AUTHOR: Redaspie DATE: Monday, August 28, 2006 ----- BODY:

Stroppy tagged me for this particular viral whatever-it-is, which is nice except that answering 'what books did x for you' type questions has never struck me as being terribly interesting. Now one on music would have been great, but truth be told (and this will sound terrible to some I know) books have never been that important to me. Only in my childhood, when I used to spend copious amounts of time reading anthologies of old horror stories, have books ever been a central part of my life. Nowadays, although I still do lots of reading, it tends to be articles of one sort or another that I read, and when I do read a book a lot of the time I dip into one to look for info on a specific thing rather than read it cover to cover.

Still, there are some exceptions, and the next few questions will probably tell you what they are.

One book that changed my life
Moab is my Washpot by Stephen Fry, surely the best book about growing up ever written, and one that genuinely caused me to reassess life in general, to be honest. In political terms, tribute should be paid to Lenin's The State and Revolution which pretty much clarified for me what we revolutionaries are fighting for, and also a book, the title and author of which escapes me, which I picked up while rummaging around in Dundee University library where I was doing my undergraduate degree at the time. The book itself was some academic discussion of industrial theory I think (you know all that Fordism and post-Fordism stuff) but what struck me was that it gave a very restrained and sober analysis of the possibilities of capitalism coming to an end in the near future, and plausibly suggested that it was very possible. Up until then I was dismissive of the left in general, saw myself as a centrist, and longed for the day when Tony Blair would win the general election and sweep John Major out of office. That book started the political road I took that led to me eventually joining the SWP. Wish I could remember the title...

One book that you've read more than once
I can't think of a single book that I've read from cover to cover more than once. Books I've dipped into to read bits of again, yes, plenty of those. But no, not a whole book all over again. Frankly I wouldn't have the patience. Mind you, there is one author whose stories I would read over and over again just because he's that good and that is the inestimable (and, to be honest, horribly, horribly, reactionary) H. P. Lovecraft.

One book you'd want on a desert island
That is an aspie-unfriendly question if ever I heard one! Why would I want a book on a desert island, as opposed to anywhere else? Anyway, what kind of desert island? Are we talking about one with palm trees and fruit everywhere, and sunny beaches, or an 8 by 8 strip of wasteland? I've always assumed the question means that if I were only able to read one book and only that one book during the rest of my life, then which book would it be? It'd have to be something I haven't read yet to be honest - and which one to choose I really wouldn't know where to start.

One book that made you laugh
Oh an easy one. The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Pretty obvious answer, really. I mean, anyone who didn't laugh at Hitch Hiker is clearly an UTTER LOSER!! The very idea of keeping a straight face with that one, I mean, sheesh...

One book that made you cry
Song lyrics make me cry, not books. Sorry.

One book you wish you had written
I have never read a book and then wished I had written it. Mind you, I do harbour ambitions of writing some publishable material myself, although whether I'll get round to it I don't know.

One book you wish had never been written
Well I could say something obvious here like Mein Kampf but I won't. I suppose that any right-wing apologetics for capitalism, imperialism or racism, really. I won't name any names, suffice to say that I've never read any of them. I have dipped into a few of them, generally very quickly come to the conclusion: "What a load of old shite" and put them back on the shelf.

One book you're currently reading
Have been looking through the Lucian Seve archive on the Marxists Internet Archive. He was talking about the need for a Marxist theory of personality. Also reading The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, I think the 2005 edition. For those of you unfamiliar with it, it's an annual collection of new short horror stories, edited by a bloke called Stephen Jones.

One book you've been meaning to read
Well, list as long as my arm there, to be honest. The ones that come to my mind straight away are Paul Foot's The Vote, How it was won etc. (long title) and Christopher Hill's The World Turned Upside Down. Reading more of these top range texts is something I really know I should do, the fact that I haven't actually makes me feel guilty. One day I'll settle down somewhere (I hope) rather than go from bedsit to flat to student accom to flat, as I have been so far. Then I can build a library.

Five people to tag
Five? Oh for fuck's sake. Look I'm going to go with three. The first is Lenin's Tomb (he's probably been asked ten times already but what the hell), then there's Amanda Baggs at Ballastexistenz, and finally the Autistic Bitch from Hell.

Do you know, I actually enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would? Thanks, Stroppy.

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