Because I do everything I am
told (As if!):
1)Total number of books I've owned?
Let's see. The current total of books that Chris and I jointly own is at least five thousand, last count. The number of books that either of us has owned but do not now own has to be about 250, so, hurm, maybe 5500?
2) The last book I bought?
Because I wanted a nice portable edition, I bought the Penguin paperback The Complete Novels of Jane Austen.
3) The last book I read?
I just finished the library's copy of Defending Pornography:Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women's Rights by Nadine Strossen. I am currently reading Ear training for the Body: A dancer's guide to music by Katherine Teck.
4) Five books that mean a lot to me: (in no particular order)
Single books very rarely influence me; when I am into a subject I read tons about it, so books that mean something to me tend to come in groups.
First, of course, are the stories of the ancient Celts and scholarly books about them. Good examples include The Encyclopaedia of Celtic Wisdom, 1st Ed., and any books by Peter Beresford Ellis.
I have also been recently interested in books that challenge conventional views on preventative medicine, such as for heart disease and diet. The book that got me started is Losing It: America's Obsession With Weight and the Industry That Feeds on It. Another good book is The Cholesterol Myths : Exposing the Fallacy that Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Cause Heart Disease.
The-Big-Book-of-Heinlein-Before-He-Got-Brain-Surgery-And-Got-Weird introduced me as a child to my love of fictional universe creating. To this day, it's what I love most about fiction: the way the author makes his environment whole and rich.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy showed me I could enjoy a battle scene.
Oh, and some children's books by this obscure British chick, I don't remember her name. Rollins? Something like that.
Those are just the first five categories I thought of; it may not even be the top five, if I could ever choose anyway.
Five people whose answers to this meme I would like to see:
I think everybody and their dog has either done this or been asked to, so I'll just wait to see what the stragglers have to say.
While I was doing this Chris wandered over and asked me if I was an Angua Minion(tm). I told him I was more of a camp hanger-on -- boosting morale; in the actual war, I'd probably be a Pretty Boy Pimp, because I can't see you guys wanting a cheerleader.