The result of tagging

1) One book that changed your life.

The Joy of Cooking - Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker

This is a change of pace from what people typically put here. It's a book that I have not read cover to cover, yet it has changed my life. I have always enjoyed cooking, but this cook book is educational, handy, and provides a starting point for my kitchen endeavors. It gave me a lot of confidence to try new things and to make things from scratch rather than relying on the frozen section of the grocery store. Am I a different person because of it? In some ways, yes, because the way I approach my kitchen is different than it used to be. I certainly approach cookbooks differently now. I used to look for recipes in cookbooks because I wanted to make something in particular. I now read cookbooks for fun (strange?) and use them to get ideas for what goes well together and how long to cook things and then make my own recipes. This was also my first cookbook and has started what is now a small but rapidly growing collection.

2) One book that you have read more than once.

Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

Most people probably put a book here that they liked so well they read it again. I actually did not like this book at all. I read it once by choice. I read it the second time for school. I still didn't like it.

3) One book you would want on a desert island.

Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

This may well be my favorite work of fiction. I would want it on a desert island for a few reasons. The first is that it is a fantastic book and I could probably read it multiple times and still enjoy it. It is also long book, which might be an advantage under the circumstances.

4) Two books that made you laugh.

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

I don't think I have to tell my readers why I laughed while reading this book. It is positively delightful!

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers - Mary Roach

I never thought that a book about what happens to bodies donated to science would be funny, but this one is. I laughed several times while reading it, while learning a lot.

Yes, I know that both of my books that made me laugh are ones mentioned by other people. Those people introduced me to these books and I enjoyed them, too!

5) One book that made you cry.

The Jungle - Upton Sinclair

This may be one of the most depressing, frustrating books that I have ever read, yet it was extremely influential and has lasting benefits today for both workers and people who like to eat food.

6) One book you wish you'd written.

Mansfield Park - Jane Austen

I honestly think that this is the best book that Jane Austen wrote. It is the most complex book with wonderful characters that Hollywood can't figure out how to portray. Interestingly, when I took a class on Jane Austen's work in college, this was the one book that we did not read. I would love to have the kind of creative mind that produced this kind of work.

7) One book you wish had never been written.

The Koran

The world would be a different place without it, undoubtedly still corrupted by other false teachings. I really don't think I have to explain this one.

8) Two books you are currently reading.

Julius Caesar - William Shakespeare

I am enjoying this one, even though Shakespearean works for me were typically school assignments that I endured. In college I finally read one that I really liked, and I am discovering that I probably did not read the others carefully enough to appreciate them.

The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

I have been "currently reading" this one for a few years. I just can't get into it. People love it, I know, but I'm having a hard time with it. I have not given up, however!

9) One book you've been meaning to read.

CCNA Official Exam Certification Library - Wendell Odom

Not really a pleasure read, but I do want to learn more about networking. Call it professional development.

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For the 1-2-3 meme, the directions are:
1) Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2) Open the book to page 123.
3) Find the fifth sentence.
4) Post the next three sentences.
5) Tag five people.

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

"What I remember next is the blinding light of early morning as I climbed out of the fuel tank. I remember turning my face up to the sky, squinting, breathing like the world was running out of air. I lay of the side of the dirt road next to a rocky trench, looked up in the gray morning sky, thankful for air, thankful for light, thankful to be alive."

Tagged: I'm going out on a limb and I'm tagging Dad ;). Anyone else who reads this can feel free to consider themselves tagged as well.