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May. 25th, 2005 09:06 pmSo I've been "tagged" with this meme, which I take to mean that I have to do it. So here goes.
1. Total number of books owned: I think about 900-1000. A lot of them are in boxes, so it's hard to say.
2. The last book I bought: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susannah Clarke.
3. The last book I read: The same, but before I bought it, and why I bought it. I keep telling people it's Harry Potter for grown-ups; don't fob me off with "Harry Potter is Harry Potter for grown-ups." Read this and you'll see exactly what I mean. The darkness in Rowling doesn't even come close.
4. 5 books that mean a lot to me: This is difficult, because the books that mean a lot to me are not what I would pick as my favourite books from a literary standpoint. It's more the memories I have associated with these books.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. My mum used to read this to me when I was small, and it inspired a lifelong love of Dickens and of Victoriana in general.
Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters. I first read this book on a family road trip to the Black Hills, having just been dumped by my high school sweetheart. Granted, I hadn't been happy in the relationship, but the dumping still hurt. Elizabeth Peters' two cranky Victorians and their hilariously rude courtship made me laugh and gave me hope, as well as rekindling a deep and abiding love of murder mysteries that carried me through the rest of Peters' series about the same two characters. Crocodile taught me the importance of finding someone who actually admires your faults, instead of trying to fix them for you.
Star Trek: Imzadi by Peter David. Yes, Star Trek. (At least read it before you mock me. It's fun stuff.) I love time travel stories and the paradoxes they present, and this one was a doozy. Peter David is one of my favourite Trek authors, and he never fails to amaze and amuse. However, another reason why I love this book is that I have lost it no fewer than four times in the ten years or so that I have owned it, and each time it has somehow managed to come back to me. And you know what they say about something you love and have set free into the world... ;)
Rear Window and Four Short Novels by Cornell Woolrich. Besides being the inspiration for one of the most insane fan fiction stories ever written, this was one of the first "adult" level books my little cousin Michael tackled. He decided to read it based on the grisly descriptions on the back cover, and would sit on my bed and read aloud to me while I painted or worked on models. It was the kind of thing that just spontaneously becomes a favourite memory, something you don't realize you're going to miss until after it's over.
Gaudy Night by D.L. Sayers. I love Sayers for proving that there is such a thing as a literary mystery, and inspiring me to attempt one or two of my own.
1. Total number of books owned: I think about 900-1000. A lot of them are in boxes, so it's hard to say.
2. The last book I bought: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susannah Clarke.
3. The last book I read: The same, but before I bought it, and why I bought it. I keep telling people it's Harry Potter for grown-ups; don't fob me off with "Harry Potter is Harry Potter for grown-ups." Read this and you'll see exactly what I mean. The darkness in Rowling doesn't even come close.
4. 5 books that mean a lot to me: This is difficult, because the books that mean a lot to me are not what I would pick as my favourite books from a literary standpoint. It's more the memories I have associated with these books.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. My mum used to read this to me when I was small, and it inspired a lifelong love of Dickens and of Victoriana in general.
Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters. I first read this book on a family road trip to the Black Hills, having just been dumped by my high school sweetheart. Granted, I hadn't been happy in the relationship, but the dumping still hurt. Elizabeth Peters' two cranky Victorians and their hilariously rude courtship made me laugh and gave me hope, as well as rekindling a deep and abiding love of murder mysteries that carried me through the rest of Peters' series about the same two characters. Crocodile taught me the importance of finding someone who actually admires your faults, instead of trying to fix them for you.
Star Trek: Imzadi by Peter David. Yes, Star Trek. (At least read it before you mock me. It's fun stuff.) I love time travel stories and the paradoxes they present, and this one was a doozy. Peter David is one of my favourite Trek authors, and he never fails to amaze and amuse. However, another reason why I love this book is that I have lost it no fewer than four times in the ten years or so that I have owned it, and each time it has somehow managed to come back to me. And you know what they say about something you love and have set free into the world... ;)
Rear Window and Four Short Novels by Cornell Woolrich. Besides being the inspiration for one of the most insane fan fiction stories ever written, this was one of the first "adult" level books my little cousin Michael tackled. He decided to read it based on the grisly descriptions on the back cover, and would sit on my bed and read aloud to me while I painted or worked on models. It was the kind of thing that just spontaneously becomes a favourite memory, something you don't realize you're going to miss until after it's over.
Gaudy Night by D.L. Sayers. I love Sayers for proving that there is such a thing as a literary mystery, and inspiring me to attempt one or two of my own.
