At the moment I am reading The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton, which is over a whopping 800 pages and written in tiny front, so I don't have anything new to post. (Yes, I suppose there is a lot I could post about, but right now, I do not have the mental dexterity to think about anything original and interesting.) So I figured I would do a tag from Booktube. This one was originally done by Lindsay Hearts Books.
QUESTIONS:
1. You have to get rid of all your books and you can only keep one from each of these genres - contemporary, fantasy, non-fiction and one other genre of your choosing. What books do you keep?
What horrible person would make me do this? That is what I want to know. So, this question is only possible because it is completely hypothetical. If it were real, I would be crying buckets, working on persuasive and manipulative arguments, and if that didn't work, I'd be such a wreck I wouldn't be able to do anything - or else I would be stealing my own books off my shelves and running. Or plotting murder. Yeah.Contemporary: This one is probably closer to historical than contemporary, but it was close to contemporary when I read it. The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay. This book really affected me as a teenager. It changed the way that I looked at my country and showed me a hidden beauty amongst the violence and hatred. There are no adequate words in English that cover just how much I loved it.
Fantasy: This is so hard because all my favourite fantasy stories are series, so keeping one book would be horrid. You know what? I am going to go with a Terry Pratchett. I love the city watch books, a combination of my loved crime novels and fantasy. I choose Thud!
Non-fiction: OK, I am going to do something different here and go for a book I am looking forward to reading, but haven't picked up yet: Sugar Man: The Life, Death and Resurrection of Sixto Rodriguez by Craig Bartholomew Strydom and Stephen "Sugar" Segerman. This book follows some South Africans who decided to find out what happened to the music legend Rodriguez. He was (and still is, at least among the generation old enough to scorn and scoff at the likes of the Beliebers) hugely popular, to the point of cult status, but no one knew anything about him. Rumour had it that he had committed suicide on stage, even. Anyway, I am really looking forward to reading this. I saw the documentary on TV many years ago, so I know the story should be interesting. Plus, this music is a one-way memory trip back to the best parts of my time at Rhodes University. Ahhh, those were great times!One other book: This is really hard, even if it is hypothetical. I am going to cheat and choose two books: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The reason behind this is not so much the books - let's be honest, I can get another copy of these at any second hand bookshop. But I bought Half-Blood Prince in South Korea which was quite the adventure in itself, as I had to not only find a bookshop that would sell an English copy of the book, but one that would sell it on the day that the book was released. It is a fun reminder of my first trip there (which lasted two years), and my desperation and success in reading enough Korean to figure out how to get to Kyobo Bookstore in Gwanghwamun (and the jealous looks on the subway back home, as folks could clearly see what I was reading while they had to wait a few more months for the translation). Then, I got Deathly Hallows in London in Charring Cross Road at the midnight release. That was a crazily amazing holiday, and I like that I have a book (well, there are others - I did GO INTO A BOOKSHOP, after all) to not only remember the holiday but the weird fun that was involved in being a part of the midnight release. Even though I don't really see myself rereading Harry any time soon, I am so pleased that I was involved with that fandom. I am still friends with so many people who I met as a result of Harry.
2. You're at the bookstore and you hear a teenager telling their mom they don't like to read, but their mom insists they pick something. You walk over and recommend a book you think is great for people who aren't big on reading - what book is it?
I encounter this almost every day - not in a book shop, but at work. I ask the kid what movies they enjoy and try and work from there. I have had a lot of luck with boys around the age of 14 with the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz. (Oddly enough, and keeping in with the accidental travel part of this post, I got my first Alex Rider for free at the Deathly Hallows midnight release.) Girls, I find. are harder to advise as their tastes seem to be different from mine. The most luck I have had is with The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I have tried Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series but with less luck. At the end of the day, I give them a book from the school library and tell them to try a few pages. If they don't like it bring it back and we will try something else.3. You're not feeling yourself and need a pick me up. Which book do you read to put yourself in a great mood?
4. You go back in time for a day to your teenage years. What book would you most likely have caught yourself reading?
The Hardy Boys or Robert Ludlum, Helen McInnes or occasionally my mom's Georgette Heyer collection. There was no such thing as YA in my day. I really did enjoy the Hardy Boys (casefiles) though. There was loads to learn, from spelunking to racing and they were much darker than the regular Hardy Boy books. Recently, I was horrified when I picked up a new Hardy Boy book, a donation from a parent at school, and saw how much they have changed. I enjoyed the old spy thrillers too, although I think I was a bit too innocent to pick up some of the things that happened. The best were the CIA vs KGB books. The KGB made super scary and almost omniscient bad guys. Other than that, although I was always reading, I can't say that I remember a lot of who or what I was reading. (We are going back 25 years here - be kind.) I read my way through every book that caught my interest in the local library, but, it was a difficult time, because I was not as attracted to the adult books (they were old-looking books with unattractive covers and meant nothing to me), and I had read all the kiddies books. Anyway, it doesn't make much difference whether I can remember or not; I doubt one could get their hands on those books any more.5. Your friend surprises you with a 4 day trip and you have 1 hour to pack. Which book do you bring to read on the way?
One! That is asking a lot. Last year when I went away for 3 days, I took 5 books with me, and still bought one on the road. I suppose I would grab the thickest book on my TBR which is currently Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. My version comes in at 1168 pages and the font is small (my eyes are going to love that). I think that should keep me busy for four days. I might sneak in a few more of my TBR pile too, though, I mean, who needs a change of clothes? And hey! No friend of mine would drag me out somewhere where there is no bookshop. But then, to be honest, if a friend of mine was taking me away on holiday, I would probably leave all my books at home, and enjoy their company, as that would be what they were after.
6. Your house has been robbed! Don't worry - everyone is safe, but your bookshelf has been raided. What's the book you really hope is safe?
No. Just no. I do not want this thought out in the ether. I do have a few books that are over 100 years old, which includes The Complete Works of Tennyson. But as I didn't get it in good condition, I don't think it is worth a lot. Then there are the other few books I have that are so old they don't have a publication date in them (some of the works of J.M. Barry), and I have been told (by an unreliable source) that those are more valuable. But as a whole, I really don't know. How does one choose their favourite pet, or favourite child? The books on my shelves are there because I like them and want them. Wait. I have a present from my dad, which I would hope I will have for a very long time. It was a book I needed when doing my third year of Philosophy. He went to so much trouble, networking with all his friends all over the country (who, like him, were not readers) to find it. This book is The Oxford Companion to Philosophy by Ted Honderich. My dad was a fantastic dad. While this book might be a great recommendation for those who suffer from insomnia, I will keep it because my dad got it for me.7. Your friend borrows a book and returns it in awful condition. Do you a) Just pretend you haven't noticed b) Ask them to repurchase it or c) Secretly do the same to something of theirs.
When I was much younger and still felt I could not say no, I used to let my friends know that I did not appreciate the damage they had done. I have learnt from those days. I value my friendships too much to lend them books - because it will not end well. I will find second hand books for them, I will find e-books... But I will not lend out my books. What is super helpful is that my friends know this and 1) don't ask, 2) inform people for me before they ask. I did have a splutter moment when my boss suggested I let the kids at school have access to my personal library. It took god-like self control to not suggest she let the kids learn to drive in her convertible.
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