Friday, July 10, 2009

A Book Meme


This is an automatic post, designed to keep you checking up on me while I’m AWOL… I’ll catch up with you folks the end of the month! The picture may give you an idea as where I am when you are reading this--within 50 miles of this spot. Anyone know the name of the arch or its location?

Kevin tagged me on facebook, but I’m going to answer him here. It’s been a while since I’ve done a meme, but books are always fun to talk about. As with Kevin, I am avoiding using the same book more than once…

1. What author do you own the most books by? Hard to say and I ain’t going to count them… It may be John Calvin. Of authors whom I read ever word of the books I’ve own, it could be Mark Twain, Edward Abbey or Herman Hesse

2. What book do you own the most copies of? Bible (but they are different versions)

3. Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions? It was a bit awkward, but if I let that bother me, I ain’t living right.

4. What fictional character are you secretly in love with? Christine in Oscar Lewis’ I Remember Christine

5. What book have you read the most times in your life? It would have to be the Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton! It was my daughter's favorite book and I probably read it at least once a day for two years... I miss those years. As a more serious book, it would probably be Herman Hesse’ Siddhartha.

6. Favorite book as a ten year old? It was a biography of Daniel Boone

7. What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year? I haven’t yet finished it… but I’m thinking it’ll be An American Trilogy: Death, Slavery, & Dominion on the Banks of the Cape Fear River by Steven Wise (And, as if you can guess by the title, the book is really about the pork industry. If you did guess that, I want to talk to you about stock tips!).

8. What is the best book you’ve read in the past year? Rick Bragg, Ava’s Man

9. If you could force everyone you know to read one book, what would it be? Paul Woodruff, Reverence: Renewing a Forgotten Virtue

10. What book would you most like to see made into a movie? Edward Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang

11. What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read? It would have to be my pitiful attempts to read either Don Quixote or the Gospel of John in the original languages.

12. What is your favorite devotional book? The Psalms

13. What is your favorite play? Shakespeare’s Macbeth

14. Poem? Dante’s Divine Comedy

15. Essay? Marilynne Robinson, The Death of Adam

16. Who is the most overrated writer alive today? Dan Brown

17. What is your desert island book? Roy Blount’s book of Southern Humor

18. And...what are you reading right now? John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces

Feel free to "tag yourself" and answer the questions. If you do so, leave a comment below so I can go over and check out some of your favorite books (when I am back in town). Next week, I'm posting another story from my first job, back at the time I was the cigarette czar in a local grocery store. Stay tuned.

15 comments:

  1. This looks fun. I should have mine up before you return.

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  2. I can't figure the arch. I'll guess you're within 100 miles of the Four Corners. (Yeah, pretty wide margin of error, but who cares?)

    Have fun and

    Cheers.

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  3. My first guess was Double Arch in Arches which I have never seen but Google proved me wrong. It did however tell me that this is none other than Grosvenor Arch.

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  4. wow, Gospel of John in the original tongue. I found doing it in French hard enough. 16 (small hee-hee of agree) and by matter of curiosity, there's a snow covered hills blog up here... http://www.snowcoveredhills.com/

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  5. Will you and Murf be mentioned in Ed Abbey's "The Monkey Wrench Gang?" :)

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  6. This meme would take more thought than I have time or motivation for. I enjoyed reading yours, though. Every time you mention Siddhartha, I think "I have to read that again!"

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  7. Hi Sage! Thanks for this scheduled post (I suppose).
    I hope you're enjoying your holidays and will be back to read your next story (I like reading these posts about your past jobs).

    Hermann Hesse's Siddharta is also a fav here!

    I recommend you read Don Quixote in English (there are excellent translations). It's a very very funny adventures book with an interesting message inside.

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  8. I remember an arch when I visited Bryce National Park. I was viewing it from the rim, and not from the angle in your picture, so I can't tell if it's the same. Anyway, that's my guess. I hope you enjoy your time off.

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  9. That was interesting, Sage!

    I hope you're having fun wherever you are. How could you not be with a backdrop like that!

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  10. Shortly before leaving, I traded in my dying phone for a blackberry and I'm using it to say him.

    Ed is right, I'd like to know how many arches he looked at to find the right one.

    Catch up with everyone in a few weeks

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  11. Again, have fun and don't become a Blackberry addict, just like me!

    It's a nice toy, isn't it?

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  12. I think it's Grosvenor Arch in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

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  13. This is a good one. And I had to laugh at Dan Brown. I just finished Angels and Demons. I'd read the Da Vinci Code in the big days. I LOVE his writing. I love all the secrets, the lies...I think he is great.

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  14. Great post... Would take some thought. I like your list- will try to read Woodruff- thanks!

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