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A Literary Interview With You
A couple of weeks ago, Clay at EduClaytion put together an “Interview with You” Post. Then Leanne at Ironic Mom borrowed his idea and applied it to music from the ’80s. I’m flat out borrowing (read: stealing) their idea and applying the interview concept to books.
Here’s how A Literary Memoir works. In the comments section below, please cut and paste these 9 questions, then fill in your answers. Feel free to elaborate as much or as little as you like.
But first, here is my literary memoir:
- First book I remember being read: Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt. How I loved those soft and shiny and sandpaper pages.
- First book I remember reading all by myself: The Cat & The Hat by Dr. Seuss
- Favorite Young Adult Book: Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret by Judy Blume. In fact, everything by Judy Blume. I read them one after the other. Ate them up like caramels. They. Were. Delicious.
- Favorite book of all time: Lord of the Flies by William Golding. I think I refer to this book on a daily basis. Every student I have ever taught can vouch; I talk about it. A lot.
- Book I hated so much I could not finish: Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulker. This is the only book that kicked my ass. I simply could not get through it. Don’t get me wrong: I loved As I Lay Dying and plenty of other Faulkner, too. But this one just stunk. Like a skunk. In a trunk.
- Book I will always keep: A Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Poor, poor Holden. Plus, I have taught from this particular copy so many times that it is all marked up inside. It has sticky notes and stars all over it; all the important stuff is underlined. Despite the fact that some of the pages keep falling out, this one will go with me wherever I go. It will be loved to death.
- Last Book I Read: We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. Holy crap. This book scared the bejesus out of me. I simply cannot say anything about it. It will ruin everything. I will, however, take a moment to thank my friend Gina for recommending it to me. She recommends the best books. Her last three recommendations have been hits. This one, however, freaked me out.
- Book I am reading now: The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit, Lucette Lagnado. Book club. Lots of pressure to finish.
- Book I plan to read next: Why do you think I’m having you do this? 😉
To play along, cut and past these questions into the comments section and fill in. Here’s a blank set of the questions:
- First book I remember being read:
- First book I remember reading alone:
- Favorite Young Adult book:
- Favorite book of all time:
- Book I hated and could not finish:
- Book I will always keep:
- Last book I read:
- Book I am reading now:
- Book I plan to read next:
Have fun. Can wait to read your responses! 🙂
# First book I remember being read: Institutes of Religion by John Calvin (I was 3)
# First book I remember reading alone: Great Expectations or Robinson Crusoe
# Favorite Young Adult book:Animal Farm, All Quiet Along the Western Front
# Favorite book of all time:The Third Wave – Toffler
# Book I hated and could not finish: anything by Eliot or Joyce
# Book I will always keep:Science and Health – Mary Baker Eddy
# Last book I read: The Vendetta Defense – Linda Stottolini
# Book I am reading now:Eats. Shoots & Leaves
What is so special about the Science and Health book? Is it just a very good reference to have? Or is there more to the story?
People were reading you Calvin at age 3? Wow. That’s heavy!
I hope you are enjoying Eats, Shoots and Leaves. Maybe we can do a combo blog about it. 😉
I lied about Calvin. That was MA degree. My Father read me the Sunday funnies and I drew the cartoons. Was just trying to see if someone would catch on to the ruse.
Science and Health was written by Mrs. Eddy as the founder of Christian Science religion. I do not practice it but she was very spiritual and it helps me connect with a power beyond myself and live so that I am not the source of someone else’s misfortune. . Eats Shoots a & Leaves is delightful. I will have to make notes to try to blog about it Should try to develop something under 300 words, I suppose.
1. First book I remember being read: A book of fairy tales (don’t know the version/publisher, sorry)
2. First book I remember reading alone: B is for Betsy (not sure it it’s the first but it was one of my favorites as a grade-schooler, for obvious reasons!)
3. Favorite Young Adult book: I loved Are you there God, it’s Me Margaret too but not sure it was a favorite. Can’t think of others but I also loved Judy Blume.
4. Favorite book of all time: Gone with the Wind
5. Book I hated and could not finish: Heart of Darkness – had to read it in 11th grade and didn’t understand it. Should probably try again.
6. Book I will always keep: Gone with the Wind and To Kill a Mockingbird.
7. Last book I read: Queen of the Road and Mapp & Lucia
8. Book I am reading now: Just finished Queen of the Road yesterday and Book club is Wednesday so nothing until then. 🙂
9. Book I plan to read next: Hopefully a historic novel – ideas anyone?
Betsy:
I also love To Kill a Mockingbird, and I cherish the 1st edition copy that I have. When I taught high school, I always abbreviated, so TKAM an abbreviation with which many are accustomed.
