25 September, 2006

I've been tagged by Gem!

I've been tagged by my blogger pal Gem with this here book meme: also for today (Tuesday) this blog is awarded Bestest Blog of The Day!
1.One book that changed your life - the hardest question first.
Richard Dawkin’s ‘The Selfish Gene’. It is a book that explains genetics in a way that only religious fundamentalists could object to. (And they do). Dawkins is a virulent and uncompromising atheist but I believe there is still a place for religious belief within evolution and genetic study, although it’s not for me. This book changed the way I percieve the world and I have told the author as much.

2. One book that you've read more than once.
‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This was my introduction to the genre of magical realism and I was knocked out! Fortunately it has a family tree printed on the inside cover because the names of the characters are all so confusing one needs to continually refer to it. The opening sentence of the book is this:
“Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.” Note the inbuilt contrast between ‘fire’ and ‘ice’. Garcia Marquez is a master and this book has stayed with me for twenty years.

3. One book that you'd want on a desert island.
If there’s a book called ‘The Boy’s Own Annual of Escaping From A Desert Island by Using Coconuts and Seashells’ then that’s the one. However, if not, I would want ‘Palgraves Golden Treasury’ particularly the copy that was awarded to my mother as a school prize, which I already possess.

4. One book that made you laugh.
‘The Third Policeman’ by Flann O’Brien. If you don’t know this book or only know it through a strange reference to it in one episode of the TV series ‘Lost’ you will be in for a surprise. Whatever you think it may be – it isn’t! For example, how often have you come across the phenomenon of a man who is slowing exchanging molecules with a bicycle so that he and the bicycle are gradually changing into each other. No, I thought not! The book is surreal, satirical, complex, surprising, very funny and one of a kind.

5. One book that made you cry.
‘Schindler’s Ark’, the book on which the film ‘Schindler’s List’ was based. (It may have been published in the USA as ‘Schindler’s List’). Explanations unnecessary.

6. One book that you wish you had written.
‘Essays’ by Michel de Montaigne. You might think this to be a dull and dry collection but it is far from it. He wrote on every topic with insight, reason and humour and, for me, he represents humanism more than any other writer. Here are some of his quotes that I would have loved to have written: “Marriage is like a cage; one sees the birds outside desperate to get in, and those inside equally desperate to get out.”: “My life has been full of terrible misfortunes most of which never happened.” And finally, the quote that makes me think that he would have been a brilliant blogger: “There is no pleasure to me without communication: there is not so much as a sprightly thought comes into my mind that it does not grieve me to have produced alone, and that I have no one to tell it to.”

7. One book you wish had never been written.
‘The Protocols of the Elders of Zion’ is a rabid anti-semetic forgery that has been conclusively and continually exposed as such, notably by the Times of London in 1921. However, it is constantly reproduced even as recently as 2005 in Syria. Thousands of naïve and innocent minds have been corrupted by its falsehoods.

8. One book that you are reading at the moment.
‘Kalookie Nights’ by Howard Jacobson, almost too brilliant for words. I will be doing a post about it eventually. I’m reading it slowly because I never want it to end.

9. One book that you've been meaning to read.
‘Finnegans Wake’ by James Joyce. Joyce is reputed to have said “This one will take the professors a thousand years to unravel” so I might wait a bit.

10. Five others that you’d like to do this.
I nominate Rob, Serenity, Jim, Slaghammer & Vive42 . If any of the nominees don't want to play, that's fine, no offence will be taken. Also if you would rather I posted your list because it doesn't fit in with your blog's style - that's OK too!

32 Comments:

Blogger Alicia M B Ballard StudioGaleria said...

Oh, this is SUPER!

(But, being tagged? That is a NO-NO at least here, for us... mind you, it adds entries on Goggle!)

One Hundred Years got me hooked on Gabriel and the genre, I think I read everything he wrote – Incidentally, the Spanish version did not have the family tree, but thank God, I had also the an English version to check on – it was an impecable translation!.
Have you read anything by Carlos Fuentes? I recommed Constancia and other Stories for Virgins.

Your visit and comment are much appreciated.
Love and joy to your and yours

Tuesday, September 26, 2006  
Blogger S Simmonds said...

Hi Bazza,

I'd have to put my vote for 100 Years Of Solitude too - especially since it's the only book I've mentioned in my blogger profile!

I've been trying to get my wife to read it for a few years now...

