11 Books

About a week ago my blog friend, Tiffany, tagged me. So here are my answers to the book-tag. I enjoyed doing this as well as reading her’s and Dave’s answers. I would like to hear from a bunch of people on this. But I really only read 3 other people’s blogs. I’m not popular like Dave and Tiffany. So I will Tag just 3 people:
1. Lori. Even though she told me not to. But since you have time while you’re home, you might as well.
2. James. If his reading is like his music taste, I’ll have a bunch more suggestions to read.
3. Heather. Because she is the only other person’s blog I read. Also I’m sure that she and Mike (her husband) will come up with some good answers.
Too bad my librarian friend Carrie doesn’t read this. If she does and wants to post her choices I will post them here. She will be my first guest blogger.

11 Books:
1. ONE BOOK THAT CHANGED YOUR LIFE?
Blood Brothers by Elias Chaccour. I read part before and part after I spent 5 weeks in Israel and Palestine. It’s the story of the Israeli occupation of Palestine in 1949 from the perspective of a 6-year-old boy and his life of living/dealing with it. Though it didn’t happen that summer, that book and trip put me on the track of relief/development work. It’s why I went to India, why I applied to the Peace Corp, and why someday I’ll do something to help people in poverty.

2. ONE BOOK YOU HAVE READ MORE THAN ONCE?
The only one is the Bible. I don’t re-read books. There are too many good ones out there to waste time reading stuff over and over. Though I watch movies multiple times and I bet books would be good the second time too. Plus I read so slowly that re-reading will take up so much time.

3. ONE BOOK YOU WOULD WANT ON A DESERT ISLAND?
I used to say War and Peace because it’s long. But that’s not really a good reason. As a “classic” I’m sure I would find it boring and would just end up imagining car chases and things blowing up. I think a better one would be a survival book about what berries to eat and what leaves you shouldn’t use to wipe your butt. Other wise a good Tom Clancy novel.

4. ONE BOOK THAT MADE YOU LAUGH?
From the Holy Mountain by William Dalrymple. It’s about this guy’s journey through West Asia visiting ancient churches. The funny part is when he talks to the Greek Orthodox priests, they tell him that he’s going to hell because he’s catholic and that the Pope is the antichrist but welcome to the church. Then he visit’s a Catholic church and they talk about how the Orthodox will all burn in hell. I was laughing out loud on a 1.5 day train ride through India.

5. ONE BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY?
This is a bad question for me. Pretty much anything even slightly sappy makes me cry. It would probably be a shorter list of the books that didn’t make me cry. Some that made me cry for real and not just water my eyes: Too Small to Ignore by Wess Stratford, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (HE KILLED LENNY!!), Where the Red Fern Grows (which I read 2 years ago), Deliver Us From Evil by William Shawcross (about UN in the ‘90s).

6. ONE BOOK YOU WISH YOU HAD WRITTEN?
The End of Poverty by Jeffery Sachs, though I don’t really agree with everything that he said. The problem of poverty is bigger than economics but that’s as good a place to start as any other. I hope that if I have the chance I will write a book that will slap people in the face like that one does. It’s such a wake up call and I think that every world leader should have to join a book club and read it.

7. ONE BOOK YOU WISH HAD NEVER BEEN WRITTEN?
The Da Vinci Code. Though not for the reason you are thinking. It shattered the illusion for me. Before that book was so popular I thought that Americans, as a whole, weren’t stupid. Boy was I wrong. I mean do you really have no concept of the difference between fiction and real life? Not even good fiction, poorly written fiction and real life. Entertaining and all but we have to have better books than that, what will English teachers of the future, like Tiffany, torture our kids with?

8. ONE BOOK YOU ARE CURRENTLY READING?
I’m reading 2 books now.
One is J is for Judgement by Sue Grafton. This is a popcorn novel and I hope you don’t judge me too harshly for reading it. I just wanted something to read while I’m on my lunch break at work. I can read a few pages and not get lost if I don’t read it for a few days.

I’m really reading Too Small to Ignore: Why Children are the Next Big Thing by Wess Stratford. It’s about how children suffer even more than adults from poverty and usually get the short end of the stick when it comes to relief agencies. Awesome book and it may be changing my view on what I want to do with my life. Which is no good because if I don’t get moving then my life will be done before I figure out what to do with it.

9. ONE BOOK YOU HAVE BEEN MEANING TO READ?
One just isn’t enough. These aren’t in the order I plan to read them:
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafifi, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Guns Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond (though I’ve heard him speak and that almost changed my mind), The Curious Incident of the Dog at Midnight by Mark Haddon, The World Is Flat by Thomas L Friedman, and a ton of other Aid/Delivery books. Of course now that I’ve read Dave’s and Tiffany’s lists I have a ton more books that I have to read.

10. ONE BOOK YOU'RE GLAD YOU OWN?
The Bible, Too Small to Ignore, Blood Brothers, The End of Poverty. Pretty much all of the ones I own. We take owning and reading books too lightly. Though I’m not real proud that I own I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris. I didn’t enjoy it if that makes it any better. I was thinking of Tom Clancy the whole time…

11. ONE BOOK THAT MUST BE READ ALOUD?
Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi; a Funny Kids book.