One Book Meme - A Glimpse Into The Mind Of A Blogger
January 11, 2008 | In About |
John from The Pageless Book, a blog I enjoy about spiritual topics (religious tolerance, blending logic with faith, etc.), tagged me for a meme. I could have just answered the topics with the title of a book, but after two days of heavier posts, I thought I would go for something a little more light hearted. Here’s my answer to the “One Book Meme”. As you will see, I take the “one” a bit loosely!
Photo by LoneWolf87
Note, links to books (and movies) are Amazon Associate links.
One book that changed my life.
I previously wrote about this book in Personal Transformation and The Solution Method
One book that I’ve read more than once.
Geez, there are so many. I love to read, but I can only pick one. I’ll have to say The Phantom of the Opera as being the one book I come back to again and again.
I love the story of Phantom of The Opera. I love the message: that the true measure of a person is not in what they look like, but rather in who they are inside. I also love that in the end Christine realizes this and comes to love Erik, the Phantom.
I’ve seen the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical two times (well, three - counting the movie), but to me that is just one of the incarnations of the story. I collect versions of the story and books related to the story.
I’ve got 4 copies of the original novel by Gaston Leroux:
1. The original translation in pristine condition
2. Another of this translation in a special Barnes & Noble package - this one has copious notes all over the margins
3. An unabridged translation by Lowell Blair - wow this adds so much to the story!
4. The Essential Phantom of The Opera - another unabridged translation with historical, etc. footnotes by Leonard Wolf
I also have a much dogeared copy of Phantom by Susan Kay. I am soooo thankful that this is back in print. This is a fabulous story that adds so much more to the character of Erik. Eventually, I’m going to have to buy another copy - I’m wearing mine out!
I’ve got illustrated versions, spoofs (Like Maskerade by Terry Pratchett) and copies of several other scripts for other stage productions.
I love this topic and even seriously considered blogging on this. However, I chose to blog on becoming an activist, so ahem. I now return you to the rest of this post!
One book I’d want on a desert island.
Oh, I can’t say Phantom again, can I? Bummer! Um, ok. How about a deck of tarot cards? They can be bought at bookstores. Do they count?
Yikes! Did I just loose the few readers I have? I hope not! Tarot cards are something else I collect - mostly for the artwork. However, I do occasionally like to read my cards. I see them as a psychological tool, not a divination one. When I do decide to read, I do it to help me clarify my thoughts and help me see angles I hadn’t considered before.
My favorite deck is the Tarot Of The Old Path. Just beautiful artwork and color, and some cards have a lovely metallic sheen in spots.
One book that made me laugh.
Oh, I have to say The Hologram’s Handbook. Although, if you’re not a Star Trek Voyager Fan, you might not find it so amusing.
This is written by Robert Picardo, who played the Doctor. That is the truth, although the book claims to have been written by the Doctor “as told to” Robert Picardo.
The character was a hologram, arrogant and pompous, but often shown that his vast data banks of knowledge were insufficient for him to really understand behavior and feelings. Which, in the end, made him lovable and sympathetic. (He was one of my favorite characters.) All of this comes through loud and clear in this short book, which I believe is out of print now.
An example of why I find this book hilarious: Chapter 3: Real vs. Better or Why Organics Resent Holograms
One book that made me cry.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. As I was reading the last chapters, I had to take off my glasses and wipe the tears with one hand, while turning the pages with my other hand. I just couldn’t put the book down and was so sad by the final battle. And then, just when I thought I was done crying, I got to the epilogue where we find out what Harry named his son. That was it, more tissues needed!
One book that I wish had been written.
Um, hmm. Not sure about this one. When I first read the line, I thought it was “one book I wish I’d written.” Can I answer that one instead? Hmm, John’s not here to say no, so….
I wish I had written Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. That’s not actually the first book I thought of, but I can’t remember the title of the other one. But, I really, really enjoyed Red Dragon, more so that Silence of the Lambs or Hannibal. Mr. Harris kept the suspense throughout the novel. It’s the first book I can ever remember reading where I was shouting at the characters to figure out who the bad guy was (kind of like shouting at football coaches, in that none of them can hear us!) So, I wish I’d written this book because of the way the author kept you engaged and pulled into the novel. A “real page turner” as the saying goes.
The other book had characters that were compelling. The main character was a pretty messed up teenager who started out just messed up and ended up entombed with several bodies of people he had killed throughout the book. Why I wish I’d written this one was that the author was a master at turning the character from a depressed young man into a cold blooded, totally off his rocker, murderer. Yet, at no point during the story did he do anything out of character. The author (I believe it was a woman) was so good at explaining what he did and why that you could follow along with this young man as he become more and more undone. Each action was true to his character, yet his character clearly morphed throughout the novel. This one had a mirror on the cover with a while background in hard back. Can’t remember what it was called though!
