Before I get back to the post requests, I thought I'd do that book meme that's floating around. Although I am not the avid reader I once was, I do enjoy a good book. I am actually a seasonal reader and for some reason view reading as a "winter sport." I have no idea why that is, it just is.
~
1. How many books do I own? I have no idea. We have a library. Oh no, not a fancy rich people library, but a room lined with shelves, which are in turn lined with books. We have a LOT of books.
~
2. What was the last book I read? This is a tough one because I tried to to read The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx because I love the movie so much, but her prose is so very, uhm, heck I forgot. I just couldn't get into it. And I've been leafing through a book I read a few years ago called Kate Remembered by A. Scott Berg, it's about Katharine Hepburn and I just adore her and love reading her recollections. But I guess the last book I read was probably Never Have Your Dog Stuffed by Alan Alda. It was touching and funny and sweet.
~
3. What was the last book I bought? Well that would be Einstein by Walter Isaacson. I'm just waiting for winter so I can read it.
~
4. Five meaningful books that I've read. This is a tough one because the first book that I read that made me want to really read was a Dana Girls Mystery which got me started on the Nancy Drew books. Before that I was mostly interested in Fairy Tales. And the fairy tales turned me into a pack rat because the protagonist always hung onto every little thing he found and then was able to use it to win the day. Oh, okay, I digress.
- I don't know the name of it, but in elementary school I read either a biography or autobiography of Helen Keller and was profoundly touched by her story.
- The Count of Monte Cristo. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. I've probably read it 5 or 6 times and will read it again. It's a fun and amazing adventure. And it makes me feel like I can conquer the world.
- To Kill a Mockingbird. This was the first book that didn't seem like a pure fantasy. It seemed like I could have been Scout and my brother was Jem. The story was just great and it, too is a book that I will read again and again.
- The Catcher in The Rye. Although this one hasn't held up as well as the last two, it's really a great read when you're going through the weirdness of high school. And it taught me A LOT about punctuation because I did my first research paper on "The Language of The Catcher in The Rye."
- I think for this last one I have to pick the tiny decrepit paperback that I found at a used bookstore 26 or 7 years ago. It was printed in 1945. The title is: The Pocket Book of Popular Verse edited by Ted Malone. Just inside the cover is a lady's lipstick print and printed on the back cover there is a small plea to "share this book with someone in uniform." I really love this little book. It has all of the classic poets and a few odd pieces - one poem is obviously about vampires. Here's a nice one:
HYACINTHS TO FEED THY SOUL
If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,
And from thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left,
Sell one, and with the dole
Buy hyacinths to feed the soul.
The Gulistan of Moslih Eddin Saadi
11 comments:
"HYACINTHS TO FEED THY SOUL
If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,
And from thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left,
Sell one, and with the dole
Buy hyacinths to feed the soul.
The Gulistan of Moslih Eddin Saadi"
Good sentiment, you could easily replace hyacinths with books and the poem would be equally true. Books are one of life's little pleasures, give me a book and you give me the universe. :o)
Oh, wow! You know, I can picture you as Scout when you were a little girl. And "Catcher in the Rye", yes. That book is almost a rite of passage for everyone, isn't it? I still have my copy here somewhere. And "Kate Remembered", I still have that too. That was a fabulous book. I loved Katharine Hepburn.
You will love the Einstein biography. I couldn't put it down once I started reading it. He was such an interesting person in his "private" life.
Big Brother,
~~I suppose there are many things you could substitute, but the poem has a lovely sentiment.
Josie,
~~I look forward to reading it. I just like to read when it's chilly out for some reason. I'm very hot natured and can never get quite comfortable to park myself and read in the summer.
Now that you and Josie have done this meme, I'll have to definitely clean my home office and give it a try. Nice list you have there.
I might just do this one, too.
What about The Great Gatsby? I love that book!
Hi Geewits! Hope to see you when you come to Vancouver. And I was going to mention your previous photo being Victoria, but I see everyone has already mentioned it. You really do need to go over for a day, though. It's beautiful!
JR,
~~I look forward to that!
Scarlet,
~~You should and that IS a good book.
Leslie,
~~Yeah, you can't always trust the internet. If it's convenient, I'll check it out. I like to make my vacations just that - vacations, not work.
Wonderful list of books...I LOVED "Catcher In The Rye", and "To Kill A Mocking Bird"....(Off subject a little...Did you see the fim "INFAMOUS" about Truman Capote? Sandra Bullock playd Harper Lee in that film and she was WONDERFUL, as was the film. I liked it better than the first film on Capote..called: "CAPOTE"....)
I think "To Kill A Mocking Bird" is one of THE great books of our time, or any 'time', for that matter....It is also a film that is absolutely sublime!
The Shipping News... I tried to read that several times. I just can't get into it. I don't think I'll ever manage...
That and The Life of Pi.
I have no idea why, but I just can't seem to read that one either.
Naomi,
~~Thanks, I had forgotten about that movie. I need to add it to my netflix queue.
Jazz,
~~Yeah her writing style is not particularly readable but it's one of my favorite movies, so I'm glad she got the story out there
I actually own the Pocket Book of Popular Verse, and it would be about the same vintage as yours. And, To Kill a Mockingbird, absolutely.
Post a Comment