I enjoy reading; so a literary meme seemed like a fun thing to participate in. And it’s a great excuse to talk about one of my favorite authors, so I’m taking the liberty of going thoroughly off topic. This one, I picked up from Emma, who picked it up from ThePickards.

The rules:

  1. Grab the nearest book.
  2. Open the book to page 123.
  3. Find the fifth sentence.
  4. Post the text of the next 4 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
  5. Don’t you dare dig for that “cool� or “intellectual� book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.

And here it is:

He looked a total tyrant.

“Wipe that smile off your face, Smedley,” he said, “and get you gone back to that hoeing.”

When the whole gang had gone sucurrying out again, Mr. Maxim pranced forward. He was almost as full of himself as Christopher was.

It’s unlikely anybody reading this is going to get that one…it’s “Conrad’s Fate”, the latest addition (minus 1) to Diana Wynne Jones’ “Chrestomanci” collection. Diana Wynne Jones is, for what it’s worth, the absolute best in juvenile fantasy. That’s the category she’s most commonly put in, at any rate – although I consider most of her work to be quite sophisticated and unquestionably well worth reading.

Recommended reading for Diana Wynne Jones (all affiliate links, FYI):