Book Meme
Book Survey gagged from andromakhe
1) Total number of books owned ?
Honestly, I have no idea. I started counting once, but gave up after 300.
I guess I must own at least 1000 books, probably more.
I enjoy rereading books and am a "mood-reader" so it makes sense for me to own the books I enjoy. For those who wonder what I mean by "mood-reader": Well, if I'm in a particular mood I will get a craving for a certain type of book and then no other book will do. I'll take the perfect match for my mood out of the shelf and start reading. :-)
I own many different types of books: novels, fairy tales, poetry, children books, books about philosphy, myths, psychology, biology, history, travel guides, ... Also books in many languages (English, German, French, Spanish) - not that I'm fluent in French and Spanish, but I like learning languages by reading books. It's more fun.
2) The last book I bought?
Make that the last *books* I bought:
"The Virgin Suicides" by Jeffrey Eugenides
"Shadows over Ombria" by Patricia McKillip
"The Visual Dictionary of ROTS" by James Luceno
3) The last book I read ?
I always read more than one book at a time. At the moment I'm reading:
- "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides
- "Shadows over Ombria" by Patricia McKillip
- "Philosophy and Star Wars" by Kevin S. Decker and Jason T. Eberl
- "Revenge of the Sith" by Matthew Stover (rereading it)
- "The House of Stairs" by Barbara Vine (another rereading)
4) Five books that mean a lot to me?
I can't settle for just five books. :-)
- "The Robber Bride" by Margaret Atwood
This is my favorite book by Atwood and I have reread it so often the book is close to falling apart.
It's the tale of the friendship of three different women and how they survive Zenia, another woman who enjoys destroying other people's life. The book has some very strong characters and the story is supported by Atwood's evocative descriptions. And I love it that part of the story is told from three different points of view.)
- "Alien Earth" by Megan Lindholm
Megan Lindholm now writes as Robin Hobb and has become very well-known for the Farseer Trilogy. She wrote "Alien Earth" before she became popular and it's her only science fiction novel.
I love this book because of the interesting view point: It plays many years in the future of mankind. Mankind no longer lives on earth, but has been moved to a spaceport by an alien nation where they are supposed to blend in, i.e. they are no longer supposed to have aggressive tendencies.
I enjoyed the characterization and the overall message of the book.
- "Goodnight, Mr. Tom" by Michelle Magorian
A very uplifting children book.
- "Hawk of May" and the two sequels "Kingdom of Summer" and "In Winter's Shadow" by Gillian Bradshaw
My favorite retelling of the King Arthur legend. Way way way better than the "Mists of Avalon". Beautiful language, great characters (in fact you can have sympathy for all the characters). While the first novel still has a happy end, the second's ending is bitter-sweet and reading the third books always makes me cry at several points. Despite that the ending is hopeful.
(While typing this I realized that the emotions the story evokes, is strongly reminiscent of the Star Wars prequel trilogy.)
- "Die Unendliche Geschichte" by Michael Ende
A book I loved when I was a child and that lost nothing when I reread it as an adult. Also the author manages to explore philosphic ideas, e.g. "Tu was du willst" ("Do what you want") without lecturing or being boring. The philosophy merges with the story.
(By the way: I don't like the Neverending Story movies. They miss the message, IMO.)
- "Schlußball" by Gerd Gaiser
A story playing in Germany after the second world war. It's not told in chronological order; it's also told from different point of views. So it's a bit of a challenge putting it all together, but that's one of the reasons why I enjoy the book. Also enjoy the hopeful outlook in the end despite the sad things that happen. It's a book about true values versus shallowness, IMO.
Among my other favorite authors are Stefan Zweig and Lion Feuchtwanger. I enjoy how they merge historical elements with philosphy and psychology.
Liz Williams is another great author. She used to write in the Star Trek fandom, but has now already published five novels that are all very innovative. She blends philosophy and anthropology in her science fiction novels.
5) Tag 5 people and have them fill this out on their LJs:
the_dala, hydaspes, berne, thunderemerald and atiaran (even though she doesn't have a livejournal)
1) Total number of books owned ?
