Book Tag

I've been tagged by Artful Badger. He knows I won't say no to anything that involves books!

One book that changed your life

When I was a kid, my school would award books as prizes for those who performed well in their studies, and I always wondered which teachers picked the books because they had excellent taste. The first time I won one of these was in third grade, when I received a really cute book called "My Book of Stars and Planets" in which a white-bearded wizard (with no resemblance to Gandalf or Santa Claus) wearing a blue hat adorned with stars walked you through the fundamentals of astronomy. So, at the age of eight I knew that Sirius was a binary star system, and that the second brightest star visible from Earth is Canopus, and plenty of other things that most people don't learn even in their lifetimes. It was the first time I'd ever read a fun and informative book, and from that day I was permanently hooked to books in life!

One book you have read more than once

Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov is probably the book I've read most times in my life. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is next I think. Magician by Raymond Feist is the one I wish I'd discovered earlier so that it could beat aforementioned books.

One book you would want on a deserted island

Just one? No fair! I refuse to answer.

One book that made you laugh

The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett, first novel in the Discworld series. Must be the funniest book I've ever read. He takes a dig at everything from physics to economics to fantasy fiction. The entire story is based on a world which is a flat plate mounted on the back of a gigantic turtle (sex unknown) with the help of four elephants. Pssst... the Discworlders named the elephants. You get the picture.

One book that made you cry

The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin. It is very difficult for me to describe this book; it is technically a science fiction book because it is based on a different world, but for all practical purposes it is a philosophical novel on the lines of Atlas Shrugged, only more powerful and raising more questions. I highly recommended it for all types of readers.

One book you wish had been written

A compendium of life's lessons. Every person should write one for his/her own life. And keep writing till life ends. When you put into words what you've experienced, you understand your lessons more fully. And you will never forget.

One book you wish had never been written

Now, now, that's a really cruel thing to say about any book :). Imagine dramatic movie scene where hysterical kid tells his book, "I wish you'd never been written!".

One book you are currently reading

Time enough for love by Robert Heinlein. I love Heinlein for his honesty, notwithstanding the fact that he writes only fiction. He does go to extremes at times, though. Wonder how this one will end...

One book you have been meaning to read

The Inscrutable Americans by Anurag Mathur. Been on the look out for it for years; now it looks like I'll have to make an active effort to find it.


In keeping with tradition, I'm not tagging anybody further. I mean, I love books, but I'm not all that fond of tags :)

Cheers,
Prashanth.