Book meme . . .

or should I say, MeMe? Anyway, Guusje sent this one my way. Here goes.

1. You are stuck inside Fahrenheit 451; which book do you want to be? I read that book so long ago that I didn't understand the question at first. I thought I was supposed to come up with a book I'd like to burn. I even thought of a few particularly obnoxious children's books I'd love to burn, such as everything Curious George. But Guusje set me straight, and now I realize I'm supposed to choose the book I'd want to memorize, or "be," to save it from death by fire. Well, I've already publicly confessed to being the ideal reader for Robertson Davies, so I think I'll choose one of his. Fifth Business, I guess. That's the first one I ever read, and it's very dear to me.

2. Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? Oh, where do I begin? Probably with Bond, James Bond. The Bond from the books, not the movies. You know, the Bond with the steely grey eyes and the comma of hair that's always falling over his forehead. I read every last one of those books, in order of course, when I was in my early teens. It was love at first read. Currently I have a gigantic crush. If you've been reading my blog at all, you'll probably have figured it out already. Captain Aubrey and Doctor Maturin, of course. Both of them, equally. Sigh. It's worse than a crush. I'm head over heels. Twitterpated. And while I'm at it, I'll confess that I love Bonden, the coxswain, too. Poor Bonden, who was so hideously miscast in the movie. Heavy sigh.

3. Last book(s) you read? Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood. I read it for my book group; we're meeting tomorrow to discuss it; I'll post about it afterwards.

4. What are you currently reading? Check the sidebar for what's on my bedside table.

5. Five books you would take to a desert island? I hate this kind of question. How can you pick just five? I guess I'd take the OED, if that counts as one. And a blank book (with a pen). Other than that, I'll just have to concur with Guusje's hilarious & clever suggestions: Boat Building for Dummies and the Red Cross First Aid Manual. And something on smoke signals and semaphores???

Who are you going to pass this stick to and why? Well, how about doulicia, who always has something interesting to say about literature (though it's kind of beyond the scope of her blog); Rhodent, who I hope will pass it on to her two kids who also have blogs so we can see if there's a family resemblance; and my new virtual friend Crit, who I am curious to get to know a little better.

Thanks, Guusje!