Book Meme

This came from Mel, who got it from Rabbitch. As Mel opted not to tag anyone but invited others to take it if they desired, I took him up on it.

1. Hardcover or paperback, and why? It depends on the book. If it's a book I know I'm going to love or use a lot I prefer hardcover. For others I'll take paperback.

2. If I were to own a bookshop, I would call it... A name just popped into my head now that seems so appropriate: Hidden Wishes.

3. My favorite quote from a book is (mention the book): It comes from Ursula K Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness but I can't find my copy to quote it here. It speaks of darkness and light moving with each other like two lovers who cannot be separated.

Update: I found it. "Light is the left hand of darkness/ and darkness the right hand of light/ Two are one, life and death, lying/ together like lovers in kemmer/ like hands joined together/ like the end and the way."

4. The author (alive or deceased) I would love to have lunch with would be: I agree with Mel. Definitely Molly Ivins.

5. If I were going to a desert island and could only bring one book, except for the SAS survival guide, it would be: Roy Blount's Book of Southern Humor. I've got to have something that will make me laugh.

6. I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that: will put my books away when I'm done with them.

7. The smell of an old book reminds me of: going to bookstores with my mom and getting lost in the stacks. Especially Powell's before they moved all the used books elsewhere.

8. If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title) it would be: Morgon, Prince of Hed in the Riddle of Stars trilogy written by Patricia McKillip. He is a prince that learns that he has a destiny beyond the small island of farmers he rules and discovers powers he is reluctant to use.

9. The most overestimated book of all time is: I could join the flock and say the Bible but a Christian society would have the Bible as a highly influential book. It would be interesting to hear the viewpoint of someone living in a culture with a different faith. There are many others though. For now to me The Da Vinci Code certainly doesn't warrant all the brouhaha it has generated.

10. I hate it when a book: falls apart after a short time. Especially a reference book that you know you will use a lot and paid good money for. There's no reason to make books so cheap that all it takes is a couple of openings for the cover to pop off.

I won't tag anyone since I wasn't tagged. But this was fun to do.