I bet you’d like Heart of Darkness if you read it again. The ominous journey down the African river is something better understood as an adult, methinks. It’s worth giving it one more whirl. If not, put it in my drawer with Absalom, Absalom! And let it go. 😉
First book I remember being read — “Where the Wild Things Are.”
First book I remember reading alone — It was probably a Dr. Seuss book like “Green Eggs and Ham” but I cannot say for sure.
Favorite Young Adult book: Probably the”Lord of the Rings” series.
Favorite book of all time: I don’t have one. I have a small tier of about five or six that have really rocked my world. Among them: “What’s Bred in the Bone” by R Davies, “Empire Falls” by R Russo, “The Shipping News” by A Proulx and “The Count of Monte Cristo” by A Dumas. They’ve all left their mark. That’s the fiction list, anyway.
Book I hated and could not finish: So, so many under this category. I’ll let them remain nameless.
Book I will always keep: My signed copy of “What’s Bred in the Bone”
Last book I read: Fiction: “Freedom” by J Franzen.
Book I am reading now: “Outliers” by M Gladwell.
Book I plan to read next: “A Brief History of Nearly Everything” by B Bryson. I’m in a non-fiction mood lately. The pendulum will swing back to fiction eventually.
Now that I have finished Man in a the White Sharkskin Suit, I am ready to go with Franzen’s Freedom. My father just brought me the hardcover to borrow, and it is mighty intimidating. Still, I got so much attention, how can I not read it? Right? Did you LOVE it? Or should I treat myself to something light before I dive into that tome?
Ooh, you know I love me some cool questions. But be warned: I never have an answer for my favorite book of all time. Ask any other cultural category and I can give lists by genres. Never understood this about me.
First book I remember being read: Scooby Doo but I forget the title! Loved it and Great Aunt read it every day before nap.
First book I remember reading alone: One of the first 10 Garfield books over and over.
Favorite Young Adult book: Um, when I was a teenager I liked this writer named Matt Christopher. He was my age and wrote about kids and sports.
Favorite book of all time: For commercial work I gotta go something by Dave Barry. Maybe Dave Barry Slept Here. Also really like Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz.
Book I hated and could not finish: I’ve done this too many times to count. I give 100 pages. After that I better be drooling over you.
Book I will always keep: If I never Get Back by Daryl Brock. Only novel I ever read twice.
Last book I read: Going Postal by Terry Prachett.
Book I am reading now: World War Z by Max Brooks
Book I plan to read next: Wanted Undead or Alive by Jonathan Maberry and Janice Bashman
Cool stuff Renee!
What is World War Z about? LASAGNA?
Did you see that? Did you see how I cleverly brought Garfield into the conversation without actually mentioning…
Aw, dang it. 😉
First book I remember being read: Are you my Mother, PD Eastman
First book I remember reading alone: Not sure. Probably something by Dr. Suess
Favorite Young Adult book: The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Favorite book of all time: To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee
Book I hated and could not finish: Sister Carrie, Theodore Dreiser (I got thru over 300 pages, but couldn’t do it)
Book I will always keep: To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee
Last book I read: The Girl Who Played with Fire, Stieg Larsson
Book I am reading now: Trinity, Leon Uris
Book I plan to read next: I am open to suggestions
I remember reading Le Petit Prince en francais. C’est magnifique.
Always keep TKAM near to your heart. One day, if we are lucky, we will grow up to be like Atticus. Just without a penis. 😉
Oh what a fun start to the morning…talking books!
First book I remember being read: Mother Goose. I loved the pictures and how each poem rhymed.
First book I remember reading alone: I cannot remember.
Favorite Young Adult book: The Little House on the Prairie Book Series. I absolutely loved these books. I couldn’t wait to read the next and when I finished the series, I felt lost and alone.
Favorite book of all time: This is very hard to decide. Probably Eat, Pray, Love. When I read that book, I was going through a similar experience…I had sold everything to move to Europe to explore and find new treasures. And eventually finding my prince at the end of the journey!
The Life of Pi is another one that I just loved.
Book I hated and could not finish: Shopping for Porcupine (it was a book club book). I just couldn’t get into it…it was painful. I just read bits and pieces getting to the end.
