Bitten by the Tag-Bug!

Morning... Just awake... only barely...
Knock knock... who's there?...
BANG... CRASH... dust and bright light... a booming voice... "You have been tagged by your Pal!"
Mortification... So it was true after all... I try to turn around wanting to run for my life... Petrified... can't move... Astonishment... fear... confused... helpless... futility... resignation... "What do want me to do?"

Him: Answer a few questions.
Me: First tell me why this is happening!

Him: Pal has tagged you with the book-bug.
Me: Pal! He gets many ideas!

Him: Do you like to read?
Me: I love to read.

Him: What do you read?
Me: I read everything from comics to magazines and short stories to full novels. True stories, fiction, fantasy and accounts.

Him: What languages do you read in?
Me: I prefer English, although I have read a little in Hindi too.

Him: What are you currently reading?
Me: Inca Gold by Clive Cussler.

Him: How many books do you own?
Me: Too many. Running out of space to shelve them.

Him: Where do you buy books?
Me: No single place. I have bought at Crossword, I buy here in Melbourne from a second hand store, from Munna-Bhai in Mumbai...

Him: How do you choose a book to buy?
Me: I look for the reviews most of the times and my friends point me on to a book they have found to be good. Sometimes I just read blurbs at a bookstore and pick one up by intuition.

Him: What is your most recent buy?
Me: A compendium of three books in one hardback by Archer.

Him: What do you pplan to read next after Inca Gold?
Me: The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason. I have borrowed it from the St Kilda public library.

Him: Is that a good library?
Me: It is paradise to any book lover. A fantastic collection of books and CDs and DVDs and audio books too. And guess what, it is all free for any resident of this place.

Him: That is impressive, enough cause for envy amongst your friends.
Me: Yes, make sure you tell Pal.

Him: Do you gift books?
Me: If the person I am gifting likes to read or even would like to start reading, I would choose a book straight away.

Him: What was the last book you gifted?
Me: A set of two leatherbound classics to my best friend at her engagement.

Him: Any book that left a lasting impression on you?
Me: Many in fact. One specifically would be Acts of Faith by Erich Segal.

Him: Is there a book that you could not finish?
Me: A few. One comes to mind immediately: Five Patients by Michael Crichton. I am not made for such types of narrative I guess.

Him: Name a few books you would recommend to a fellow reader.
Me: The Class by Erich Segal
Malgudi Days/Swami and Friends both by R. K. Narayan
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
The Mill on the Floss (un-abridged) by George Eliot
The Black Arrow by Robert Lewis Stevenson
The Client by John Grisham
The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller
...and many more

Him: Which do you think is the best movie made out of a book?
Me: This is tough to answer. There are many to begin with. And there are different themes. I would leave this to the opinion of the individual. I will say only that I believe the charm of a book can never be truly captured on screen. Imagination that brings a book you read to life is your own while a movie is the imagination and interpretation of another, however good it may be.

Him: You have done well so far with all the questions. I have no choice but to leave you in peace now.
Me: In fact, come to think of it, I enjoyed the interrogation. Only you could have un-petrified me! Now get lost will you!

More light... dust... a chill blast of air... suction... mist... a warp... and suddenly quiet... I can move... I go to the kitchen for a glass of water... and to make some breakfast... Come to think of it, Pal, good on you... you have set me thinking. :-)