Do not pass go. Do not collect $200

Let it be known, the stick has been passed. I woke up from a ghastly post-dinner nap to find this little hot potato in my comments box. Books! Who needs them! There will be no more books. Books spread infection. Books pollute the air. Books consume seven tim . . . but seeing as how Blogistan's favorite baji has ordered me to comply, I must get to it.

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

Ok, from what I understand this question can mean two things: what book do I hate the most or what book would I like to remember for a long time. Answering the first way, I think probable contenders to the title would be VS Naipaul's literary excursions. The amount of sheer poison that man injects into his writing is unbelievable. He has no respect for the humanity of the people he writes about and he makes no effort to accomodate alternative histories, instead mauling one and all in his characteristically malicious style. I'd stab him in the heart if he had one.

Answering in the second way, I think Baji answered that question really well, so I'll just quote her: If this question is aimed at determining what book I would memorize in order to save it for future generations, I reckon I'd have to go with the The Quran - the edition edited by Abdullah Yusuf Ali because those footnotes really help. (I'd also add the interpretation by Muhammad Asad simply because it provides an alternative and enriching perspective that complements the other. You can't read the Quran enough. Especially since it is a text that has multiple reading frames and depending on what mindset you approach it with, you come away with something new and rewarding every time. Subhan-Allah.)


Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?

No, I don't think so. I was too busy having crushes in real life. There are some fictional characters who I admire, though. Hari, from a poignant little story by Anita Desai, is one of them because he's very real and believable. You know there are hundreds of children like him who go through the same thing all the time and you can't help admire them for their courage and their heroism. (Sade and Femi from Beverly Naidoo's The Other Side of Truth are two more who come to mind.)


The last book you bought is . . .

It's been a long long time since that happy accident. I think it was The Oxford Book of Essays.


The last book you read . . .

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. I think most of the readers who come to this blog will already have read this masterpiece so I won't embarass myself by saying how good it is.


What are you currently reading?

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri


Five books you would take to a desert island

- The Quran; you can never read it enough.

- The Life of Pi; since I'm sort of tired of everybody telling me how good this book is, I might as well find out for myself. And what better place than on a desert island.

- The BFG by Roald Dahl

- Charlotte's Web by E B White

- A bunch of girly magazines; in case I run into a tribe of nerd-eating cannibals, I can distract them with the magazines and make a quick escape. Reading material can be good for more than one thing you know.


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

Knicq, Najm and Bushra. Because Knicq and Najm are two people who I've had the pleasure of having some very intelligent interactions with and I would be interested in finding out the books that shaped their perspectives. And Bushra because, even though I don't know her very well, comes across as someone who understands both the pleasures and the responsibilities that reading bring.