To tell the truth, I don't have the reading space for novels these days. I find my reading time is occupied by absorbing information... from newspapers, magazines, websites, blogs...

Tuesday, September 26, 2006  
Blogger Devion Ayers said...

One book that changed my life, The Slight Edge by Jeff Olsen.
One book that I've read more than once, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.
One book that I wish I had written, The DreamGiver by Bruce Wilkinson.

Congrats on being the Bestest Blog of the Day!

Tuesday, September 26, 2006  
Blogger Mimi Lenox said...

Congratulations on being named Bestest Blog of the Day!! Another cyberfriend reaches stardom.
You certainly deserve it, Bazza.
That's wonderful. So happy for you.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006  
Blogger Mimi Lenox said...

P.S. I will make an honorary spot for your book meme today in Book Meme Central.
I humbly defer to your excellency, Bazza. He is "the man" today!

Tuesday, September 26, 2006  
Blogger Bob said...

Firstly congratulations on being picked as Bestest Blog of the Day.

Dawkins...one of the most "spiritual" atheists anyone could encounter.

Finnegans Wake....I tried to read this and have never fully recovered from the experience.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006  
Blogger Jules said...

Congrats on being the Bestest! And Happy New Year! (<---fellow Jew) :-)

Tuesday, September 26, 2006  
Blogger Jules said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006  
Blogger serenity said...

I add my congratulations to you, bazza. You are tops on my list every day!

Wow, I don't have any problem playing the meme game, but I'm not even sure I'm capable of answering these questions. Books are my treasure, to single one out for each category? Can I actually do that? Amazing how the more I think about this, the more stumped I become.

And now that I see such praise for 100 Years of Solitude I realize I have been sooooo negligent in not reading this book which has repeatedly been recommended to me. So now, I must place it as a priority.

So many books, so little time.

Even the question about what I'm reading right now? There are about five books I have going at once (usually one fiction and three or four nonfiction at any one time). So even that question isn't easily answered.

I'll keep this in my mind today and see if I am enlightened to brevity in my contribution.

Peace, joy and Love flowing to you today, and always.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006  
Blogger Bazza said...

angeldust: I have not read Carlos Fuentes. Actually not much Spanish lit between Cervantes & Garcia Marquez so I will resolve to put that right soon! I don't know if I would qualify for 'Stories for Virgins'. Thanks for visiting and your charming good wishes.

stephen: I also got into reading science and tech stuff for a long while but I always come back to fiction. Your wide range of topics are evident on your interesting blog.

devion: Thanks for visiting. I have to admit that I don't know any of those titles but I will check them out. Thank you for recommending them.

mimi: You're making me blush - but don't stop! Thanks for the Book Meme honour.

rob: Thanks for the congrats. Did you get to meet Dawkins? I am interested in your 'spiritual' comment about him.

julie: How nice of you. Happy (Jewish) New Year to you too. I have visited your blog and commented in the past.

serenity: Thanks for those comments. Believe me, I had exactly the same thoughts as you but in the end it's only a bit of fun. If you are like me you will feel guilty about lots of books that you leave out!

Tuesday, September 26, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Can I play?

1. One book that changed your life - the hardest question first.
- The War of the Worlds (my first sf book)
2. One book that you've read more than once.
- Good Omens
3. One book that you'd want on a desert island.
- It would have to be a big book, or a series. Don Quixote maybe?
4. One book that made you laugh.
- Dress your family in Denim and Corduroy.
5. One book that made you cry.
- Dragonlance Chronicles
6. One book that you wish you had written.
- How to survive on Spam.
7. One book you wish had never been written.
- Most of Robert Jordan’s series.
8. One book that you are reading at the moment.
- A Game of Thrones
9. One book that you've been meaning to read.
- Dune

Tuesday, September 26, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

bazza: congrats on Bestest Blog Of The Day!!!
yay!!!

great answers on your book meme!

congrats

Tuesday, September 26, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Happy New Year, bazza! And please know how much you are appreciated (you--as evidenced through your blog) going into a new year.

Blessings,

gale

Tuesday, September 26, 2006  
Blogger Bob said...

I encountered Dawkins once without speaking to him.
The impression I get from television interviews is that he is a very sincere man.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006  
Blogger Irene said...

Very interesting list! Will definitely check out some of the titles you mentioned. Congratulations on your blog award! c",)

Tuesday, September 26, 2006  
Blogger Lizza said...

