Speaking of books...

Surya and Vulturo have book-tagged me, so in the greater interest of the common good I'll have to reveal the sordid details of what goes on between me and my books.

Total number of books I own: Why buy when you can borrow or steal! I am an impulse buyer of books and while I usually haunt bookstores for the ambiance and the coffeeshops, I usually end up with atleast one cheap book every time I visit a bookstore. The attrition rate is equally alarming since due to my splendid memory. After the latest round of moving, I managed to haul in two boxes of books plus a bundle of them spread around the backseat of my car, so let me throw in a rough estimate of around 150.

Last book I bought:That would be The Bartender's Guide which is an incredibly useful quick-reference book for a plethora of cocktails. The latest fiction I bought was The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold which is a disturbing and ultimately touching account of a 14-year-old girl Susie who is raped and murdered. It is a first person account of Susie in heaven who watches her family and friends struggle with the horror of the tragedy long after she was gone, so that she can find peace herself. What I like about the book, apart from her unique perspective, is her description of heaven where everyone sees it uniquely as a world that was familiar and comfortable to them when they were alive.

Last book I read:The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel. It's the first book in her Earth's Children series which tracks the adventures of a Cro-Magnon heroine Ayla who is raised by a Neanderthal clan. Part Harlequin romance and part Indiana Jones, it's a good read but not great literature.

My unfinished book:Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. I bought it after reading rave reviews, but I could never get past the first few chapters because it was so... boring! I might pick it up again once I have nothing else to read.

Books that mean a lot to me:

1. One Thousand Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - it is the kind of magical literature that I can appreciate (so much more than Salman Rushdie's writing).
2. The complete Enid Blyton - I fell in love with books because of Enid Blyton. It's amazing how she could write at so many different levels. The first Enid Blyton I read was 'The Magic Faraway Tree' and I grew up reading The Secret Seven, The Famous Five, the adventure series.. I don't think I ever read a book of hers that I didn't like. Someday I hope to make a collection of all her books since many of them are out of print.
3. The Williams books by Richmal Crompton. The funniest books about children that were written for adults. They were funny when I read them as a teenager, and when I found a bunch of them on eBay recently I just had to buy them.(they are not available in stores in the US) Her books can be called great literature like P.G.Wodehouse, only funnier.
4. Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman! and What do you care what other people think by Richard Feynman. It was Feynman's anecdotes that showed me that it is possible to have fun and be geeky! Feynman makes you fall in love with life and the scientific method and is one of those rare books that can give you an epiphany of sorts.

I am using 'booktag' as a technorati tag so that it is easy to find book-tagged blogs. Use the tag if you like the idea. I have to pass on the book-tag virus to someone else, so here's my list: JD, Kim, Suresh, Sanaja, Michael H.. Feel free to booktag yourself and I'll add you to the list.

Tags: booktag, books