a lift.
A book that makes you laugh
Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris
I agree with echo. This book is one of the funniest things on the planet. Laugh-out-loud funny. As are all works of Mr. S, but this one is the masterpiece, in my humble opinion.
I also agree with CP, though...A Confederacy of Dunces is sheer genius, as well, and I've had many a laugh whilst reading a Roberston Davies book, as well.
A book that makes you cry
Everything is Illuminated, Jonathan Safran Foer
The Adventures of Kavalier and Klay, Michael Chabon
Complete Poems, 1904 - 1962, e.e. cummings
A book you wish you'd written
The Holy Bible
Then I'd have a cohesive argument for those people that I instinctively know are bastardising God's word. Plus, I like to think I'd have added some humour and edited some of that "begatting" that happens early in the plot, as it's not really crucial to what comes next.
A book that you wish had never been written
My joking response to this is The Catcher in the Rye, as it's provided a justification for some seriously bad behaviour in this world. Don't get me wrong, it was my constant companion as a kid, but I'm just saying...
My actual answer is:
The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen
What a load of depressing, uninteresting, annoying blather. If I met any of these people I'd give them a good smack. Especially that brother that's lost his job teaching at the university. Sheesh. Can't really go into too much detail here, as CP has the task of identifying the point in the novel at which I threw it across the room. But MAN I hated this book. Didn't finish it. Got it out of the house the day that I decided I'd had it with it and wouldn't be sacrificing any more of my time. P-L-E-H, PLEH.
Books you are currently reading
Principles of Macroeconomics, Joseph G. Nellis and David Parker
Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Martin Christopher
Managing Business FInance, D.R. Myddelton
Saving Fish from Drowning, Amy Tan
Special Topics in Calamity Physics, Marisha Pessl
The Areas of my Expertise, John Hodgman
The Undercover Economist, Tim Harford
So Many Ways to Begin, Jon McGregor
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