Another Book Meme

I’ve been tagged by the Fabulous Robert-Marlene (RM, how do you get the squiggly lines in there and the accents? I have never been able to figure that out) to do this book meme. I may have done this once before but I can’t remember. And let’s face it, books are our friends and they should be talked about as much as possible because they like it.

1. Estimate the total number of books you've owned in your life:

Uh…that requires math. I would say that right now, scattered throughout my room (I so have to clean), I have at least 200 or more. Then there are the books that are in the closet, still packed from when we moved in the apartment 3 years ago. I would say that I have owned at least 1000, if not more. Probably more. I have a book addiction and I admit it. I would say the things I spend money on the most frivolously would be books, DVDs and scrapbooking paraphernalia.

2. What's the last book you bought?

I purchased the newest Nora Roberts book on Tuesday. It’s been something I’ve been waiting for since, oh, last year.. The book is called “Black Rose” and it is the second book in the “In The Garden” series. And I, showing my wondrous generosity, even let Keem read it first.

3. What was the last book you read?

This is difficult. I read several books at once and it’ll probably be easier to figure out what I’m reading now. I have my purse book, “Black Rose” but I also have the back-up purse book, “Stealing the Shadows” by Kay Hooper (borrowed lent (I’m trying, Beth. It is a hard habit to break) to me by Liz. I am also carrying around “The Great Divorce” by CS Lewis (also lent to me by Liz) but that is kind of difficult to get into. CS Lewis is an outstanding author but he’s also a bit, well, weirdly boring. Then there is the bathroom book, reserved for baths. This was lent to me by Beth’s Mom and it’s called “Indelible” by Karin Slaughter. I am about halfway finished with that.

So I go through all that and I remember what the last book was – “Girls in Pants – The Third Summer of The Sisterhood” by Ann Brashares. The Traveling Pants series was recommended to me by my friend Katie and I enjoyed it a lot. It’s simple and fun and even made me cry in a couple of places.

4. List 5 Books that mean a lot to you.

“The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein. I cry every time I read it. It is about this boy who loves a tree and then he grows up and then he demands stuff from the tree and the tree gives him stuff and then the boy leaves and comes back and…never mind, I’m going to start crying again. Sorry. But you should read it. It is very, very good.

“The Clown of God” by Tomie DePaola. I love Tomie DePaola. He is an excellent author. I discovered him working at the elementary school library I mentioned in the last post I did. This is my favorite book by him; it always makes me cry when I read it as well. It’s about this clown and he used to be really famous and had this really cool juggling trick that he would do and then he got old and he couldn’t do the trick anymore and he was very sad and then he went to this place and there was…never mind, I will start crying if I go any further. You should read it. It is also very, very good.

“Kane & Abel” and “The Prodigal Daughter” by Jeffrey Archer. I have to include these books together. I have read “Kane & Abel” about 14-15 times and “The Prodigal Daughter” about 12-13 (didn’t realize there was a sequel). “Kane & Abel” is the story of two men who are born on the same day and the lives they lead. Kane is rich, Abel is poor and they become sworn enemies. “The Prodigal Daughter” is about Abel’s daughter, Florentyna, who falls in love with Kane’s son and what happens when their families find out. Excellent, excellent books. I adore them.

“Irish Thoroughbred” by Nora Roberts. It is by no means her best book. It is, however, her first book and the first book of hers that I had ever read. She is my favorite author and I have loved seeing the way that her work has evolved over the years. My dream is to someday own every single one of her books. Keem thought I was insane when I bought the “Official Nora Roberts Companion” which is a list of all of her books. But I am a dedicated fan.

A book in Portuguese about the Oceanario by lots of people, including Johnny. This very beautiful coffee table book was a gift from Johnny. She worked at the Oceanario when it first opened and told us stories about the penguins (which Beth loved) and the other creatures she worked with. While I can’t read a single word (well, okay, I can read some but none of them are bacon or Sacana (rat bastard)), I will always treasure it because the pictures are exquisite and Johnny autographed it and it will always be a memory of a wonderful trip.

5. Tag 5 people
I’m not so much tagging as suggesting that I would like to see some people complete this. First of all, there is Keem, who has not updated her blog in forever (it is not nagging, Keem, if I say I would like to see you complete this (No, it’s not)). I think both Beth and Johnny may have done this before. As always, I say, hey, if you want to do it, do it. And I would be cool with that.