This little book meme comes courtesy of Dove Grey Reader. The rules are:
Using only books you have read this year, answer these questions. Try not to repeat a book title. It’s a lot harder than you think.
Describe yourself: The Optimist by Andrew Miller
How do you feel: Beloved by Toni Morrison
Describe where you currently live: A House Unlocked by Penelope Lively
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Five Days in London by John Lukacs
Your favourite form of transportation: Carry Me Across the Water by Ethan Canin
Your best friend is: An Innocent Gentleman by Elizabeth Jolley
You and your friends are: The (Guernsey) Literary and (Potato Peel Pie) Society by Maryann Shaffer
What’s the weather like: The Rainy Season by Myfanwy Jones
You fear: The Man Who Would be King by Rudyard Kipling (Tim and I were just talking about Prince ‘Tampon’ Charles today after seeing The Young Victoria at the pictures.)
What is the best advice you have to give: How the Soldier repairs the Gramophone by Sasa Stanisic
Thought for the day: (Don’t waste) The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (Yes, I know this is cheating a little bit)
How I would like to die: In the Kitchen by Monica Ali
My soul’s present condition: (Enjoying) The Evening of the Holiday by Shirley Hazzard (Yes, this is cheating too.)
H’m.
Describe Yourself: A Man in the Dark by Paul Auster
How do you feel: The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil
Describe where you currently live: House of Splendid Isolation by Edna O’Brien
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Summer in Baden-Baden by Leonid Tsypkin
Your favorite form of transportation: The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Tóibín
Your best friend is: The Power of Delight by John Bayley
You and your friends are: Strangers by Anita Brookner
What’s the weather like: Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse (It’s raining.)
Favorite time of day: Night and Day by Virginia Woolf (Apparently I’m indiscriminate)
Your fear: My Unwritten Books by George Steiner
What is the best advice you have to give: The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle
Thought for the Day: Time Bites by Doris Lessing
How I would like to die: Intact by Vo Phien
My soul’s present condition: Halfway up the Mountain by Dorothy Hewett
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By: DKS on September 28, 2009
at 9:13 am
There’s some *very* interesting titles here, Deane – when are you going to start a blog of your own and tell us about your reading? I’ll sign up and subscribe the day you do! Lisa
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By: Lisa Hill on September 28, 2009
at 2:00 pm
That’s kind, thank you. I’ve got a blog but I keep it private because I’m afraid that writing to an audience would make me tongue-tied, pen-tied, keyboard-tied. I’d wake up in the middle of the night, panicking. “Oh no, I left out a comma!” “Oh no, I got that title wrong!” “Oh no, I forgot how to spell ‘the’!”
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By: DKS on September 29, 2009
at 11:56 am
Oh, be brave – who cares about commas?! I’m forever discovering typos and muddled punctuation and incoherent sentences on this blog, and I just fix ’em when I find ’em. A blog is not a book that’s set in concrete, errors (if they matter) can be fixed – and of course you can always keep certain posts private until you’re ready to publish them anyway.
Deane, consider all those people reading your comments on this blog…they’re thinking: who is this wise and clever person who knows so much about White and can write such perceptive comments about his work? Where can I find more?
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By: Lisa Hill on September 29, 2009
at 12:12 pm
Maybe one day I’ll start a public blog: maybe, maybe. I tend to fret, though, and I know it. Writing for myself, or posting on other people’s blogs, is much less agitating.
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By: DKS on September 30, 2009
at 11:23 am
I’ve started one, here: http://pykk.blogspot.com/
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By: DKS on October 10, 2009
at 8:57 am
Wow! I’ve just had a quick look because I’m away from home and my internet connection is costing me a fortune, but I look forward to having a really good look when I get home. Congratulations! Lisa
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By: Lisa Hill on November 15, 2009
at 6:23 am