Friday, April 10, 2009

451 Fridays


451 Fridays is based on an idea from Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. In his novel, a group of people (Bradbury calls them Book People) are trying to keep the ideas found in books alive. Instead of actually saving the books, the Book People each "become" a book - memorizing it, word for word, and passing it down to the next generation.

451 Fridays asks what books you feel passionate about. What book do you think is so important that you would be willing to take on the challenge of "becoming"?

Today, I have the pleasure of welcoming Kathy to 451 Fridays. Kathy's blog, Bermudaonion's Weblog, is a great source of reviews and information, and I am pretty sure Kathy is the best commenter in the blogosphere! She hosts a fun weekly meme, Wondrous Words Wednesday, in which participants get to share the interesting new words they've discovered in their reading. Welcome, Kathy!

Which 5 books do you believe are important enough to be saved, and why?

This assignment was much tougher than I thought it would be. Here's my list:

  • The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
  • A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
  • Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  • The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Of those 5, which book would you choose to "become"?

I would become The Diary of a Young Girl and my quote from it is:

"I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are good at heart."



Kathy, thanks so much for taking the time to share with us YOUR list of books which must be saved. Next week, TJ from Book Love Affair will be joining us to share her list. If you would like YOUR list featured, send me an email and we will chat!

19 comments:

bermudaonion said...

Thanks so much for inviting me to participate, Elizabeth. This was tougher than I thought it would be, but it was also a great discussion question!

Anonymous said...

Hi Kathy. I am totally with you on 'The diary of a young girl'. When I read the book first, I started noting down sentences which I loved in a book. But then there were so many that I just got tired after a while.

I haven't read the other books though, I'll make sure to add them to my wishlist.

Julie P. said...

Kathy is the very best!!! Great post.

Molly said...

GREAT great book choices!

I always look forward to this weekly meme!

Beth F said...

Super choices! Really. How could you choose which one from that list? They are all so great.

Serena said...

A Tale of Two Cities and Julius Caesar are not the works I would choose from Dickens and Shakespeare at all. I do agree about Harper Lee's book and Anne Frank's diary.

I think I would have chosen the same book to "become" from your list.

Anonymous said...

Oh, those are good choices. This is one of the hardest memes I've ever done :) and I love it!

Bonnie said...

This does sound like it would take great thought and discussion. What a great idea! I like your choice Kathy, mine would be the same from your list. I need to go back and re-read The Diary of a Young Girl. It's a powerful book and one we cannot forget.

Anonymous said...

This is such a cool feature! And such an interesting concept. I have read 3 books in this list (I am yet to read To Kill a Mockingbird and Julius Caeser). I think choosing between the Grapes of Wrath and Anne Frank's dairy would have been tough for me.. But i guess I would have eventually picked Anne Frank's Diary.

Darlene said...

Great choices Kathy. I'm with you on 3 of them-Anne Frank, The Grapes of Wrath and To Kill a Mockingbird.

Luanne said...

Wow - it would be really hard to narrow it down to five. Loved your list Kathy.

Lenore Appelhans said...

I had chills reading Anne Frank's words...

Gilion at Rose City Reader said...

Good choices -- and interesting! It would be very hard to pick! My mind is not swirling with the possibilities!

Margot said...

Great list Kathy, as well as interesting. Out of all the wonderful books you've read, these are the top 5. I bet that was hard.

Jenners said...

Great choices! And I love the quote .. that always gets to me when I hear it. And it was cool to see a photo of you and your cute dog! Helps me put a face with a name ... I think I was imagining you as an onion! ; )

And I agree with Elizabeth...you are one amazing blogger and commenter. I don't know how you do it! : )

Amy said...

Great choices! Though I haven't read them all! :)

Teddyree said...

I've just discovered your amazing blog & there's an award waiting for you at my place :-)

http://teddyree-theeclecticreader.blogspot.com/2009/04/one-lovely-blog-award.html

Ana S. said...

1 and 4 are such excellent choices! Not saying that the other 3 aren't, but those I haven't read yet :P

Becca said...

I agree completely about The Diary of a Young Girl. I know it would be in my own top 5. Great selections!