# What book could you best create from memory? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 13, 2004, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111 "2004-10-13T22:47:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111/1 "2004-10-13T22:47:07Z")
Inspired by [Survey - If you had to re-create the Bible from memory. . .](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=280766) What published story book do you think you would be most capable of re-creating from memory if for some reason you needed to? I’d be very bad at doing this. I’d probably only get basic story details and not come close to any word-for-word accuracy, but it would probably be ‘Nightwatch’ (Discworld) Since it is the only discworld book I have so far managed to read twice\* [sub]\*I am currently reading Thief of Time for the second time. Partly to get a better understanding of the doper name I chose. But mainly because it’s one of my fave amongst those already read[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111/2 "2004-10-13T23:12:51Z")
I don’t think I’d be very good at any but probably either **Bridget Jones’s Diary** or \*\*Charlie and the Chocolate Factory \*\* because I’ve read both multiple times plus have movie memories to help. I might be able to remember about 50% of the 3rd book of \*\*Series of Unfortunate Events \*\* because I listened to the book on CD of it several times. But still. My memory is even worse than I think it is. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111/3 "2004-10-13T23:16:32Z")
> [@pokey](#): > > … \*\*Charlie and the Chocolate Factory \*\*… I thought about mentioning that. But while I _felt_ like I know it well. I would probably lose track of the story. Much like when one tries to remember a really good dream. ---
**Author:** ![klintypooh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3da27b/32.png) [@klintypooh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/klintypooh)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111/4 "2004-10-13T23:22:08Z")
I think mine would probably be The Hobbit but like the rest of you, it wouldn’t be super accurate. Now if remembering dreams was allowed, I’d have some awesome adult erotica 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111/5 "2004-10-13T23:23:46Z")
> [@klintypooh](#): > > Now if remembering dreams was allowed, I’d have some awesome adult erotica 😃 That is for another thread. (Hint. Hint.) ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111/6 "2004-10-13T23:38:31Z")
I’d be terrible at this as well, but I could probably recreate _Lord of the Rings_ fairly accurately, just because I’ve read it (and seen the movies) so many times. > [@Lobsang](#): > > I’d be very bad at doing this. I’d probably only get basic story details and not come close to any word-for-word accuracy, but it would probably be ‘Nightwatch’ (Discworld) Since it is the only discworld book I have so far managed to read twice\* There you go, messing up my vanity search possibilities… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![saramamalana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@saramamalana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saramamalana)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111/7 "2004-10-14T00:05:52Z")
This is something I find so frustrating. I can read a book, thoroughly enjoy it, but a few months later I can’t remember that much about it. I almost feel like I’ve done the book a disservice. 🙂 The first book that came to mind that I think I could recall pretty well is Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan. She was an author I really got into when I was in middle school and I read that book several times. The details of that one have stuck pretty well, and I’d always wished it would be made into a movie. I could swear there’s another book I’ve read a few times over that I could spout the details of. Hm, maybe it’s A Clockwork Orange? I’ll post it if I think of it. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111/8 "2004-10-14T01:24:12Z")
Hmmm…probably “Dragons of Autumn Twilight” by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. I’d read it at least five times. I know the basic progression of the plot and could recreate the content (if not the style) accuratly. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111/9 "2004-10-14T01:49:37Z")
For me, it’s either be _The Westing Game_ or _The Bean Trees_. Perhaps _The Incredible Journey_, too, now that I think about it. ---
**Author:** ![Elysian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c77e96/32.png) [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111/10 "2004-10-14T01:51:05Z")
Small Gods by Terry Pratchett The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley The Princess Bride by William Goldman – er, S. Morgenstern ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111/11 "2004-10-14T01:53:14Z")
“Lord of the Rings”. Not that I could do it well, you understand. But I could do it better than any other book. When my youngest was about 4 I told her the entire story of “the hobbit” and “The lord of the rings” from memory, night after night, over weeks and weeks. When she was 5, she insisted I start reading both of them to her. So we did that next! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Keapon\_Laffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e274bd/32.png) [@Keapon\_Laffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keapon_Laffin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111/12 "2004-10-14T01:53:55Z")
Yeah, I could probably do \*Magician \* by Raymond E Feist. ---
**Author:** ![ninetypercent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9de0a6/32.png) [@ninetypercent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ninetypercent)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111/13 "2004-10-14T02:31:02Z")
“The Giver” (forget the author) The first few books of the Wheel of Time series, by Robert Jordan _maybe_ “The Book of the New Sun” by Gene Wolfe oh yeah, the Death Gate cycle, by the authors of “Dragons of Autumn Twilight”. I doubt my best would be very impressive, though… ---
**Author:** ![WomanofScorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@WomanofScorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WomanofScorn)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111/14 "2004-10-14T03:36:13Z")
The Velveteen Rabbit 🙂 Dunno the author, just really loved that book as a child. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111/15 "2004-10-14T03:39:51Z")
Do children’s books count? I think I could do **Goodnight Moon** pretty close to word-for-word (see location). I’d also be good at **Hippos Go Berserk**. _One hippo all alone/Calls two hippos on the phone…_ ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111/16 "2004-10-14T04:26:07Z")
The Hobbit, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and the Prologue and first chapter of Beowulf. ---
**Author:** ![melondeca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@melondeca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melondeca)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111/17 "2004-10-14T04:31:40Z")
I could probably do just about any book by Stephen King. When it comes to his books I seem to have an uncanny knack for remembering names, places, dates, etc… ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111/18 "2004-10-14T04:34:43Z")
> [@LilyoftheValley](#): > > Do children’s books count? > > I think I could do **Goodnight Moon** pretty close to word-for-word (see location). I’d also be good at **Hippos Go Berserk**. > > _One hippo all alone/Calls two hippos on the phone…_ My dad read the Dr. Seuss book _On Beyond Zebra_ to us so often (quite a few years back) that he can still recite large portions of it word-for-word from memory. I like the Floob-Boober-Bab-Boober-Bubs, which float on the water like blubbery tubs. They’re no good to eat, you can’t cook 'em like steaks, but they’re handy in cross small oceans and lakes. ---
**Author:** ![JoeSki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b487fb/32.png) [@JoeSki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeSki)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111/19 "2004-10-14T04:41:39Z")
Without a doubt, The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I’ve read that book more than a handfull of times, and own the show on DVD. I’m dying to hear it on radio, but I haven’t been able to find it in stores. Still, I could do a decent job recreating it. At least to the point where it’s desirable to read. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111/20 "2004-10-14T15:48:46Z")
"It was not long after dawn, when the captain of HM frigate _Lydia_ came up on deck. The first lieutenant, Mr. Bush, who was officer of the deck, touched his hat but did not speak to him. In a voyage which had by now lasted seven months without touching land, he had learned something of his captain’s likes and dislikes. During this first hour of the day, the captain was not to be spoken to, nor the train of his thought interrupted. " Shouldn’t be hard for Dopers to recognize. I still re-read it every year or so. Regards, Shodan [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-could-you-best-create-from-memory/269111.md?page=2)