tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26129962.post115565977066243519..comments2023-05-17T13:37:24.372+01:00Comments on SalvationsSongs: Book thoughtsMarcus Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06603530412980948533noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26129962.post-1155826566808956022006-08-17T15:56:00.000+01:002006-08-17T15:56:00.000+01:00Hi, Marcus. I know you didn't get the book meme fr...Hi, Marcus. I know you didn't get the book meme from me, as the version of the exercise I did is a teeny bit different from yours. If you're interested, go <A HREF="http://camillofan.livejournal.com/29492.html" REL="nofollow">here</A> for my full answers; otherwise, content yourself with the summary below:<BR/><BR/><B>Changed your life:</B> I, too, wrestled over picking the Bible, but went instead with <I>The Need to Question</I>, my first college philosophy textbook.<BR/><B>Read more than once:</B> <I>The Little World of Don Camillo</I><BR/><B>Desert island:</B> If desert islands really <I>do</I> come already equipped with Bibles, then a complete Sherlock Holmes.<BR/><B>Made you laugh:</B> <I>Small World</I> (David Lodge). I tried to chose a Wodehouse, but I find that they all run together in my head!<BR/><B>Made you cry:</B> <I>Incidents in the Rue Laugier</I> (Brookner)<BR/><B>Wish you'd written:</B> <I>Gaudy Night</I> (Sayers)<BR/><B>Wish hadn't been written:</B> <I>Lolita</I>, but I like your answer (<I>DaVinci</I>) better. What a nuisance that book has been! :-)<BR/><B>Wish <I>someone</I> had written (this question was in the version I did): </B> I immediately thought of two books that I wished existed: a William Weaver translantion of Don Camillo, and a William Powell autobiography. The first, at least, is still theoretically possible!<BR/><B>Currently reading:</B> <I>Death in Ecstasy</I> (an early Roderick Alleyn mystery by Ngaio Marsh)<BR/><B>Meaning to read:</B> <I>The Brothers Karamazov</I>-- as if!<BR/><B>Liked, now dislike:</B> <I>The Beekeepers Apprentice</I> (and, in fact, the whole Sherlock Holmes-Mary Russell series by Laurie King). Also, the conclusions to both C.S. Lewis' Narnia series and his space trilogy.<BR/><B>Disliked, now like:</B> <I>Wuthering Heights</I>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26129962.post-1155726645580293972006-08-16T12:10:00.000+01:002006-08-16T12:10:00.000+01:00OK. Here's my not-as-holy-as-thou list of answers ...OK. Here's my <I>not-as-holy-as-thou</I> list of answers to those questions...<BR/><BR/><I>1. Name one book that changed your life.</I><BR/><BR/>Side-stepping the Bible answer again (actually, I think the 'Word of God' that changed my life is the person, rather than the book), and shying away from other Christian books (I can't actually think of any individual book that had a life-changing effect), I'd have to opt for the same kind of answer as Marcus's second answer to this question. No, not the book with his name on the cover, but the book with my name on the cover. Despite the fact that it is a technical (science / engineering) book and I only wrote 4 of the 28 chapters, I invested about three years of my life, on and off, into planning, editing, re-writing and (for one chapter) translating that book and it was (with hindsight) a huge undertaking. It has also turned me into a "name", albeit in a very small and specialist field of engineering. As a direct consequece of that book, people have asked me to contribute articles to various publications, and I have had researchers from the Discovery Channel and New Scientist calling me for my opinion on things. And I have managed to get a few consultancy jobs too, which is financially very nice. And last year's royalties cheque was larger than I was expecting...<BR/><BR/><BR/><I>2. Name one book you have read more than once.