Maggie Gyllenhaal joined my yoga class yesterday

It's true. After my lunch with Miss THB I went to my yoga class and Miss Gyllenhaal turned up. She's very flexible, if you wanted to know.

One of these days I will invent the Mother of all Memes and then you lot who keep sending me these will be dead sorry. Mark my words, Centinel. Mm ha ha ha.

- AT LEAST THIS IS A BOOK MEME -

1. You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451, which book do you want to be saved?
Since it should be something that is a great work of art...and completely personal, I would choose.... The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene. I find literature which conveys a little something about the essence of living as a human being is most rewarding.
2. Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?
No. I'm not crazy yet.
3. The last book you purchased?
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. I like the style of writing and the quirkiness of the story. That's all I'm ready to give away.
4. What are you currently reading?
Something that M. managed to read as a teenager - Plato's The Last Days of Socrates. It's the first time I've ever read anything by Plato. My classical education is sorely lacking, and I feel it all the time. Last year's mission was a humble one - to finish reading The Iliad. I didn't finish it, although I did manage to get to the nineteenth chapter. Hopefully this year I will get to complete it at some point.
5. Five books you would take to a deserted island?
If I'm on a desert island, I think I would definitely be looking for the book equivalent of comfort food. And to be allowed only five books is rather cruel and inhumane. The list that follows is validated by my state of mind as of this morning, rather than for absolute literary value (i.e. it is not a 'Top Five' list).
The Interpreter of Maladies, for its heartbreakingly precise yet accurately varied renditions of the immigrant experience.
Beloved, for lyrical, haunting writing at its best.
The Secret History. One should always have access to a good mystery novel, especially one featuring a midnight drunken orgy.
Atonement, for rich, beautifully fluid writing and an excruiating storyline.
A Tale of Two Cities, because where would we be without Charles Dickens, and because it is a childhood favourite.

Of course, I inflict memes on no one else other than myself.