Honestly, I have no idea. I started counting once, but gave up after 300.
I guess I must own at least 1000 books, probably more.
I enjoy rereading books and am a "mood-reader" so it makes sense for me to own the books I enjoy. For those who wonder what I mean by "mood-reader": Well, if I'm in a particular mood I will get a craving for a certain type of book and then no other book will do. I'll take the perfect match for my mood out of the shelf and start reading. :-)
I own many different types of books: novels, fairy tales, poetry, children books, books about philosphy, myths, psychology, biology, history, travel guides, ... Also books in many languages (English, German, French, Spanish) - not that I'm fluent in French and Spanish, but I like learning languages by reading books. It's more fun.
2) The last book I bought?
Make that the last *books* I bought:
"The Virgin Suicides" by Jeffrey Eugenides
"Shadows over Ombria" by Patricia McKillip
"The Visual Dictionary of ROTS" by James Luceno
3) The last book I read ?
I always read more than one book at a time. At the moment I'm reading:
- "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides
- "Shadows over Ombria" by Patricia McKillip
- "Philosophy and Star Wars" by Kevin S. Decker and Jason T. Eberl
- "Revenge of the Sith" by Matthew Stover (rereading it)
- "The House of Stairs" by Barbara Vine (another rereading)
4) Five books that mean a lot to me?
I can't settle for just five books. :-)
- "The Robber Bride" by Margaret Atwood
This is my favorite book by Atwood and I have reread it so often the book is close to falling apart.
It's the tale of the friendship of three different women and how they survive Zenia, another woman who enjoys destroying other people's life. The book has some very strong characters and the story is supported by Atwood's evocative descriptions. And I love it that part of the story is told from three different points of view.)
- "Alien Earth" by Megan Lindholm
Megan Lindholm now writes as Robin Hobb and has become very well-known for the Farseer Trilogy. She wrote "Alien Earth" before she became popular and it's her only science fiction novel.
I love this book because of the interesting view point: It plays many years in the future of mankind. Mankind no longer lives on earth, but has been moved to a spaceport by an alien nation where they are supposed to blend in, i.e. they are no longer supposed to have aggressive tendencies.
I enjoyed the characterization and the overall message of the book.
- "Goodnight, Mr. Tom" by Michelle Magorian
A very uplifting children book.
- "Hawk of May" and the two sequels "Kingdom of Summer" and "In Winter's Shadow" by Gillian Bradshaw
My favorite retelling of the King Arthur legend. Way way way better than the "Mists of Avalon". Beautiful language, great characters (in fact you can have sympathy for all the characters). While the first novel still has a happy end, the second's ending is bitter-sweet and reading the third books always makes me cry at several points. Despite that the ending is hopeful.
(While typing this I realized that the emotions the story evokes, is strongly reminiscent of the Star Wars prequel trilogy.)
- "Die Unendliche Geschichte" by Michael Ende
A book I loved when I was a child and that lost nothing when I reread it as an adult. Also the author manages to explore philosphic ideas, e.g. "Tu was du willst" ("Do what you want") without lecturing or being boring. The philosophy merges with the story.
(By the way: I don't like the Neverending Story movies. They miss the message, IMO.)
- "Schlußball" by Gerd Gaiser
A story playing in Germany after the second world war. It's not told in chronological order; it's also told from different point of views. So it's a bit of a challenge putting it all together, but that's one of the reasons why I enjoy the book. Also enjoy the hopeful outlook in the end despite the sad things that happen. It's a book about true values versus shallowness, IMO.
Among my other favorite authors are Stefan Zweig and Lion Feuchtwanger. I enjoy how they merge historical elements with philosphy and psychology.
Liz Williams is another great author. She used to write in the Star Trek fandom, but has now already published five novels that are all very innovative. She blends philosophy and anthropology in her science fiction novels.
5) Tag 5 people and have them fill this out on their LJs:
the_dala, hydaspes, berne, thunderemerald and atiaran (even though she doesn't have a livejournal)