</I><BR/><BR/>I could name several. I could actually <I>recite</I> several (I have that kind of brain). The first books I read multiple times were the Chronicles of Narnia - with the Last Battle probably having been read in excess of 10 times before the end of primary school. After that I discovered Douglas Adams and have read all of his books multiple times; yes, even Last Chance to See. As an adult I seem to have less time for reading and a much longer list of books I want to read, so repeat reads are less common these days, although books on tape help in this regard. <BR/><BR/>However, I have managed to find time to read <I>Tigana</I> by Guy Gavriel Kay three or four times in the past decade. It is not a life-changing book. But it is a fantastic read and one of the few books I have read where you actually feel <I>involved</I> in the story - you feel like you're actually there observing the events. It is also one of the kind of books that I like the best - early on in the narritive, the (seemingly impossible) goal is clearly<BR/>established and the book unfolds the story of how the impossible is achieved. Nothing is predictable and everything is exciting. And there is a jaw-droppingly awesome twist in the tale at the end. <BR/><BR/>I recently read that Robert 'Back to the Future' Zemeckis has bought the rights to make the movie of one of GGK's other books (The Lions of Al-Rassan, which is also fab), so I have high hopes that the movie of Tigana will be made some day. It would be wonderful.<BR/><BR/>(p.s. if you take my recommendation and read this book, be warned that it is a 'grown up' fantasy novel - i.e. it features sex and swearing, which some may find offensive)<BR/><BR/><BR/><I>3. Name one book you'd want on a desert island.</I><BR/><BR/>Something big. The complete Encyclopedia Britannica perhaps?<BR/><BR/><BR/><I>4. Name one book that made you laugh.</I><BR/><BR/>Having just finished <I>The Eyre Affair</I> by Jasper Fforde and gone headlong into the sequel, I'd have to echo Marcus's comment here - these books are hilarious. The chapter when they go to the sing-a-long-a Richard III had me gutting myself. Terry Pratchett books also bring a smile to my face, but there are less laugh-out-loud funny bits in there.<BR/><BR/><BR/><I>5. Name one book that made you cry.</I><BR/><BR/>I seem to cry more at films than at books. But any time a character faces the death of a parent does it for me. My dad had a major heart attack when I was 6, and the doctors didn't think he would last very long. So from the age of 6 on my biggest fear was the death of my dad. He actually lived another 27 years after that, but stories of the death of a parent have always hit home to me.<BR/><BR/>The twist at the end of <I>Song for Arbonne</I> by Guy Gavriel Kay made me cry too.<BR/><BR/><BR/><I>6. Name one book you wish you had written.</I><BR/><BR/>Oooh, there's lots. I wish I had the ability to write books as good as those by GGK (yes, him again).<BR/><BR/><BR/><I>7. Name one book you wish had never been written.</I><BR/><BR/>There's a few books I wish I'd never read, but none I can think of that I wish had never been written. <I>The Coming of the King</I> by Nikolai Tolstoy was a huge effort to read, a<BR/>waste of time and I never even finished it. And everything David Eddings wrote after the first Sparhawk trilogy has been a waste of time too. The man seems to only have two stories; the first is told in the Belgariad, is repeated in the Malloreon, is repeated again in the Tamuli, is repeated again... etc., etc. The second is in the Elenium - the original Sparhawk trilogy, but he only seems to have used that story once.<BR/><BR/><BR/><I>8. Name one book you are currently reading.</I><BR/><BR/><I>Quicksilver</I> by Neal Stephenson. I started it at Christmas and have read it in bursts ever since. Its interesting, but has never grabbed me to the point where I have to invest time into getting it finished. But all the reviews were very positive, so I'm still expecting great things...<BR/><BR/><BR/><I>9. Name one book you have been meaning to read.</I><BR/><BR/>I have a 'popular science' book called "Ubiquity" which has been sitting, unread, on my book shelf for about 5 years now... I will read it someday.<BR/> <BR/><BR/><I>10. Name one book which you thought you loved - but which you hated when you re-read it.</I><BR/><BR/>Terry Pratchett's first Discworld book <I>The Colour of Magic</I>. It was great on first reading, but those that followed have been so much better that the original is now dull and silly (not silly in a good way). Sure, there are good bits in it, but the middle two sections of the book (it is spit into 4 chunks) are utterly forgettable and not really worth the effort.Ricky Carvelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17975085318645232701noreply@blogger.com