Thursday, April 14, 2005

Book Meme

Hugh at Three Bed Two Bath tossed this Meme my way - so here goes.

You are stuck inside Fahrenheit 451. Which book would you be?

I've already got most of Pride and Prejudice memorized, so I'd probably brush up on that, while dedicating most of my efforts toward memorizing A Mid Wife's Tale by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. Probably lots of people would pick Jane Austen, so having some Ulrich around would be helpful. My memory just isn't strong enough to learn, say, a Shelby Foote Civil War book, or any of the volumes of Notable American Women.

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?

Quite a few Victoria Holt heroes have caught my fancy over the years, yes... * blush *

What is the last book you bought?

Last book I bought or last I book read? (I assume that this means "books read voluntarily" as opposed to "books I enjoyed but wouldn't have picked up were they not dissertation useful.)

I've a pile of books that are "in progress" on my desk. The only one not diss-related is The Memory of All That the memoirs of Betsy Blair, aka the first Mrs. Gene Kelly, who became a Marxist and activist with a large FBI file. Last academic book read was a survey of domestic violence in American History. It has a rather disturbing cover and elicited a lot of curious looks. (Then again, I elicit a lot of curious looks anyway, even without a book in my hands...)

The last book that I purchased was Where the Bodies Are, a book about graveyards. It proved useful for killing a spider.

Five books you would take to a deserted island

Do the Harry Potter books count as one volume if I bring the boxed set?
the Shelby Foote Civil War triology
A Mid Wife's Tale
A Bible, probably the King James for the beauty of the language
a copy of the dissertation, so that I can make corrections, ammendments, alterations in peace

I'd probably also try to sneak a copy of Swiss Family Robinson along. Their shipwrecked time is handled with such grace and improbable good fortune, plus I might get some useful survival tips. Wait, if the diss isn't done it doesn't count as a book, right? So it can just be something I throw in the life raft alongside Sam.

Lesse, I get to throw this meme to three others? (ponders blog cross-over options) Rachel, Drewster and Steven.

words written: lots, but not enough - must have into in by 4
lessons graded: zero

6 comments:

John Burzynski said...

Yes, the Shelby Foote Civil War trilogy is one of the outstanding Civil War historical accounts ever.

Foote seems to be an engaging sort of guy, at least if his interviews in Ken Burns' 'Civil War' and elsewhere are any indication.

Apparently he is a very good novelist, although I have only read his trilogy.

Alas, ever consider that you might want to leave the dissertation behind, for your own peace of mind?

lemming said...

John - Leave the diss behind? That's like asking me to leave Sam behind. It's a part of me, and will probably never entirely leave my thoughts. I handed in my undergrad honors thesis many years ago, and I still think of ways that it could have been improved.

Anonymous said...

I'll get my thinking hat on...

:)

Anonymous said...

Ah, that was me.

Steven

Joe said...

The last book that I purchased was Where the Bodies Are, a book about graveyards. It proved useful for killing a spider.

If this is not one of the greatest bad book reviews I've ever read, it should be.

Drewster said...

Task completed!