Thursday, October 11, 2007

Another Book "Muh-leem"

I don't like the term "meme." Besides being overused, it also seems a bit too high-falutin' for what are equivalent to pre-internet "get to know ya" party games.

So from now on I'm going to call them "muh-leems" (a cross between "memes" and "puh-leez!"). That's not to say they aren't fun to do, just that I hate the term itself. This particular one comes from The Mind Wobbles.

Hardcover or paperback, and why? Hardcover, because I like to think I'm rewarding the author (and publisher) for putting out the books that I like. Plus they look nice on a shelf and they last longer. But when I actually carry around a book, I'm thankful for softcovers.

If I were to own a book shop I would call it: Mountain o' Books!!! (With the exclamation points)

My favorite quote from a book (mention the title) is: I'm paraphrasing because I don't have it in front of me, but I've always liked this one from Robert Coover's "Night at the Movies": "In such a maze of probable improbability, there is alway's the hero's faith, as real as it is burlesque: there must always be a secret door."

If I was going to a deserted island and could only bring one book, except from the SAS survival guide, it would be: Thomas Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow," plus companion, plus illustrations.

I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that: Props the book up and holds it open while I'm eating breakfast. But I wouldn't need that on the desert island, I guess.

The smell of an old book reminds me of - The Mennonite Relief Sale in New Hamburg, where the used books were stored in crumbly cardboard boxes in people's barns. They didn't smell like hay or manure, but they DID smell like dust and old furniture and bookworms.

If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title), it would be: Any protagonist in a Tama Janowitz novel. Scratch that, I already feel like I AM a protagonist in a Tama Janowitz novel.

The most over-rated book of all times is: The Bible. They should just re-publish the relevant parts.

I hate it when a book: falls apart while I'm reading it.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can I play too?

Hardcover or paperback, and why?
2nd hand paperback. Because I AM that cheap. :-)

If I were to own a book shop I would call it:
Paradise on earth. :-)

My favorite quote from a book (mention the title) is: No qualitive way to judge these things for me, but I will settle for the most arresting (and quite famous) punchline in SF: "I have no mouth. And. Must. Scream."

If I was going to a deserted island and could only bring one book, except from the SAS survival guide, it would be: Robinson Crusoe. Practical AND entertaining!. Beat THAT!

I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that: Does all the nasty real-world chores that gets in the way of reading. Or alternatively, and probably better speeds up the reading process so that it takes no longer than eating breakfast.

The smell of an old book reminds me of - ill-spent youth in dusty libraries. :-)

If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title), it would be: Sherlock Holmes. But he is too much of a primma donna. Dr. Watson is what every right thinking citizen should aspire to.

The most over-rated book of all times is: Your choice: The Bible. You do realize that old testament has some of the most stunning passages in English don't you? And that the letters of St Paul are some of the most stunning and alive and red-blooded and earnest prose you can get your hands on for free?
My choice: Umm, I don't know, Shakespeare? Or is it Dickens?


I hate it when a book: wastes my time. :-)

Adam Thornton said...

Where is the "I must scream" quote from?

I agree that Sherlock was a prima donna. He alternated between being smug, dismissive, and depressed.

I certainly do realize the beauty of the Bible, but so much of it is bizarre filler that few read (and even fewer get anything out of...if anything at all). I'd love to read an annotated version...annotated not from a religious viewpoint, but from an historical and literature viewpoint.

Until then I'm afraid I'm just going to pick up trivia, but never actually read the darn thing.

Anonymous said...

>Where is the "I must scream" quote from?

That's Harlin Ellison's most famous short story. He sort of spoils the story by using that as the title of the story as well.

Do put
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_epistles

into your to-read list.

Anyone who doesn't come out moved by them doesn't know how to read. :-0

Adam Thornton said...

Pauline it is...I'll give it a try. It's not like it's difficult to find a bible to read, is it!