Book Meme

[here_be_dragons]

I've just been reminded (by seeing an entry in pussreboots' journal) that I was tagged for this meme, too (by beckerbuns. As if I need an excuse to talk about books. :D :D :D

1. Total number of books I own: This is difficult for me to calculate right now, as the vast majority of them are in California. I'm going to guess that the number is somewhere in the vicinity of

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[greekphilosophy]

4. Five Books That Mean a Lot to Me:

Atlases. I know that probably sounds cheap, but I don't think people understand exactly how much I love maps. They are an escape for me. An adventure - the same way a good story can be - without ever leaving home. They hold the promise of eventual exploration, and myriad stories of all those who have gone before. I love new maps. I love old maps. And they really mean a lot to me.

The Harry Potter series is similarly important to me. I probably don't need to explain this much to anyone who will read it here, but I finally felt the mysticism that I had been searching for in the world when I read the first book in that series. And for that, I'm eternally grateful.

Etiquette by Emily Post. It's kinda kitschy, and many things are out of date. But there is something relaxing to me about curling up with the big book on social usage and learning about how one behaves appropriately. I'm fairly sure that my interest in etiquette stems from my search for mysticism in the world. It is just the other half of the same coin: the half that wants to find order and structure in the world instead of mystery and magic.

NPR: The Trials and Triumphs of National Public Radio by Mike MaCauley. I picked this book up at a tiny little bookshop in Virginia Beach when visiting for a friend's wedding. In addition to reminding me of the beautiful weekend of wedding festivities, it is a viewport into an organization for which I have the utmost respect. I grew up in an NPR family. Every morning in the car, we listened to NPR. Every afternoon on the way home from school, we listened to NPR. On car trips across the country, our constant companions were Carl Kassel, Renee Montaigne, Garrison Keillor and the rest of the NPR gang. I can do a devastating Julia Pojoli impression. I think Marketplace is one of the most brilliant shows on the air. And even though I can't stand A Priarie Home Companion, I think it is far better than the vast majority of things out there that are considered "entertainment." This book is a must for anyone interested in broadcast journalism, history, public radio or just good historical writing.

The Divided Nation: The History of Germany 1918-1990. This is a political science book that I think shoul be required reading for Americans. We tend to live in "black and white" times. And as a result, we tend to have "black and white" opinions. America's mistrust of Germans bothers me for some unknown reason - especially given the history of the Holocaust, two world wars, and East German tyranny. I think it is probably because I remember my father once telling me that Germany was "a country full of killers" that I started my quest to better understand the political happenings of Germany. Because no matter how awful things might have gotten, no matter what atrocities were committed, I simply cannot believe that it is "a country full of killers." This book helps answer a lot of the questions that nobody seems to know to ask. It traces the political developments in the country through the better part of the last century, and it is very careful to introduce information that most Americans have little or no access to. I'm sure part of my rush to defend Germans has to do with our current status as global-tyrant. I just hope that it doesn't take other Americans much longer to clue in to the fact that the minute the "pax americana" turns into the "atrocitas americana" (if it hasn't already, and I'm not yet convinced that it hasn't) the rest of the world will simply view us as "a country full of killers."