Book Memories

I don't usually do memes or questionnaires, but this one is really sweet and book-ish. Besides, I've spent the last week+ wrapped up in a book that I'm probably not going to review, so this is all I've got.

I saw this at Geranium Cat's Bookshelf last week.



The book that’s been on your shelves the longest

I have a copy of There's a Nightmare in My Closet that has definitely been around a long time. It was one of my favorite books when I was little and one of the first I read all by myself, although there is some debate as to whether I was reading or reciting. I left it in my mother's capable hands when I went away to college, and when I asked for it back, it magically had my little sister's name written in the inside. Little sisters are like that, especially when they're a lot younger, so I can't be upset. At least not too much.

A book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)

I took a class on Toni Morrison in college. It was taught by a GENIOUS Toni Morrison scholar who also happened to be a pretty bad-ass nun. This class, and another that I took with Sister Linda-Susan, challenged me so much as a scholar of literature rather than a reader of it. Though I've chosen to go more down the reading path than the picking apart path, I still think of those classes whenever I'm confronted with a Toni Morrison title or any other piece of literature that one may mistake for "just a story" that can be broken down into a million different complex meanings when placed in various literary traditions.

A book you acquired in some interesting way
I recently snagged a copy of With Love... by Rod McKuen from a cart of rejected gift books at work. Not a really interesting way to get it, I know, but it's the Stanyan Street publishers edition which is hard to find and all kinds of awesome.

The book that’s been with you to the most places

I've read The Juniper Game roughly a million times since I was in junior high. For a while I took it with me on planes as I could fall into the story really easily and not worry so much about the actually flying (I hate flying). I don't know that it would be the most satisfying read now, but having it in my carry-on always makes me feel a little better.

Your current read, your last read and the book you’ll read next

I just finished reading The Diamond Age: or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson, which was awesome. It's supposedly the first steam-punk novel written, so I thought I'd give it a try. It is most definitely not a young adult book, hence the lack of review. Now I'm reading The Heretic's Daughter for the Fall Into Reading Challenge, and then I'll be reading The Ask and the Answer. My library still doesn't have a copy, so I caved and bought it. It'll make a nice early Christmas present to the library system when I'm done with it.


So, what books have made a lasting impact on you?