Book Meme

I’m a sucker for a good meme and Atlas Blogged has a good one on books.  I don’t read as much as I used to and have only recently started reading non-fiction, but it is still a pastime that I enjoy immensely.

One Book That Changed My Life:  To be honest, I don’t think I’ve read one.  I never read any of Rand’s stuff – I came to libertarian thought through personal experience and observation.  If I had to pick it would probably have to be The Lord of the Rings – not because of some profound insight, but because it started my love and fascination with the epic fantasy genre.  Lame, I know.

A Book I Have Read More Than Once:  I’m gonna be stuck on epic fantasy for this whole meme I think.  I’ve read the Sword of Fire and Ice series about five times so far with many more readings to come.  Martin tells a great story with a ton of detail that you simply can’t absorb in one reading.

One Book I Would Want On A Desert Island: Treasure Island – maybe I would actually finish it.  Moby Dick would also fit in this category.

One Book That Made me Laugh: Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

One Book That Made Me Cry: It doesn’t take much to bring a tear to my eye, but nothing really stands out in this category.  I do remember being quite side after reading Snoopy Come Home as a little kid.

One Book I Wish I Had Written: Parliament of Whores.  If I was half as funny and smart as P. J. O’Rourke people would actually care about this little meme.

One Book I Wish Had Never Been Written:  Das Kapital.  I often wonder how much different the world would be if despots and tyrants didn’t have Marx’s utopian philosophy to fool the masses into thinking that Communism was a legitimate option.

One Book I Am Currently Reading:  I’m reading The Prisoner of Azkaban with my daughter.

One Book I Have Been Meaning To Read:  The list is long, but the book that I really want to read that I probably won’t get to for some time is Atlas Shrugged.  There are many that would revoke my libertarian card for not reading Atlas Shrugged, there are even more that would line me up and have me shot for not having read any Rand.  I’ll read it someday, I just don’t know when.