Not about Pogs

Kriston appears to have performed some sort of internet spell on me forcing me to talk about what books I like. Which is obviously totally against my general style, but I guess I can humor him. Technically this is a "meme," which I always thought required saying something about what Pog I would be (answer: definitely Spock), but I guess has now extended to great literature. By extension, does that mean I can add Henry James to my top eight?

A book that's changed my life? Umberto Eco's A Theory of Semiotics was the first time I read an explanation of this crazy thing we call "meaning" that felt viscerally true.

A book I have read more than once is Jane Eyre, which is my resident open-it-at-any-page and just start reading fallback. Or honestly? Any book with a strong moral grounding and bonnets that's not Jane Austen. L.M. Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott--you may not have thought it of me, but I'm a sucker for books where people Do The Right Thing and therefore Find True Happiness.

On a desert island, I'd want Pale Fire.

A book that made me laugh? Mark Helprin's latest, Freddy and Fredericka, got me through this awful train trip and provoked suspicious looks from fellow passengers to boot ("What could possibly be so funny about a four-hour delay?").

A book that made me cry is The Golden Bowl. Actually, I can't think of anything by Henry James (yes, including the collected letters of) that hasn't made me cry. How can looking inside another person--even a fictional one--with such accuracy make you do anything but? People are terrifying.

What I wish had been written? That's a dumb question. Can I change it for future memes to "three books that are overrated"? It's more fun to hate than to wistfully pine, no? So, overrated books include: Everything is Illuminated, Gravity's Rainbow, and anything by Naomi Klein. Oh, and the other rule for this new revised question is that you're not allowed to justify why you think those books are overrated. Courage of your convictions, people!

What I wish had not been written...can I not talk about Hitler or Immanuel Kant for a minute (although they're both terrible) and just use this temporary soapbox to once again proclaim my hatred for Dave Eggers? I realize that if A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius had not been published, the world would not be a perceptibly better place. But I would have spent 2000 perceptibly less annoyed. And last time I checked, Kriston asked ME to talk about books. Did he ask THE WORLD? No. No he didn't.

One book I am currently reading is Richard Powers' The Time of Our Singing. (note: I like that this meme assumes I am reading multiple books at once. Thanks, meme) In my opinion, it's nowhere near as good as his other books, and it's not just because it's about music and I'm musically challenged.

What I've been meaning to read: my former resolution was to read all the science fiction I never read in high school, but finishing Dune last month completed that project (note: any project that is complete once you have added GIANT SANDWORMS is a project well-executed). I don't know--what should I be meaning to read?

OK, do I really have to pass this on? I feel like this is some sort of pyramid scheme. But Karen, Caralyn, Tim--you want to give it a try? And Karen, you're allowed to use Clan of the Cave Bear for no more than 50% of your answers.