A meme. From Kate. My first ever.
1. One book you have read more than once
I have two children, ages five and about to turn four, so many books are on current high rotation. More than once. More than twice. More than a thousand times. Some of the ones that I am happy to read over and over:
Mr McGee (but a lot of the other Pamela Allen is extremely difficult to read aloud – I know this is slightly controversial, but it’s true);
Diary of a Wombat, Jackie French;
Gordon’s got a Snookie, Wayne Harris:
Let’s Get a Pup, The Gruffalo’s Child, pretty much anything by Martin Waddell, Maurice Sendak, Pierre, a Cautionary Tale in Five Chapters and a Prologue. And for the nights when the day is just over: Rosie’s Walk. 27 words (update: this is wrong, it is 32 words).
And the current favourite: Tashi. Tashi and the anything. Genie. Demon. Giant. Anything.
2. One book you would want on a desert island
Something about survival skills and how to light a fire and so on. Or else a phone book from a really big city – preferably the yellow pages. It would give you lots of ideas and new things to think about.
3. One book that made you laugh
I read The Commitments in a Las Vegas laundromat. It was very, very funny. And so was Las Vegas. One of the best nights of my life. Shane Maloney’s books make me laugh, and I laughed a lot at the first couple of Janet Evanovich books I read. The first part of A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson was hilarious.
4. One book that made you cry
The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. And if I need a cathartic release, I go to bed with it, and read until one o’clock then cry myself to sleep.
5. One book you wish you had written
I’m not letting myself lust after other people’s writing at the moment.
6. One book you wish had never been written
Every book has it’s purpose? You have to write one crap book before you can write another, better book? This is copping out, isn’t it? I get really annoyed by stuff like The Rainbow Fish, which was a full-on marketing exercise, not a book.
7. This week, the two books I am reading before I go to bed are:
Black Swan Green.
The Comedy Bible: from stand-up to sitcom – the comedy writer’s ultimate how-to guide. Which I think says something about the true potential of my latest idea.
8. One book you have been meaning to read
Dark Victory. It’s on my shelf, but I just can’t bring myself to read it yet.
9. One book that changed your life
Vector Mechanics for Engineers.
You’d have to fall in love with someone who’s got that on their bookshelf.
Now tag five people:
I think I’ve left it too late. Go and do it if you haven’t already.
Thanks Kate. That was ace.
Oh, I remember reading The Bridge to Terabithia in high school and just loving in – and crying my eyes out.
I haven’t reread since I was 12. I might try to track it down at the local library now.
We must have been doing this meme (does one ‘do’ a meme?) at exactly the same time, and there is not one point of crossover — though I too laughed myself stupid over The Commitments.
Yes, Pamela Allen is very hard to read aloud. And the subjects are a bit old fashioned and very dull. We have everything by Lyndsey Dodd (Hairy Maclary, Slinky Malinky, etc) as they sound great read aloud.
Oh ‘The Bridge to Terabithia’. I read that when I was young too and it made quite the impression. It’s a good meme though I found it impossible to just stick with one book.
One good thing about this lovely meme is picking up new books for the ‘to-read’ list as well.
Oh, and anything by Nick Earls makes me laugh out loud. The pissing on the cat bit in “Perfect Skin” is a classic and makes me laugh every time I read it. Yes, I’m a compulsive re-reader.
Oh, we’ve just done the very same meme! My kids have Tashi on story tape in the car right now.
And I forgot about Diary of a Wombat. My new best book ever.
I know this is last year’s blog so maybe no-one will read my comment, but when my grandchildren were 2 and 4 years old their favourite book was “Oh! The Places You’ll Go” by Dr Zuess. I must have read it a million times snuggled up in my bed with a child either side of me.