Book I will always keep: The Divine Romance by Paramahansa Yogananda. My spiritual reference. Helps me to re-member.
Last book I read: The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie and Literary Society. by; Mary An Shaffer and Ann Barrows. (book club book) LOVED this book. Definitely a favorite. A very charming, lovely book. This is definitely a must read. Any bad reviews about this book should be a crime.
Book I am reading now: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (book club book). I am just loving this book. The book is very large; 667 pages. He paints a beautiful picture; it is so vivid that I immediately am drawn in just opening the book.
Book I plan to read next: Object of Beauty by Steve Martin (book club book) this should be interesting, I had no idea that Steve Martin was also a writer.
First book I remember being read:
No one ever read to me, ever. I was in a concentration camp. A sheet of toilet paper would have been nice.
First book I remember reading alone:
No memories of any. I didn’t get “Playboy” until my teens.
Favorite Young Adult book:
“Battle Cry” Leon Uris
Favorite book of all time:
“The Caine Mutiny”
Book I hated and could not finish:
College Calculus text (got an “F”)
Book I will always keep:
The repair manual for my restored 1964 Volkswagen “bug”
Last book I read:
All of the Daniel Silva thrillers
Book I am reading now:
The End of Faith Sam Harris (on Kindle)
Book I plan to read next:
Line of Succession (W. Tyree) a “thriller” (loaded on Kindle)
Fun!
1. First book I remember being read: I don’t remember ever being read to. It could be why I learned how to read so young – out of necessity! 🙂
2. First book I remember reading alone: Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Biography of Helen Keller
3. Favorite Young Adult book: Uh…I don’t know. Were there specific “Young Adult” books in the early 80s? I remember Judy Blume’s “Forever” being passed around.
4. Favorite book of all time: Oh lordy…Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast. Or Vikram Seth, A Suitable Boy.
5. Book I hated and could not finish: I almost always finish books, even if I don’t like them. I hate leaving things hanging! The last book I hated was “The Help” but I did finish it. I think the only book I started but still haven’t finished is “Joy of Man’s Desiring” by Jean Giorno.
6. Book I will always keep: That’s a bad question for me because I want to keep just about everything I own. I’m up to over 1,000 books, so it’s safe to say I have a problem 😉 But I’d always keep my Lost Generation books – Hemingway and Fitzgerald, Parker and Benchley – and probably my anthologies.
8. Last book I read: The Human Comedy by William Saroyan
9. Book I am reading now: Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
10. Book I plan to read next: Possibly Starship Troopers (Robert A Heinlein) or Bel Canto (Ann Patchett)
Did I say fun??? 🙂
Thanks to educlation for the tweet!
Wow. Way too many smileys. Sorry!
Never too many smileys 😉
Love Lolia! Another one of my favorites.
I must say I am shocked that you did not like The Help. Everyone loved The Help. I loved the drunk chick (was her name Dolly? and I found myself skipping ahead to the pages that featured her).
Cannot believe you know William Saroyan. I love his short story “Gaston,” (I think that’s what it’s called). He’s a great writer.
I also remember Forever. It seemed so naughty. And then I discovered Wifey. 😉
Nice to meet you. And hooray for EduClaytion. He rocks. Can’t wait to check out your bloggie! 🙂
🙂
Yeah, EduClaytion is pretty awesome!
I am really enjoying Lolita, though Nabokov is hard to get used to, and if you put it down for more than a day, you have to do the work all over again! As for The Help…well, I’ve been told I’m a bit of a contrary person and I often don’t like things that are wildly popular. (I refuse, for example, to ever watch The Titanic.) The book characters annoyed me (the English teacher in me was calling Skeeter a plagiarist all the way through! 😉 )and I found myself reading faster and faster just to get it done with.
Saroyan is a beautiful writer. What I love about him is that he could go from funny, nostalgic whimsy to tragedy in just a sentence or two. I was bawling my eyes out at the end of The Human Comedy and I can’t remember the last time I cried like that at a book. It’s happened, to be sure, but it’s just been a while! And I love his “My Name is Aram” stories.
Thanks for the idea. I might be borrowing it, just for the fun of it. I like your reaction to the Kevin book. Sounds right up my alley, and will kindle it. Yeah, I know, you gave up your nook. I reserve my kindle for fiction, but I prefer books for reading something I cannot live without. I’m sure Kevin is for my kindle?
Great minds think alike…I was thinking of borrowing Clay’s and Leanne’s idea too…might still do it!
