So Many Books, So, Uh, Many Books!

It seems that Jen of Circadian Shift has tagged me to answer a book meme. Well, you know I can never resist a book meme, although I fear they may be beginning to get a little repetitive. But, here:

Number of books I own...

Let's see... I've got 1,964 listed in my database, plus approximately another 500 on the To-Read Pile. Add in a few dozen reference and textbooks, and I think we can round it off to 2,500.

Last book bought...

In a not atypical display of geekiness, I recently bought both Dork Covenant by John Kovalic (a collection of "Dork Tower" comics) and a Deep Space 9 novel called Hollow Men by Una McCormack. I don't read Trek novels much these days because, frankly, so many of 'em suck, but I know the author of this one slightly from the internet, and I've read some of her excellent fan fiction, which gives me high hopes for the book.

Oh, and I also just got a bunch of old Doctor Who novelizations that somebody sent me, but I didn't buy those, so they don't count.

Last book read...

If that means last book finished, it's The Shining by Stephen King. Not King's best, I think, but far from his worst. It may have suffered a bit from the fact that I knew what was going to happen. Well, sort of. It was a bit different from what I remember of the movie, though there are a few scenes that I think were reproduced pretty faithfully.

If that's the last book I did any reading in, then it's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, of which I am currently on Chapter 9. It's kind of a strange book (no pun intended), but it's written with a wonderful dry wit.

Five books that mean a lot to me...

I never know how to answer these kinds of questions, but "mean a lot to me" covers a lot of territory, I guess, so let's see...

Cosmos by Carl Sagan, which I read in the 7th grade and which sold me quite effectively on the wonders of astronomy.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle, which was one of my most beloved childhood books and possibly one of the reasons why I'm the huge science fiction and fantasy buff I am today. (Though, I must admit, I'm a little afraid to re-read it as an adult.)

The Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Ditto, except that I have re-read it as an adult, and it's still good. The Oz series as a whole was very special to me as a kid, but The Land of Oz was always my favorite for some reason.

Watchmen by Alan Moore, which convinced me that superhero comics are by no means necessarily kids' stuff.

The Poetry of Robert Frost, because it was Frost who convinced me that poetry wasn't just for pretentious literary jerks and could actually say things worth hearing in ways that prose doesn't.