CONGRATULATIONS, O Wise One! Your blog is great and I always learn new things when I visit.

Your comment about Kalookie Nights makes me want to go get a copy. And my new-books-to-read list is impossibly long already. :-) Looking forward to your review.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006  
Blogger Alicia M B Ballard StudioGaleria said...

HEllo
Would you please explain what it means to be "tagged" over there...

I just realized, I got tagged and flagged mixed up!

Belated Congratulations!!!

oh, well I'll chuck it up as another "eccentric lapse".

Warm regards to you

Wednesday, September 27, 2006  
Blogger Alicia M B Ballard StudioGaleria said...

I hope you don't mind...
I wanted to play sooooo badly!


1. One book that changed your life - the hardest question first.
- Toss up between A Man, Oriana Fallaci and The Seat of the Soul, Garry Sukav - could not decide on such short notice!
2. One book that you've read more than once.
- The little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery
3. One book that you'd want on a desert island.
- The most up-to-date book with art images throughot history.
4. One book that made you laugh.
- WLT A Radio Romance, Garrison Keillor.
5. One book that made you cry.
- Bury my heart at Wounded Knee, Dee Brown
6. One book that you wish you had written.
- The Harry Potter Series
7. One book you wish had never been written.
- A Freudian book on dreams I threw out!
8. One book that you are reading at the moment.
- Original Sin, P.D. James
9. One book that you've been meaning to read.
- Flor y canto del nacimiento de Mexico, José Luis Guerrero


Have seen/played the one about the Top Ten Songs you would take to a desert island?

Gratefully
-.a.-

Wednesday, September 27, 2006  
Blogger High Power Rocketry said...

: )

Wednesday, September 27, 2006  
Blogger Deepak Gopi said...

Very interesting.
My all time favorite"Unlimited power"

Wednesday, September 27, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Greetings Bazza
thank you for the book suggestions and mazel tov on winning bestest blog. Your blog seems to be all that Gem says it is - and more. I'll be back!

Wednesday, September 27, 2006  
Blogger Bazza said...

omninaïf: Of course you can play! I suggest you keep a copy of your list, because the speed at which this meme is circulating means you may get 'tagged' soon. I recommend that you give the author's names, where you know them and add some notes to wet the appetite.

morgen: Thanks for the visit and the praise. I enjoy your blog(s) too.

gem: Ah, Gem…..many thanks for those good wishes and for selecting my blog.

rob: Yes, Rob, I also get that impression.

irene: Thanks, Irene. I visited your blog and read nearly every post!

lizza: I won’t get my big head out of the door at this rate. The Filipina ladies are out in strength today. Good thing too, say I. I will say more about ‘Kalookie Nights’ when I finish it and post about it.

angeldust: Hello again! Firstly, in case anyone isn’t sure let me say what a ‘meme’ is. Coincidentally the word and concept were coined by Richard Dawkins and basically it’s a ‘cultural gene’; an idea that is passed around the population and lives or dies depending on its utility – survival of the fittest. So a book meme is passed, in this case, from blogger to blogger. To be ‘tagged’ is when another blogger names you to complete the meme and to pass it on. (I think you have that sorted already but it’s all worth saying). For your number 3 book try ‘The Story of Art’ by E.H.Gombrich which must be in it’s 20th edition by now but good value.

alex: Hi Alex, how are the bathrooms doing?

deepak: Yes, I remember your very interesting post about that book. I think I should try to find it.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006  
Blogger Bazza said...

Hello Lexa, thanks for the comment. I have been working my way though you (lengthy!) recent posts, so far it's very enjoyable and I will comment when I finish. Thanks for visiting.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006  
Blogger serenity said...

Okay, so I stopped thinking so hard and took bazza's advice to just pick them, and not be so guilt-ridden about leaving any of them out lol!

1. One book that changed your life.
The first book I was ever able to read on my own. Dr. Seuss, "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish". I would never be the same again once I was bitten by the reading bug.

2. One book you've read more than once. I can't think of a book I have read twice in its entirety. There are so many new ones always for me to read, I don't believe I've ever returned to one other than to find a particular passage of interest.

3. One book that you would want on a desert island. The US Army Survival Manual: FM 21-76. It surely must help me survive and find a way off that island back to my books!