First book I remember being read: “Peter Rabbit” by Beatrix Potter. I read it to my oldest daughter, who could recite it (from memory) along with me by 18 months
First book I remember reading alone: “The Three Little Pigs” (age 3)
Favorite Young Adult book: “The Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton.
Favorite book of all time: “A Fine Balance” by Rohinton Mistry. Beautiful, tragic, yet hopeful!
Book I hated and could not finish: “Stones from the River” by Ursula Hegi. A total downer…I don’t know what Oprah saw in it!
Book I will always keep: “The Time Traveller’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger. I’m not into romance, but I loved this book!
Last book I read: “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini. Excellent, but maddening because of the way women are treated in the book!
Book I am reading now: “Secret Daughter” by Shilpi Somaya Gowda (also for Book Club!). I’m enjoying it so far, although the treatment of women is also an issue here.
Book I plan to read next: “The Devil’s Race Track” (Mark Twain’s Great “Dark Writings”)
Wendy
Hi Wendy!
Like you, I did not adore Ursula Hegi’s book…but I was able to power through. As I said, few books have toppled me.
I read Secret Daughter, and I enjoyed it. It’s a good Book Club selection.
I’ve never heard of the Twain to which you referred (The Devil’s Track). I’m a big Twain fan, so I’ll have to put that on my list. Thanks for sharing your titles with me!
I love it when people take ideas and make them better.
This reminds me of an assignment I have Grade 9 students do in September: write a reading autobiography. I wrote one too. It’s amazing what comes out.
Here’s mine (note: many of these would change if I completed this tomorrow):
1. First book I remember being read:Rapunzel, out of World Book fairy tales. My older brother read it to me. My mom also read “Little Golden” books to me.
2. First book I remember reading alone:The World Book encyclopedia (I liked M – big, with lots of countries)
3. Favorite Young Adult book:The Book Thief (Marcus Zusak)
4. Favorite book of all time: The Book Thief, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Fugitive Pieces, A Fine Balance, A Thousand Splendid Suns, etc
5. Book I hated and could not finish: Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children
6. Book I will always keep:There are thousands in my house.
7. Last book I read:I Shall Not Hate (brilliant NF)
8. Book I am reading now: I’ve had brain surgery, what’s your excuse?
9. Book I plan to read next: Making Toast (no, it’s not a recipe book)
Leanne:
I don’t know if it’s making a good idea better, but I love to see what books colored people’s lives – the ones they cherish and reject. I do a thing with college students where I sometimes start out reading them a children’s book and then we link everything to it throughout the course. I think I’ll go back to that in the fall. Students always enjoy sharing their favorite books, too.
I remember reading encyclopedias, too. At bedtime – if I didn’t have a book, I would grab one of those brown volumes and plunk it on my lap until I became sleepy. I don’t think I ever told my parents how grateful I was for those books. I loved to read about Africa.
I have never heard of I Shall Not Hate, but it sounds like a necessary read. Same for Making Toast.
Perhaps I will learn to stop hating making toast. Anything is possible with books. 😉
Ah, nuts! I knew I’d mees up a link! And it had to be the first one… Here’s the original post – corrected of course!
Great idea Renee, I love these kinds of interactive posts!
My responses are probably a little different and probably not really helpful if you’re looking for a new read; maybe the book I’m reading now and the next one I plan to pick up though might give you an idea or two. 🙂
1. First book I remember being read:
I’d say it was probably a Dr Seuss story or a Golden Book; I can’t think of exactly which one though…
2. First book I remember reading alone:
It would have been a Mr Men book I expect, maybe “Mr Tickle” by Roger Hargreaves.
3. Favorite Young Adult book:
Would have been any of the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books! Or maybe “Warhammer 40,000 – Space Marine” by Ian Watson.
4. Favorite book of all time:
I don’t know if I have a favourite of all time… I don’t remember books the same way I do movies and I don’t often read them more than once.
5. Book I hated and could not finish:
Fortunately, I can say that I have yet to come across a book that I hate and cannot finish. Unfortunately, I have to admit that I am at times a lazy reader, and as such I have not been able to get through “Crossroads of Twilight”, book 10 of the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan.
6. Book I will always keep:
“The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien.
7. Last book I read:
“Cujo” by Stephen King.
8. Book I am reading now:
“The Cheeky Monkey” by Tim Ferguson. I can always use more help with my comedic writing!
