Monday, June 06, 2005

Book Meme

Phantom Scribbler agreed to hit me with this meme stick. Amazon is being very slow today, I'll add links to books later, okay?

Number of books I own: Over 1000 just in my bedroom. And that's after selling a huge bunch and giving even more away. I gave away most of my young adult books to my niece and nephew, with the understanding that they'll send 'em back to Muffin Man when he's old enough.
I collected a ton of books when I was working at Murder Ink, and before that when I was working at Booklink, now defunct. So in the library downstairs I have about 100 signed first editions and advance readers copies, in my room I have more first editions (not signed) and a huge bunch of paper backs. Some of my paperbacks are stripped copies (books the store wasn't selling, the covers are stripped off and sent back to the publisher, the rest of the book is supposed to be thrown away). To be honest, these are some of my favorites -- and they are now out of print for the most part, I never would have discovered them if we hadn't been culling them out of the shelves.

The last book I bought: It hasn't arrived yet. Undead & Unemployed by Mary Janice Davidson which is the sequel to

The last book I read: Undead and Unwed. Very funny, light-hearted take on the vampire myth. And yes, that is truly the last book I read, since Mr. Spock was Muffin Man's designated reader yesterday.

Five books that mean a lot to me: Just five? Oh dear.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Makes me cry every time.
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgsen Burnett. First character I met who loves books as much as I do. And aside from ALP, The Secret Garden, and Little Lord Fauntleroy, did you know she wrote books for grown-ups too?
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. Glimpses into the secret lives of neighbors. I loved the man with all the cats.
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. Best first line of any book ever.
Dead Heads by Reginald Hill. This was the first I ever read by him. His writing is so wonderful.

I don't know off hand of anyone who hasn't done this one. Maybe you, Jenn?

9 comments:

jenn said...

hmmm, no I've not done this one yet. I'll give'er a go (but I have NO FREAKEN IDEA how many books I have...)

Liz Miller said...

Guess. That's what I did.

Phantom Scribbler said...

I did count a couple of shelves, and estimated from there.

Little Women! Frances Hodgson Burnett! I lived and breathed those books as a child. It was so hard to pick only 5 important books!

Yes, the man with the cats is one of the most finely wrought details in all fiction! (I tend to hyperbole when it comes to Harriet.) Did you read The Long Secret, too?

I tend to read a lot of nonfiction, which isn't usually published as mass-market (except true crime, which is NOT my thing). But my dad only recently finished the last of the stripped mysteries I gave him from my bookstore job -- ten years ago!

Liz Miller said...

Not only did I read the Long Secret many times, but I also read Sport (my nephew's got it now, MM will get it when he's ready)

SuzanH said...

I'm salivating over the number of books you own. So jealous.

Of course, I'd never know where to put them.

Love P&P's first line. Actually, love all the lines.

Suzanne said...

Sport! I loved Sport! Not so much The Long Secret, though (aagh! can't remember the character's name ... the listless, rich one, so annoying...).

Liz Miller said...

Beth Ellen.

Anyone here an E.L. Konigsburg fan?

Phantom Scribbler said...

YES!!!!! I even got the movie of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler -- it was bad 70s stuff, but worth it to see Ingrid Bergman as Mrs. Basil E.

A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver is another excellent one, though I didn't read that until adulthood.

What bowled me over in The Long Secret was the revelation, "Shy people are angry people." So true. That totally rocked my shy little world. Of course, like Beth ELlen, I had some parent issues myself...

Anonymous said...

Loved all of those books, APL and PS (though I have never read any Reginald Hill, I'll have to look for him).

Do you like Burnett's books for grown-ups? I didn't know she had any!

A Little Princess, Little Women, and Anne of Green Gables have been important parts of my mental landscape for a very long time.

Did you like the movie (the newer one) of A Little Princess? I thought it was wonderful, despite the changes that normally would annoy me. Cuaron really captured the Magic.