Jim tagged me with this meme about books, so here goes. . .
1. One book that changed your life: Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey, because it started my years of reading mysteries, which allow me to escape reality and in which good always triumphs over evil. It also turned me into a lifelong (in spirit) member of the Fellowship of the White Boar (those who believe in the innocence of Richard III) and love of British history. For a serious book, I’d have to choose the book of Job and, in correlation, the semester I spent studying it under Rabbi Victor Reichert, who was an amazing man. It opened up the world of the mystery of God to me and helped me understand that I don’t understand.
2. One book you have read more than once: Lord of the Rings -- (does that actually count as 3 books (it shouldn’t)? There are many books I’ve read multiple times, but that one and Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers are the ones I’ve read the most.
3. One book you would want on a desert island: I can’t choose just one. I’d want Lord of the Rings, The Complete Dorothy L. Sayers (including her non-fiction offerings), and the Bible. Unlike Jim, I haven’t memorized most of the Bible, so I’d need to have the real thing.
4. One book that made you laugh: Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris. This book also made me cry, answering number 7.
5. One book you wish you had written: That’s a hard question, since I’ve never thought about writing a book. I think To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It always amazes me that she so eloquently evokes the sweetness of childhood summers and the evil of bigotry at the same time.
6. One book you wish had never had been written: I can’t answer this one. I suppose, like Jim, I feel I should say Mein Kampf or The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, but I agree with him that the concepts hateful books don’t begin the hate and silencing them wouldn’t stop it. Besides, if Hitler had been silenced, then who would Simon look like?
7. One book that made you cry: I cry at everything! The first book I cried at was Charlotte’s Web (in third grade), when Charlotte died alone. The last book I cried at was Delights and Shadows.
8. One book you are currently reading: Actually, there are 2: The Saddlemaker’s Wife by Earlene Fowler and Delights and Shadows by Ted Kooser.
9. One book you have been meaning to read: I've been meaning to read a few theology books that Jim has given me, but the one on top of the pile is Kingdom Ethics. I also have Flu (about the influenza pandemic of 1918) by Gina Kolata, which I’m about 2/3 through, but keep putting down. I find that we talk theology so much at work that when I get to read at home, I always pick up fiction.
10. One book you wish everyone would read, and why: Again, I can’t name just one – there are SO MANY. I think everyone should read Leaves of Grass, because it's complex and beautifully written and the Bible, because it could change the readers' lives and is also complex and beautifully written.
I can't tag 5 people with blogs, because I don't know 5 people with blogs who haven't already been tagged.
I will tag Christy, though, Tom (through her blog), Jim the Wiser, Don and Cindy (also through Christy's blog or mine -- Don, email your answers and Cindy's to Christy or me and we'll post them).
1. One book that changed your life: Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey, because it started my years of reading mysteries, which allow me to escape reality and in which good always triumphs over evil. It also turned me into a lifelong (in spirit) member of the Fellowship of the White Boar (those who believe in the innocence of Richard III) and love of British history. For a serious book, I’d have to choose the book of Job and, in correlation, the semester I spent studying it under Rabbi Victor Reichert, who was an amazing man. It opened up the world of the mystery of God to me and helped me understand that I don’t understand.
2. One book you have read more than once: Lord of the Rings -- (does that actually count as 3 books (it shouldn’t)? There are many books I’ve read multiple times, but that one and Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers are the ones I’ve read the most.
3. One book you would want on a desert island: I can’t choose just one. I’d want Lord of the Rings, The Complete Dorothy L. Sayers (including her non-fiction offerings), and the Bible. Unlike Jim, I haven’t memorized most of the Bible, so I’d need to have the real thing.
4. One book that made you laugh: Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris. This book also made me cry, answering number 7.
5. One book you wish you had written: That’s a hard question, since I’ve never thought about writing a book. I think To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It always amazes me that she so eloquently evokes the sweetness of childhood summers and the evil of bigotry at the same time.
6. One book you wish had never had been written: I can’t answer this one. I suppose, like Jim, I feel I should say Mein Kampf or The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, but I agree with him that the concepts hateful books don’t begin the hate and silencing them wouldn’t stop it. Besides, if Hitler had been silenced, then who would Simon look like?
7. One book that made you cry: I cry at everything! The first book I cried at was Charlotte’s Web (in third grade), when Charlotte died alone. The last book I cried at was Delights and Shadows.
8. One book you are currently reading: Actually, there are 2: The Saddlemaker’s Wife by Earlene Fowler and Delights and Shadows by Ted Kooser.
9. One book you have been meaning to read: I've been meaning to read a few theology books that Jim has given me, but the one on top of the pile is Kingdom Ethics. I also have Flu (about the influenza pandemic of 1918) by Gina Kolata, which I’m about 2/3 through, but keep putting down. I find that we talk theology so much at work that when I get to read at home, I always pick up fiction.
10. One book you wish everyone would read, and why: Again, I can’t name just one – there are SO MANY. I think everyone should read Leaves of Grass, because it's complex and beautifully written and the Bible, because it could change the readers' lives and is also complex and beautifully written.
I can't tag 5 people with blogs, because I don't know 5 people with blogs who haven't already been tagged.
I will tag Christy, though, Tom (through her blog), Jim the Wiser, Don and Cindy (also through Christy's blog or mine -- Don, email your answers and Cindy's to Christy or me and we'll post them).
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