There is a book meme going around. I saw it first on Jessamyn’s page and then a few others. I counted up my books the other morning so I could do what all the cool kids were doing.
Total Number of Books I’ve Owned:
I currently own 443 books and I rarely get rid of books. If I had to estimate in books I have gotten rid of the number would be closer to 500. Honestly, I am a bit disappointed. It always seems like more when I am moving all those boxes from one apartment to the next.
Last Book I Bought:
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (It is for a book club. I like it so far.)
Last Book I Read:
Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares
Last Book I Finished:
Same as above. I do not, however, always finish the books I start. Sometimes they are unbearable and I have to stop reading them. If I am not sucked in between 50-100 pages, out it goes.
Five Books that Mean a Lot to Me:
Wow. This is like choosing which sense you think you could do without. I will give it my best shot, but honestly, depending on the time in my life, the list could change and be endless. I will go with the ones that I tend to reread the most, so the list is entertainment heavy. Had I been asked to give a list of my favorite classics or “literary†works, the list would have appeared very different.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – No list of mine could ever be complete without this book. The Romantic period in English Literature has always been my favorite. Austen has a way like no other with verbal and nonverbal sparring.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – This was my favorite book until High School. I have reread this book more than any other I own. I always liked older stories: A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter was another favorite at the time.
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon – This book has everything: history, wars, romance, men in kilts. Seriously though. I fell in love with the characters the first time I read it and go back every couple years, despite its size, just to visit my old friends.
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving – Irving has the rare ability to turn the strange into the mundane and make you cry and laugh with characters that are just crazy enough to be real. This was my introduction to Irving and I have never been the same.
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley – I remember reading this book and being completely immersed for the days it took me to finish it. I breathed this book. It was my sustenance.
If I could add one more it would be The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein – No matter how many times I read this picture book it makes me cry.
–Jane, would add many, many more that she could never live without