Book MeMe from Melissa

I've been tagged by Melissa to do a book-related meme this morning, and it's a tough one!

Books are scarce in the world. They are illegal in some provinces. They are not easily replaced if not impossible to replace if lost in many if not most circumstances. If you can replace a book or buy one it is usually through the black market at astronomical costs that you cannot afford. Yet you have been able to maintain one of the best collections in the world. If your entire library was about to burn up (think of the firefighters in Fahrenheit 451 invading your home) and you could only have one* book to take with you other than the bible, what would that be and why?

Simple Rules
Answer the question. Offer one quote that resonates with you. Tag five people whose response is of genuine interest to you and inform him or her that they have been tagged. Cheers!

*And it cannot be an entire series of something, that’s cheating.

Man, this is a tough one. I started looking at my shelves when I was thinking how to answer this question. I only keep the books I really, really love and would read again, so fortunately, I've already pared it down. However, how to pare it down even further?

It was a tough choice and it came down to two different books: Home to Harmony by Philip Gulley and Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger. I have read both books multiple times and loved them both for different reasons, but ultimately I've decided to let Harmony burn and save Charlie and Joey.

Why? Well, basically because story is so rich emotionally, historically, humorously (or is that humorfully?), and touches on so many different themes that I can't imagine life without it. I read it twice last year, will definitely be reading it again this year, and have given it to tons of people to read and they've all loved it. Should we someday find ourselves in a Fahrenheit 451 type situation, it would probably be a radical choice, but I don't care about that. I love this book and all it has meant to me. And I love Harmony and all it has meant to me, and I would do my best to conceal it somehow otherwise for save keeping until I could come back for it. :-)

A quote from the book... This is kind of a challenge. There are a couple that stand out, one of which I won't include here because it is a spoiler if you have any plans to read it. I'll include one serious one and one funny one here for your edification.

Funny one:

"Janet: Bear in mind the following:

1. When pushed to the wall, our allies consist of the Board of Education and, in a pinch, Superintendent Meylan.

2. The boy's personal arsenal includes the National League, the entire Democratic Party, and God only knows who else.

In other words, dear, he's got us by the balls.

Send it to Washington. Let them handle it. If we're lucky, maybe they'll draft him."

Serious one:

"Everyone has something worth it inside of them, even if it doesn't show. Sometimes you have to look a little harder but don't give up. Otherwise all your going to see is a sorehead who plays 3d base."

Who to tag...

I'm going to tag my reading peeps: Manda, Lauren, Nicole, Cindy, and Amy.