A book meme because Kelly is cruel
Because I was tagged by Kelly, I do this meme on books. Thank you, Kelly! I wasn’t busy enough! Hee.
Total number of books:
I’m with Kelly on this one; you may as well ask how many breaths I’ve taken in living memory. I am never not reading. I am always in the middle of one book or another. I get uncomfortable when my To Read pile starts to get short. I do not, however, read more than one book at a time, and I am, in comparison to most of my friends, a slow reader. I like to savor each book.
Last book I read:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J K Rowling.
Last book I bought:
A Storm of Swords by George R R Martin.
Five Meaningful Books:
- Imagica by Clive Barker: Not my first introduction to Clive Barker, but what I consider to be his master work. This book introduced me to a type of fantasy I hadn’t encountered before; realms in our real world that just might exist if we turned over the right rock or looked behind the right curtain. It was also the first real adult book I’d read, with very adult themes and imagery. It has stuck with me all along and is the reason I continue to read Barker, hoping he’ll hit that high again.
- Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman: Apart from the Sandman series, this was my first introduction to Neil Gaiman as novel writer. I was bowled over. I reached the end and flipped back to the first page and started all over again. Like Imagica, it took me into new realms hidden in the cracks and hollows of our own world, but there was something all-together darker about Neverwhere; a Gothic undertone that was not as bright as the viscera in Barker’s books, but somehow more insidious. Each book since has been better and better.
- The Last Light of the Sun by Guy Gavriel Kay: Once again not my first introduction to Kay (Keith lent me Tigana which made me want to read more of Kay’s work), but the first book of his that I read twice in a row and the first book, ever, to make me actually cry … both times.
- The Regiment by John Dalmas: This was the first fantasy (it is not Sci-Fi … don’t even get me started on the actual definition of that word) I picked out on my own and read. I’ve ready it many times since. It’s not a particularly ground breaking work, but I love it. I feel like it’s mine.
- Dune by Frank Herbert: This is the first real book I have memory of reading. It was given to me by my Aunt Renee when I was twelve. I have very distinct memories of flipping back to the glossary constantly for the definitions of the new and exciting words Herbert invented. I also discovered Iron Maiden around this same time, and their song To Tame a Land, about Dune. The two are inseparably linked, now, in my psyche.
And I tag: Jenni, Keith, and, well, anyone who wants to! Tag yourselves!
“A book meme because Kelly is cruel”