Becky’s Book Meme August 19, 2006
Posted by table4five in I like me some people.trackback
i was tagged by Becky of MissPriss to do a book meme, so here it is:
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.
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, then tag three people.
I grabbed the nearest book, which is “Confessions of a Super Mom”, by Melanie Lynne Hauser. Speaking of Melanie, she wrote a post about her stop at Schuler’s Books in Lansing the other night, and she recalled something I did when I first saw her which makes me feel like a complete dork, but which she thought was funny, so I’m not as embarassed any more. Go here, to her blog, and read about it. Then come back and read the meme!
Okay, so I go to page 123 of the book, and I find the fifth sentence. And whaddya know, the fifth sentence is the last sentence on the page, at the end of Chapter Seven! So here’s the first three lines of the next page, Chapter Eight:
“Contrary to popular belief (Kelly’s and Martin’s, that is), I did not come out of the womb brandishing antibacterial disposable hand wipes (which are, after Swiffer, the single greatest invention know to man).
I was, in fact, a little reckless when I was a teen. Once I had both beer and wine-just one glass each, but still-at a party. And my senior year I refused to cover my books with those horrible sticky book covers; when I turned it in before graduation my science book had been decorated with a smiley face drawn in permanent marker.”
I had to restrain myself from continuing on and copying the rest of that paragraph. Okay, three people. Hmmm…how about I have Dawn pick something from the “pretty paper pyramids” stack next to her bed, and I’d like to know what Izzy is reading, and also I’ll tag Karl, and tell you all that you really need to go to Karl’s blog and click on his YouTube video of him singing “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield, and then you’ll know why I would very much like him to be my new bestest friend.
Table for Five 
Thank you, thank you for the link to Karls video. It absolutely made my night!
Karl is very obviously VERY cool. Rocking Rick Springfield? Inexpressably cool.
Dude, was that video not the coolest EVAH?!
And Elizabeth, you are so cute. Author groupies – I would love to be one of those!
Those three lines got me curious about the book. I might have to check that out.
P.S. Don’t bloggers have “people” too?? hee hee
I am embarrassed to say that I have read hardly any books in the past year since the baby was born. The two I do recall reading are Wendy Boucher’s “Parvenue Throws a Party” (loved it! and loaned it to my MIL) and Alice Sebold’s “The Lovely Bones” which I also loved but it was borrowed from a friend. All the books around here that are nearby do not even go up to page 123 and have titles like “Madeline’s Rescue” and “Madeline in London” How about magazines? I have a stack of “Fast Company” and “Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion” magazines. Would those suffice? lol
This is pathetic. The nearest book to me right now is: MAC OS X Powerhound.
And more patheticism: my husband gave it to me as a love offering, because he knew I was so excited to get my new mac.
And more embarrasing revelations: I got my new mac in MARCH. Of LAST YEAR. That book has been sitting on my desk, and sometimes shuffled to various other surfaces around the house, for a year and a half. Pathetic.
(And you didn’t ask but I’ll tell you anyway. It’s: Once this window is open, drag the Control Panels folder and the Apple Menu Items folder…Yada yada. I can’t go on. But now at least I can say I’ve read one sentence in that book!)
(And if my computer was in our bedroom, I could quote from no books at all, but lots and lots of New Yorkers.) (The magazine. Not any actual New Yorkers.)
It was nice to meet you at BlogHer and I wish we’d hung out more. And good luck with all the scary things you have coming up this week.
Man, I’m glad you didn’t tag me. I don’t think you want me repeating a bunch of porn. Plus it’s probably copywrited.
Ah, okay, THIS meme I haven’t done. I’ll put mine up tomorrow.
Nancy-Isn’t it awesome?!
HBM-I KNOW, right? And didn’t you love his t-shirt?
MGM-So tragically hip, it’s cool! And aw, thanks, you’re cute too. Believe me, Melanie deserves groupies!
MOTR-You really should check out the book. It’s a blast.
Izzy-I bought Wendy’s book at BlogHer and read it on the plane from San Jose to Salt Lake City. Loved, LOVED it! I’ve never heard of “Fast Company” magazine, but if it’s what you’re reading, then by all means use it for the meme!
Krisco-You better get to reading that Mac book before they release something new and OS X becomes obsolete! “Not any actual New Yorkers”-that cracked me up.
Jenny-Are you DARING me to tag you so you can read us some porn? Because that would be totally okay with me.
Karl-Glad you’re playing along!
Even though I was not tagged,I wanted to play anyway because it is that or work. Yeah, look what I chose to do!
When I grabbed the nearest book, it was one I won at BlogHer. (Sweet Swan of Avon: Did A Woman Write Shakespeare?) How ironic were the words I chose. I have to share them with you even though I was not tagged.
“As Betsy Lerner states in The Forest for the Trees: An Editor’s Advice to Writers, “Writing what you know is a given. Writing what you know is unavoidable. All people write what they know, for God’s sake. It’s the air you breathe!”
LOVE IT! What a great book to be sitting beside my computer and for me to grab. I needed to read that. (So tagged or not, your comments got the tag!) 😉
Jenn-I’m so glad you played along! And Betsy Lerner is a wise woman.
Here’s mine, from Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual by Bill Mollison:
“On warm sea coasts, where onshore winds not only carry salt but also evaporate moisture, salt deposits on vegetation are the limiting factor on species selection, and only selected hardy species with fibrous or waxy surfaces can escape death or deformation by salt burn.”
But I’m sure you knew that already.
PS, yes I really am reading this book. And it is blowing my mind!
What a great meme if ever there was one! I’d heard about Ms. Hauser’s book at Joshilyn Jackson’s blog. Very cool you got to meet her!
You know I can’t turn down a good dare…the closest book to me is Anais Nin’s Delta of Venus…
The tip of it was frayed. The places where the buckle was fastened were almost as thin as a piece of cloth.
“My belt is wearing out,” Pierre said, “and it makes me sad because I have had it ten years.”
(Don’t feel too sorry for him. He ends up not having to use it anymore in the next sentence.)
Aww, Jenny, no fair! you promised me some porn, dammit!
Check out the book. I promise you that in the next sentence it’s hot and heavy.