![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
pauraque tagged me. and book memes, well they're not so bad. I like books. I like talking about books.1) Total number of books owned?
Hmmm, I'm at work right now. Let me think...
Just counting the books that are unambiguously mine, I'm guessing
~120 on the paperback shelf
~30 in the graphic novel section
~90 in the main non-fiction section
~15 in the plays/poetry section
~60 in the gaming section
~25 on the floor
Okay, that's my room. Sum: 340
Leaving my room
~5 on my stairs
~20 in the quick reference bio/ling section in the hall
~8 in the coffeebook section in the living room
~25 in the various sections of the shelves of the second hall
That's another 58 or so. We'll call it 400. Plus what ever is in the attic that's mine. I'm not counting those, though. Or books of mine that live with my sister.
2) The last book I bought?
The Singing Life of Birds : The Art and Science of Listening to Birdsong by Donald Kroodsma.
3) The last book I read?
hmm... I'm not reading in my accustomed pattern these days, let's break it down:
Last book for school: Accoustic and Auditory Phonetics by Keith Johnson
Last book I was concentrating on, not for school: War for the Oaks, which I was reading aloud (haven't quite finished).
Current novel, which I'm neglecting: re-reading Perdido Street Station
last book I actually read cover to cover for myself that I hadn't read before?? grr, I can't remember, that annoys me.
4) 5 books that mean a lot to me?
American Heritage Dictionary
ElfQuest, in particular, the original series
Everything by Bujold: If I had to narrow it down to one, I'd get stuck between Cordelia's Honor (ha, cheat! that's really two!), Memory, and Civil Campaign.
The Future Eaters, Tim Flannery
and, oh, I don't know, how about The Last Unicorn
5) 5 folks I'd like to see answer this meme (assuming they haven't already)?
hmmm... Tricksy. Lots of neat people I could tag. Narrowing it down to people who will probably read this realtively soon, and have a livejournal helps a little, but not down to 5 yet. I can get it down to 7?...
attheseams, banjomensch, beckeromatic, lutin, nakedcelt, quixote322, sarkat.(and everyone else: yes, you were on the list too, before I managed to get it down to this size, feel free to do it anyway.)
And another 5 people who'd be neat, that probably don't meet the criteria above:
chewt0y, mikelevins, shamanbob, kellan, and glenn.Chronically indecisive? who, me?
Well, that got me through the first hour of work :p
- Mood:
bookish
Page Summary
- sarkat : (no subject) [+2]
- pauraque : (no subject) [+0]
- lutin : (no subject) [+1]
- (Anonymous) : (no subject) [+3]
- attheseams : (no subject) [+0]
Comments
Huh?
Thus the primary function of an LJ meme is fulfilled. Amen.
1) Total number of books owned?
Good heavens... Our house is full of books (and other printed material), belonging to my parents, myself, and my brother--who probably gets the prize for most, even though he doesn't live here anymore. In my room, there are four bookshelves full (except for a crowded knicknack shelf), with perhaps 600-700 books, but more than half of those are technically his--for some, the distinction is fuzzy. I have a set of overflow piles on the floor, with another 62 books at present.
In addition, the study next door contains a bookshelf (mostly my parents') and my translation dictionaries, and there is a tiny "library" downstairs, plus two shelves in the dining room (ditto) and a few more books scattered around. Plus boxes of books in closets and the attic--although I gave some of these away at a church rummage sale last year.
So for myself personally, perhaps ~400-500 total--admittedly a wild guess; there may be more.
2) The last book I bought? Over the Internet, Prince of Skulls by M.A.R. Barker and Bride of the Rat God by Barbara Hambly. (Shortly before that, I ordered The Singing Life of Birds by Kroodsma and three other books for my father's upcoming birthday.) From a bookstore, I'm not sure; I bought some books for my brother at Christmas, but I'm positive I've made purchases since then. (One more recent purchase was The Voyage of the Bassett by James C. Christiansen, as a birthday present for my ex-girlfriend.)
3) The last book I read?
Last book completed: Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold (one of the few by her I've read).
Currently reading: Spice: The History of a Temptation by Jack Turner. (I recently completed a couple of brief books on the natural world of the Pacific Northwest, which you helped inspire me to buy long ago. :-)
Currently putting off finishing: Caspian Oil Windfalls: Who Will Benefit? by Svetlana Tsalik.
Also begun long ago and more drastically put off: If Love is a Game, These Are the Rules by Cherie Carter-Scott and Singing on the Heavy Side of the World: A Peace Corps Ukraine Story by John Deever (the author is an acquaintance of mine). There is a long list of other to-be-reads as well :-/.
