Plus C'est la Meme

I've been “memed.” For the newbies, that's when someone (claiming to be a friend or regular reader) essentially sends you a writing exercise and you have to complete the assignment or face a future of noodgy emails from the sender.

In this case, the someone in question was Ginger, and the meme in question was the one you've probably seen in various other places over the past few weeks: the one about books. As memes go, this one wasn't that bad in theory--it forced a reassessment of the place of books in my life, and I realized that although I keep buying them, and starting them, I don't always finish them. (Maybe I've finally found my New Year's resolution.)

Well, voici la meme:

You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451, which book do you want to be?

I also haven’t read the book. I know; it’s what we Jewishly-steeped types might call “a shonda,” but I’ve never read lots of lit that maybe an English major should have. But instead of regaling you with a list of the unread, I think I’ll have to imagine that the question is just “which book do you want to be?” I guess I’d have to go with my old favorite, an amalgam of dreams and fantasy and the desire to find that one place that feels like home: The Wizard of Oz.

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?

Um, yes. There have been many over the years, mostly on television. But I do admit to a crush on both the Scarecrow (who was smart but modest to the point of being self-effacing) and the Tin Man (whose heart, in its absence, was the most vital, beating part of him). But outside of Oz, I think it all began with The Great Brain. Or Encyclopedia Brown, who was smart, but too much of a know-it-all for me. As time wore on, there were others. Rhett Butler was in there somewhere.

The last book you bought is:

Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress by Susan Jane Gilman. What does that say about me?

The last book you read:

The Fat Girl’s Guide to Life by Wendy Shanker. Hilarious, if you haven’t read it, you should.

What are you currently reading?

Tons. Behind Everyman by David Israel; the aforementioned Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress; Lost Tribe; Kosher Sex

Five books you would take to a deserted island.

1. Turbulent Souls by Stephen Dubner, because I just adore the writing and the story; and plus, the spiritual component is substantial and could help buoy my spirits when I inevitably became depressed.
2. Lost Tribe: Jewish Fiction from the Edge edited by Paul Zazrewski, because its subversive stories would likely keep me busy and spiritually challenged.
3. I am going to copy off Candace and Ginger and say The Bible, but I’d want several different kinds: the original Hebrew text, a Latin version and one of the newer Christian English translations, so that I could look at the texts side by side and see how different things were translated.
4. A “Teach Yourself Latin” book, so that the Bible translation stuff would become clearer still.
5. This may not be playing according to the rules, but I’d bring my own never ending supply of pens and notebooks, so I could write my own. I always get lots of writing done on the beach.

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

Well, I’d like to pass it to all the bloggers at Jewlicious because they’re all such different voices and would have different answers, but I’m the new kid over there, and I should be bringing them the blogquivalent of donuts, not homework.

I’ll pass it to Hilary, because she’s a good sport and well-read to boot.

Annabel Lee, because she’s all smart and stuff.

And to Gatsby because I’ve not visited him lately and I’m feeling guilty.

Comments

[r]

Rhett takes the cake. Easily.

[Hilary]

I'm swamped at the moment, but give me time and I'll do it this week. I promise!

[Dawn Summers]

you feel guilty for not visiting him, so you punish him with this meme? That just doesn't seem right somehow.

[ken]

While the Latin Bible would do you some good for what the Christians call the Old Testament, I don't know if it would provide many clues to mysterious translation differences. I think lots of the Old Testament translation oddities happened as the Israelites were being chased all over kingdom come and their own languages changed over the years. (That whole mess about a virgin giving birth prophecy is, supposedly, the product of one version of the OT coming out of the Jewish community in Alexandria, Egypt)

On the New Testament end, what you should do is also pick up the Coptic, Aramaic and Greek versions of the original Gospels (and some Coptic, Aramaic and Greek books). And include all the Gospels, not just the four included in the Christian Bible.

Or you could just bring the Book of Mormon and not worry about translations at all. (But it might, literally, bore you to death)

[Esther]

Ken, I could tell you that the word betulah, which is commonly translated as "virgin," also means young maiden, usually unmarried and therefore a virgin, but not necessarily. And there are others I'd like to examine more closely...

[rabbi neil fleischmann]

On the topic of starting books and not finishing or buying and not reading (which you mention at the start here), there's a great essay by Nick Hornby in every issue of The Believer in which he chronicles what he has bought and read and what he thinks of each of those books. It has been collected into a book, even as new essays keep coming out. I've thought about buying the book...