4. One book that made you laugh. Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes". So much humor to identify with in his book about what it is like to grow up in Catholicism. Certainly also much sadness, but this one had me laughing to tears.

5. One book that made you cry. "Autobiography of a Face" by Lucy Grealy. Read this many years ago and is an example of how much unconditional love is truly needed in this world. The author later died in circumstances unrelated to her illness, but in a manner definitely related to her lifelong pursuit of love in the "face" of rejection.

6. One book that you wish you had written. Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird".

7. One book you wish had never been written. I'm sure there are many. Anything advocating hate or intolerance. But I personally have never read a book I wish was never written.

8. One book that you are reading at the moment. Out of the 6 I am reading at the moment, I'll choose randomly from the list, Sherwin Nuland, M.D.'s "How We Die". It is a beautifully written book, very highly acclaimed when it was published in its depth about the death of the human body. Definitely not for an audience who may have some sensitivities in this regard, but in many ways a very spiritual book, at least from my perspective on life and death.

9. One book that you've been meaning to read. How can it be anything other than "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez? :)

Wednesday, September 27, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm a big Ayn Rand fan and I love both The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, but Kurt Vonnegut's "The Breakfast of Champions" was the first book that I read and enjoyed. Up until then, I always thought of books as work. Since then I see them as pleasure (usually).

Wednesday, September 27, 2006  
Blogger slaghammer said...

Hi baz, congrats on your well deserved honors. Regarding the tag, I’ll do my best but it will definitely take a while to actually read nine books. :0

Wednesday, September 27, 2006  
Blogger Alicia M B Ballard StudioGaleria said...

(hello again ....)
Hate to miss out in a good "conversation".

I thought of adding a little more to tempt you.
Carlos Fuentes writes in English, he's been teaching Political Science at Harvard for years now.
- His vocabulary and use of language are superb! -

Thank you for your suggestion. I'll look for a copy at the Vancouver Library.

Love, joy and blessings to you and yours

Wednesday, September 27, 2006  
Blogger Jim said...

Hello Bazza, I see you have your highly deserved crown, Bestest Blog indeed! I knew that from the beginning!

Meme, Dawkins? Incredible that connection. And from what I hear, not such a bad chap afterall. Sounds interesting.

My reading went out with incoming of the Hebrew Text of Torah and that has been it ever since, that plus related materials. This literally has consumed my time, I wouldn't have it any other way.

In my early years I read profusely, lived to read, looking for ideas and thoughts and hows and whys. I personally have settled most of that, even if I had the time and means, I might not be as avid as back then. I did love classical fiction tho, partic the Russian authors and such as Hesse, and some renegade Americans. Of course Art and related materials, History in that regard. Philosophy and Language books. But all that was a long time ago and my memory is occupied now by more recent things.

Blogs, small internet stuff, not much else today outside the Hebrew Text material and Torah relative to Hebrew.

Tagged? I have no idea what that means either. Even with your explanation of Meme, I don't really catch that.

I agree with the award for your blog tho, absolutely deserved! Congrats.

PS: I am back for the night, then be gone for a couple more days/nites. See ya later.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi again Bazza
thanks so much for leaving the comment on my blog. It meant a lot to me coming from you!

Here's one for you...

Q: Why shouldn't you play basketball with a Jew on Yom Kippur!

A: Because they FAST!!!

:)

Friday, September 29, 2006  
Blogger Bazza said...

Ha Ha! Lexa, I don't think people realise how hard it is for a Jew to fast. Jackie Mason thinks Jews have a built-in radar that every two hours says: I must find cake!
Well over, to you.

Friday, September 29, 2006  
Blogger Bazza said...

serenity: Strangely enough I was suprised by the humour I found in 'Angela's Ashes' and in the sequel ('Tis). 'To Kill A Mockingbird' is a phenomenal book and is one of those that are worth reading twice. Thanks for playing.

godwhacker: I have seen so many people list Ayn Rand in their profile that I must investigate. I know a bit about her philosophy but nothing about her fiction.

slaghammer: Great, I'll check your site out soon.

angeldust: Thanks for your enthusiasm. I feel I must check Fuentes out now!

jim: Nice to hear from you Jim.

Friday, September 29, 2006  
Blogger bazza said...

My new blog, To Discover Ice, is at: http://todiscoverice.blogspot.com/ See you there!
Bazza

Thursday, August 12, 2010  

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