The Stick

You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451, which book do you want to be?

Disclaimer: I am not an advocate of book burning. That said, books slated for ultimate destruction on my list include but are not limited to: Catcher in the Rye and, even more deservedly, The Great Gatsby. Or are we talking about the living books? Someone who thought they were clever wrote this question.

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?

Heck yes. Where to begin? Adam from A Ring of Endless Light. Also Zach from A Ring of Endless Light. Henry from The Time Traveler’s Wife. Pighead from Dry. Pedro from Like Water for Chocolate. Loyd from Animal Dreams. Those are leaping to mind for some reason.

The last book you bought is:

Bet I can’t buy just one!!!: The Neverending Story by Michael Ende, Enduring Love by Ian McEwan, The Girl With the Curious Hair by David Foster Wallace, The Law of Love by Laura Esquivel and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum. About to buy Becoming Madame Mao by Anchee Min.

The last book you read:

The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin.

What are you currently reading?

The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia by Ursula LeGuin. Also Cracking the GRE, ick ick ick.

Five books you would take to a deserted island:

Oh no.

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh – my absolute favorite book when I was a kid.
Many Waters by Madeleine L’Engle.
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. Or maybe The Blind Assassin? I don’t know. Can I just bring Margaret Atwood and make her tell me stories?
The Brothers Karamozov by Dostoevsky because then I’d actually finish it and I really do want to.
Is it okay to love Lolita if you’re on a desert island? On a related note, if a tree falls in a forest and there’s no one to hear it, does it make a sound?

I’m letting this question go so I can do some work today.

Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 persons) and why?

Christine, whose fictional crushes are bound to make me swoon and wish I’d answered that question more carefully.
Steve, who’s introduced me to a lot of great reading lately.
Morgan, because she quietly reads all this phenomenal stuff and I want to hear what she says.