What I Read

So, I've been passed a book meme by Anmiryam. I have yet to get around to answering, and this morning I took the time to sit down and write down my responses. Here they are:

1. Total Number of Books in Your House:
3,452. Yeah, right. You know I spent all yesterday evening counting them, because I've got nothing better to do with my time. Does anyone seriously know the answer to this question? Well, I guess someone out there is organized (read: anal retentive/obsessive-compulsive) enough to have every book they own catalogued library style with the dewey decimal numbers on the spines and everything. That would not be me. We're lucky if the books don't get juice spilled on them or sticky from the kids' suckers. It's a sad affair to be a book in our house these days. Let's just say that between my husband's books, my books and those we've got for the kids, we could probably fill a small room (I can't really say with certainty, though, since a good portion of them are still in storage).

2. The Last Book You Bought Was:
The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier. Don't you just love that title? If I were Andrew Dice Clay, this would be the point in the routine where I'd flick open my lighter, slick back my hair and say, "And I gave her $20." Did the author honestly think no one would make this connection. I guess she expected her readers to be more mature than a bunch of twelve-year-old boys. But, come on, in today's world? Not likely.

3. What Was The Last Book You Read Before Reading This:
Well, that's pretty easy, since I zoomed through The Virgin Blue. It's a pretty good book, but it left me a little unsatisfied at the end. I can't exactly even explain why, except to say that I thought it was wound up too quickly. Some authors do that. It's almost like they spent too much time with the book and had to rush through the ending to meet an editor's deadline. It also had a reincarnation/otherworldly quality that I had trouble suspending my disbelief for. Some books do a better job of convincing you that this ghostly part of the storyline could be real. I did like the book, though. What I thought was really great about it was the way the author captures the feeling of being an American in France. She does an excellent job with that. So, if you ever wondered what that might feel like, you'll want to read this book. What actually attracted me to this book, though had nothing to do with any of that. I am fascinated by the effect of strict religions on women, and this book deals with that, although, after reading it, less so than I would have liked.

That's the last book I finished before receiving this meme, though I've been working my way through a few more. When I met my husband, I read only one book at a time, but his habit of reading several at once rubbed off on me. I seem to have one in each room of the house these days. So, right now, I've got four going. There's The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, which is a very interesting story about Chinese peasants.

Then, there's Brodie's Report by Jorge Luis Borges, which is a collection of short stories. He's one of my husband's favorite authors. Actually, come to think of it, this book was a gift from him. I kind of wish he had found it in Spanish, but I'm happy enough to read it in English. His work has a general feel of revolution to it. Sometimes, it can be a bit violent, but the stories are always intriguing.

Then, I've got Two Moons by Thomas Mallon. This one I picked up along with about 10 other books at a benefit sale for 13 euros total. You know I was pleased. It's pretty good so far. It's a nice mix of science (astronomy) and fiction drama. It's set a century or two ago (I can't specifically remember how long) which gives it an interesting switch from the usual.

The last of my current book selection is How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk I'll bet you'll never guess why I would want this one on my personal bookshelf. Yeah, well, I do have a 3 1/2-year-old, so maybe you can guess. Of course, you know I'm hoping this book will have all the necessary parenting secrets to head off the rough teenage years before they hit. I'm getting a headstart (well, actually, some days, I feel like we've hit the teen years already). It seems good so far, but I'm only halfway through the endlessly long first chapter. I think the authors' suggestions are making a difference in my interactions with my daughter, though. I can't remember the last screaming match we had, and I'll take that as a good sign.

4) Write down 5 (or 6) books you often read, or that mean a lot to you.
This one's hard, because I have a really good memory for the things I read (not photographic for sure, and it's worse for things I hear and people I meet). This means that I'm not very interested in rereading books until a very long time has passed. That said, though, I really do like The Silverstein books for kids. I don't have them anymore, but I'd love to. They hold a special place in my heart. Then, I will always love Ramona Quimby Age 8. I don't remember many books from that time in my life, but that one I loved. And, another I can think of that I'd read over again is The Scarlet Letter. As I said before, I am fascinated by strict religions and the effect they have on women, so anything along those lines is interesting to me. I've read a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, too, and though I don't remember the story well, it had the same theme. I think he was obsessed by it. This was the result of being raised by Quakers, I believe. And, one of my favorite pop-fiction things to read is anything by Kathy Reichs. She is a forensic anthropologist (studies dead bodies for signs of who they are and how they died), and she writes fiction using her expertise. Way better writer than Patricia Cornwell, in my opinion, but along the same lines. It may disturb you to know that I was interested in taking up this profession, and possibly might have if it hadn't been for the fact that studying for it would have meant making a move to another state after recently settling in to a new one. Wow! Can you imagine, that would have meant that I'd be up to my elbows in bones instead of yarn. Nah, I rather like the yarn idea better.

Now, because I can count, I realize that I only named 4 things I'd read over, but if you consider that Kathy Reichs and Silverstein have several books each, it's really way over the number the question asks for.

5) Who are you going to pass the stick to (three people) and why?

Oh boy. That's a hard one. I think I'll pass this on to Louise to see if she actually reads anything in French. I'm sure it was disappointing to see that I don't, but so far, things I've read in French just don't do it for me. I do remember loving Guy de Maupassant when I was in high school, though, so maybe I should try something of his in French.

Then, I'll pass this on to General Ginger, because she always has fun knitting artwork and news references. That's made me wonder what kind of books she reads.

The last person I'll pass this on to is my sister-in-law, Jenifer. She just got her own little blog (well, to share with a friend, actually), and you know you've "arrived" as a blogger when you've been passed a meme, so I'll throw this her way. I was also wondering the other day what kinds of things she reads, so this will give me (and maybe a bunch of other people she doesn't even know) a chance to find out.