book meme…
August 19th, 2005
1. How many books do I own?
Ironically enough, not that many. Not nearly as much as tangongat. At one point, it was nearly 500 books. It consisted of a lot of Tom Clancy, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and John Grisham novels - yeah, I’m not what you’d call a heavy reader. It then dawned on my wife and I when moving into a new, smaller space that if I wanted to re-read any of those novels, I could just go to work and pick it up. One of the few perks of working in a library. All in all, I’d say it’s less than 300 books now.
2. Last Book I Bought:
I don’t buy books often, so the last time I went to a bookstore, I snagged a copy of Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling, and The Salmon of Doubt, by Douglas Adams
3. Last Book I Read:
Everything Bad is Good For You, by Steven Johnson.
4. Five Books That Mean A Lot To Me:
Once again, keep in mind I’m not a heavy reader. And I’m not talking weight-wise.
Star Wars: Heir to the Empire, by Timothy Zahn - I remember seeing this book when my parents were selecting suitcases for our second trip to Thailand. Since I didn’t have anything to read for the trip, didn’t have any cool tapes for my Walkman, and the iPod wouldn’t be invented for another 15 years, I asked my parents for it. They succumbed, and I was introduced to the fact that a whole Star Wars universe existed outside of the movies - and I became hooked for life.
A 1987 guide to baseball cards - I can’t remember the exact title, and I’m having no luck finding the book on Google. It was a softcover book, green, with a picture of three baseball cards on the cover, and it was my bible. It was just a normal, run-of-the-mill price guide, but the first few chapters gave a young kid a wealth of information on card condition, variations, and the best tip of all that made me the envy of all the kids in the neighboorhood - selecting packs of baseball cards from the bottom of the box, rather than just grabbing the first four on top, usually had the best cards. I was hesitant at first, but it was right. The last four packs on the bottom of the box usually had the biggest stars and inserts. And that baseball card collection would later help me pay for medical school. Wait a second - no, it didn’t. That collection couldn’t even pay to supersize a value meal at McDonalds right now. But still, that ragged copy was shoved in my bookbag for many a trip to the baseball card store.
Anything by Dave Barry - My dad introduced me early in life to a world of sarcastic humor. Every Sunday, while I grabbed the comics and my mom grabbed the coupon section, my dad would grab the Tropic section of The Miami Herald to read Dave Barry’s latest column. I was curious as to why my dad cracked up so much, so I started reading it too. Now I’ve read most of his collected columns, and his latest ventures into fiction. Usually all in one sitting.
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury - one of the few classics of literature I’ve read purely on my own accord, this science fiction novel somehow struck a chord with me. I can’t imagine living in a world without artistic works.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams - granted, I started reading HGTG late in my life, but now I’m addicted to anything written by Douglas Adams. Like that copy of Salmon of Doubt I recently purchased, a compilation of letters: articles, anecdotes, and other assorted correspondence by the late, great Adams.
5. Tag Five More:
Aww, geez. This part’s hard. Let’s see who’ll bite:
Book Kitten,
Tiny Little Librarian,
Semi-Evil Squirrel,
and my friends Sky and Amanda, both of whom have livejournals so they may or may not want it linked.
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