The Book Meme

Got tagged (and I am honored it was Dr. Free Ride). I'm no genius and kind of all over the place. Duh.

1. One book that changed your life?
The Third Life of Grange Copeland by Alice Walker. Not only was she black (and "she") and the characters black, but some realities I'd lived were validated/confirmed by that book. That, more than the story or prose, helped me become a writer.

2. One book you have read more than once?
Since my mid-20s, I find it hard to read books again for pleasure rather than edification. This does not count all the kids' and picture books I've read to The Girl. I knew (know?) Ten Apples up on Top and The Big Pets by heart and read with my eyes closed or focused across the room. That was business (and pleasure).

Answer: Kassandra and the Wolf by Margarita Karapanou, another book that figured prominently in building my writing self. It is haunting to me still. (Few people I know manage to read it, too dense and odd and discomfiting.) In high school, I carried it in my purse for at least a year, if not longer, and read it over and over and over.

3. One book you would want on a desert island?
ONE?!? Couldn't I bring less...something else?

SAS Survival Handbook: How to Survive in the Wild, in Any Climate, on Land or at Sea by John "Lofty" Wiseman (name sounds truthy to me)

4. One book that made you laugh?
American Desert by Percival Everett

5. One book that made you cry?
Caucasia by Danzy Senna. And I am not a person who cries over books but the poignancy of the main character's loneliness, need and search and the relief and joy of finding her sister, the one person who loved her and who she loved....I need a tissue. I also read it soon after returning to the shattered concrete, wood and asbestos roof tiles folks were calling "New Orleans" at that time.

6. One book you wish had been written?

The Foolproof, Bombproof Way to Overthrow Your Government Without Leaving Your Computer Desk or Buying a Gun

7. One book you wish had never had been written?

Dianetics

8. One book you are currently reading?

Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain by Antonio Damasio

9. One book you have been meaning to read?

Assata, An Autobiography by Assata Shakur

10. Now tag five people -

Hm.....Professor Zero
Brownfemipower
Susie Bright (I shoot high, no?)
Vegankid
Devious Diva

7/30 8/1: see the memes and those tagged next--at Women of Color, This Is Not My Country