Luke Perry vs. Goethe

Growing up, I absolutely loved reading. Children books first, novels later.

Strolling in the library, my eyes scanning the many bookshelves, hoping to find that perfect new read. Every new potential great book was a discovery and made me smile. And almost every time I had to leave one of those discoveries at the counter, because I exceeded the limit of books, yet again.

The sense of freedom I had when strolling through the library completely disappeared at High School. With Dutch, English, German and French classes, I had to read over 30 books in my fourth year of High School.

Strolling became booklists, telling someone about the book became a test, relaxing became homework, curiosity became study, my weekly Luke Perry (what ever happened to him?) became an uncomprehensable amount of Goethe. I hated it.

When I finished High School at 16 (in 1996), I tossed my library card away and swore I’d never get a new one.

But, never say never!

Last week, 10 years after I burned my library card, I got a new one. Because in the last two years I found my love for books again. As strolling the infinite book collections of Amazon and Bol became a bit too expensive, I just had to break the promise I made to myself in 1996.

I’m so excited, but also a bit sad. Because of being forced to read I missed out on 10 years of reading. I wonder if that was what this school system had in mind when they invented forced reading. I mean for my it kinda defeated the purpose.

But, let's make up for lost years. Tell me, what book - Dutch or English, written in the last 10 years - should I get from the library, and why?

The book meme

From Victor: the book meme.

You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451, which book do you want to be?
What is Fahrenheit 451? Did I miss a Michael Moore … book?
Or Victors interpretation: “You mean, if I were this book would I throw myself on the fire?” In that case I would have to say a The Life of Pi. I’m still stuck in the beginning of the book. Hate it but I am curious to read it. I’ll probably try again in a few months. But for now? Burn.

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?
Would I go to jail when I say Harry Potter? Seriously though, I don’t think I’ve ever had a crush on a fictional character.

The last book you bought is:
I bought 3 at once, and haven’t started reading in any of them yet.

Nicci French, catch me if I fall (not yet available on Amazon.com?)
The Tipping point
A blessing of bread A cook book, I know, but it has cute little stories too.

The last book you read:
The curious incident of the dog in the night time Excellent book. Very cute.

What are you currently reading?
The Da Vinci Code. LOVE it. I’m reading it in Dutch (unlike all the other books I mentioned in this post). I read it every day in the tram on my way to and from work. And every day I almost forget to get out of the tram.

Five books you would take to a deserted island.
Ehm. The 3 books I haven’t read yet .. The bell jar because I read it once, about ten years ago. I remember that I thought it was a great book. But since I have the amazing gift of forgetting all about movies & books, I can’t remember a thing. So I have to read it again.
The 5th book? I don’t know, you tell me! What would you recommend me to read and why?

Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 persons) and why?
Volunteers?

What on earth has gone into the main character?

As seen on Razzle Frazzle and We’re gonna need a bigger boat...
(go say hi, they’re nice people!)

Instructions:
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that cool or intellectual book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.

From ‘The curious incident of the dog in the night time’ by Mark Haddon:

So I got out my Swiss army knife and opened the saw blade so that I could defend myself. Then I went out of my room really quietly and listened. I couldn’t hear anything, so I started going downstairs really quietly and slowly.

I’m currently reading this book and the last page I read was 104, so now I HAVE to read because I’m curious to find out how the sweet young main character of this book ended up with an army knife.