B E B E R E

And if all your friends were to go jump in a lake, would you do it too?

I found a lovely site by just hitting that random blog surfing button at the top of my page. Much as I love my little bit of Eden carved out in the big, bad city, Swamp Thing sounds like just the neighbor I'd love to have later on. (Not to mention Butterfly, another site I found on Swamp Thing's.)

Anyway, Swamp thing was told she had to do this by Butterfly, who let herself be swayed by peer pressure.

Instructions:
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 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.

Here goes:

"...Ma mère, ayant appris qu'il composait, lui avait dit par amabilité que, quand elle irait le voir, il faudrait qu'il lui fit entendre quelque chose de lui. M. Vinteuil en aurait eu beaucoup de joie, mais il poussait la politesse et la bonté jusqu'à de tels scruples que, se mettant toujours à la place des autres, il craignait de les ennuyer et de leur paraître égoïste s'il suivait ou seulement laissait deviner son désir. Le jour où mes parents étaients allés chez lui en visite, je les avais accompagnés, mais ils m'avaient permis de rester dehors, et comme la maison de M. Vinteuil, Montjouvain, était en contrebas d'un monticule buissonneux, où je m'etais caché, je m'étais trouvé de plain-pied avec le salon du second étage, à cinquante centimètres de la fenêtre..."

"...My mother, having learned that he composed, had mentioned to him affably that, when she came to visit, he would have to let her listen to something of his. Monsieur Vinteuil was thrilled at the prospect, but he had the habit of pushing politeness to the point where, in always trying to 'put himself into other people's shoes,' he feared boring them or even appearing self-centered if he imposed on them or even dropped hints about his loves. The day my parents went to visit him, I accompanied them. They, however, let me stay outdoors, and since Monsieur Vinteuil's home, Montjouvain, was just below a little wooded hill where I hid myself, I found myself at the same level as the third floor salon, roughly a couple feet from the window..."

(Yup, you guessed it - Gosh Darned Proust. No, this is not considered cool by anyone I know. Yes, I am made fun of for this sort of stuff (ask me about my various nicknames sometime). Although this was not the closest book to me, it makes a heck of a better read than the book that was lying on top of it.)

Who's next?