Chris Roberson tagged me for a book meme, so here are my answers.
1. One book that changed your life?
I’ll choose Tara K. Harper’s Wolf’s Bane, because it was the first SF/F novel I ever copyedited.
2. One book you have read more than once?
Um. Hm. Well, I reread every book at least once during every copyedit (the latest was the thriller Skin, by Ted Dekker), but I don’t think I’ve ever reread a book for pleasure.
3. One book you would want on a desert island?
Can it be multivolume? The Oxford English Dictionary. If I read it so often that I memorize the whole thing, at least it will be useful.
4. One book that made you laugh?
The funniest book I’ve ever read hasn’t been published yet, though I’m confident it will be. It’s S. K. S. Perry’s Darkside, a serious fantasy with a smart-ass protagonist who reels off hilarious one-liners the whole novel. I’ve never laughed as much reading any book in my life, and I wish I were an agent or an editor so I could snatch it up.
5. One book that made you cry?
Where the Red Fern Grows. :-( I tear up even thinking about it.
6. One book you wish had been written?
Whatever my first bestseller will be. ;-)
7. One book you wish had never been written?
Professionalism demands I don’t answer this question.
8. One book you are currently reading?
I sent off my latest project yesterday and am actually taking an entire day off! I’m amazingly not reading a book at the moment.
9. One book you have been meaning to read?
Hacking Matter, by Wil McCarthy. I’ve had the download on my desktop for months, and even though I’m intensely interested in the notion of programmable matter, I haven’t gotten around to opening the file. (When I get a brief break from copyediting, I seldom really feel like reading then.)
10. Tag five people:
I am astonished that you have never reread a book for pleasure!
I don’t like to rewatch movies, either, Scraps. The fun for me is in not knowing what’s going to happen next. It seems like a waste of time to watch or read something again when there’s more brand-new stuff than I’ll ever be able to get to!
I’ve read Lord of the Rings more than once. In fact, a bunch of times. But then again, I’m an old guy so I’ve had time without it interfering with other reading.
I have also re-read the Dune Chronicles. Yepper, all six books. To me, it is not only a great and sweeping story, I have found more wisdom with its pages than is embodied in a Zen Master (of course, I’ve only met one Zen Master).
Like:
I give you the desert chameleon, whose ability to blend
itself into the background tells you all you need to know
about the roots of ecology and the foundation of a personal
identity.
-Book of Diatribes
from the Hayt Chronicle
OR
Most civilization is based on cowardice. It’s so easily to civilize by teaching cowardice. You water down the standards which would lead to bravery. You restrain the will. You regulate the appetites. You fence in the horizons. You make a law for every movement. You deny the existence of chaos. You teach even the children to breathe slowly. You tame.
The Stolen Journals
OK. So maybe it’s just me
I’m touched. *sniff*
Then again, lots of people have told me I’m tetched. (It’s like touched, only harder.)
I’ve reread Dune (and read Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe to a child) but those are the only ones. I’m tempted to reread A World Out of Time because it totally floored me as a kid but I suspect it won’t live up to and dimminish the memory of having read it in the first place.