Month: January 2009

1) “An oracle: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi.” (This is the book I’m currently reading.) Answer: This actually is the book of Malachi! I try to read five chapters in the Bible every morning. I start at the front, and read to the end. Once I get to the end, I start over. Someone mentioned that when they did that sort of reading, they picked a new translation each time. So, I’ve decided to do that! I read the King James, and am working on the New International now. I start Mark tonight! (I also sometimes read in the evening.)

2) “THE ‘Red Death’ had long devastated the country.” (One of my favorite short stories.) Answer: “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe. I figured some of you would at least be able to guess that one. I’m a huge Poe fan, and “Masque” is high on my list of favorites. I made a blog template with that theme, and produced a Reader’s Theater piece based on it.

3) “My grandmother, in her own way, shines like a beacon down the stormy American past.” (A favorite book I read over and over. Most of you probably haven’t read it.) Answer: This is “Revenge of the Lawn” by Richard Brautigan. I think my English teacher Roz Costa introduced me to him. He’s one of my favorites. I own all his works I can reasonably afford. The only things I don’t have are the outrageously expensive out-of-print stuff. The rest of it I’ve read.

4) “He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days know without taking a fish.” (This one you’ve probably all read, and should be an easy guess. This is a book I want to re-read.) Answer: “The Old Man and the Sea” by Hemingway. I figured this would be an easy guess too. I didn’t read this in high school, but it’s frequently required reading. Last week I mentioned I wanted to re-read it. I did–this week!

5) “When you ask why I dwell here docile among the far green hills, I laugh in my heart. My heart is happy.” (I’d guess none of you have ever read this book; I read it rather frequently.) Answer: The Jade Flute: Chinese Poems  in Prose.”  It’s out of print. It’s everything about me, in poems: it’s romantic, wistful, and melancholy. See if this sounds like something I might like…

To His Dead Lover

“The swishing sound of silk is still. The dust gathers on marble floors. The room is hollow, cold and silent. Leaves have drifted against the doors.

Longing for that lost sweet girl, I wonder how to lull my aching heart to rest.”

Take five different books, and type in the first line of each
book. You can pick a book you just read, a book you are reading, and a book
you want to read. You can use fiction, non-fiction, poetry, textbooks,
whatever. If you want to create your own similarities among the five books,
you can. However, you can pick any random five books you want, whether you
have read them or not. DO NOT post the name of the book, nor the author.
Only list the first line. Over the next week, visit the blog of each MI-5’er. Make yourself post a comment. It can be any comment, with one exception: DO NOT TRY TO GUESS THE BOOK OR THE AUTHOR. This is to the keep the “surprise” for those of us who like to guess. You may indicate that you’ve read the book, that based upon the first line you’d like (or not like) to read the book, or you can
indicate that you know the book (just don’t name the book or author). Next Thursday or Friday, each MI-5’er should add the title and the author to
their original entry.

1) “An oracle: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi.” (This is the book I’m currently reading.)

2) “THE ‘Red Death’ had long devastated the country.” (One of my favorite short stories.)

3) “My grandmother, in her own way, shines like a beacon down the stormy American past.” (A favorite book I read over and over. Most of you probably haven’t read it.)

4) “He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days know without taking a fish.” (This one you’ve probably all read, and should be an easy guess. This is a book I want to re-read.)

5) “When you ask why I dwell here docile among the far green hills, I laugh in my heart. My heart is happy.” (I’d guess none of you have ever read this book; I read it rather frequently.)

OK, rememeber: If you know the answer, DON’T mention the name or author in your comments! Next week, I’ll reveal who is what. By my guesstimate, though, you’ll be able to get three out of the five I posted.