Book survey

Anne at Almost Quintessence tagged me for one of these online survey things. I replied on her site, but hey, writing is writing, so I'm posting my responses here too.

1. Estimate the total number of books you've owned in your life.
It's probably between two and five thousand, not counting magazines and comic books. I really have no idea of a more accurate estimate. But it's a hell of a thing to haul them all from place to place - I still have 95% of them. I should just give up and declare myself a library.

2. What's the last book you bought?
I bought two books Friday night. Wish You Were Here, the Official Biography of Douglas Adams by Nick Webb, and Perfectly Reasonable Deviations, the letters of Richard Feynman. More than $50 total. I'm still depressed over Haley, can you tell?

3. What's the last book you read?
I'm in the middle of about five books. The last book I completed reading, technically, was the 25th Anniversary Edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which I read just before I went to see the movie at the beginning of May.

4. List 5 books that mean a lot to you.
Hmm. That's a toughie - just picking five books. I'd say:

- So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish by Douglas Adams, which has one of the most accurate descriptions of falling in love I've ever read.

- Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, the stories of Richard Feynman, which reminds me of the proper attitude that should be taken towards life.

- Last Chance To See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine, a snapshot of the state of species on the edge (and the world in general) in 1988.

- How To Grow More Vegetables In Less Space Than You Imagine etc. etc. etc. by John Jeavons - my introduction to Organic Gardening.

- Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. I read this one in college. It has everything - sex, lies, mental illness, wet nurses, intrigue, poison, a corrupt priest who uses dead people as fertilizer for his potato garden, inept doctors, faded aristocrats, fireworks...if I were stuck on a desert island, this would be one of the books I'd want to have.

5. Tag 5 people
Ummm, OK. You, you, you, you, and....you.