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Tuesday, January 16, 2007
I've been -- I've been tagged!
[cue heavenly chord]
Have you any idea how long it's been since I've done a meme in here? Ages and ages! In blog years, anyway.
OK, Kat tagged me for the following (thank you, Kat, for validating my existence. This is like my name in a KS post. Remember the THRILL of it?):
The Page 123 Meme
1. Grab the book closest to you.
2. Open to page 123, look down to the 5th sentence.
3. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog.
4. Include the title and the author's name.
5. Tag 3 People.
OK. The book closest to me is one of C's American Girl library books on the arm of the couch, and those don't have a page 123, which is a good thing, because the next-closest book, sitting on the coffee table, is The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury of course, which I checked out of the library even though I think I own it and it's here somewhere, because I found out that my husband had never read it. How a person reaches the age of 37 without having read The Martian Chronicles is a bit of a mystery to me. There's something wrong here somehow, for that poor man to have slipped through the cracks in such a fashion.
So, page 123, sentences 5-7:
"Having chosen you for this serious task, I find my reasons deplorably obscure, Father, but your pamphlet on planetary sin did not go unread. You are a flexible man. And Mars is like that unclean closet we have neglected for milleniums."
Ooh. Heavy.
You know, I don't know if there are three people who read this who actually still use their blogs (Debi, Kristen, and Jenn, I AM LOOKING AT YOU. Not that I have much room to talk.) Michael, Kiwiria, and Valerie, if you see this, you're IT. :)
Comments
You know i am having technical difficulties!! LOL. Actually, kristin did update her blog. =) I might even do the meme!! as soon as i have fixed this HUGE mess that I have made! my house is in turmoil!! ack!!
Posted by: Anonymous at January 16, 2007 10:45 AM
You know i am having technical difficulties!! LOL. Actually, kristin did update her blog. =) I might even do the meme!! as soon as i have fixed this HUGE mess that I have made! my house is in turmoil!! ack!!
Posted by: DebiG at January 16, 2007 10:46 AM
I DO remember the thrill of seeing one's name in a post! I miss those days on KS...
Posted by: Kat with a K at January 16, 2007 07:20 PM
I did the meme, Rachel! Know that I read your blog faithfully, even when I don't comment..... am loving your photos, have commented once or twice, but the comments don't seem to go through.
love, Valerie
Posted by: Valerie at January 17, 2007 01:20 AM
I totally do NOT remember those lines in MC. I JUST re-read the book for the umpteenth time last week! What is going on? I think I must have some weird abridged copy or something. What is abridged anyway? Does it mean that some stuff is missing? Because if it does, I think I have THAT.
Posted by: jenn at January 17, 2007 04:39 PM
Actually, Jenn, I just looked at this edition (I haven't read it, and didn't remember that specific passage either, but I've only read the book about three times and it's been a while) and it says that it is updated and revised, specially created for some avon book club or something. TRAVESTY. The above lines are in a chapter called "November 2033: The Fire Balloons". Does your edition have that?
Posted by: Rachel at January 17, 2007 04:55 PM
NO. !
Posted by: jenn at January 17, 2007 05:08 PM
!! indeed! I would say, 'well, he's alive and it's under copyright, how badly could he allow them to mess it up?' but I've seen too many abridged audiobooks on the market (despised by the authors) to think that that just makes everything OK.
edit: I went a-googling and found a message board topic about this:
http://raybradburyboard.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3791083901/m/8761054372?r=9371054372#9371054372
Long story short, it appears that Bradbury updates his work occasionally, changing dates, etc., and that this edition had two additional stories and I think one or two deleted as well. I must confess that I'm not nuts about this idea, myself. When YOU are a published author, miss Jennifer, if you want to rewrite a book, please resist the urge, OK? It's unsettling. :)
Posted by: Rachel at January 17, 2007 05:26 PM
