Scraps Of Mind

What do you consider a Good Read?

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There’s a saying that you are what you eat. But maybe it’s truer to say you are what you read.

Jenny from Tea Party Girl tagged me for a meme. I don’t really get into memes any more but this one is about books, a subject close to my heart, and hey, it’s Christmas after all, a perfect time to think about books.

And as I completed this meme I thought “Oh dear! If you are what you read, what does this lot say about me?”

So here goes, and you can be the judge:

1 How many books do I own?

Well I decided to do this properly so I’ve just been around the house and counted them. Answer: 454

To be fair, I’ve claimed ownership of many of Seona’s childhood books that she’s left here. On the other hand, I haven’t counted any books that are in boxes or under the bed in her old room. And I haven’t included my Scrapbook Albums or my collection of Carters Antique magazines.

2 What was the last book I read?

This one’s easy. Immediately prior to switching on the computer and discovering this meme I had just finished an old Georgette Heyer detective novel called Detection Unlimited. I love both the historical romances and the detective novels by Georgette Heyer but it’s not easy to come across the detective books as many are out of print. So I usually pick them up at garage sales and from secondhand shops.

3 What was the last book I purchased?

Trick or Treat by Kerry Greenwood. Kerry Greenwood is an Australian author and her Earthly Delights series (of which this is the latest) is set in the Melbourne central business district. About a block from where I used to work. I loved identifying which buildings and shops she used as inspiration for her settings. A couple of years ago I went to a talk given by Kerry and I asked her if my guesses were correct. Yep, right on the money. Clearly I’m wasted scrapbook blogging. I was cut out to be a detective.

4 What five books are the most meaningful to me?

Now this was a tricky one. Lots of books have meaning to me for many different reasons. And of course many are good favourites that I love to read over and over again. But let’s see if I can nail down five for this answer:

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Simply because it wouldn’t be Christmas unless I read that story each year.

Shogun by James Clavell. I love the two parallel stories in this book. The story of the Englishman shipwrecked in Japan at the beginning of the 17th Century. And the Japanese story playing out along side his, which he doesn’t understand but in which his future is so intrinsically linked. Great research which really opened my eyes to Japanese culture and a wonderful read.

The Lord of The Rings by JRR Tolkien. I think this was the second fantasy story (after The Hobbit by the same author) that I ever read — not counting fairy stories. The level of detail in building the World in which the story takes place and the depth of the characters set the standard as far as I’m concerned.

Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Series. Especially Lords and Ladies and Wyrd Sisters which are based on / inspired by Midsummer’s Night’s Dream and Macbeth. I vividly remember talking to Seona’s English Literature teacher at a parent/teacher evening when she was about 14. He told me how much he enjoyed discussing Shakespeare with her whilst the rest of the class were doing other work (literature was one of her strong subjects so she usually finished early). My jaw dropped to my chest because I knew for a fact Seona had never read a Shakespeare play in her life. It turned out that talking about these two Pratchett books with me together with a day spent at Stratford on Avon equipped her to be able to hold her own in a discussion on Shakespeare with her English Lit teacher.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin. This was definitely the book that started my love of historical romance novels. I love the detailed elegance of Jane Austen’s writing and her beautiful word pictures.

5 What is my most obscure favorite book?

Hmm I read quite a few obscure books. In fact I rarely read best sellers. But after giving careful thought to this question, I’ve decided to nominate The Last Starfighter by Alan Dean Foster. I loved this movie when I first saw it on TV and then I couldn’t find the video for years. One day I came across the book of the movie in a secondhand book store. This book is my equivalent of comfort food. Although it makes an even better read when accompanied with chocolate…and maybe a glass of port.

Phew! That turned out to be harder work than I thought. So many books so little time. And I know that once I publish this post I’ll think of a bunch of other titles that I could have easily included.

I’m not going to tag anyone specifically. But Christmas is a great time to think about books and reading so if any of you choose to do this meme, let us know in the comments so we can go and read all about your book choices.

And if you don’t want to do the meme, you might like to share the titles of a few of your favourite reads.

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