What’s a Meme when it’s at home then?
April 24th, 2008 by Vanessa
In the last day or so I’ve been tagged for two memes and as I’ve not done this before and it sounds like fun I thought I’d take part…
The first one was from the very talented author Julie Bertagna who blogs here. It’s very flattering as I like her books very much and didn’t know that she read my blog. The rules are:
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.
Unquiet Spirits by K M Peyton – about which more in a few weeks… A brilliant book and well worth digging out. It’s my favourite of Kathleen’s recent books and demonstrates once again why she won the Carnegie Medal even if the sentences below seem odd taken out of context.
“My mother never spoke of Agnes, in spite of spending most of her time in the bridal bedroom, so I assumed they had never met. The central heating made her job viable. She would never have stood it otherwise, the way the wind blew around the North Tower.”
My tagees are: Em at Snowbooks, the wickedly funny Dulwich Mum, Mother at Large who can’t get out of this as we’re having lunch later, new bookseller whom I’m hoping to visit on Sunday Inkspot and Silverleaf and The Bookseller Crow who is probably, like all booksellers, keen on a little displacement activity now and then…
The other one requires a little more pondering and I’ll post that one later…
I discovered you a little while ago and keep meaning to seek you out when I’m in Edinburgh – one of these days. The shop looks beautiful. Thanks for your kind comment, especially on a day when I’m not feeling talented – just a bit stuck!
Julie
Of course Julie reads you. She’s got good taste, and even reads me. Though I didn’t know that either, at first. And I’m afraid I tagged her, so it’s nice that she tagged you. We need more publicity, which I think is what this is about.
Julie, we’ll have to meet up at Edinburgh’s best bookshop. Though if there’s only the one armchair we will have to fight.
Fancy meeting you here, Ann. It’s a date. We can take turns at the armchair. I’ll bring muffins if Vanessa can put on the kettle.
Obviously I have excellent taste in blogs.
But watch out Vanessa: Ann, in her other incarnation as a bookwitch, tends to cast spells that turn blogs pink. You should see what’s she’s done to the Guardian Books blog.
These chance meetings remind me of a visit to Lucca, Tuscany, where my husband’s family come from. In the maze of medieval streets I once bumped into my ex-neighbour, Sally – I knew we’d get on as soon as I saw her bookshelf – but she’d moved to Warsaw the year before and we’d lost touch. The blogosphere is a bit like that!
Vanessa, I think you and I have to become less interesting, or Julie will never get that book finished. Once she has, we can come round for that tea in half your armchair. As a reward.
Dear Vanessa,
Thank you so much for tagging me. I am sorry for taking so long, I have been unwell and unable to blog for a couple of days. You have really cheered me up.
Just as well you did not tag me – the nearest book was in French. (No I cannot read French that well.) It is technical (being on international languages) but I had to post this because, out of curiosity, I tried the first part of the exercise and came across the word ‘memes’ several times on page 123!
Just to warn you, I am reading only books on pregnancy, childbirth and new babies right now. Mostly by Sheila Kitzinger. I think she is brilliant, but not a woman who minces her words. My husband quakes in fear when her books come out. He knows who she blames for the over-medicalisation of childbirth. Men! Yes, men! As the only bloke around, he takes the rap for the wider patriarchy. Every time.
Or I could delve into a pile of well-loved Kipper books. Except they don’t go as far as P123. Drat.