One book that I wish had never been written.
“Say Hello To The Hitman.” Amazon reveals that the author is Jay Bennett. For that matter, I wish I’d realized that was the author’s name when I read “The Long Black Coat”. Looks like both of these books are out of print. Thank goodness, I say.
Ok, so now you probably want to know what I hate these books so much. Because I hate books with crappy endings. If I want crappy endings, I’ll turn on the evening news. Now, these books are young adult novels and I’m almost 32, so I read them at least 15 years ago. Doesn’t matter, I still remember both of them as having crappy endings. We get introduced to a character (the girlfriend in Say Hello and I believe the brother in The Long Dark Coat) that are close to our hero. The author gets us to like these characters, to feel for them, to really identify with them. Then, it turns out they are the bad guy, bad guy dies (at least the girlfriend does, I don’t remember about the brother, but probably).
What’s up with that? I liked them! I was rooting for them!
I actually rewrote the end of Say Hello To The Hitman after I read it. After the girlfriend had been shot, I decided that the hero called an ambulance and she was saved. All was forgiven and they lived happily ever after. Corney, but remember I was a teenager (or younger) at the time.
So, even though it was so long ago, I still remember the title clearly and the crappy ending. As a matter of fact, I also remember what the covers look like and exactly where they were shelved at my local library (although the library has rearranged things since then.) If this book (along with The Long Dark Coat) hadn’t been written, I would not have read them, and I would be happier. Next question?
One book I’m currently reading.
Um, PHP 5 / MySQL Programming for the Absolute Beginner by Andy Harris? I’ve started reading this to help me with some technical stuff on this blog. But that doesn’t really tell you anything about me now does it?
Ok, I’m also reading:
Cats in the Parsonage by Clair Shaffer, Jr. (A Christmas gift from my grandmother. I love cats and so far the Minister’s story retelling is fun.)
The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman (Older than I am being published in 1970, my niece picked this one out for me at a second hand shop. The story is funny, but I’m sure she picked it out due to it’s bright pink cover.) Update - this is still in print! The link above takes you to a new version that doesn’t have the bright pink cover. Bummer! But, below is a thumbnail of the version I have:
If Women Ran the World, Sh*t Would Get Done (the title actually includes the *) by Shelly Rachanow (This is a women power book given as a birthday gift by my good friend who must be my long lost sister although we don’t share any genes.)
Ecoshamanism by James Endredy (Since I feel very spiritual when in nature, I thought this book would be about that. Um, no, not exactly. It’s a bit more that I bargained on, actually. Which is probably why the bookmark is still in it, but I haven’t picked it up in a few weeks.)
Fit From Within by Victoria Moran (Each chapter is no more than 2 pages so each thought is easy to absorb. I picked it up off the shelf again when I started thinking about my health goals.)
and
New Glucose Revolution Guide to Living Well with PCOS by Dr. Brand-Miller (If you aren’t familiar with the New Glucose Revolution books, they explain the different kinds of carbohydrates and how to choose quality ones based on a ranking system called the Glycemic Index. This particular book is geared to using the Glycemic Index in managing PCOS, or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.)
I kid you not, I’ve got bookmarks in all 7 of those books. The only one I opened today though is The New Glucose Revolution Guide. So, I sort of violated the rules didn’t I on this question?
One book I’ve been meaning to read.
The Scarlet Letter. We were supposed to read this is 11th grade, in high school. I had a cool teacher (although my brother would disagree with that statement - he didn’t like her when he took her class) who whenever possible, had us watch a movie or listen to an audio, instead of actually reading the book. This is one where we saw the movie. And, no, not the one with Demi Moore, that one was made later. We saw the version with John Heard and Meg Foster.
For some reason, this story stood out for me and I’ve been meaning to actually read the book instead of just watching the movie.
***
Well, there you have it. An off topic post, but one that I hope gave you a little bit of insight into the woman behind the blog. Especially into my voracious reading habits and my quirky, esoteric interests. And, I guess with that last sentence, my large vocabulary too!
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Thanks for the pointer to The Pageless Book.
I’ve added it to my Reader.
I hope you enjoy The Pageless Book. I like what John is doing in trying to get folks to look at spirituality a different way. Although spirituality is important to me, it’s a subject I consider very personal and therefore hesitate to mention it. I’m afraid I’ll turn away readers because it’s not the main focus of this blog. However, it is the main focus of John’s blog. I’ve been wondering if I should comment there more often or offer to guest post, but I believe we have very different audiences and I’m not sure how much overlap there is.