Quote

"Keep working on a plan. Make no little plans. Make the biggest you can think of, and spend the rest of your life carrying it out." Harry S. Truman

Saturday, October 18, 2008

A Meme about reading

In the spirit of AMADI'S SNOWMAN and the upcoming blog tour, and inspired by my recent school visits, I thought it would be fun to come up with a meme about reading.

So, here are the five questions to be copied and pasted on your blogs, so we can keep the fun going around.

1. Do you remember the first book you ever read on your own?
2. Do you remember how you felt? If not, maybe you remember how you felt seeing a child read for the first time?
3. Do you remember a book that you read again and again as a child?
4. Why that book? Have you read it again as an adult? If so, was it like you remembered?
5. Why do you read?

And here are my answers :

1. Do you remember the first book you ever read on your own?

It was "Les Petites Filles Modèles" in French, by the Comtesse de Segur, and I just found out that they've never been translated into English. It was a present from a lady, but I don't remember who she was. That very evening, my parents allowed me to keep my light on to read, in my bed, and I can still see them looking at me from the door, probably quite moved. 

2. Do you remember how you felt? If not, maybe you remember how you felt seeing a child read for the first time?

I remember that I felt very proud, and all grown up.

3. Do you remember a book that you read again and again as a child?

The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas, and the sequel, Twenty Years After. It was a beautiful book with leather binding and very fine pages and a Christmas present. I think I was 9 years old. I read the two novels hundreds of times, and I actually can't wait for my daughter to be slightly older (another year) so we can read it together.

4. Why that book? Have you read it again as an adult? If so, was it like you remembered?

It has everything : adventure, strong and sensitive heroes, fantastically hateful villains (Oh, that horrid Cardinal de Richelieu !), romance, passion, History, costumes, horses galloping throughout the French countryside, some really funny dialogues and situations, some terribly tragic ones, too, etc, etc. I have not read the two books in a while, but I get awfully upset if I see a movie adaptation that totally distorts the story that I remember very well. I mean, how dare they ??? :) 

5. Why do you read?

Why do I breathe, or eat? Reading is good for everything : to escape, to take me other places, to pass the time while waiting somewhere or riding public transportations (better than staring at walls), to help me understand myself better, to live vicariously, to learn, to discover, to laugh, to travel, to dream, to cry, to feel...

Annette Gulatti, Janet Brown, Lisa SchroederRilla JaggiaSuzanne Kamata, Kristin Blair O'Keefe,  and, well, anyone who reads this and wants to pass it on, consider yourselves tagged.

14 comments:

Janet Brown said...

Done! with link to your post--thanks, Katia!

Alison said...

Hi,

I am Janet's sister, Alison, and I answered the questions on my blog, Slightly Off Kilter. I linked the post back to your blog too.

Alison

Katia said...

Great, thanks, Janet and Alison.

Lisa Schroeder said...

I posted today with answers to your meme:

http://lisa-schroeder.livejournal.com/229691.html

Katia said...

Thank you, Lisa :)

Anonymous said...

Oh gosh Katia, I don't even liked reading when I was a kid !! I remember I got this huge pile of books in Portuguese for a June 1st (first time I got presents for the Children's day !) and I was so disappointed ! It took me months and months before I grabbed one of the books and started reading... and felt in love with four of the same collection (although I have to admit I haven't read one or two of the ten-something books...). But it took me a very long long time ! :-|
(I wrote about those 4 books here: http://chezjoann.blogspirit.com/archive/2007/10/10/magalhaes-ana-maria-alçada-isabel-portugal.html :-))

Anonymous said...

http://minamimuki.com/blog/20081020/a-meme-from-scribbly-katia.html

Hi Katia, here are my answers via Suzanne Kamata.

Katia said...

Jo Ann, it's perfectly acceptable to have been a child who didn't like to read. You certainly do, now, right? So something must have happened to make you like reading? Mm, maybe I should have asked that question, too. :) Too late, now.

Katia said...

Thank you, Deborah, for participating. :)
Katia

Soggetto Nomade Kabiliana said...

Hi Katia, I stopped on your First Time Reading Tour too. See at http://kabiliana.blogspot.com
Valentina:)

Jessi Cotterill said...

Hello Katia. Thanks for visiting my blog. Your game is interesting and I changed it to be my first English book just because I can't remember my first Thai book I read on my own. In the old days there were not many interesting Thai books for children like they do now.

What you do is very nice and interesting. I looked through your blog and I've found it very interesting. I like to see your pictures from many places and I also like reading your review of books. If you don't mind, I'll put you in my blog list.

Katia said...

Thank you, Valentina, for participating and spreading the word, and thank you, Jessi, for the kind words about my blog. Certainly, you can add me to your blog roll. I'm honored. :)
Katia

Annette Gulati said...

Finally got my answers up to the reading meme. Thanks for including me, Katia.

http://thewritingwildlife.blogspot.com/

Katia said...

Hey, Annette, glad you made it :)