Book meme by old school me

I was tagged by Wil a couple of weeks back. Since I'm on the subject of books right now, here goes...


One book that changed your life: The Bible. It was one of the books most readily available when I was in grade school, plus the school give us a copy of the King James version (the small one) at least every year. It made me realize at an early age just how diverse people are (there's a page where the John 3:16 was translated in different languages. I would stare at it for quite some time and wonder how they can read the strange characters). The old testament was chock full of wonderful stories (Daniel, Job, Moses, Noah), and it was supplemented by Superbook and Flying House on TV! I'm not a regular church-goer, but I always strive to be fair in my dealings and not hurtful to my fellow humans and non-human alike.

One book you have read more than once: That would be C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I think I have already read it about 5 times. That's even before the movie came out. I first read this in grade school too. I reviewed the book before the movie and was pleased that the movie included memorable phrases from the book.

One book you would want on a desert (deserted?) island: Hmmm... The Swiss Family Robinson!

One book that made you laugh: Kwentong Tambay by Nicanor David

One book that made you cry: A little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The Black Beauty comes a close second.

One book you wish had been written: A book with all possible origami figures in it at an affordable price!

One book you wish had never been written: Hmmm... when I sense that I won't like a book, I stop reading at chapter 1 so I don't think I can qualify a book here...

One book you are currently reading: Jack London's "Call of the Wild"

One book you have been meaning to read: Can't recall any for now.

Some links to the classics above contain the actual book, so you may want to read up and not spend a single cent at the bookstore.

I'm currently on "old school" mode, meaning I'm buying copies of the books I grew up with and re-reading them. So far I've read Heidi, A Little Princess, The Secret Garden, and all the Narnia Books. I still have quite a lot of classics to go through. I'm currently reading Call of the Wild. It's about a dog's life who's part wolf and his struggles with man and nature. There were numerous movie adaptations of this book but I haven't watched any. The author vividly describes the scenes, it's wonderful to imagine you're actually there when the wolves stalked the humans at the start, and the bustle of activity in the Indian campsites, and the hunt for meat in the wilderness.

Reading these books brings back fond childhood memories and the smell of libraries! If you're also fond of the classics, do recommend a book that I will read next!

And finally, here's a photo of my wife with guess who! This was taken during the first day of the Book Fair. He was promoting a book on Dianetics, a self-improvement guide. My wife bought a copy, and it's duly autographed. She was so delighted that she sang "Got to believe in magic! Tell me how two people find each other ... "


Whoops I almost forgot an important aspect of the tag... that is, to tag somebody else! Hmmm... I'd be interested to know what sort of books Philippines Phil and Mr. Abbey of Recycled Thoughts are into.