4) 5 books that mean a lot to me?
This one is tough, especially since the answer changes over time.
Some books that meant a lot to me when I first encountered them:
1. Bridge to Terebithia by Katherine Patterson.
2. The original Earthsea trilogy by Ursula K. Le Guin; Le Guin and Tolkien (starting with The Hobbit and LOTR) were both frequent companions growing up, as were C.S. Lewis and Madeleine L'Engle. (The most recent, and probably most important, work by L'Engle that I've read was nonfiction, The Circle of Quiet.)
3. Dragonworld by Byron Preiss et al.
4. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle.
5. Hmm...Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart.
These are mostly fantasies, and mostly from my childhood; I know that I have also read non-fantasy novels and nonfiction (history, science, religion) that has been equally important and meaningful, but these are much harder to pin down.
(Incidentally, I too read and enjoyed the original Elfquest series, which I read in the form of the Donning/Starblaze color graphic novels. ;-)
5) 5 folks I'd like to see answer this meme (assuming they haven't already)?
I'm going to have to pass on this one; I don't know that many people on LJ, and most of the ones I know best have already answered. It would be neat to see the answers from some of my off-line friends, though.
'Nuff said; congratulations to anyone who made it to the end. :-/ Thanks for the invitation, Aidan! :-)
p@,
Glenn
- In addition to Bridge to Terebithia, a similar book that meant a lot to me at the same age (11-13 or so) was The Changeling by Zilpha Keatly Snyder. (Your icon also reminds me that The Dark Crystal also meant a lot to me at the time. ;-)
- Some authors I have encountered and been impressed by over the last few years include Guy Gavriel Kay, Charles de Lint, Kara Dalkey, Kij Johnson, and R. Scott Bakker. (Once again, these are the fantasy authors; non-fantasy and nonfiction picks are tougher, although I read plenty of them as well.) A particularly notable recent find was The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King, a Sherlock Holmes story (more or less)with a plucky female narrator and the start of a series.
That's more than enough for now, although the story never ends...
p@,
Glenn
Not at all! Though I still think you should get your own ;)
Last book completed: Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold (one of the few by her I've read).
Oh! Already! I just remembered to go bakc and reply to your post about planning to read that, but that's on a post way back, so presumably you didn't notice. How did you like it??
Thanks for playing!
With regard to your question about Paladin of Souls, I did like it, and I can't say I was disappointed ;-), in part because Paladin was the first of the two that I heard about, from its review on sfsite.com. I subsequently found out about Curse of Chalion, and set out to read it first once I determined that it was the earlier of the two (one reviewer referred to it as a "prequel" to Paladin of Souls, which strikes me as a bit misleading).
I did like Cazaril very much as a character, particularly as someone trying to put his shattered life back together, but I like Ista a lot too, and she's probably a bit more unique (as one person put it, the world can use more middle-aged fantasy heroines ;-) I also appreciated the way that Cazaril remained present in Paladin, but offstage). The world is clearly drawn and vividly described. More than once, I did feel that the setup of the five gods and the manner in which the various storylines wrapped up were a little too neat and tidy...but overall, two very good novels, and I got a kick out of them, particularly the little flashes of humor throughout; I'd say they're among my favorites of the books I've read recently.
The only Vorkosigan novel we have in the house is Mirror Dance (a relic of my brother's used-book buying), which may not be the best starting point for the series. As I've noted before, different people react to books in different ways, and I honestly don't know if the Vorkosigan books will strike me in the same way that they've obviously struck you, but I may well check more of them out.
p@,
Glenn
1. Total number of books owned- too lazy to count, and it's hard to distiguish MY books from the FAMILY books etc. I'd say lots.
2. Last book I bought- Coming to Our Senses by Jon Kabat-Zinn
3. Last book I read- Across the Nightengale Floor by Lian Hearn
4. Five books that mean a lot to me - Hmm. a lot of these are actually children's books, can I limit to 5, not sure-
Children's books:
Christopher Robin series by AA Milne
Ronia, the Robber's Daughter by Astrid Lindgren
Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Martin Pippen and the Apple Orchard by Eleanor Fargeon
The Good Master by Kate Seredy
Adult books:
Otherwise by Jane Kenyon
Nine Gates by Jane Hirshfield
The Pilgrim's Inn trilogy by Elizabeith Goudge
The Harper trilogy by Anne MacCaffrey
The Re-enchantment of Everyday Life by Thomas Moore
5. 5 people I would like to see answer this meme - hm, well, I can't think of five-
Kellan
Fiona
Uh... uh.... uh....