9. Book I plan to read next:
“Blogging Heroes: Interviews with 30 of the World’s Top Bloggers” by Michael A. Banks – Maybe I’ll see you in there Renee!
I cannot believe there hasn’t been a book called The Cheeky Monkey until now.
And now I’m bitter. I mean, I have a cheeky Monkey at home! Half of my blog is devoted to him.
Brilliant.
Isn’t it nice to consider, even briefly, all the books you have read. Loved. Hated. Even Mr. Tickle fits in there to make you the person you are. 😉
1. First book I remember being read: I think it was something about Chicken Licken (sic) or the Gingerbread Man.
2. First book I remember reading alone: “The Lion, the Withch and the Wardrobe” by C S Lewis – I couldn’t put it down and read it a matter of hours.
3. Favorite Young Adult book: It was either “Chain Letter” or another book by Chrisopher Pike or a book by Judy Blume.
4. Favorite book of all time: “The Dreamworld of a Shopaholic” by Sophie Kinsella
5. Book I hated and could not finish: “Insomnia” by Stephen King. (There might have been others but that is the one I remember.)
6. Book I will always keep: “Claudia Daughter of Rome” by Antoinette May and “Legally Blonde” by Amanda Brown
7. Last book I read: “Prophecy” by Chris Kuzneski
8. Book I am reading now: “Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of the Raunch Culture” by Ariel Levy. For the second time.
9. Book I plan to read next: Whatever I feel like.
Brilliant! As I said before, I love talking about myself on other people’s blogs. 🙂
1. First book I remember being read: I can’t remember a time before I could read (I have an older sister who loved to play School so I was a verrry early reader), and my mom usually made up stories to tell us. I remember once my dad read us an article in the newspaper, but I was probably around 10…
2. First book I remember reading alone: Roald Dahl’s Witches. I was maybe in 1st or 2nd grade and I stole it from my sister’s room and it scared the pants off me.
3. Favorite Young Adult book: I read lots of Nancy Drew, The Baby-Sitter’s Club (The BSC, to all the lovers), and devoured all things Roald Dahl.
4. Favorite book of all time: I have a Top 5; one of them is The Little Prince.
5. Book I hated and could not finish: I didn’t hate it, I just ran out of gusto reading it: Gregory Maguire’s Son of a Witch. He’s brilliant, but reading his work is tedious. Until you finish it, then you realize how satisfied you are.
6. Book I will always keep: Lamb, the Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal. I actually have two copies, and I don’t remember why.
7. Last book I read: Skipped Parts, by Tim Sandlin. It was irreverent and hilarious and frightening and I loved it.
8. Book I am reading now: I just have to reread The Princess Bride after Clay’s tourney. 😉
9. Book I plan to read next: One of the free downloads I got on the Kindle – Michael Baron’s The Journey Home or maybe Ciji Ware’s Cottage By the Sea.
Fun, Renée!
Please tell me about Lamb, the Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal. It sounds like H & R Puffenstuff for Christians. (Puffenstuff — Get it? Puffin’ stuff? — was a seriously psychedelic Saturday morning show made in the 1970’s. I am still scarred. And confused. 😉
I read Biff. It was hilarious!
Please explain!
The book is about how Jesus and his friend Biff. Jesus eats a lizard; Biff has the hots for Jesus’s mom. And then Jesus and Biff travel around so Jesus can learn how to be Jesus. For example, they learn about Buddhism and Hinduism…I laughed outloud while reading most of the book.
Flattered! And now I’m comin’ over to see what your peeps are reading! 😉
1.First book I remember being read: Don’t remember! However, my Mom read almost every night and I loved it.
2.First book I remember reading alone: Also don’t remember, just a silly generic thing with bright illustrations. I do remember vividly the pure joy I felt putting the letters and sentences together on my own! This wasn’t in school. I remember clearly it was the summer we moved from L.A. to Chicago area. We stayed in a motel for awhile and I’d go to the attached diner and try to read. Maybe my best memory in some ways!
3.Favorite Young Adult book: King of the Wind, Marguerite Henry. I had a gap from 5th to 9th grade when I didn’t read one book I wasn’t forced to read. (!) I needed room to breath, without someone ele’s thoughts intruding on me.
4.Favorite book of all time: That is hard for me to say. I used to say it was A Moveable Feast or Anna Karenina, but those are awfully sad books. Now I may say Martin Chuzzlewit, Charles Dickens or Money, Martin Amis. No one made me read Dickens, I just read several in high school because I liked it.
