Whatcha Readin?

oh my.  i got tagged by both ben and cathi for the book meme (me! me! me! -- hey that's what i'm thinking when i see the word meme).  my reading choices really aren't all that fascinating.  really.  quite lame actually.

1. Total number of books in your house:  easily hundreds.  i have quite a few of my college and grad school text books (some of the grad school ones i also have at work ).  I still have my biology text from freshmen year, the contents of which is probably now obsolete since no one is allowed to teach evolution anymore.  oh...that hasn't happened yet?  ok...i have of course a pile of knitting and assorted other craft books -- i showed you those during "here's my stash" day.  i've also got plenty of magazines (i got rid of a ton when i moved but i've kept a lot of craft magazines and martha stewart livings.  i have vogue knitting magazines that are over 20 years old).  most of the fiction i have are books that i have not read or books and authors that i like a lot.  i may not read them again, but i like having them there.

2.  The last book you bought was:   our friend the yarn harlot's, At Knit's End.  and Simple Socks Plain and Fancy by Priscilla A. Gibson-Roberts.  when i lived in boston, i used to walk by Brookline Booksmiths almost every day and i bought at least one book a week.  somehow buying books has never struck me as an extravagant or needless purchase.

3. What was the last book you read before reading this:  i've had a hard time getting into a book of fiction lately.  but i started The Lovely Bones by alice sebold monday morning and i've gotten seriously sucked in.  i'm getting to the home stretch and i'm already a little sad that it's ending.  next on my list is a book that i borrowed from our work "library"  (the work library consists of a series of shelves with books that people have brought from home for others to read) called Middlesex.  everyone and their mother have been telling me what a great book it is.  i don't know now if i even should read it.  what if i'm disappointed?

4. Write down 5 books that you often read or that mean a lot to you:  i almost never reread a book.  i did read The Perfect Storm twice, before and after seeing the movie.  the first time around all of the technical stuff was over my head and that bugged me.  so i had to read it again.  and every now and again, i do reread Gone With the Wind.  and i'd like to reread some of the books i read in highschool and college for classes such as Tess of the d'Urbervilles (there you go cathi) and the Grapes of Wrath.    i love anything by david sedaris.  in fact, i love him so much that i even love his sister, amy sedaris.  and all of the other sedarises (sedarii?).   i also loved Stones from the River and I Know This Much Is True  by Wally Lamb.  i hated Wally Lamb's other book, She's Come Undone.  everybody loved that book and went on and on about how in tune he was with a woman's mind, they couldn't believe a man had written such a character, yadda yadda yadda, and all i could think about was how unpleasant and whiny and miserable a character she was and that in order to write such a character, that he must hate women.  hated that book.  blech.  i'm making a face showing my distaste for this book as i'm typing this.  (and yes, i read the whole thing because 1. he's a good writer and 2. i kept hoping she wouldn't be so pathetic. )

Update:  oh oh oh how could i forget another of my absolute favorites:  A Prayer for Owen Meaney.   love -- that -- book.

5. Who do you tag?  my favorite aunt, crazy aunt purl