Page 123, sentence 5

I'm home with my older son who's home sick from school, so I finally have time to do this book meme thing Kirsty of Galaxy tagged me for.

The meme works this way: you pick up a book closest to you (in this case, my bedside as Kirsty has stipulated), turn to page 123, and blog the fifth sentence.

If I had done this meme earlier this week, I would have been blogging Stephen Jay Gould's Dinosaur in a Haystack, but as it is, this is now on top of my pile (because I'm actually reading it): Orhan Pamuk's My Name is Red.

Page 123, sentence 5:

A city's intellect ought to be measured not by its scholars, libraries, miniaturists, calligraphers and schools, but by the number of crimes insidiously committed on its dark streets over thousands of years.

If so, Melbourne's doing pretty well, then.

Oh, and I really am enjoying the book.

Should I tag or not? Or take a leaf out of Ampersand Duck's book (heh heh) and not "do the tag thing" and say, "Follow your dreams".

Hmm. I'm going to tag unique_stephen from Emunctory, Helen of Blogger on the Cast Iron Balcony, Gen from reeling and writhing, Tim from Sterne, and Ariel from Jabberwocky after all because I'm curious about what books they've got near them.

I would like to tag Mike from The Peasants are Revolting, but his wife has just had a baby, so I doubt there's much time for reading in his house at the moment, and the last thing he needs is a meme to do. Congratulations and all the best to you and your family, Mike!