there has been this blogger book meme making the rounds for a while now. don’t even know where it originated anymore. i’ve seen it on many a blog i visit. was beginning to think no one was ever going to get around to passing it over our way, but matt over at eye of the goof was kind enough to think of us so with no further adieu… a few pointless book related questions, answered!

1) You’re stuck inside Fahrenheit 451; which book do you want to be?

the new testament because, though i’m not sure about the book nazi’s religious leanings, i figure it plays out in one of two ways: either i don’t get burned and continue to exert my powerfully destructive influence over the world of puny humans (i’m power mad you see), or i get burned quick, fast, in a hurry, hopefully allowing at least a section of humanity to evolve beyond the superstitious, self-flagellating, 2000 year mental rut they’ve been in (a public servant you see.)

2) Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?

every crush a person has in on a fictional character isn’t it? that’s why crushes are not sustainable states.

3) What are you currently reading?

i tend to read a few things at once so: just finished babel 17 by samuel r. delaney, have been slowly digging into the age of spiritual machines by ray kurzweil, the end of art by donald kuspit , as well as lonely planets, the natural philosophy of alien life by david grinspoon, and had just dipped into cory doctorow’s eastern standard tribe but 2 books arrived in the mail from nonist member tom buckner this morning (one called blues for robots, written by tom himself) so i think i’ll be veering into new territory this evening.

4) The last book you bought was:

this immortal by roger zelany

5) The last book you read was:

well since i already mentioned babel 17 before that was… let me see… exultant by stephen baxter.

6) Five books you would take to a desert island:

hmmm… let’s see… ok,
1- my high school library pilfered copy of emerson’s essays, by, of course, ralph waldo emerson
2- my copy of three novels: molloy, malone dies, the unanmable by samuel beckett because
a) though i love it, i have never finished it, and
b) i think these books would be uniquely suited to speak to a lonely, half mad, island dweller.
3- big sur and the oranges of hieronymus bosch by henry miller since to my knowledge sexus, pluxus, and nexus have never been published in a single volume.
4- skinny leg’s and all by tim robbins because even loony castaways need to laugh sometimes.

crap! only one left! uh… can i remove skinny legs and all? no,  too late… ok… should it be something huge and bulky that would take forever to read? a science book (or hell a loompanics book) about surviving on an island? an art history book with a zillion color illustrations? olaph stapledon’s combo last and first men & star maker so i’ll finally read the fucking thing? another copy of one of my previous choices but printed in another language so i can learn it? an “erotic” novel to get me through the lonely island nights?

5- o.k. i’ll pull the same stunt i did on ookworlds desert island disks poll- i’ll accept one wildcard book perhaps misplaced or planted by a by a customs agent or baggage handler. that way i’ll get something unexpected.

7) Who are you going to pass this stick to, and why?

I’m going to pass the stick to a few different folks.

1- jeff vandermeer. be curious to know since he’s a top notch writer and all (but of course jeff happens to be travelling at the moment so it may have to be addressed by his sister, who is guest helming his blog at the moment.)

2- f (name hidden to protect the guilty), over at onemansafari to see if i can break up the flow of all those beautiful images with some ugly text.

3- all of our blogless (or otherwise) members here, specifically, tom, rich, tom, dave, james, cast (and o.g. if you’re willing to interrupt your vacation).