![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Stolen from Ragnell:
1. One book that changed your life
The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf
But not in the way you might expect. It's a good book, but nothing earth-shattering if you've had any exposure to feminism before. What I remember most was what happened one day when I was reading it, which provided one of the small epiphanies that awakened me to feminism.
As for books whose actual content affected me, Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua's This Bridge Called My Back comes close, but I've never finished the entire book (it's a collection of essays). In general, individual books haven't really affected me; usually it's more a combination of work, either from a single author, or what's taught to me in a course.
2. One book you have read more than once
Sophie's World, Jostein Gaarder
There are two reasons to re-read this book: the first is the mystery novel aspect that makes you want to go back after you find out the big secret and retrace all the clues the author dropped. The other is the fact that this book is a wonderful primer on the history of Western philosophy. (It's actually on the reading list for the introductory philosophy course at my school.)
3. One book you would want on a desert island
The Essential Rumi, Coleman Barks (translator)
I discovered Rumi's poetry in high school, and I still love it now (read: it wasn't just an angsty teenage fad). Sufist poetry is a wonderful comfort, and if I was stuck alone on an island I'd want comfort. XD;; Also, Rumi finds truth and beauty in simplicity, and a deserted island would be the perfect setting for that.
4. One book that made you laugh
The Gift, Hafiz and Daniel Ladinsky (translator)
Continuing on the Sufist poetry theme ... Hafiz poems are great, just full of joy. But also really damn silly. Like this one:
Two Giant Fat People
God
And I have become
Like two giant fat people.
Living in a
Tiny boat.
We
Keep
Bumping into each other and
L
A
U
G
H
I
N
G.
Otherwise, I don't really have any funny books. Books with funny moments, maybe, but I don't really read comedic books. I should probably pick up some Terry Pratchett to remedy that.
5. One book that made you cry
Where the Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
I haven't read it since fourth grade or so, but I still remember how much it killed me. ;_;
6. One book you wish had been written
In 2004: How We Got Bush Out of the White House and the White House Out of Our Bush by ... well, women everywhere.
(I kind of wish I could steal the answer from Mixed Media Watch: No, It's Not Sideways: Debunking Sexual Myths About Asian and Asian-American Women by Carmen Van Kerckhove. XD)
7. One book you wish had never been written
Jeez ... how about all of that pseudo-feminist bullshit by Christina Hoff Summers and her ilk? Everything by Ann Coulter? Michelle Malkin? How about the entire "genre" of frat lit?
I'm firmly against censorship, so I wouldn't prevent any of these books from being published or distributed. However, I would have no problem with any of these authors taking some minor head trauma that would cause them to lose their desire to write in the first place.
8. One book you are currently reading
Identity Crisis, Brad Meltzer and Rags Morales
Starting with Vertigo titles, and now mainstream DC books like this,![[insanejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/ij-userinfo.gif)
ratzeo is overcoming my childhood animosity and bringing me over to the DC side of the Force. (Okay, the animosity was gone with puberty. But I didn't have the motivation to explore the DC universe on my own, and now I'm getting sucked in.)
Daggerspell, Katharine Kerr
Ah, high fantasy. It's been a while.
9. One book you have been meaning to read
Just one? ToT
Well, after I finish Identity Crisis it's on to The OMAC Project, plus I need to read the next volume of Y: The Last Man. As for real books, I'll probably want to read the sequel to Daggerspell when I'm finish that novel, but I also have a ton of other books to read before I get more at the library book sale ...
10. Now tag five people!
Anyone who wants to do it - there are way to many book geeks on my Friends list to pick just five.
1. One book that changed your life
The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf
But not in the way you might expect. It's a good book, but nothing earth-shattering if you've had any exposure to feminism before. What I remember most was what happened one day when I was reading it, which provided one of the small epiphanies that awakened me to feminism.
As for books whose actual content affected me, Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua's This Bridge Called My Back comes close, but I've never finished the entire book (it's a collection of essays). In general, individual books haven't really affected me; usually it's more a combination of work, either from a single author, or what's taught to me in a course.
2. One book you have read more than once
Sophie's World, Jostein Gaarder
There are two reasons to re-read this book: the first is the mystery novel aspect that makes you want to go back after you find out the big secret and retrace all the clues the author dropped. The other is the fact that this book is a wonderful primer on the history of Western philosophy. (It's actually on the reading list for the introductory philosophy course at my school.)
3. One book you would want on a desert island
The Essential Rumi, Coleman Barks (translator)
I discovered Rumi's poetry in high school, and I still love it now (read: it wasn't just an angsty teenage fad). Sufist poetry is a wonderful comfort, and if I was stuck alone on an island I'd want comfort. XD;; Also, Rumi finds truth and beauty in simplicity, and a deserted island would be the perfect setting for that.
4. One book that made you laugh
The Gift, Hafiz and Daniel Ladinsky (translator)
Continuing on the Sufist poetry theme ... Hafiz poems are great, just full of joy. But also really damn silly. Like this one:
Two Giant Fat People
God
And I have become
Like two giant fat people.
Living in a
Tiny boat.
We
Keep
Bumping into each other and
L
A
U
G
H
I
N
G.
Otherwise, I don't really have any funny books. Books with funny moments, maybe, but I don't really read comedic books. I should probably pick up some Terry Pratchett to remedy that.
5. One book that made you cry
Where the Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
I haven't read it since fourth grade or so, but I still remember how much it killed me. ;_;
6. One book you wish had been written
In 2004: How We Got Bush Out of the White House and the White House Out of Our Bush by ... well, women everywhere.
(I kind of wish I could steal the answer from Mixed Media Watch: No, It's Not Sideways: Debunking Sexual Myths About Asian and Asian-American Women by Carmen Van Kerckhove. XD)
7. One book you wish had never been written
Jeez ... how about all of that pseudo-feminist bullshit by Christina Hoff Summers and her ilk? Everything by Ann Coulter? Michelle Malkin? How about the entire "genre" of frat lit?
I'm firmly against censorship, so I wouldn't prevent any of these books from being published or distributed. However, I would have no problem with any of these authors taking some minor head trauma that would cause them to lose their desire to write in the first place.
8. One book you are currently reading
Identity Crisis, Brad Meltzer and Rags Morales
Starting with Vertigo titles, and now mainstream DC books like this,
ratzeo is overcoming my childhood animosity and bringing me over to the DC side of the Force. (Okay, the animosity was gone with puberty. But I didn't have the motivation to explore the DC universe on my own, and now I'm getting sucked in.)Daggerspell, Katharine Kerr
Ah, high fantasy. It's been a while.
9. One book you have been meaning to read
Just one? ToT
Well, after I finish Identity Crisis it's on to The OMAC Project, plus I need to read the next volume of Y: The Last Man. As for real books, I'll probably want to read the sequel to Daggerspell when I'm finish that novel, but I also have a ton of other books to read before I get more at the library book sale ...
10. Now tag five people!
Anyone who wants to do it - there are way to many book geeks on my Friends list to pick just five.