Meme-Killer!
Since Jay has passed on this (rather belated) meme to me and promised The Death of a Thousand Paper-Cuts from Book Pages, I've decided as a calibrated response to such actions to take on the role of...
... MEME-KILLER!
So, if you want a particular meme killed, just pass it on to me and I'll make sure not to pass it on. *winks*
On to the meme...
1. One book that changed your life?
Been thinking about it and unfortunately, I don't think any particular book changed my life. I suppose I could cite a nice hardbound Lord of the Rings we borrowed at the old Union Church library in Makati (are they still there?). I remember being engrossed with the battle of Middle-Earth one lazy afternoon in our dusty garage. I could also cite The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky that we once took up in high school. It convinced me that a cat could become a Russian mystic. I still have hopes.
2. One book you have read more than once?
Have you seen my backlog of books? Do you seriously think I have time to read a book more than once?
3. One book you would want on a desert island?
I answered a similar meme like this last time with Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast and Evangeline Walton's Mabinogion, both somewhat hefty tomes. This way, if ever I need a weapon, I could lob 'em at cannibal natives or ravaging predators.
4. One book that made you laugh?
Outright? None really unless it's Terry Pratchett. I don't find most comedic fantasy appealing. On the other hand, I found amusing certain parts of Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys, Matt Stover's Shatterpoint and... well, I had to laugh while reading Stover's book because I could imagine Samuel Jackson (as Star War's Mace Windu) putting the big beat-down.
5. One book that made you cry?
None really. Yes, I'm a cold-hearted bastard. (Well, I did get teary-eyed over a book about a dog. But what do you expect? I'm a cat.)
6. One book you wish had been written?
No one book really but I wish I could write stuff like Jeff Ford. Damn, the man is good.
7. One book you wish had never had been written?
Ahhh... I better not get into this again as am sure people have grown tired of my ranting.
8. One book you are currently reading?
Right now, am officially reading Jeff Vandermeer's City of Saints and Madmen (this one's taking so long because dangerous material is better absorbed slowly), Jeff Ford's The Fantasy Writer's Assistant and Other Stories, and Carlos Luis Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind.
On the sly, am reading Chaz Brenchley's The Tower of the King's Daughter and Charles L. Grant's The Hush of Dark Wings.
9. One book you have been meaning to read?
A lot of classic and literary stuff, like Paul Auster, Dante, Bocaccio, Joseph Conrad, Ernest Hemingway, etc. To reiterate the oft-repeated phrase, too many books, too little time, my friends.
10. Now tag five people.
And here's where I stomp this meme... dead!
12 comments:
Bah, bagong trabaho yan ah, Meme Killer. XD
I just finished reading Kafka on the Shore, naalala kita noong may mga scenes na about cats. XD
God, that sounds like a fantastic meme to do (though I'm strangely glad you don't tag people--I invite people to take it though and tell them to leave links on my LJ)...and difficult, too!
I have more to say about this, but for now, I'm a meme-killer too but of a different sort. For some reason, I go insane and no one takes me up on it. It happened with this LJ meme about listing down ten words beginning with a certain letter. I ended up with L...and the writers alone with that name are enough to drive me nuts: Ligotti, Lovecraft, Lebbon, Lamsley, etc.
me want to steal this meme!
Okay, I couldn't resist and now I'm done!
gelay: Heya! Yeah, wala kasing akong maisip kung kanino ko ipapasa to without alienating that person! :-D
Mmmm, I recently finished Murakami's Hardboiled Wonderland and I'm still taking time to absorb it all. But will eventually get around to Kafka. Was it good?
And us cats get a lot of credit for inspiring writers. ;-)
eldritch: Yup, I kow what you mean. Strangely enough, it's sometimes easier to put up memes if am feeling pressured to post something but I don't want to think about it much. However, I normally don't experience this much since time-- and not the lack of ideas-- that impedes my blogging. Ah well.
And yes, I figured that if I can't get people to pass on the meme, I might as well kill 'em outright.
;-)
fuhrer: Be my guest! :-)
I've only read one Murakami novel: Dance Dance Dance. It made sense, despite being a sequel of-sorts to A Wild Sheep Chase, and was rather fun.
As for memes, what I like best about it is the way it can lead to something lengthy...but alas, that does kill the meme.
arg... must... resist... must...not...be...a...nit...picking... twat... prick...
nope. can't do it. dude, it's "Mervyn", not "Melvyn" Peake.
phew. better. breathes.
hmm. as for meme killing, i'm afraid this is not really the way to do it, dude... now i see it's sprung up in a couple other places...
eldritch: The thing I've picked up with Murakami's work is that I feel it's always addressed to an older audience. I can still empathize but still...
skinny: Hmmm... that's strange. I know it's Mervyn. Musta been thinking of the whale-killer. ;-)
As for killing memes, yeah, since like I suck at this job.
you thought you had us didn't you? but the truth is that apart from knowing what you thought we know, we also know what you didn't think we know, and that is the truth that we know you don't think we know but i will tell you now that we know: you're a meme double agent! haha! back, fiend!
wehehe. in another of my weird moods, i expect. and spewing it out all over the net. will know for sure when i've resurfaced.
Step away from the comment function, my friend. :-D
yes, feeling much more normal now. sort of. but how do you define normal?
you gotta admit, it does get a bit lively round here though, dunnit?
Hehe it does at that. ;-)
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