If I Read Books I Couldn't Read Blogs

Well, I've officially been blog-tagged for the first time by the delightful, lovely and always interesting Nerdd and, since it’s a topic near and dear to me, I’ll go ahead and respond. Yes, SabilaK, I actually do read.

In fact, one of the main reasons that I could never live in a small, cramped apartment is because I need plenty of room for the unbelievable volume of books I own. I’m almost something of a book collector. Some people take home stray dogs, I take home stray books. I walk by bookstores with their little carts out front advertising 25 cent books and I walk away with arms filled and a wallet that’s several dollars lighter.

So, in answer to the Nerdd’s questions:

1) One book that changed your life?
Hamlet by William Shakespeare.
Has always been, and likely will always be, the most important piece of literature I have ever encountered.

2. One book you have read more than once?
Harpo Speaks! by Harpo Marx.
A long, fun, wordy biography … yes “wordy” … from Harpo Marx, the clown who never spoke. It’s eloquent in its simplicity. I probably read it twice a year.

3. One book you would want on a desert island?
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.
Preferably the Arden edition. Enough said.

4. One book that made you laugh?
The Benchley Roundup
A collection of sketches and articles from one of the sharpest humorists of all time, the always-amusing Robert Benchley. "It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by then I was too famous." -- Robert Benchley

5. One book that made you cry?
The Dresser, by Ronald Harwood.
Imagine an actor listing another play. Humph ... who would've thought it? I performed the title role in this show back in ’91 or ’92 and have read it dozens of times … and I wept each and every time.

6. One book you stayed up all night to finish?
Actually a few months ago I stayed up all night to finish Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson.

7. One book that took you too long to read?
Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens.
Ironically, it’s one of my favorite novels … even though it took me months and months to finish. I’m afraid to read it again because I might be on Social Security before I finish it.

8. One book you are currently reading?
One of David Feldman’s Imponderables books.
Yes, sometimes I like to read fluff … educational fluff, but fluff nonetheless.

9. One book you have been meaning to read?
I Had the Right to Remain Silent...But I Didn't Have the Ability by comedian Ron White.

10. Now tag five people:
But, I don’t know five people. Tell you what ... if you're reading this, consider yourself tagged!