12 September 2006

Book meme by old school me

I was tagged by Wil a couple of weeks back. Since I'm on the subject of books right now, here goes...


One book that changed your life: The Bible. It was one of the books most readily available when I was in grade school, plus the school give us a copy of the King James version (the small one) at least every year. It made me realize at an early age just how diverse people are (there's a page where the John 3:16 was translated in different languages. I would stare at it for quite some time and wonder how they can read the strange characters). The old testament was chock full of wonderful stories (Daniel, Job, Moses, Noah), and it was supplemented by Superbook and Flying House on TV! I'm not a regular church-goer, but I always strive to be fair in my dealings and not hurtful to my fellow humans and non-human alike.

One book you have read more than once: That would be C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I think I have already read it about 5 times. That's even before the movie came out. I first read this in grade school too. I reviewed the book before the movie and was pleased that the movie included memorable phrases from the book.

One book you would want on a desert (deserted?) island: Hmmm... The Swiss Family Robinson!

One book that made you laugh: Kwentong Tambay by Nicanor David

One book that made you cry: A little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The Black Beauty comes a close second.

One book you wish had been written: A book with all possible origami figures in it at an affordable price!

One book you wish had never been written: Hmmm... when I sense that I won't like a book, I stop reading at chapter 1 so I don't think I can qualify a book here...

One book you are currently reading: Jack London's "Call of the Wild"

One book you have been meaning to read: Can't recall any for now.

Some links to the classics above contain the actual book, so you may want to read up and not spend a single cent at the bookstore.

I'm currently on "old school" mode, meaning I'm buying copies of the books I grew up with and re-reading them. So far I've read Heidi, A Little Princess, The Secret Garden, and all the Narnia Books. I still have quite a lot of classics to go through. I'm currently reading Call of the Wild. It's about a dog's life who's part wolf and his struggles with man and nature. There were numerous movie adaptations of this book but I haven't watched any. The author vividly describes the scenes, it's wonderful to imagine you're actually there when the wolves stalked the humans at the start, and the bustle of activity in the Indian campsites, and the hunt for meat in the wilderness.

Reading these books brings back fond childhood memories and the smell of libraries! If you're also fond of the classics, do recommend a book that I will read next!

And finally, here's a photo of my wife with guess who! This was taken during the first day of the Book Fair. He was promoting a book on Dianetics, a self-improvement guide. My wife bought a copy, and it's duly autographed. She was so delighted that she sang "Got to believe in magic! Tell me how two people find each other ... "


Whoops I almost forgot an important aspect of the tag... that is, to tag somebody else! Hmmm... I'd be interested to know what sort of books Philippines Phil and Mr. Abbey of Recycled Thoughts are into.

13 comments:

  1. thanks for doing the meme, nick. i think i read Call of the Wild about 15 years ago. also, dianetics? isn't that scientology? interesting....

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  2. The BIble is the Word of God, and we can only know Him more by reading His Word. Glad to hear that you are giving time in reading the Bible, keep it up!

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  3. Wil: I don't know anything about scientology, much less dianetics. Hmm... you're welcome, Wil!

    Cruise, sometimes it's really difficult to read and understand and apply what we have learned. But I try :-)

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  4. Anonymous10:50 am

    Wil I enjoyed this. Would you mind if I borrow it for my blog?

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  5. Anonymous2:35 pm

    Yan pala ang the famous David Pomeranz. I've never seen him before. Also love that song. :)

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  6. nick, i hope you don't mind me borrowing your comment page(?), but rose was asking me a question regarding borrowing the meme. :) anyway, rose, the book meme was not my creation. i have no idea who wrote the meme but i'm sure you can use it on your blog. that's what memes are for .... just for fun and to get to know other bloggers. cheers. wil

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  7. I havent finished reading Narnia Book, somebody borrowed and never return my book 4.

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  8. Anonymous9:33 pm

    Uy, swerte naman ni wife mo at nakita sa DP at may pic pa sila together. Fan niya ako (lol).

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  9. Anonymous4:56 am

    Interesting choice of books though I must admit that I think I know only a couple or 4 of those.

    By the way! I think you have a very entertaining account of your climb in Maculot. Those comics panel are just creative

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  10. Hi Rose! Sure!

    Niceheart! Senti ka rin? :-)

    No problem, Wil!

    Mommy Lei, that's also one of our book problems. Some people borrowed our Harry Potter books, and now we don't know who borrowed which, and they're gone!

    Lani, starstruck talaga ang wife ko.

    Thanks Fredz! And thanks for dropping by!

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  11. Hi Wat...my pc went Tango Uniform again until a couple hours ago.

    Back in the mid 70s, I was a good Catholic kid on my own for the first time living in the Bay Area across from SF. One of my squadron mates was a hardcore Scientologist and was trying to recruit me. I asked him, "...you sure its not a religion? I'm a practicing Catholic." He hemmed and hawed and told me, "Well...it shouldn't be a problem." After I did my research, I decided it wasn't for me. I cast no negativity at it, and it's founder, L Ron Hubbard wrote some fair science fiction.

    MOst of my reading is non-fiction. I love histories and biographries. I've read maybe two or three books twice in my life; there are just too darn many books that I HAVEN'T read yet to waste time reading the same one's more than once. And new ones keep coming out everyday. I'll NEVER catch up!

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  12. Anonymous10:59 pm

    SHOGUN,one of my favorites.

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  13. Sorry Wats0n but it took me some time to play catch up on blog reading after a week away. Here is my answers that I copied from the comment section of another blog where I answered this a few months ago. Hope you like it.

    1. One book that changed your life: The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko

    2. One book that you've read more than once: Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

    3. One book you'd want on a desert island: An Island To Oneself by Tom Neale

    4. One book that made you laugh: A Walk In the Woods by Bill Bryson (hysterically laughing at times)

    5. One book that made you cry: Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls (why did Little Ann have to die?)

    6. One book that you wish had been written: The Long Walk: One Man's Travels Around the World written by myself

    7. One book that you wish had never been written: I honestly can't think of one. I suppose they all mean something to at least one person.

    8. One book you're currently reading: The Last Run: A True Story of Rescue and Redemption On the Alaska Seas by Todd Lewan

    9. One book you've been meaning to read: Any book that I haven't yet read on this list: http://blogoflists.blogspot.com/2005/04/100-greatest-adventure-books-of-all.html

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