We’ve been caught by Kirsten over at Now or Never, so here goes my (MS the Younger, that is) version of the Book Meme.
Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. (No cheating!)

That would be Isabel Allende’s “Aphrodite: The Love of Food and the Food of Love.” I just got it two days ago and I’m practically done, very absorbing and classic food writing book recommended by Kel over at Kelly Speaks.
Find Page 123.
Find the first 5 sentences.
Hmm, the author is recalling a friend’s letter about a sensual meal and seduction in the wilds of Egypt with a darkly beautiful, smoky-eyed Egyptian man…
Post the next 3 sentences.
“Mahmoud insisted dinner was not over, we must have sweets. With great delicacy, he slipped a small pistachio and honey pastry into my mouth… Taste my sweet Turkish delight, he begged. It was soft, sweet, and perfumed of roses. Through the window I saw the moon lighting the Egyptian night. I chose another sweet, and bit into it, voluptuously…”
Tag 5 people.
Hmm, who would like this? Like Kirsten said, I’d love to see what other people are reading (inspiration!) so if you feel like it, let’s hear from:
Jafabrit, composeanalysis, monimania, swordfury, and Japanorama.
I wonder what book Dad has floating around?
~CAB
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Kirsten, here’s MadSilence the Senior’s contribution to the Book Meme:
Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more:
The Warhol Economy: How Fashion, Art, and Music Drive New York City by Elizabeth Currid. 2007 by Princeton University Press. Comment: Quite an interesting book. Currid has a Ph.D. in urban planning and discusses the relationship between the arts and the urban economy.
Find Page 123.
Find the first 5 sentences.
Chapter 6, entitled Creating Buzz, Selling Cool, addresses NYC’s graffiti industry, and the commoditization of cultural goods, which allows graffiti to be sold in the global marketplace, and has led to graffiti artists who have clothing lines with Calvin Klein.
Post the next 3 sentences.
“Graffiti artists Futura 2000 and Lee Quinones, along with others such as Cope, have had business deals with Adidas, Nike, Converse, and Northface among other brands, leading to a certain “corporatization” of street culture—or rather these once subversive and transgressive cultures are now part of a large corporate mass production. Both Futura’s Nike and Lee’s Adidas special edition graffiti-inspired sneakers have sold for thousands on eBay. IRAK, considered the most glamorous graffiti crew in New York City, boasts members like Dash Snow and Ryan McGinley, who have become world-famous artists and photographers, the latter documenting the lives of the [graffiti] subculture. Even though most members of IRAK do not write graffiti anymore (mainly because, as one member put it, many are on probation, in jail, or in rehab), they are still selling the IRAK name and continue to meet for “business deals.”
~TAB





6 Comments
February 13, 2008 at 12:12 am
Ooooh — that looks wonderful! I have yet to read any Isabel Allende (I know, I know…) so perhaps this one will need to be bumped to the top of the list.
Thanks for playing!
February 13, 2008 at 7:24 am
Thanks for letting me know that you’d added yours, TAB. It reminded me of the Urban Archives Database. Have you seen it? Lots of graffiti, but also yard art, electronic signs, and other interesting stuff.
February 14, 2008 at 12:45 am
Those both sound really interesting! Thanks for the comment, it’s fun to read other responses to that meme.
Oh, and my bookcase is rather lovely. I’m a bit spoiled by it. But it does mean we can never move because it was designed to fit a specific spot that probably only exists in this house.
February 16, 2008 at 8:19 am
Oh dear! I haven’t read a non-technical book for quite a while. I’ll have to borrow one from the library or make a visit to Barnes and Noble.
February 18, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Okay, I’m going to do this at Argot.
February 18, 2008 at 12:31 pm
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