What Have You Been Reading?

I was recently tagged by Notorious Apostate to partake in the "What Have You Been Reading?" meme. I have been strenuously avoiding anything approaching hard typing, but I can't put it off any longer. Here's a glimpse into The Horror That Is Doombreed:

1: One book that changed your life:

Billions & Billions by Carl Sagan.

This was Sagan's last book, in fact, he died before he could properly finish it and the afterword was written by his widow. From a lightly humourous look at our global ecosystem in The World That Came In The Mail, to a deceptively simple look at very large numbers in The Persian Chessboard, from a darkly worrying treatise on global warming in Ambush: The Warming Of The World, to a surprisingly hopeful piece on cooperation called Religion and Science: An Alliance, Sagan weaves his magic over science in an eye-opening book of this great man's last thoughts.

The afterword, though, is almost the most powerful part of all. Ann, Sagan's widow, writes a heart-wrenching account of her husband's last days, his courage against adversity and and the simple, overwhelming love they shared, and I, unashamedly, cried the first time I read it.

2: One Book You've Read More Than Once:

Night Watch by Terry Pratchett.

I read most books more than once, but Night Watch probably counts as the one I've read the most. Certainly, it's one of Pratchett's best.

3: One Book You'd Want On A Desert Island

This is a toughie. My first instinct is to cheat and think of a compendium, like The Lord Of The Rings, or The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, or something. Then I think of something silly, like Building A Boat And Getting The Hell Off Of A Desert Island For Dummies. Okay, then I think of being typically me and asking for The Bible so I'll always have firelighters.

Then I settle on The Hunt For Red October by Tom Clancy. I could, and have, read that book over and over and over again.

4: One Book That Made You Giddy:

The Messianic Legacy by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh & Henry Lincoln.

This book made my head spin. The incredible evidence for a 2000 year coverup of the truth about Christianity's origins is just breathtaking.

5: One Book You Wish Had Been Written:

U.S. Road Cav.

In the late eighties, a British company called Games Workshop started to publish novels based around their table-top roleplaying games. Several were printed for Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000, and some were published for a now-defunct game called Dark Future.

The game, set in the near-future, dealt with a blasted, wasted world, ruled over by gangs and the big corporations. The books were, originally, Route 666, Daemon Download, Comeback Tour, and Krokodil Tears, and traced the gathering of forces towards some massive apocalyptic End Of Days style final battle type of thing.

The fifth book in the series was supposed to be U.S. Road Cav, but GW dropped the Dark Future line before it was published.

6: One Book That Wracked You With Sobs:

Apart from Billions & Billions (see above), I would have to say The Sapphire Rose by David Eddings.

Kurik's death, and Talen's subsequent revenge. 'Nuff said.

7: One Book You Wish Had Never Been Written:

The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit.

It's not a bad book, per se, it's just that I was forced to read it at school, and then forced to watch the BBC TV version of it. And now this supremely useless crap is taking up space in my already overtaxed brain.

8: One Book You're Currently Reading:

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

Is there any need for explanation beyond that fact that this is the greatest five-book trilogy ever written?

9: One Book You're Meaning To Read:

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk.

I'm told that the book differs considerably from the movie, so I'm interested in picking up a copy, if I can ever find one.

10: Now Tag Five Bloggers:

(who will hate me for doing so)

3vil g3nius
Simon
Marindazza

And.. I'm out of ideas..