Sam, at "Golden Rule Jones", passed this on to me over a week ago so I'd best pull my finger out and get to it. And all I did was send him a photo of a Douglas Mawson statue in Adelaide.
You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451. Which book do you want to be saved?
The Complete Works of Shakespeare. It's a cliché, I know, but he's really got it all- passion, suspense, blood, guts, death, familial intrigue and murder, and more than a dash of humour. So there isn't a lot of choice. The world would be a poorer place without it. I don't have to memorise it do I?
Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?
Given I am married to a lawyer my first thought was to "plead the fifth", but what the hell ... Sarah Woodruff from Fowles's The French Lieutenant's Woman. I was going through a Pre-Raphaelite stage when I first read it.
The last book you bought was...?
Hardcover: 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith, as a gift for my wife.
Softcover: White Earth by Andrew McGahan, shortlisted for the 2005 Miles Franklin award.
Used: How M'Dougall Topped the Score by Thomas E. Spencer, only to find out I already owned a copy. Looks like Dad will have something in his birthday box this year.
The last book you read was...?
Three Dollars by Elliot Perlman.
What are you currently reading?
Collapse by Jared Diamond, and struggling to get through it.
Wild Surmise by Dorothy Porter.
Taming the Beast by Emily Maguire, recommended by Sarah Weinman.
The Best Australian Essays 2004 edited by Robert Dessaix.
Five books you would take to a desert island...
Well, it has to be something I can keep dipping into. Something that will continue to to provide enjoyment over the years:
Illywhacker by Peter Carey, my favourite of Carey's works.
The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke by C.J. Dennis, my favourite book by my major literary obession.
The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles, I re-read it every few years and get more out of it every time.
Poor Fellow My Country by Xavier Herbert, I may well need the isolation of a desert island to get through what is considered by many to be The Great Australian Novel.
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, see above.
Who are you passing this stick on to and why?
Genevieve, at You Cried for Night, and Georgina at Stack; keeping it in the Australian family.
