Books That Matter

Going around the blogosphere:

1. One book that changed your life?

Martin Gilbert's "Churchill: A Life" ignited within me a lifelong interest in the greatest man of the 20th century, as well as a love for history.

2. One book that you have read more than once?

"The Fifth Head of Cerberus" by Gene Wolfe, which, as with everything Wolfe writes, one simply cannot fully comprehend the first time through. As with most of his work, I'm on the fourth reading and am only beginning to plumb the depths.

3. One book you would want on a desert island?

The U.S. Army Survival Manual. Not very exciting, perhaps, but most useful.

4. One book that made you cry?

"A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. The ending always gets me.

5. One book that made you laugh?

"The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" by Edward Gibbon. Not traditionally regarded as a comedic book, but Gibbon gets so positively bitchy in his commentary that I found myself laughing quite a bit.

6. One book you wish had been written?

"A Scanner Darkly" by Philip K. Dick. His depiction of drug addiction is the most unexpectedly harrowing I've ever seen; it makes your heart ache.

7. One book you wish had never been written?

The portion of the Koran which enshrines within a major religion's sacred scripture the notion of conversion at swordpoint.

8. One book you are reading currently?

"The Count of Monte Christo" by Alexandre Dumas.

9. One book you have been meaning to read?

"The Looming Tower" by Lawrence Wright.

10. Pass it on

Over to you, WordGirl.