Bully has (in a roundabout way) tagged me to take part in a meme about books and reading habits. I’m supposed to tag five people at the end of this, which I’ll do, but I only really expect one or two of them to actually take part. That’s ok.

  • One book that changed your life
    I guess I’d have to look at the first “grown-up” sci-fi book I ever read – Asimov’s Foundation series. I got ‘em all (Prelude through to Foundation and Earth at the time) for Christmas one year, having never read anything about them, and it really opened my eyes to what was possible in the genre. Big, galaxy-spanning stuff, but still touching on human issues. Just amazing.
  • One book you have read more than once
    There’s no way I could write a blog post like this and not mention Vernor Vinge, so I’ll have to say Across Realtime, which is a book encompassing two of his stories (The Peace War and Marooned in Realtime). A fantastic sci-fi read like so many of Vinge’s work.
  • One book you would want on a desert island
    I think having the Complete Scripts to Monty Python’s Flying Circus would be handy, if only to send me to the brink of insanity. It’s a great read, especially if you’ve seen the sketches.
  • One book that made you laugh
    It’s tempting to say The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy here, but I’m not (oops – I just did). Instead, I’m going to go with Joseph Heller’s Catch 22. That was a hilarious read! Get a copy of it if you’ve never read it – you won’t be disappointed.
  • One book that made you cry
    I was pretty young at the time, but I remember reading Scott O’Dell’s The Island of the Blue Dolphins back in school, and it’s the only book I can remember crying whilst reading. I can’t even remember the story, or if it was that good, but I remember crying. Weird, huh?
  • One book you wish you had written
    I’ve never read it myself, but I wish I’d written the first book of the Harry Potter series (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone) purely for the royalties!
  • One book you wish had never been written
    Here’s a controversial one. Imagine where we’d been today if there was no bible (or its counterparts in other religions). It’d be a pretty different world.
  • One book you are currently reading
    Right now I’m reading Final Impact, the third book in John Birmingham’s “Transition” series. It’s an absolutely awesome series about a science-experiment gone wrong that sends a fleet of warships from 2021 back to the middle of World War II. It could have been a very easy subject – the good guys get sent back with their advanced technology and kick Nazi butt – but Birmo made it more complex by having the bad guys get hold of some of the vessels, meaning that the Germans and Japanese have a bit of a head start, too, not to mention the Russians. Highly recommended.
  • One book you have been meaning to read
    I’m cheating a bit here, because I’ve read the first “book” in this series and have been meaning for many, many years to read the others: Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa (translated by Charles S Terry). The first book was just awesome, so if the follow-ups can match it then it really should be #1 on my “to-read” list.
  • Now tag five people!
    See how you go: Crucible, Euan, Thumper, Pete and Dave!