5.Book I hated and could not finish: I just throw them against the wall if I don’t like them. My husband will hang in there but not me. Maybe he’s right. There were a few I had to finish for ye old book club and am glad I did.
6.Book I will always keep: Pablo Neruda’s Extravagaria poetry work. It’s English one side, Spanish the other. I’ve been reading this same edition since the 70’s. It’s the only book I took to Mexico when I moved. Then I read recently Neruda was one of those misguided 60’s Stalinists. But I won’t stop reading the poems.
7.Last book I read: Mao by Jung Chang. Had to take a break halfway through but it was worth it. This is not the first book I’ve read about the period and won’t be the last.
8.Book I am reading now: The Collected Works of William Trevor. These are short stories, but Trevor has written many a fine novel. I guess you would say he has been my favorite writer for a long time. He was born in Ireland in 1928.
9.Book I plan to read next: The Portrait of Dorien Grey, Oscar Wilde. I enjoyed a recent movie version. I’ve never read any Wilde. I’ve never read Victor Hugo either, so might give that a try.
Hola Annette! I’m so glad you included poetry! I didn’t think to include it as it’s own question – or, actually, I did but I figured most people would say, “Huh? Poetry? You can buy books of poetry?” – so I left it off the questions list. Neruda is beautiful. He has one about the moon that makes me weep.
I love that you through books that frustrate you at a wall. Seems very healthy. After all, it’s not you; it’s the rotten damn book that drove you to it, right? 😉
This is a super fun post!! 🙂
1.First book I remember being read: Heidi, Johanna Spyri- My own daughters also loved having this read to them.
2.First book I remember reading alone: The Cat in the Hat (I still have the entire book memorized. I used to “read” it to my daughter while I was driving to keep her quiet in her carseat!
3.Favorite Young Adult book: The Giver, Lois Lowry
4.Favorite book of all time: This is impossible to answer. There are just too many.
5.Book I hated and could not finish: I can’t think of one at the moment, but I’m sure it was something assigned to me in college that I broke down and bought the Cliff Notes for. I wasn’t a huge fan of Fahrenheit 451 when I had to read it in High School, but I did finish it!
6.Book I will always keep: To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7.Last book I read: Bossypants, Tina Fey
8.Book I am reading now: High on Arrival, Mackenzie Phillips–I’ll warn you I’m going through a memoir phase. The more messed up the author’s life, the better. So far, I would give Mackenzie a 10 for being one of the most Springeresque people I’ve read about! (I also have a sad affinity for trash television!)
9.Book I plan to read next: Wolf at the Table, Augusten Bourroughs. It’s the only one of his books I’ve yet to read.
I really like your blog. 🙂
I love reading memoirs from super messed-up folks. Very normalizing. Makes us all feel better about the way we parent and were parented. (Unless it doesn’t; in which case, I generally urge those folks to start writing their own memoirs. I love Augusten Burroughs. Plus, he emailed me once which rocked my world. I think it is because I cyber stalked him for a while. 😉 Whatever. It. Totally. Worked.
My son just finished The Giver. (I wrote a blog on it just a few back, and I keep meaning to post the exciting follow-up which has been written, though not transcribed, for over a month now.) I used to teach it, and it was the first book that I really got to watch him process. I kept asking, “Didja get to chapter 19 yet?” It was awesome when he finished and we were able to discuss together.
Glad you had fun with this! I love seeing what literature has shaped everyone.
And I like your blog, too! 😉
Awww, thank you! Have you read Look me in the Eye by John Elder Robison? He’s Augusten Burroughs’ older brother. He has Asperger’s Syndrome, and has had an amazingly interesting life. When I taught, I had several children with Aspergers in my class at various times over the years, and Robison’s book was very insightful.
I have an older blog post that I mention The Giver in. Chapter 19 had me in tears. It’s so much fun to experience literature with your children, no matter what their age. Here’s a link: http://howcanicomplain.wordpress.com/2011/03/17/how-j-k-rowling-saved-my-life/
Well, now that I know that it’s possible, I’m going to cyberstalk Augusten Burroughs until I get an email from him, too! 🙂 Have a great day!
Renee, I don’t literally throw books I can’t finish to the wall. It’s a figure of speech, so to say. But it is funny, isn’t it? Many people have had a couple they’ve wished to fling across the room.
It could be For the daylight moon/Para la lina diurna which moved you.
Thanks for this blog. It was interesting.
What a great way to get book suggestions!