Half Changed World

I don’t have a new book to review this week, and Jody just tagged me with the book meme that’s been floating around for several weeks, so I’m going to play along.

1.  You’re stuck inside Fahrenheit 451, which book do you want to be?

I was initially confused by this question, but I now understand it to be what book do you want to memorize to keep alive.  Assuming that I could actually memorize a full-length book, I think I’d pick Don Quixote.  It’s an Important Book, but it’s also funny and tender.  It’s also well-suited to be read out loud, which many recent books are not.  (I’m terrible at memorization, so in reality, I’d have to pick something like Where The Wild Things Are.  Also a fine book that I’d want to keep part of the human legacy.)

2. Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?

Of course.  Everyone from Adam from A Ring of Endless Light to Strider from Lord of the Rings. (Heck, I still have a crush on Strider.)  And I really wanted to be Arkady from Second Foundation and Lessa from Dragonflight.

3.  What was the last book you purchased?

As Jody and Brian have noticed lately, I read an awful lot.  Both for money reasons and space limitations (we’ve seriously reached the stage that for any book that permanently enters the house, one needs to leave), I’ve gotten very good about getting books from the library instead of buying them.  Both my local library system and the adjacent much bigger one have online catalogs, and you can place a hold on any book and have it waiting for you when you show up.  Very civilized.  So, the books I buy these days are mostly either for the boys, reference, or really obscure stuff that the library doesn’t have.

That said, I’ve got an order on the way with Zinn’s Cycling Primer, Conditioning for Outdoor Fitness, and (thanks to Jody), Voyage to the Bunny Planet.  The last new hardcover book I bought for myself was The Plot Against America.  (Excellent book.  Given those space limitations, however, I’ll send it on to the first reader who emails me with a snail mail address.)

4.  What are you currently reading?

As usually, I’m reading more than one book at a time.  With D, I’m reading James and the Giant Peach.  I’m reading Unequal Childhoods, by Annette Lareau, which I should finish in time to review next week.  And I’ve just started Jared Diamond’s new book, Collapse.  The main problem is that it’s huge, and too much of a pain to haul back and forth to work, so I don’t read it on the metro.  I’m usually reading something lighter as well, but not just now.

5. Which five books would you take to a desert island?

As a teenager, I re-read books all the time, but I rarely re-read books these days.  Too many things I haven’t read yet on my list.  Hmmm. 

Assuming I’m not supposed to pick things like the Boy Scout Handbook or Peterson’s Guide to Desert Island Flora and Fauna, I’ll go with:

• Jody said to assume that we already have the Bible.  I’ll make mine a dual language, Hebrew-English, with a line by line translation, and bring along a dictionary.  I’ve always wanted to learn Hebrew well enough to read the Torah.
• Moby Dick, because my dad says it really is brilliant.  I read it as a teenager, when I got sick at camp, and didn’t appreciate it.  And I know I’m not going to make the time to read it anytime in the next decade or so unless I do wind up stranded on a desert island.
• Pride and Prejudice.  Challenging enough to be interesting, but fun enough not to feel like work. 
• The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman  A recent classic.  Sold as a fantasy for teenagers, but appropriate for thoughtful adults as well.
• Tales of Neveryon, by Samuel R. Delany.  A set of interlocking stories in a fantasy setting, playing on issues of sexuality, language, power, roles, and much more. 

6. Which three people will you tag to answer this next, and why?

Oh, Jody’s right that this feels awfully Junior High.  And I agree with Anne Lamott that it’s a horrible thing to look at this tiny baby that you’ve borne and realize that someday he’s going to have to go through eighth grade.

So, I’ll tag Tiny Coconut and Anne, and save the third slot for anyone who wants to play but hasn’t been tagged yet.  Post a comment if you’re doing it.

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