Tagged!

This wasn't as easy or as fun as I thought it was going to be. It was too hard to whittle my choice down to ONE book. And pasting the pictures of the book covers is annoying. Computer whiz I am not.

One Book...
That Changed Your Life:

The Chronicles of Narnia. I was kinda scared of reading this book, since it had to do with an evil witch, a big friendly lion getting killed and kids my age going to battle and getting hurt. But it was the first book that made me realize that there was more going on than just the surface plot, i.e. the symbolism of Aslan, the old ways, and the Christian allegory that is weaved throughout. I recently realized what a big impact this book had on my life when I saw the movie and all my childhood heroes/heroines came to life. I couldn't stop myself from crying.

That You've Read More Than Once: ??? Many. As an English major in college, you kinda have to reread books and take them apart. There were a lot of books that I read when I was younger and then revisited as an adult. In junior high school/high school I liked re-reading Jane Eyre, because I could identify with the nerdy, quiet, plain-Jane main character and dreamed of a romantic Mr. Rochester who had the perspicacity to recognize Jane's inner beauty. Most recently, I reread The DaVinci Code because I wanted a vacation from my non-fiction book. It's not as exciting the second time around.

You'd Want On a Deserted Island: Just one book? Uh, I guess the Bible, but then I would reference books with me too. I find this impossible to answer.

That Made You Laugh: Lots. Even my last book, an autobiography of Katherine Graham, made me laugh. She tells a story of a how a Nixon government official who hated her after the Watergate story broke threatened to put her boobs through a laundry wringer if she purused the story any further. Somehow this quote was leaked to the public and some sympathetic reader who happened to be a dentist sent her a miniature breast and laundry wringer made of gold (used for fillings). She of course gave her editors and reporters at the Washington Post the green light to continue with the Watergate story and she wore these golden figurines as little charms on a necklace around her neck. TRUE STORY!

Some other books that made me laugh: Bridge Jones' Diary, Empire Falls (more of a chuckle-inducer rather than a gut-shaking laugh), Fever Pitch, Harry Potter books

That Made You Cry: I don't know why but books don't make me cry for some reason. A totally different story with movies -- just ask SK or anyone in my family. This book is the closest I got to crying. Oh and of course the Bible. Sometimes, I cry when I read certain Bible verses.

You Wish You Had Written: Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. I know the subject matter is a little gross, but the man was a genius and beautiful writer and I just wish I had his brain power. There would be societies formed to discuss my work! Also, I could reap the modest benefits of the movies that were produced based on this book. Or I wish I had written Pale Fire, also by Nabokov.

or

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. I wish I could write like him. I wish I got to write about all the cool things he writes about. I wish I had his job.

That You Wish Had Never Been Written: Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. I don't know why but I find this book annoying.

That You're Currently Reading: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susannah Clarke. So far so good. I'm about two-thirds through and while parts of it are creepy, there are a lot of moving parts that I hope come together by the end of the book.

That You've Been Meaning to Read: The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro

That You Haven't Been Able to Get Through No Matter How Many Times You've Started It: Anna Karenina. Something about all those Russian names gets me discombobulated and eventually bored....