Book Meme
1) Total # of books you own?
300 to 500 is a rough estimate. I went through a culling upon moving
back to California. I decided that my goal of preserving every
book from my literature/history course at JHU was no longer laudable.
2) What was the last book you bought?
Hm, the last book that I purchased and has not been read is Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore. I may take it on this weekend’s flights.
3) What’s the last book you read?
Non-Fiction:
Freakonomics / Tipping Point – I felt that these books had to be read in conjunction. I absolutely thought Tipping Point was a load of B.S. And Freakonomics, was fun, pleasant, pop-econ fluff; the runaway hit of the summer.
Fiction:
Michael Cunningham’s A Home at the End of the World.
I liked it better than the Hours, but that does not say much. I
picked it up on a whim, because it is one of Adam’s favorite
book. The plot involved gay men, AIDS, and NYC in the 80s — what
a big surprise!
4) List five books that are particularly meaningful to you (in no particular order)
George Orwell’s 1984
– The appendix explaining Newspeak prophesized the years
1948-1984. The rise of Stalinism, Communism, and even some
American administrations (every GOP-bill bears a title in
Newspeak). As someone who fears big brother, not only in the
guise of the government, but from corpocracy, 1984 comes closest to
where I stand philosophically.
Donna Tartt’s The Secret History
– This novel is pure comfort reading for me; I turn to it as though it
were an old friend every few years. It glamorized New
England academia to the point where Boston in the flesh could not live
up to my preconceptions of the Northeast formed my this novel.
I’ve also been compared to its protagonist, but I do not think that
this comparison is a compliment.
Stephen Dixon’s I. – Yes, something wondrously good can come out of the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars Department.
Joe Heller’s Catch 22
This is something that I should have read in high school, but somehow
wasn’t featured on my syllabus. After 9-11 and the Iraq war, I
feel that this should be required reading for all Americans.
Plus, Heller, is one hell of a dirty, old man writer (along with
Vonnegut).
William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury – The greatest novel of the 20th century. Just my opinion.
5) Tag 5 people and have them fill the quiz out on their own blogs.