Ten Books…
Being a teacher, JohnB. of Blog Meridian is probably accustomed to students missing deadlines, assignments being late, etc. I’m sure he also knows how to apply appropriate disciplinary measures to those laggards who fail to understand his grand plan. I now humbly submit my assignment handed out by Mr. JohnB. on Sunday, August 13, over a week ago. Yes I am a laggard, and yes, I will accept my punishment like a man. I will not cry … for long.
The assignment was actually a tag to participate in a meme about boobs books. So here goes…
1. One book that changed my life: There have been several that met that challenge, but the one that rises above the rest is Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. Yes, it was a lightning bolt moment for me, and no, I’m not going to discuss it here… I live it every day.
2. One book I have read more than once: To sit and read straight through, front to back - none intentionally. There have been a couple that I have picked up many years later and not had the deja vu experience until I was deep into an unintentional re-read. There are many that I revisit frequently to review marked passages, refresh my memory on details, etc.
3. One book I would want on a desert island: Perhaps Walden. Or The Compleat Playboy Centerfold Collection. But from the back of the brain, my practical self strides to the fore and firmly announces that it will be one of several survival guides. I need to give Gilligan and the Captain all the help I can.
4. One book that made me laugh: All of the books by Lewis Grizzard (R.I.P.), anything by Garrison Keillor, such as The Book of Guys, or George Carlin, like BrainDroppings.
5. One book that made me cry: My checkbook, every time I look at it. (JohnB. - You knew I could not play this entire thing straight, didn’t you?)
6. One book I wish I had written: Hmmm … Tough one. I could offer up a number of reasonable answers that would demonstrate some level of sophistication and intellect. But in light of the solution it would provide to No. 5 above, I would have to go with a big money maker, like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. That should pay off the credit cards, the mortgage, and the cocker spaniel’s grooming fees.
7. One book I wish had never been written: Another tough one… and one that I have never before visited. I cannot think of anything specific, so will have to go with the book of dirty tricks that Karl Rove read (or perhaps wrote) in plotting his assault on America that culminated in G.W.Bush’s selection to the Presidency by the US Supreme Court.
8. One book I am currently reading: The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman. Just getting started, so do not yet have any opinion to offer.
9. One book I have been meaning to read: There’s a whole stack of them on the headboard of the bed. Or there was. Most of them fell off behind the headboard and are trapped for all eternity, or until someone with 48 inch arms comes along to retrieve them. The one remaining on top is Larry Niven’s The Ringworld Throne. Having devoured Ringworld and The Ringworld Engineers many years ago, I’m finally going to get around to reading this 1996 sequel which I purchased in 1997. Unless it joins its brethren in the netherworld of darkness and dustbunnies.
10. Tag five people: When tagged by a respected fellow blogger, I usually grumble along and participate, and actually have a little fun with these meme things. But I made a rule when my pod landed that I would not tag others. So it is writ, so let it be.
Yes, JohnB., I understand that you may further penalize me for that last answer. So be it. Thanks for the opportunity to demonstrate my superior lack of understanding and incomprehensibility.
14 Comments so far
Winston,
You are like many of my students: adept at foot-dragging; interested in turning what is presented in class to monetary or otherwise self-serving advantage; occasionally sarcastic; leaving out elements asked for in the rush to get the sumbitch written and printed off and spell-checked (though not “meaning-checked”) so as to head off to the next kegger.
So, I know your type well, and I’m a forgiving sort. But when I or my colleagues find this type of student especially frustrating, I tell them and myself, “Students tend to grade themselves.”
I also tell them, “Late is better than never.”
Thanks for playing.
atlas shrugged ..one of my favorite books..i try and reread it every year along with the stand and scarlette ohara…each for it’s own reason…i dont think any book has ever made me cry as much as old yeller…and if you want a good laugh..read anything by h. allen smith..my hero…the book i wish i had wrote? the bible…man would there be some changes made..hahahahhaha..there have been books that i have read that i thought was a waste of trees, but mostly i love any book…
To show how far out of the loop I am:
Ooooh! There’s a third Ringworld book? Cool!
Hmm … I like this Meme and boy oh boy am I learning more and more about you, Winston. (In a good way, of course … wink, wink, nudge, nudge)
So I think I will do it. Not today … but soon. In other words, I’ll pretend you tagged me!
Just the first question is worth a whole essay: Books that changed my life.
Being a voracious reader, there are many that changed my life in different ways.
There’s the one I stayed home and read instead of going out with my friends and getting arrested.
There was “Joy of Sex”.
There was Dr. Spock’s “Child Care” and the one that saved my sanity, “How to raise children at home in your spare time for fun and profit”.
How about Weatherhead’s “The Christian Agnostic” or “Poisonwood Bible” by Kinsolver that freed me from my religious upbringing?
In 1956 I read John Hersey’s essay, “Hiroshima” that changed my world view.
I may stay up all night thinking of others.
The most challenging question JB left out:
“Five books you have written”
Ha, Stu.
I would have to reply to that one, I think, with Why I Have Not Written Any of My Books–a book which speaks volumes (no pun) on the matter.
@John B.
That book title reminds me of Smullyan’s “What is the name of this book?”
Must admit I haven’t read any Benabou though. Must I?
@Winston.
Re your number 8. May I recommend both “Flatland” and “Flatterland”, a transdimensional experience
STU: Have read Flatland more than once over the years. Will check into Flatterland. The World is Flat is a totally different kind of thing. Check it out.
@Winston,
Friedman is too too gung-ho on corporatism and global capitalism for my taste
Stu,
“Must” is a strong word. If you are familiar with and like the work of the Oulipo writers, then you’ll like Benabou. It’s fun. I wouldn’t say it’s a “must,” though.
Ahhh… I love it when the boys squabble in the sandbox… JohnB and Stu, honest and open exchange of ideas and opinions makes this an honorable forum and brings to the fore one of the more important uses of our blogs.
Thanks, guys! Keep it up…
I loved number nine and the need for help from the person with 48 inch arms. I’m faced with a similar problem that I will address when dust bunnies fly.
I’ll have a crack at the questions this morning and like you will not tag.