hey, it's exactly the same as that music meme, but it's about books.
1) Total number of books in your house:
approximately 1200, not counting the bookshelf (and boxes) of graphic novels
2) The last book you bought was:
i think it was the dancer upstairs, which i bought last weekend at nightlight. most of the other books i've gotten recently have been from the library.
3) What was the last book you read before reading this message?
see below. :)
4) Write down 5 books you often read or that mean a lot to you.
a. mark helprin's winter's tale. i used to read this annually, although i haven't done it in the last couple of years. i always loved the mix of fairy tale and big-city immigrant story and rich people shenanigans. helprin really is a great writer.
b. john irving's the hotel new hampshire. i read this book probably 20-some times through middle and high school and college--it was the first irving i'd read--my dad gave me his old copy, i imagine forgetting the whole incest subplot. i liked it anyway, and proceeded to read every other irving (except the 158 pound marriage, which my dad would not let me read when i was 13ish, and which doesn't really appeal to me anyway). it's not irving's best, but i always liked it for some reason.
c. sharon creech's love that dog. a kids' book, told all in poetry, about a boy's love for his dog. i cry every single time i read it.
d. haruki murakami's hard-boiled wonderland and the end of the world. i first read this in asian lit in college, and i've reread it many times since. it's still my favorite murakami.
e. ann patchett's bel canto. one of the most amazing books i read before i started to keep track of the books i've read. i haven't reread it yet (my mom still has my copy) so maybe it won't hold up, but in my head it's absolutely brilliant and moving.
5) Who are you going to pass the stick to (to three people) and why?
david n. if he wants to. john m., if he does things like this. i don't know who else talks about books, really. :)
This seems like one of those bloggy things that people who don't have blogs miss out on. I'm short on time, so this will be brief:
ReplyDelete1) Total number of books in your house:I really don't know; based on rough estimates, 2,500 - 3,500. If books were locusts, this place would be Biblical. Old Testament.
2) The last book you bought was:Alexander Stille's Benevolence and Betrayal: Five Italian Jewish Families Under Fascism (recommended by Mary Doria Russell)
3) What was the last book you read before reading this message?Currently, Ted Chiang's Stories of Your Life and Others. Full reading list here.
4) Write down 5 books you often read or that mean a lot to you.(in no rank order)
1. Haven Kimmel, The Solace of Leaving Early
2. Julia Glass, Three Junes
3. John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany
4. Kay Nolte Smith, A Tale of the Wind
5. Stephen King, The Stand
5) Who are you going to pass the stick to (to three people) and why?
Can I pass it back to you? :) I only have two other serious word nerdy friends, and I already know what their answers would be.
Hard Boiled Wonderland is still my favorite of his, too. Love that book.
ReplyDelete-R
Sticks? What?
ReplyDeleteeh, it's just stupid meme-talk. in the music one, it was "pass the baton"--to make you pick up the thread of the conversation and answer the questions. i only posted it b/c it was book-related--don't feel obliged to answer it.
ReplyDeleteNumber of Books: I don't know. Not 3,500 so I guess it matter. Let's say one, but it's really long without pictures.
ReplyDeleteLast Book Bought: Confederacy of Dunces.
Last Book Read: number9dream
Five Books that Mean a Lot to Me:
a) Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
b) Pierre, or the Ambiguities by Herman Melville
c) Jimmy Corrigan: the Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware
d) The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster
e) Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
Who Gets a Stick? Everyone