Saw this on Etc., the blog of the instructor for LIS765 so thought I'd give it a shot:
One book that changed your life?
I'd say “Diary of Anne Frank” when I was pretty young, probably around the age that Anne is in the book. After that, I went through a phase where I felt like I had to read it on at least an annual basis as some sort of…tribute? (That's not the right word.) Commemoration? Obligation?
One book you have read more than once?
Other than the one I just listed? I'd say I go back to “Slaughterhouse Five” by Kurt Vonnegut probably as much as any book.
One book you would want on a desert island?
Ahh, this question is always a balance of finding a book that you could enjoy the most and a book with lots of content that you could return to endlessly. Being a practical sort (and a trivia master after last week's come-from-behind victory! ) I'd probably go more for the latter with something like an encyclopedia or, if limited to one volume, an almanac. “The Complete Shakespeare” is another popular answer for this question I think.
One book that made you laugh?
I recently wrote about The Poo Bomb so I'll go with that.
One book that made you cry?
“Barb's Miracle: How Barb Tarbox Transformed Her Deadly Cancer into a Lifesaving Crusade” was a book I had to read when I was a juror for the Alberta Book Awards. I expected a typical preachy, self-help-type book but this story, with its brutal honesty, shocking photographs and inevitable but tragic conclusion had me in tears everytime I opened it. We didn't name it to the shortlist but I think I suggested to the other jurors that we ask if the Awards committee could make this book a “special mention” in the program, something they (the other jurors and the Awards committee) agreed to.
One book you wish had never been written?
Well, I like Ranganathan's “every book its reader” law so I hate to pick one book that should never have been written. But with that said, the one that popped into my head was the “autobiography” of Posh Spice (who later admitted she'd never read a book in her life – hmmm.) but again, I'm sure there are people who enjoyed this book so why judge?
One book you are currently reading?
“What's Going On In There? How The Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life” which was written by a neurobiologist (and mother of three) named Lise Eliot. It's a bit heavy on the science but if you get past that, very informative on all aspects of childhood mental development.
One book you have been meaning to read?
From working in publishing, from reading about books endlessly on the Net and in magazines and from watching the authors featured on “The Daily Show”, from wandered through bookstores – new and used, from friends' recommendations, I've amassed a list of books I'm interested in reading that's twenty single spaced pages long (I'm planning a future blog post on “Librarians as packrats” – even this list is a symptom of my own disease.)
So instead of picking one book, here is a sample pick from each letter:
Ancestor's Tale, The – Richard Dawkins
Buying of the President 2004
Crowfoot: Chief of the Blackfoot – Hugh Dempsey
Dark Fibre: Tracking Critical Net Culture
Economics As If The Earth Really Mattered – Susan Meeker-Lowry
Five Legs – Graehme Gibson
Guns, Germs and Steel
How To Grow A Young Reader
I Capture The Castle – JK Rowling's Favourite Book
Jihad Versus McWorld – Jere Longman
Killing Bono – a guy who grew up with Bono, had his own band and wanted to be a star too but didn't make it
Letters To A Young Activist – Todd Gitlin (modeled on Rainier's letters to a young poet)
Master and the Margarita – lots of recommendations
Never Let Me Go – novel about clones who are raised for parts but live in society
Oster Conspiracy of 1938 – plot to kill Hitler told like fictional thriller
Pride and the Passion – recounts glory days of New York Islanders
Quotable Book Lover
Role of Failure in Engineering
Seven Types of Ambiguity – intricate fiction, same story told from perspective of seven different characters, one section each
Three Day Road – Joseph Boyden
Upstairs in the Crazy House – mental illness, poverty
Village of Small Houses – Ian Ferguson
Weathermakers – cited by Stephen and Avi Lewis at CLA as a book they both really enjoyed
(no x so here's another w) Works, The: Anatomy of a City – Kate Ascher – explores how NYC works
Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, The
Zen Guitar
My “To Read” list was getting so long, I started putting mini-summaries with some of them (as you can see) so I'd have a bit of a clue as to what they were about when I went back to the list. Pretty heavy on the non-fiction. What else does this list say about me? (Er, don't answer that.)
Now tag five people:
I'm a (wannabe) librarian so I like sharing. So I challenge anybody who comes across this post to do this meme. Heck, if you don't have a blog, you should start one just to do it! Or post your own answers in the comments of this post if that's too much work.
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