A book meme

which kcm at Zen Mischief Weblog has tagged me to complete:

So many contenders for most of these, mind…

One book that changed your life: The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge, first read as a library book when I was eight, and many times since. It was perfect for me, and the first book that I loved so much that I wanted to buy it for myself.

One book that you have read more than once: Cotillion by Georgette Heyer. Funny and well plotted and the (early 19th century) clothes worn and bought by the characters are to die for!

One book that you would want on a desert island: The King's England, edited by Arthur Mee (all forty-odd volumes!). If restricted to a single volume, then one of John Hadfield’s anthologies such as A Book of Beauty.

One book that made you laugh: Where Did It All Go Right? by Andrew Collins, about being a child in the 1970s.

One book that made you cry: Rose in Bloom by Louisa M Alcott – the deathbed scene is a real three hanky job.

One book you can’t read: War and Peace, though admittedly it’s a long time since I tried.

One book you wish you'd written: Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones.

One book you wish had never been written: I wouldn’t say that of any book, but there are some I wish I’d never read, like The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, which I find profoundly disturbing. If that’s a classic children’s book, thank goodness I never came across it as a child!

One book you're reading: Shakespeare by Bill Bryson

One book you're going to read: Barnard Letters, edited by Anthony Powell