Literary Meme

Thoughtfully tagged by Chris, my own contribution to the reading meme:

One book that changed your life:
Wow. So many books have. I would have to go with Taming of the Shrew - I read it for the first time in grade school (not in school but out of my father's collection) and that got me hooked on the Bard. By Jr. High I had already amassed quite a bawdy vocabulary that only my English teachers understood. Sure, it made me a geek in high school to have the professional actor's editions of all the plays we read when everyone else was in the Penguin's classic editions - but mine had real analysis of the characters, staging, etc. This is what got me to really understand subtext and double-entendres.

One book you've read more than once:
The Once and Future King by T.H. White. Now granted, as someone who used to teach high school and college English, there are a lot of books I've read more than once out of necessity. This is one that I relished. If you ever saw Disney's Sword in the Stone, it's taken right from the book (only sanitized for the Disney experience). The book is funny and thoughtful at the same time. So much so that my two Freshman English classes actually understood the content and enjoyed themselves.

One book you would want on a desert island:
The Sherlock Holmes collection. The entire collection, while a bit heavy to carry around, is an amazing read. I read the collection cover-to-cover when I was 13 and was homebound with mono for three weeks. I was already a prolific reader - but this turned me on to mysteries, and I have never looked back.

One book that made you laugh:
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Totally not my genre - but I couldn't stop laughing - a tale of mix-ups and the apocalypse. Neither author has interested me since - like I said, not my genre (fantasy) - but this is worth a read for anyone that likes to read.

One book that made you cry:
Bridge to Terabithia - I read this in 6th grade and it broke my heart. Then, when I was in grad school I met a grade school teacher who was in the middle of teaching it. I started gushing about the book, how much it meant to me, and how when I came across a place in the woods behind my apartment that felt familiar I realized that it reminded me of how I pictured the location in the book. He brought me a copy. I hugged it. I put it on a shelf and I haven't touched it since. I am too afraid to read it - either it won't live up to my memories or it will and then it will break my heart all over again.

One book you wish you had written:
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. Easily ten times better than the Da Vinci Code and it came years ahead. Fascinating, totally sucked me in, and started my fascination with Templars and with conspiracy theories. It's bloody brilliant.

One book you wish had never been written:
The Bible and all religious texts spawned from it. I'm all for freedom of religion, but people who take the Bible literally seriously annoy me and freak me out. Also, because of its status, zealots refuse to acknowledge that it isn't always applicable to life today. Tell me a good morality tale - make it timeless - leave out the misogyny and racism in various versions and I'm good. Bring on the wrath (*ducks*)

One book you are currently reading:
The Best American Crime Writing 2005 true news stories assembled based on the compelling nature of the writing and/or story. Really fascinating to look back at the things that made news now that there is some distance beyond them.

One book you have been meaning to read:
I'll say one series - the Chronicles of Narnia. I read the first years ago, but the set remains untouched.

Tag five people:
Oy - don't hate me - I'll go with Cookie, Allison, EnvyLuv, Max, and Jake.