The only thing to do is huddle up in the air conditioning with books. Or at least with a book meme. I was tagged by Annie of Austin to do this meme. I’ve never been one to pass along a chain letter, but this caught my attention because if there’s anything I love as much as gardening, it’s reading. Here are my responses.
1] One book that changed your life?
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. My senior class in high school was assigned this hoary classic, and I realized I was different from my peers when they came back to school complaining about having to read it and how boring it was. I’d been caught up in the story of love, revolution, and redemption from the start, could hardly put it down, and cried over the sacrifice of Sydney Carton at the end. If this kind of reading was work, give me more. That could explain how I ended up with an M.A. in literature and worked for some years as an editor.
2] One book that you have read more than once?
It’s hard to choose just one. My shelves hold several favorites I like to re-read every few years. I guess my top pick is Rabbit, Run. Updike’s flawed Rabbit Angstrom is utterly, believably human. It’s a great writer’s best book. My runners-up include Watership Down, All the King’s Men, LOTR (see below), and Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer’s nonfiction page-turner about the 1996 Mt. Everest disaster (usually in the summer, as a sure-fire way to mentally beat the heat).
3] One book you would want on a desert island?
It’s so geeky I almost hate to admit it, but it’s Lord of the Rings. I read this trilogy about every other year, and it still awes me: the huge back story, the inspirational storyline, and, for the plant lover in me, Tolkien’s evocative descriptions of the landscape. What other book stars a humble gardener as one of the heroes?
4] One book that made you laugh?
Moo by Jane Smiley. This hilarious novel satirizes a state agricultural university, from the dean to the professors and on down to the lowliest freshman. I laughed out loud while reading it.
5] One book that made you cry?
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. Like M. Sinclair Stevens, I find it’s easy to think of several children’s books that bring me to tears, but I love the simplicity of this story of love and sacrifice—with the twist that an apple tree is one of the main characters.
6] One book you wish had been written?
The finale to the Harry Potter series. Still waiting . . .
7] One book you wish had never been written?
The sequel to Gone With the Wind. OK, I’ve never actually read the sequel, but the concept offends me. The original stands alone and needs no cheesy follow-up.
8] One book you are currently reading?
I’m in-between books at the moment, but I just finished the harrowing but well-written Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison and the surreal, philosophical novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel.
9] One book you have been meaning to read?
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy.
10] Tag 5 people to do the meme.
Annie in Austin already tagged several of my regular commenters. I’ll tag Bill at Prairie Point, Heather at Green Space, and Susan at Takoma Gardener, if you’re interested. June in Tulsa—I know you’re a blog-less gardener (what’s up with that?!), so I invite you to comment briefly on your faves in my comment field. Anyone else interested in passing this chain along?