Book meme

[altariel]

forodwaith tagged me on the 5 questions book meme:

1. Total number of books I own: I can't guess and I'm not counting! There are 350 books on the bookshelves to the right of this desk, they're not the two sets of floor to ceiling bookshelves in this room, and that's one upstairs room. I haven't read all of them - I buy a lot of books so that I have them when I want to read them, but I don't pay a lot when I buy books, if you see what I mean. I've started using the library more over the past year or so.

2. Last book I bought: But I'm not buying books... Er, twelve Georgette Heyers off the market. Hey, though, I went into town today and browsed all the bookshops and came home with nothing!

3. Last book(s) I read: Over the weekend and so far this week:

• The Spiral Staircase by Karen Armstrong, which is about her experiences re-adjusting after leaving the convent where she was training to be a nun. While I have not had that particular experience, there were lots of other 'ping' moments - the lapsed Catholicism, the grotty PhD experience, two - count 'em, two - specific medical conditions, the obsession with the works of TS Eliot - or maybe these things happen to all ex-convent school girls.


• A couple of YA books by Francesca Lia Block, recommended by gair, Missing Angel Juan and Baby Be Bop. FLB has a very distinctive, highly descriptive and slightly precious style which didn't always work too well: I thought it worked against the first book, and the second book worked despite it.


• A friend's very good and extremely page-turning (as yet unpublished) novel.


• Friday's Child by Georgette Heyer, which had me hooting out loud.

4. 5 books that mean a lot to me: Five? Er, let's try and pick ones I haven't banged on about before.

• The Lost Road by JRR Tolkien, on account of it being my 21st birthday present from Mr Altariel.


• Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold, which isn't my favourite LMB by any means, but it's the one I read first and so I owe it. I read it in on holiday in Amsterdam in a boarding house near the Rijksmuseum where I was pretending to be bohemian, but was in fact lying in bed reading space opera.


• Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham which is the first book I never bothered to finish. Important moment in my self-education, "Fuck it, life's too short."


• The Social Construction of Lesbianism by Celia Kitzinger, because it explained Q-methodology so well I was able to do my MSc thesis.


• Blake's Seven by Trevor Hoyle, the first book I borrowed from the 'grown-up' section of the main central library in my home town, and also my first inter-library loan.

5. tag 5 people to do this: I feel a bit bad about tagging people so give it a go if it seems like a good meme, I'll be interested to read.

Comments

[hafren.livejournal.com]

A friend's very good and extremely page-turning (as yet unpublished) novel.

Now that's interesting... I can think of at least one mutual friend of yours and mine who was writing a novel last time I looked and it was indeed a page-turner; I very much hope she gets it finished and published.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

This is a different friend (not a mutual friend of ours), but if that's the novel I think you're talking about, I'm dying to get my paws on it.

[forodwaith.livejournal.com]

I went into town today and browsed all the bookshops and came home with nothing!

I applaud your discipline!

Yes, FLB has a very quirky and invariable style. I loved Weetzie Bat but the rest of her books palled on me quite rapidly because the voice never changed.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

My hand hovered over a paperback memoir of Jane Austen with lots of colour plates for 50p - I even picked it up and put it down again. Now that's self-control!

I'll read the other FLB books if the library ever manages to find them for me. I did like Baby Be Bop quite a lot, the other one less so.

[lizblackdog.livejournal.com]

I had to copy this one, if only because the last book I bought was The Hollow Men - the synchronicity pleases me.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

That's very cool! :-D I really hope you enjoy it!

[lizblackdog.livejournal.com]

Heh. I'm half afraid to start it because I don't want it to be over, if that makes sense...

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I just hope it stands up OK once you start reading :-)

[lizblackdog.livejournal.com]

Well, my only trouble with The Lotus Flower was that there wasn't enough of it... I doubt I'll be disappointed. :D

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Hollow Men is almost exactly twice as long! :-) Very glad you enjoyed The Lotus Flower :-D