Pink Lady on the Loose!: The Book Challenge

Yellow?!!?

I was reading a friend's blog where she gives this "Book Challenge". So here goes:

One book that changed your life:

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. It changed the way I view business life, my career and money. It really opened my eyes. I bought it on a business trip to the UK. I was there for a week and was reading the book in my hotel room. I became so disgusted with all my credit card debt that I wanted to cut up all my credit cards right then and there. However, I did not have a pair of scissors handy! But I was so determined to destroy my credit cards that I actually bent and twisted them out of shape so that I would no longer be able to use them!! And I haven't used them since then - it was about a year ago. I only have one credit card left and it's the company one. I realized that buying something on sale with a credit card just does not make sense - at least not if you end up paying interest on it for several months (years?)...

One book you've read more than once:

1984 by George Orwell. It's to this day, the only book I've ever read more than twice. I read it in high school when I was around 15 and I read it three times in a row. It made a huge impression on me. I still feel that all I ever learnt about politics, I learnt from that book.

One book you'd want on a desert island:

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.

One book that made you giddy:

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding. It's probably also partly been the inspiration for this blog.

One book that wracked you with sobs:

I have trouble remembering. Perhaps the Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller? Or Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte? I really don't remember. Movies make me cry all the time, but books do it more rarely. They do make me cry, but I just can't remember which ones did...

One book that you wish had been written:

"A Complete Guide to Happiness". I checked in Amazon and there is no such book. However, there is one called The Complete Guide to Happiness and Success by Hazel Krantz. Perhaps I need to check it out? ;-)

One book you wish had never been written:

All books have their place. There are of course books that I choose not to read. Such as Harlequin romance novels. However, I have often thought that it might be fun to write them! There's money to be made in that. Maybe some day I will... ;-)

One book you're currently reading:

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. It's not, BTW, a book about motorcycle maintenance but a novel about values.

One book you've been meaning to read:

I could list about a thousand books here. Perhaps Moby Dick by Herman Melville would best qualify. I've even memorized the first page but have never read it! "Call me Ishmael. Some years ago, never mind how long precisely, having little money in my pocket and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I decide to sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation..." (or something along those lines). I used to memorize a lot of poetry when I was young-er: I've always had a burning need to use my brain in some way. But I've never done crossword puzzles and I don't do math or play chess. I have, however, studied 13 languages and memorized tons of poetry. I was once in a bar in Paris with an international group and I started reciting poetry. I could've kept going for hours (and I'm only slightly exaggerating!) A South African guy (whom I didn't actually know) said "It must be really wonderful to have all that poetry inside your head!". I'd never thought about it that way. For me it was just a way of challenging my brain - kind of like flexing my cranial muscles. ;-)

Pink Lady on the Loose!