The book thing

OK - here is my take on a quiz about books, and of course, my answers.

1. What book would I like to be?

I haven't fantasized about being a character in a book in a long time, but I was always particularly enamoured of classic stories with shipwrecked people marooned on islands. (I've always been fascinated with islands because of this, and I take some delight in the fact that my parents now live on an island in Lake Ontario.)

I particularly wanted to be Robinson Crusoe - the book version, not the dreadful movie versions. I often mused as to whether I could turn my brother into Friday. :-)

2. Have I ever had a crush on a fictional character?

Possibly. When, as a boy, reading about Heathcliff and Cathy in Wuthering Heights, I always felt a glimmer of longing, but that may have been because I felt able to insert myself into Heathcliff's bleak soul.

Actually, I felt the same sort of ache with regards to many heros and heroines of the gothic novels, but that may have been more empathy than a crush, per se.

3. What was the last book I bought?

Well, it would have been Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, if I'd had my way this weekend. (Yes, I am a nerd.) The last book I think I bought was The Bible Unearthed by Neil Silberman and Israel Finkelstein, who examine the archaelogical history of the Holy Land.

4. What is the last book I read?

Read, or re-read? I've usually got a few on the go, and I often re-read things I've been into in the past. "Building Secure Microsoft ASP.NET Applications" is one I've been at. I recently re-read Utopia by Thomas Moore, and also Plato's The Republic and Pope John Paul II's Crossing the Threshold of Hope.

I abandoned Edith Stein's The Science of the Cross recently, after getting about half way through it. She had an interesting (if controversial life) and she may have come to earnestly follow the way of St. John, but she certainly never embraced his lively and soulful way of writing! What a dreadfully dull writer she was, even if a saint.

I also recently re-read Christopher Marlowe's play, The Tragedy of Dr. Faustus.


5. What am I currently reading?

This is a problem for me. I read so fast (speed-reader) that I can rarely say that I am currently reading anything. I devour a novel in two hours or less. It took a lot longer for Edith Stein's book, but that's because it was so boring I'd fall asleep a few sentences into it. :-)

However I will soon be reading the novelization of the next Star Wars movie. (Yes, again, I am a nerd. :-)

[Edit]
6. What five books would I take to a desert island?

I am afraid I am quite practical. One would be The Worst-Case Scenario Travel Handbook (which I do actually own.) Another would be the Audubon Field Guide (a version appropriate to the south pacific? :-) I might bring Small Log Homes-Storybook Plans and Advice. To round things off, Robinson Crusoe and the NRSV.