Think about it: what are the three things you'd take with you to a desert island? What's the one material possession you'd save from a fire raging in your home? What are your life's top three achievements? If you could revoke a single decision… change two things about your appearance…. You get the point.
It all started with High Fidelity, the movie. If you haven't yet seen it, take it out on video or read the book. It's fresh, it's modern, it's unique. Very 30-something, too.
The book starts with the narrator's top five most memorable split-ups, in chronological order. The ones that really hurt. The top five spots reserved for the kind of humiliation and heartbreaks that could only happen in the good old days when we were young and impressionable…. I'm lucky. I can't even name five. So it feels good to make that list.
But that's only the beginning. High Fidelity probes deeper with every chapter. What are the top five love songs of all times? Your five dream jobs if education and skill were no object? Your top five favourite episodes of Cheers? The five things you fear most?
It's a remarkable exercise in introspection to make a few such lists. But it's even more fascinating to understand what other people's answers indicate about themselves. The first test being: do they let you into their minds or give you less-than-true answers that make them look good?
The top five love songs reveal a person's age. The top five books or movies: their value system. The five favourite things to do on a Sunday… etc.
So here is a little glimpse into my soul: my favourite things that begin with the letter S are:
· sleep
· scuba diving
· sky diving
· sex
· Saturdays
· socialising
not necessarily in that order.
My greatest fears are:
· of failing in my marriage
· of failing at work
· of failing as a future and as yet hypothetical mother
· of failing as a novelist
· of failing someone as a friend or a human being.
And you can guess what my favourite book is at the moment…..
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