Literary Quiz
"Let me remind the remind the reader that I am only an experimenter. Do not set the least value on what I do, or the least discredit on what I do not, as if I pretended to settle anything as true or false. I unsettle all things. No facts to me are sacred; none are profane; I simply experiment, an endless seeker, with no Past at my back."I found the above quote in a Heath anthology while searching for some ideas for responses to gg's quiz, and I think it's an awesome quote. There are some good questions in the quiz, so I've been wanting to play along. Life has been making blogging somewhat difficult lately. So, I am going to take some time to post some answers.
I was looking through the anthology for ideas because I've just read so many damn books that it's hard to focus on one. I've only read a few novels over the last two years, as I've been more immersed in newspapers and at news sites on the internet (okay, fine, in television too). But I've always been a literary junkie above all else.
As an English major in college, there were times when I was reading three or four novels at a time (with less than two weeks to finish them and to write essays). It was a good education, but I feel like it sometimes sucked the enjoyment out of reading, as we read so much in so little time. But still, there were many books that had major impacts on my way of thinking.
At any rate, here is a stab at some responses:
You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451...
which book do you want to be?
--I would say the Norton anthology, but girlgrey already said that was a copout. I think it would be a good answer, though. Why be one story when you could be a hundred? I'm a little perplexed by the question though. Does that mean what book I'd like to be alive in? 'Cuz that's a really tough question to answer.
When I was a kid I always thought it would be cool to be a mouse in one of the Rats of Nymm books. The ideas of little rodents driving around in cars made from matchboxes and thimbles really intrigued me when I was a kid.
But seriously though, I'd say the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Not because it's trendy, or because of the movies, but because it's just such an amazing story, and a world unto intelf.
~Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?
There was something about Franny from Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger that I felt drawn to. I don't know what did it. She seemed so dark and disturbed. Since many of my girlfriends since seem to fit that description, I guess there must be something to it. Maybe that's also why I've always liked Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath so much...
~The last book you bought is...?
America, by the writers of the Daily Show. I told you I've been immersed in the news (fake news too).
~What are you currently reading?
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. I know all the cool kids say that The Davinci Code (also by Dan Brown) is just pop culture trash, but I actually liked it. It isn't great on an artistic level, but there is a great story with some really good historical information. Many liberties were taken too, of course (including citing forged documents as historical evidence), but there are some solid facts there too. I like reading about secret societies like the Illuminati and the Vatican, and about conspiracies and such.
~Five books you’d take on a deserted island:
--The Castle by Franz Kafka, both in German and in the English translation. I don't speak German at all, but I figure I could learn if I was stranded on an island and had nothing else to do but read. There are some odd parallells between the narratives of my life and The Castle (with respect to career, especially). It's considered to be Kafka's most autobiographical work, and it was never finished (which seems to fit with the narrative as well).
-- I have to cheat and copy gg by saying an unabridged dictionary as well. Might as well try to improve my vocabulary while I'm stranded.
--The SAS Survival Encyclopedia. From a description found on the web:
"The author served 26 years with the Special Air Service (SAS) and was head of Survival training. It is dedicated to preparing you to survive outdoors, on land or sea, in any weather, anywhere in the world. Thousands of illustrations throughout. Full color illustrations depicting edible and poisonous plants, poisonous snakes and reptiles, dangerous insects, and even medical plants. From improvised shelters and weapons to navigation by stars to first aid. The most concise book ever published on survival."
I know the question is looking for a novel or something, but why not bring something useful?
--The Air Conditioned Nightmare by Henry Miller. I borrowed this book from my friend Mary over a year ago but still haven't started reading it.
--I'm going to have to copy gg again and say the Complete Works of Shakespeare, except I would want the version that I have which is published by Bevington. I like the end notes and introductory essays better in that one than in the Signet version.
Okay there are my responses. I'm sure I could come up with some better ones, and that they'll come to me long after I've written this, but this is the best my tired brain could come up with right now. There are a lot of books I'd like to mention, but couldn't find a way to work them into the repsonses (Slaughterhouse 5, 1984, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and The Importance of Being Earnest come to mind). I'm off to bed soon. *yawwwn*
posted by Skrambled Egghead Reborn @ 7:02 PM
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