The Sigla Blog

An absolute age ago, that girl included me in passing on a book baton. I had totally forgotten about it until I saw a similar one over on Penguins Rock and it reminded me of my tardiness in filling it in. So here goes:

You’re stuck inside Fahrenheit 451. Which book do you want to be?
I haven’t read Fahrenheit 451 but if it refers to the fact that you’re meant to memorise an entire book for all posterity, my decision would be based on something short and memorable as I have a dreadful memory. I’d probably go for Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan or one of John Steinbeck’s short novels.

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?
I was going to answer no to this, and then remembered that as a teenager I would probably have liked Holden Caulfield. I also wouldn’t have minded being swept off my feet by Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights and some of Jane Austen’s male characters can’t but pique your interest, particularly Mr. Darcy. I saw Ralph Fiennes and Colin Firth play both characters respectively. The film version of Wuthering Heights was saved from direness by Fiennes’ and an amazing Ryuichi Sakamoto soundtrack. The TV adaptation of Pride & Prejudice was far better - and not just because of that iconic shot of Colin Firth with the sopping wet shirt. In reality, I was rather taken with Will Self when I went to a signing/talk thingy he did in Eason’s bookshop.

The last book you bought is?
Believe it or not, my last literary purchase is not one, but 70 books. A couple of weeks back the Penguin newsletter popped in to my inbox with details of box set to commemorate 70 years of Penguin books. In it there are 70 slim volumes, some old reissues, some short stories, heck there’s even recipes from Jamie Oliver, but don’t be put off by that. It includes everyone from Homer to Anais Nin, Virginia Woolf to Zadie Smith, Michael Moore to Roger McGough. They’re really well designed with intriguing covers and the spines have lovely rainbow colour spectrum going on. If you’re a book fan, you have to see the set in full. Definitely a thing of beauty and I don’t know which book to start with.

What are you currently reading?
I’ve just finished Sarah by JT Leroy for bookclub and am about to start Shadow of the Wind ahead of next month’s bookclub meeting. I’m also reading Sean O�Reilly’s new book Watermark to review it on Rattlebag.

Five books you would take to a deserted island
Now this is a toughie but I reckon it would have to be stuff I could read and reread again. An anthology is a must, so I suppose I’d go for The Oxford Book of Irish Short Stories edited by William Trevor. I know it’s predictable, but a complete volume of Shakespeare so I could finish all the ones I’d promised to read over the years. For laughs, I’d take A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole and for a big epic tale that is perfect for rereading, I’d take Salman Rushdie�s Midnight’s Children (both bookmarked by me. For the last book, it’s a toss up between another two books. The first, is another bookmarked book, To The Lighthouse as Woolf is one of my favourite writers. I’ve read TTL a couple of times and keep finding things in it. The other desert island book would have to be a high seas tale of travel, class, colonies and rationing with Matthew Kneale’s English Passengers. Every person I’ve bought it for or loaned to it has loved it.

Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 persons) and why?
I know these things have done the rounds, but I would have to say my first choice would be Ms Bookish but I’d say she’s already filled in a hundred of these already. After that I’d pass it on to Francis over at How to Learn Swedish In 1000 difficult lessons as we share a mutual love of Flannery O’Connor. The last recipient would be Patry, who writes beautiful poems and might be able to persuade me to include a poetry collection in my five desert island books.