Okay, so I am really slow getting to them, but I have been tagged for two memes. This tag came first, so I am going to do it first. The other will come shortly. :D
1) One book that changed your life.
Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia - New Martyr of the Communist Yoke by Lubov Millar
I'd say this was life-changing because in this biography I saw a passionate love for Christ and other people in the amazing life of a woman of privilege who lost everything she loved and still forgave and loved and gave until her very last breath. There is something real and immediate about her that resonated deeply in me and made me believe that deep personal holiness isn't a thing of the distant past.
2) One book that you have read more than once.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
I don't know why, really, but this novel is one I must have read 20 times over the years. I must like it or something.
3) One book you would want on a desert island.
Remembrance of Things Past or In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
I enjoy both the appropriateness of the title given what I am likely to be obsessed with during my stay, and the fact that it ought to keep me busy for a good long time. Described as the "Longest conventionally-read novel." It contains nearly 1.5 million words and holds the Guinness record for the Longest Novel. I appreciate the practicality of people who choose books designed to aid survival or escape, but I would probably prefer to hunker down and wait for rescue. ;)
4) Two books that made you laugh.
1. Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss
What can I say? I'm an editor.
2. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
I have to concur with Ashleigh on this one. I read it on a train to San Diego for the first time and laughed out loud, repeatedly. It was mildly embarrassing to draw attention of fellow passengers, but it was totally worth it because I couldn't put the book down.
5) One book that made you cry.
A Grief Observed, by C.S. Lewis
So heartbreaking and haunting... it sticks with me.
6) One book you wish you'd written.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
In spite of my answer to #3, I have a practical side. As one of the wealthiest people in the world, J.K. Rowling now has the luxury of writing whatever she wants without having to worry about her bottom line. That, I covet.
7) One book you wish had never been written.
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Perhaps this makes me some kind of monster, but I cannot remember ever having such a violently visceral reaction to a book as I had to this one. What many people seem to think of as a life-changing reflection on life and spirituality struck me as something, well... Let's just say I really didn't like it.
8) Two books you are currently reading.
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Never Let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You by Dr. Mardy Grothe
(It's a word-nerd book about Chiasmus, and quite silly fun... but more of a dribs and drabs read.)
9) One book you've been meaning to read.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Uh, yeah... just never quite got around to that. But I have watched the BBC miniseries at least 5 times a year for the last several years, so I think I really ought to break down and read it.
***
For the 1-2-3 meme, the directions are:
1) Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2) Open the book to page 123.
3) Find the fifth sentence.
4) Post the next three sentences.
5) Tag five people.
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
"That night, when the darkness was weighed down with singing crickets and Rosaleen was snoring right along with them, I had myself a good cry. I couldn't even say why. Just everything, I guess."
Tagged: Mom, Angie and Susan
I'm only tagging three. I've always been one to buck the rules!
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9 comments:
I think I get what I am supposed to do. Doubt I will tage anyone as I have a very limited readersip - I think.
Jane Eyre -12 or 13 chapters were awful the first time I read this - after them I could not put it down.
I have read P&P enough for both of us - for all the family - for all of Whittier...And it is not that I think a woman should refuse a man's proposal of marriage just to have her ego stroked by his propasing a second time.
I love my typos...
I've never read the Secret Life of Bees. But I like that quote. Somehow I don't get 'round to reading fiction unless it's part of my book club.
Mom,
Somehow I am not surprised that you have actually read P&P... several times. :) As for typos... they make my daily life interesting!
L.L.,
The Secret Life of Bees was really a lovely book. I read it on the plane to CA. It has a bizarre feminine-divine emphasis that is perhaps not quite in keeping with my view of the world and the divine, but the story itself was moving and written in a very authentic voice. It deals tenderly with motherhood and the nurturing relationships that can develop between women. The way the "bee" theme is interwoven was quite clever, I think.
I read so much non-fiction for work that I love to read novels... sometimes I find them as inspiring and moving as I do books that have more 'serious" aims. I'm always thrilled to find that they move me to think... especially about my own life, faith and struggles in a new way.
Last book read? The Last Mazurka by Andrew Tarnowski. Andrew's family was expatriate Polish aristocracy who fled Poland just ahead of the Nazis and Russians. He describes how this shaped the rest of their lives, for good or ill. (Andrew was raised in England and is a Reuters correspondent. Very good writing.)
Now for the buttinski: all my children are safe at home. Thomas didn't tell me he took a 7am redeye from Austin back to John Wayne, so I called twice to say 'Hello from Cape Henlopen, Delaware. Call me at this (cell) phone' he was ASLEEP in his own bed at his home. Of course I let him have it.....
Which explains why the girls left Austin Monday evening, to avoid the 5am zoo. They were within range of arriving home Wednesday evening. But they are fans of Rita Mae Brown's Mrs.Murphy mystery series, so they decided to turn off I-81 at I-64 and go to see Crozet.
(To the uninitiated, Mrs. Murphy is a gray tiger cat, and Crozet, Virginia, is the setting for most of those novels.) They spent Thursday there, into the afternoon. Fortunately The did not go down another 15 miles into Charlottesville, where some psycho idiot was taking pot shots at the cars on I-64.
So when they bang on the dining room window at 9:20 pm and startle me at my sewing machine, they get it too for not calling ahead. The next day I phoned my mother to tell her all her traveling grandchildren are safe, she tells me that she put them on the prayer list for her Tuesday morning Bible study. So I told her, 'your prayers are effective--only 2 cars and a semi were hit by the sniper, and people only got flesh wounds, not killed'. She's gong to take THAT back to the group!
(And she was probably snickering in her thoughts that her grandkids were chips off the old block.)
You are more on top of things than I am! I am in the process of writing my book post.
I can't believe that you haven't read Pride and Prejudice. You could make it your next read :).
I've been tagged! I'll try to remember to do this when I get home.
Duh, what's tagged?
Correction: Duh, what's "tagged" mean?
I hear from Tom that Dan will be at St.John's for Pascha, due to their acute lack of chanters. Will you be there too, Nikki?
PS. Still looking for music to 'Memory Eternal' in Greek. Found music for 'Christos anesti' on the OCA website and our reader John was pleased with that.
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