Monday, January 28, 2008

I'm it!




Quill tagged me for this Book Meme, and all I can say is, Thank Mickey.

I was at Disney World last week (hiya, Jason and Aine!), and have exchanged my writing brain for the insidiously catchy, It's a Small World refrain.

So here's something different...

1. One book that changed your life:

Jane Eyre


This was the first "grown-up" book I ever read. It was so much deeper, more textured, than anything I had known before. And of course, it was a captivating love story. When Jane confided, "Reader, I married him," I think my path was set as a writer, though I didn't know it yet.


2. One book you have read more than once:

Many.

One that stands out, though, is A Room with a View. In its pages, you'll find romance, rebellion, evocative writing, and laugh-out-loud humor. A rare, near-perfect, combination.


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

A notebook.

As long as I had a pen.


4. Two books that made you laugh:

A Room with a View

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book) Teacher's Edition: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction

Okay, one's more subtle.
And one has naked Supreme Court justices.



5. One book that made you cry:

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The ending, of course.


6. One book you wish you'd written:

A Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham

I don't really wish I'd written any of my favorite books. But this one was a major inspiration for my own novel.


7. One book you wish had never been written:

Nah.


8. Two books you're reading:

The Longest Journey, by E.M. Forster

Reading Lolita in Tehran,
by Azar Nafisi


9. One book you're going to read:

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, by Barack Obama


I won't tag anyone in particular, but if you're struggling for a blog post, feel free to dive in! And thank you, quill. This was a fun exercise. :)

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

How come my book didn't make it?

~Jef

Anonymous said...

Oh, that's too weird that you guys were down here last week! Actually, Aine's ESP must have been in tune, because she thought you all might be chasing Mickey around. Hope you had a good trip! The age of your kids definitely would be more work than ours. This year, we didn't take a stroller for our girls. Avoiding the endless stroller parking lots is definitely a plus.

Sarah Hina said...

Sorry, Jef! It was a close call between you and E.M. Forster. But he's dead and everything, you know... ;)


Ah, a stroller-less Disney trip! I can dream, Jason...

;)

Hope you guys are enjoying yourselves! We definitely had fun. But my brain is like mush.

Anonymous said...

Oh I loved your answers AND you remembered the pen. I liked Jane Eyre too and still read it often.

Sarah Hina said...

I completely swiped your answer, Ruth! But we gotta remember a pen. ;)

Jane Eyre will always be dear to me. I really feel like it inaugurated me into a new world.

Anonymous said...

Hi Sarah again LOL I left an award on my blog for you to pick up.

Sarah Hina said...

Thanks, Ruth!!

Your words and recognition mean a lot to me. :)

Suzanne said...

The Bronte sisters. Oh God. Don't get me started. I'm an artist, not a writer, but this post made me wish I was! You love everything I love. I wish you lived next door and we could discuss literature over a good cup of tea.

I'll stop by often.

XO Suzanne

Suzanne said...

P.S. Honey, you look gorgeous in aqua or is that some shade of green. In any event, your photo is lovely and so is the dress. Good choice!

Trust me, I have no idea about fashion...I just know what looks good. I'm a painter, so color matters and so does the intent! Good job!

XO Suzanne

Sarah Hina said...

I wish I lived next door, too, Suzanne! We'd have a good chat. I'm a native Californian, and sometimes I do get the urge...

And thanks for the compliment about my pic! Yours is quite lovely, and so warm. :)

I'm so backwards about fashion that I still wear my sister's hand-me-downs, which is where I got that shirt. Luckily for me, she has great taste. ;)

Thanks for stopping by, Suzanne! I look forward to seeing more of you in the future.

Abhinav Maurya said...

Lovely answers. I'm reading Jane Eyre so I get what you mean.
I will get down to posting my own list. I've been tagged by aloi and I also wish to write this list. Let's see if I do both.

Chris Eldin said...

I also want to read Obama's book.

Great meme!!
:-)

Hope you had fun on your vacation, and welcome back!!!

S. Kearney said...

Enjoyed reading this, Sarah. :-)

Suzanne said...

Hi sweetie. Thank God for sisters! Can you imagine life with out them?
XO Suzanne

Suzanne said...

Shy am I always below Shameless?

Suzanne said...

No really...WHY am I always below Shameless?

Sarah Hina said...

Abhinav, I probably wouldn't like Jane Eyre quite as much if I read it today. The gothic strain in that book is interesting, but might strike me as a little overly melodramatic now. Of course, my 12-year-old self adored that. :)

Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Chris, I cheated and started in on the Obama book two days ago. It's the one he wrote back in 1995, and isn't so much political as an exploration into his own identity. It's stunningly written --really, the guy should write a novel...when he has more time ;)--and very honest and revealing, too.

I highly recommend it...you may even say that I *cough* endorse it. ;)

Thanks, Seamus! It's nice to be able to reveal a bit about my personal influences here...and to have someone actually bother to read it. ;)

Suzanne, you said it! :)

Sarah Hina said...

LOL, Suzanne! Got busy, and didn't see your additional posts.

I think you'll have to ask Shameless about that...though my guess is he'd say there are worse places a girl could be. ;)

suzanneelizabeths.com said...

I found this blog through another blog via blogspot. And I really enjoy the writing bits as well as the music videos!

Congrats on the Amazon recognition, I've downloaded your 5000 words and hope you continue to move up the finals!

All the best,
Suzanne
also writing at:
http://suzanneeanderson.com/

Sarah Hina said...

Wow, thanks so much for that, Suzanne! I really am flattered you found so much to like here. :)

Thanks for downloading my excerpt, too. I hope you enjoy it! And I'll be sure to stop by your blog, too.

Sheri Perl-Oshins said...

Sarah,
Great blog. I just recently came upon it and think it is really great. I can tell by your excerpts taht you are very poetic and extremely talented. I've put a link to your blog on my blog.

Sheri

Sarah Hina said...

Thanks for the link, Sheri!

And most importantly, thank you for the lovely compliments. I'm sorry I didn't reply to this sooner...it's been a crazy weekend.

I look forward to seeing you around here, and to checking out your blog, too! :)

Beth said...

You have excellent taste in books. Jane Eyre is absolute perfection. Now I need to read A Room with a View.