The Book Meme

[geoviki]

I've been tapped by ravurian and mayflo to do the book meme.


1) Total number of books owned?

They're kidding with this one, right? I mean, we read and write for fun! I'll go round this a bit by telling you I have a large collection of children's series, another hefty clump of history books - especially Civil War era and Tudor England stuff - and classic British mysteries.

2) The last book I bought?

Together, I bought Brief Lives (a Sandman graphic novel) by Neil Gaiman, and The Fire From Heaven by Mary Renault.

3) The last book I read?

The Secret Pilgrim by John LeCarré

4) Five books that mean a lot to me? (Not including Harry Potter - that's a gimme; and not including mine or yours)

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

I love all of the Narnia books - I was huge fan from an early age (we even used to "play Narnia" at recess). This one is my favorite, and it's the book that taught me that a journey is an excellent focus for any book.

Tinker, Tailer, Soldier, Spy and its sequel Smiley's People by John LeCarré

John LeCarré is one of my absolute favorite authors. If you just think he's a writer of spy novels, think again. He comes up with some of the most vivid descriptions I've ever seen, and his characters are just stunning.

The Road Less Travelled by Scott Peck

The book that taught me to apply my intellect to study my own spirituality. Another book of his I liked is People of the Lie, a chilling description of evil.

Roughing It by Mark Twain

This book opened my eyes to Mark Twain, who's a lot funnier and more contemporary than I'd ever imagined from just reading Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn. I really fell in love with all his travel books (they're non-fiction).

Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis

Not that it's a particular favorite, but I chose this book to discuss on my high school Advanced Placement English essay and was awarded an obscene number of college credit hours for it, which saved me a boatload of tuition and allowed me to graduate after 4 years, even after imploding the second semester of my junior year when all I took was Future Worlds and all I did was write a paper on organic gardening while licking my wounds over a dramatically failed love affair with an alcoholic artist and musician.

I'm supposed to tap some of you to do the meme thing, too - but most of you already have. If you haven't, consider this an invitation.

Comments

[charlotteschaos.livejournal.com]

For some reason, I had it in my head that John LeCarre wrote "The Alienist" when... now that I look it up, it was Caleb Carr. You may actually enjoy it, though, given your other interests. And I'll be making some room for John LeCarre. How terrible with names am I? *sighs*

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

You know, when I wrote fanfiction the last time (in the early '80's) I was all over LeCarre, and now that I'm back at it, I find him inspiring me all over again. Plus he's written a lot more books in the meantime, so it's all good. Check him out.

[balfrog.livejournal.com]

They're kidding with this one, right? I mean, we read and write for fun!

Yup- the part where the transition from the film meme to the book meme doesn't really work. I think most people didn't bother counting either.

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

Plus I posted from work and couldn't even estimate. Shelves and shelves - close enough, right?

[balfrog.livejournal.com]

It's an average out multiply session- how many shelves per bookcase, then how many bookcases... man...

On a completely random note, my night has dwindled away into nothing as I was staring at Hugh Dancy on the IMDB, and going OMG OMG how perfect, and his father's a philosophy professor, and he read English at Oxford, and he's so so pretty. Eyes went bleary. And must I watch some horrid films because of that?

(Wow, now that was embarrassing)

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

No, we should just be able to look at pretty pictures of him. I've seen him used as Harry elsewhere, but ravurian plucked him into DSOT, for which I'm grateful.

[balfrog.livejournal.com]

http://www.burberry.com/gateway.shtml

yes, because I learned my lesson with Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Even "pretty" wore me out after watching 4-5 horrible horrible films.

[fatale.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure why I have such a hard time getting through a Mary Renault book, but I feel on the verge of a nosebleed every time I open one. How did you like the book?

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

Er. I haven't read it yet. I started with The Persian Boy, which I really like, though. I mean, how can you not like real live published slash? Pretty eunuchs who are in love? Yeah, I'm a sap.

[arsenicjade.livejournal.com]

Completely off-topic, I finished DSoT today. Honestly, I'd like to say something informed and intelligent here, but mostly I just want to be you when I grow up, and that's pretty much the whole of the sitch.

Specifically, I don't think I've laughed quite as hard or as well in years as I did during the scene wherein Daniel finds everything out. Everything about that scene, the dialogue, the flow, everything, was absolutely perfect and I shall now go off and die of happiness intertwined with burning jealousy.

Another thing? I am consistently amazed by people who can write their characters having fights and getting through those fights. I think it's a by-product of the fact that I don't really have knock down drag-out fights with people, I have highly communicative fights that pretty much end where they start, and so I can't write conflict well. At all. But oh dear lord, hon, do you ever. Ever.

Thank you so much for this story, it was beyond brilliant.

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed Daniel's big scene. That's the one I mumbled about having to completely rewrite three times. Daniel didn't have a POV chapter in drafts 1 or 2, but by 3 he did. isiscolo really is the one to thank - she insisted that scene would play out best if he showed us, and she was right.

The fight scene was finished early and was one of the few I didn't fuss with afterwards. Must be the upbringing - I've seen enough silly ranting arguments.

[arsenicjade.livejournal.com]

Well, yay Isis! Truly, though, brilliant.

[laurelwood.livejournal.com]

Roughing It is one of my favorite books, too, and passages from it (the old woman in the stagecoach) provided me with some great material for a college Oral Interpretation class presentation. (Maybe the professor was just grateful that it wasn't Poe's The Raven) I think Twain is funniest when he's on the road.

I'd be interested to hear how the rest of the Narnia Chronicles stack up on your most favorite to least favorite lineup. I remember always enjoying The Silver Chair, but for a journey-focused book, I liked The Horse and His Boy even better- maybe because it was an acquired taste, since it bored the socks off me the first couple of times I read it.

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

I had no idea Twain was so witty before this book. I think he was the Dave Letterman of his time.

Oh, ranking Narnia? Part of this is heavily influenced by my perceptions as a child. So the Magician's Nephew ranks lower, because I hated the uncle. Which of course was the point.

So: Silver Chair, Horse and His Boy, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Prince Caspian, Lion-Witch-Wardrobe, Magician's Nephew, and Last Battle. Phew; I wasn't sure I could do that.

[thrihyrne.livejournal.com]

Just a brief post, as you know I share the Mary Renault love.

But I'm fascinated that your fave of the Chronicles series is The Silver Chair, as I've always been drawn to that one, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. But that in-your-mind's-eye visual of drawing back when they realize that the maze that thay were in was a huge stone message… it just gave me goosebumps now, thinking about it. And our dear, sad, Puddleglump was in that story, right? Oh. Such a great story. Lewis was certainly a great storyteller, other erstwhile messages or no. That's probably why I found myself so sucked into attracted to Tolkien when I discovered him in my 30's. That and my prehistory of lots of Ray Bradbury.

;)

I tend not to buy books (yes, I'm teh evil, but I tend not to read things more than once unless they're part of my decade-old college curriculum or a few other erstwhile faves. Maybe I'll do this meme after all). Tolkien, Renault, a few Manga, Rowling, and an excellent book The Loner's Manifesto not included.

Thanks for sharing!!