On Being Scottish

Feel free to disagree at any point. Also if any of my Aussie readership would like to do one on their national characteristics please do.

What being Scottish means.

Your own interpretation of my euphemisms may appear in brackets. Friendly (drunk); forgiving (because we've all done it ourselves, when drunk); curious; counter-cultural, in that it's OK to profess no interest, ever, in the likes of Diana; difficult; self-aware, self-taught, self-reliant; over-analytical; noble (maudlin); wry, shambolic, baffling, and curiously able (except when drunk) to be the first to rip the living piss out of ourselves. Much more, for good and ill: doomed, inventive, fatalistic, spendthrift (don't believe the myth, it's a myth).

And what being Scottish means according to the Urban Dictionary.

SCOTTISH
An adjective describing a pleasurable sexual experience.

What a Scottish Shag!

I am loathe to argue with that definition.

Watchu Readin' Fer?

Been tagged by the lovely mskp.

So here Goes

1. one book I've read more than once.
Donna Tartt - The Secret History,
Is probably one of the most audacious debut novels of the 90's. It appeals to me on so many levels, the bacchanalian excess, the college campus life, the inspiring lecturer, her use of language. That it's an imporatant book with a thrashy pulp novel plot. I usually read it once a year. A true modern classic.

2. one book I would want on a desert island.
The SAS survival guide.
Self explanatory

3. one book that made me laugh.
John Kennedy Toole - A Confederacy Of Dunces,
As sarcastic and caustic as Jonathan Swift who he stole the title from. Ignatius is a man for our times. Blithely farting away to himself.

4. one book that made me cry.
Andrew O Hagan - The Missing
A Scottish author not much older than myself. This first work of non-fiction weaved together stories of people who had gone missing in the uk. It dealt with the twin stories of infamous Scottish serial killer Bible John, and the latterday demons of Fred and Rose West. Utterly compellin and heartbreaking. He instills the book with such heart. Highly recommended.

5. one book I wish I'd written
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby,
Because it's the greatest novel in the English langauge.

6. one book I wish had never been written.
The books of the religions so many ascribe to.
Or at least put them back into context.

7. one book I'm currently reading.
Tony Parsons - Stories We Could Tell.
It's fun and lightweight and Tony like Nick Hornby does men of a certain age so well. And it was the only book in Brisbane airport worth picking up.

8. one book I've been meaning to read.
Ever since seeing him interviewed on highlight reel of Parkinson greatest interviews, I have been meaning to read Borges Labyrinths. In the interview on Parkinson he described the War in the Falklands thus, "Two bald men fighting over a comb". Genius

9. one book that changed my life.
Leo Tolstoy - Anna Karenin.
It made me realisethat there were authors outside of the USA, as a student I ahd immersed mysef in American authors, wether it be Mark Twain or William Burroughs. Reading Anna Karenin opened my eyes. Probably my favourite book of all time.

10. one book that made me think.
Christopher Hitchens - The Trial Of Henry Kissinger.
Since 9/11 old Chris took a step closer to the right, but if you read this you can see where is heart really lies. Hitchens, I believe is one of our great modern day polemicsits. And Kissinger shoud have appeared in the dock a long time ago.

I tag book club queen Miss Holly C
Smartie Artie Mr Richard Watts

That is all.