Book Meme

I was tagged three times:

• by Taylor


• by Victor


• by Nicholas

So to put this to bed, here's my version of this list:

1. Number of Books that I own:

-- Now that I look at the bookcases it seems like my books and Rue's have gotten together and multiplied, kinda like us. I'm quite scared.

Exclude old textbooks from university and courses that I have no purpose for (-42)
Exclude computer books (-6)

So, let's see...do the count...177...sure, why not? One hundred and seventy-seven hardcover and paperback books strewn over two tall bookcases (my books aren't allowed on my wife's bookcases)...

2. Last Book Purchased:

Devil Take the Hindmost, A History of Financial Speculation by Edward Chancellor. A damn good read about periods of "irrational exuberence" and the fallout that occurs when those periods inevitably end. Anyone caught up in the whirlwind of the Internet bubble will recognized themselves in an earlier incarnation during the South Seas bubble of the early 1700s. A good primer on why the human race doesn't learn from its mistakes when fabulous prizes are there for the tempting...

3. Last Book Read:

Fight Club by Chuck Palahaniuk. When I saw this in the library I had to take it out for a spin. As a fan of the movie, the picture in my mind was already coloured by pre-conceived images, but it was still entertaining as hell, and in my opinion, one of the best book to film adaptations to date that I have seen.

4. Five Books that mean Something to me:

I. A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens - Assigned for high school reading, I practically devoured this book in 3 days and was bored for the rest of the English classes that were given to us to complete the readings...There are plenty of literary criticisms as to why this is a great book, so I'll spare you that discussion. Suffice to say that I had a rather unhealthy fascination with Sydney Carton, and the "heroic sacrifice."

II. Chris Taylor mentions the Hornblower series of novels by C.S. Forester - I thought these were great books, but for my money the Aubrey-Maturin novels (all 20 of them) are better, for the simple reason that author Patrick O'Brian paints a more complete picture of the early nineteenth century using an incredible attention to the details of everyday life. Plus there's a lot more humour and joie de vivre in the boisterous Jack Aubrey, than there is in the uncomfortably stoic Horatio Hornblower.

III. Dune by Frank Herbert. One of the first "serious" sci-fi classics I ever picked up, and one of the few books I have been compelled to read and re-read over and over again. Forty years after it was first written it remains as powerful and imaginative and complete as any book I've ever read.

IV. Barbarians At the Gate by Bryan Burrough & John Helyar. At the time it occured, the buyout of RJR Nabisco was the largest leveraged buyout in history...When I first picked this book up, I was convinced that businessmen were superior, God-like, and infallible. This book taught me otherwise. It was also entertaining as hell. HBO made a quasi-fictional adaptation of it starring James Garner. One of the best books showing how the best-laid business plans can be shot to hell in the blink of an eye.

V. The Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks. Yeah, I know. More sci-fi. A powerhouse book. A difficult read. An ending that made me read earlier chapters over and over again for clues and pieces of the puzzle so the whole thing fit together. And made me an addict for more of Banks' novels set in the Culture universe.

5. Five more victims:

• Paul Jané at Frozen in Montreal


• Ben of Ben's Blab


• John the Mad


• James of Hammer into Anvil


• Paul of Light and Dark