Books Books Books!

"I cannot live without books."
-- Thomas Jefferson

That quote would make me look cool save for the fact that the only reason I know it by heart is because I've played so much Civ IV on the computer that I have memorized all the quotes elegantly recited by Leonard Nimoy after each scientific discovery.

Anyway, through the unending maze that is blog-to-blog reading, I came up with this from a total stranger's page, and wanted to do it myself immediately, though I know I'll think of a better answer for every one here and then get pissed at myself later on.

1. One book that changed your life.

This is difficult for the simple fact that it depends on what PERIOD in my life, for I've had a book change my life every few years. Also, because as a youth, my reading level was so far advanced, much more than my actual maturity level, I read many books before I could actually "get" them, like The Great Gatsby. Anyway, when I was a teenager and my spirituality was in chaos and confusion, The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham had a huge impact on me. Reading of someone else's spiritual journey and release from so much superficiality (as well as a voracious appetite for books and knowledge) spoke to me. I read it a few years ago in Bangkok and couldn't stand it.

Also when I was young, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas was huge for me. Again, re-read it in Bangkok and though I enjoyed it, I found the utter cutthroat need for revenge over all else to be distasteful. Not that I didn't root for him, but I believed that by the end he had somewhat lost his way. Maybe I'd feel different if I had spent many years in a cold, dank, shithole of a prison.

A bit later, The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera resonated within my very soul, and would result in my use of the handle Sabina for the rest of my life (so far).


Even later, English Passengers by Matthew Kneale, which I still claim to be my favorite, was the book that made me truly realize that more than anything, I wanted to write historical fiction, and eventually would take an expensive but very valuable writing class in NYC, and then follow that up with ...just a bunch of blog writing and a few chapters of a now defunct book. *sigh*

Finally, and really sadly and embarrassingly, the most recent book to influence me was Dr. Phil's Relationship Rescue. I know, I know, I've totally de-legitimized myself now, but when you realize that you've got a cartload of emotional bullshit baggage, it can be rather freeing to have a book shake you up and allow you to release, manage, and if you're lucky, destroy at least some of that crap.

2. One book you have read more than once.

I'm not a huge fan of doing that, and rarely do since there are too many wonderful books I have yet to read, but I guess it would be Danny, Champion of the World by Roald Dahl. It was in our bookcase when I was a child and I used to read it, parts of it, over and over on the long days of the sweltering summer when I preferred to stay in my air-conditioned room reading, drawing, and playing with tiny plastic animal figures, much to my grandparents' chagrin who wanted me running around in that desert heat (yeah, right). The photo to the left is the exact edition we had - with gorgeous, detailed drawings inside by Jill Bennett - much more beautiful than the annoyingly messy illustrations of Quentin Blake that dominate every damn Dahl book now. A few years ago I went on ebay and finally found this same edition and bought it. I completely cherish it.

It may not be as glorious and imaginative as some of his others (Charlie, James, The Witches), but is a simple, yet touchingly told story about the relationship between a boy and his widower dad (with a little classic Roald Dahl naughty humor thrown in). It makes me think of what kind of parent I would like to be - kind, patient, fun, and allowing a kid to be a kid and not treated like some kind of pampered, fussed over, fragile egg that could crack open at any second.

3. One book you would want on a desert island.

The five-novel set by Marcel Proust entitled, Remembrance of Things Past. They'd drive me totally looney toones, but they'd last for years and years. Maybe I'd even read them in French to ensure a complete mind fuck.

4. One book that made you laugh.

The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost is HYSTERICAL! I usually loathe travel books, finding them pretentious and annoying, but this one was simply delicious in both its humor and its brutal honesty. No "oooh exotic" natives here. Also, it paralleled so many of my crazy experiences abroad that the book was like a friend who understood me.

5. One book that made you cry.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Fantastic book, rich and sad and beautiful.

6. One book you wish had been written.

English Passengers above qualifies. And hell, Harry Potter would be nice! And every time I read a really good book, I am green with envy that the author wrote it first.

7. One book you wish had never been written.

To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf because it was fucking torture to get through, and I still feel guilty that I didn't like it, or fear that I didn't get it, and the whole rest of the world did. Rubbish. Rubbish. Rubbish. Anne Rice's Memnoch the Devil and The Map that Changed the World by Simon Winchester are a close second and third.

8. One book you are currently reading.

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson. He came here to UM a little while ago and we organized his talk. Fascinating man, though no way would I want to be married to him - I'd stab him for sure. Very touching, sweet book about the good that can done by one person with just a little bit of money and love.

9. One book you have been meaning to read.

Thousands! But I'd say Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond is right near the top. It was one of those books back in the English bookstore in Bangkok that I was tortured over for months - seeing it on the shelf, wanting it, but daunted by its hefty price (all English books were jacked up to the sky there). I finally bought it, thrilled at the opportunity to finally read it, and then read about one chapter before abandoning it for various, stupid reasons. I've been meaning to get back to it many many times and haven't. Git.

10. Ooh, the bit where I tag people and guilt them into playing along. Okay,
Jera, Lazuli, Jenna, Beau, Steve and Varen, Spongie, Froya, Loafkeeper, Fuschia, yeah!