A Book Meme

The Duke of Earle at Romantic Ramblings tagged me for a book meme. Great - I love memes, especially about books.

1) One book that changed your life:

Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnacht. A book of daily readings that helped me appreciate and live life in the moment.

2) One book that you’d read more than once:

The six original Dune books by Frank Herbert.

3) One book you’d want on a deserted island:

My current manuscript. Oh, and some blank Moleskines and a pen.

4) One book that made you laugh:

Skinny Legs And All by Tom Robbins. Deep and profoundly funny.

5) One book that made you cry:

The Sparrow (and The Children of God, its sequel) by Mary Doria Russell. Emilio Sandoz is a character that will be in my heart forever. It's outrageous that they've picked Brad Pitt to play him in the movie, and plan to change Sandoz' ethnicity to Australian so he can play the part. This is so wrong. Johnny Depp would be a magnificent Emilio (so would a younger Al Pacino.) The Sparrow is about mankind's first contact with an alien civilization. While the United Nations tries to figure out the best way to approach them, the Jesuits quietly fund an expedition. Listen to this from the book: "The Jesuit scientists went to learn, not to proselytize. They went so that they might come to know and love God's other children. They went for the reason Jesuits have always gone to the furthest frontiers of human exploration. They went ad majorem Dei gloriam: for the greater glory of God. They meant no harm." Russell grabs you with that intriguing statement, doesn't she? "They meant no harm."

6) One book you wish you’d written:

Watership Down, by Richard Adams. A stunning masterpiece. Besides, I adore rabbits.

7) One book you wish had never been written:

I was tempted to say the Koran because of the fanaticism it seems to have inspired, but then, one could say the same about the Bible. Of course, books don't cause evil, people do. I can't seriously say that I wish certain books had never been written. Okay, maybe I could say anything by Ann Coulter, mostly because of the pitiful waste of trees.

8) One book you're currently reading:

This is terrible because I'm not reading anything at the moment! Usually I have two or three books going. The last two fiction books I've read were A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon (the fifth or sixth in her Outlander series) and Hunters of Dune, the latest in the Dune series written by Frank Herbert's son.

9) One book you've been meaning to read:

Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America--and What We Can Do About It, by Juan Williams.

10) Tag five people:

Pooks, Pandora, Lavender Dawn, Garnie, Cynthia.