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10/27/2009

Tuesday - and a meme

I've been tagged for a meme by Tuli of Defective Typewriter. It has to do with reading - something we all love to do, right? Reading, that is - not necessarily memes.


1.Most memorable place/experience reading a book?

I remember, when I was a boy of, perhaps, 6 or 7, I was given a large book called "Animals of the World". The animals depicted in the book were drawn, similar to the way Audubon drew his birds, and each drawing was accompanied by a page and a half or more of information about that animal.

It was not a 'sit down and read cover to cover' type of book. It was a 'pull it down from the shelf and discover an animal or two' kind of book. To this day I remember the feel and smell of that book.

2. Most unusual place/experience reading a book?

I was up in the attic reading a 1952 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica while we were at a friend's house helping to clean it out. Our friend had died. I was slacking in the attic and I got caught. This happened a year ago.

3. Most dangerous place/experience reading a book?

That would be reading "Catcher in the Rye" during a mortar attack while serving in Viet Nam.

4. Most luxurious place/experience reading a book?

On the deck of the Big Red Boat while cruising in the Bahamas - with pina colada in hand.

5. Funniest place/experience reading a book? Or, add a reading-place/experience description of your own...

I don't remember the last time a book made me laugh out loud - except that I recently read "The Big Over Easy" by Jasper Fforde. It made me laugh and laugh again. And everything I've read by him, since, has made me laugh. I LOVE Detective Inspector Jack Spratt and Detective Sergeant Mary Mary, his assistant. And in his other series of books, Thursday Next is a heroine par excellence.


I'm tagging anyone who wants to play along. Just copy and paste folks!

Bean Photo is collecting these reading experiences. If you decide to do this meme, please email him when you have published: mail@beanphoto.co.uk.

Ndinombethe.

14 comments:

Mrs F with 4 said...

I'm more of an internal chuckler when it comes to books - unless it's Notes from a Small Island, by Bill Bryson. I read it, first, on a long train journey to a work appointment. I giggled, belly laughed, gasped for air, and finally lost control and required new underwear. Possibly it is funniest if you actually ARE English, but then, I have a sneaking feeling that many Americans find us ever-so-slightly peculiar?

moneythoughts said...

Reading "Catcher in the Rye" during a mortar attack in Viet Nam is a book. Reading about a teenager as a teenager in the middle of a war really says it all. I'm glad you made it back.

Unknown said...

that was a pretty neat meme ...

your answers were all really interesting to read :)

That One said...

I agree with moneythoughts.

Thanks for doing this meme, Lou.

Joyce-Anne said...

Interesting meme. It seems the only pleasure reading I do is children's literature these days. Dr. Seuss' "Hop on Pop" is Monkey Girl's favorite book lately.

Heather said...

i really LOVED this. you're pretty awesome, you know that? i'm saving it for a "rainy blog day" which should be next week :)

ree said...

Hey, we BOTH mentioned the Bahamas in our posts! ;-)

Loraine said...

I just might do this one if I have a moment- mine probably won't be as interesting, though.

Unknown said...

Mrs F with 4: Beccy, we LOVE the English. We think your accent is cool.

Moneythoughts: In a masterful understatement, please allow me to say, "So am I."

Huckdoll: Thank you, Jenn.

Tuli: Tuli, you are more than welcome.

Joyce-Anne: My fave is 'Green Eggs and Ham".

Heather: Saving what?

Ree: I love the Bahamas. In fact, Anything south of Florida and north of Venezuela is okay with me.

Loraine: I hope you do do it. I KNOW it will be worth reading.

Audrey at Barking Mad! said...

I absolutely love the tangible feel to this post because it is a beautiful illustration of why I will never feel comfortable with something like Kindle or another electronic book reader sort of thing.

All of my favorite books leave lingering memories that are very tangible and physical to me...the smell, the feel, the texture of the pages of the book. I love being surrounded by books for this very reason. I can open a book that I've not read in a long long time, but have had in my possession for years and once I open that book and the smells and words and feel of the pages hit me, it immediately takes me back to where I was when I first read it.

Marilyn said...

I seem to read all the time but I don't know it I could answer all those questions. Bill Bryson, mentioned earlier in the comments, is a hoot. I read his Walk In The Woods to myself and liked it so much I read it out loud to my husband. I laughed out loud both times. I keep meaning to find Notes From a Small Island. Mostly I just read fantasy novels, though.

Momisodes said...

Wow, that really is a dangerous place to be kicking back with a book. And sitting on a boat sipping a colada sounds wonderful.

Unknown said...

Again, I'm reminded that I need to stop and think about all the places I've read books...because I don't recall my book reading experiences being so adventuresome. But now I want a pina colada!

Nan Sheppard said...

Lou, have you read "Shantaram"? It's all that. Just catching up... loved reading your Halloween story again, it's so good! Oh, and the perpetual motion experiment on my blog IS laugh-out-loud this morning...