1. One book that changed your life
Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, Halakhic Man
This one book changed my entire way of thinking about Orthodox Judaism and completely demolished the stereotypes I'd been taught by the liberal Jewish world.
- and -
Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon
This book helped me to come to terms with my dysfunctional family background. Macon ("Milkman") Dead has to deal with a lot of tough problems, including external oppression (from a racist society) and internal oppression (from within the family). He learns to liberate himself by understanding the mistakes his parents made - and by accepting the magical secret that they passed on to him. I'm planning to write a post on SoS one of these days.
2. One book you have read more than once
Daniel Pinkwater, Lizard Music
This book is simply sublime.
3. One book you would want on a desert island
Samuel R. Delany, Stars in my Pocket like Grains of Sand
4. One book that made you laugh
Alison Bechdel, Dykes to Watch Out For (the series)
5. One book that made you cry
David Grossman, See Under: Love (tr. by Betsy Rosenberg)
-and-
Audre Lorde, The Complete Poems
6. One book you wish had been written
Stephanie McLintock, The First Half: My Life and Works at Age 42
If only.
- also -
Tammy Bruce, Mary Cheney, and Irshad Manji, GWOT: The Gay War On Terror; Why the Queer Community Must Unite Against Islamic Fascism
I'm thinking of using that for a post title.
7. One book you wish had never been written
Sayyid Qutb, the complete works
8. One book you're currently reading
Bernard Lewis, The Middle East
Richard Feynman, The Feynman Lectures on Physics
9. One book you've been meaning to read
Stephen Wolfram, The Mathematica Book
A tragic update: David Grossman's son Uri has just been reported killed.
