Boooooks!

[elderberrywine]

Well, here is a meme that is near and dear to my heart!

Directed here by the inestimable semyaza



1. Total number of books I've owned: (and currently still own)
Definitely in the thousands. Only very recently have I ever given away any of them, and it was only because my husband was getting seriously concerned about the maximum weight our second floor is capable of carrying, so I at last conceded to having a few boxloads given away to the local library. Mostly, they were upper division college math textbooks (admitting here that I don't think I'll ever wade through differential equations again) and best seller type things that I had read but did not enchant me. I think another question here would be how many books do you own that you have not yet had a chance to read? (At least a thousand of them. I have to be forcibly restrained near any bookshop, chain, used, or otherwise.)

2. Last book I bought:
Was at the LA Times Book Fair a couple of weekends ago, (where I struck gold in the UCLA student store - 2 Dickens(Hard Times and Bleak House), Trilby by George DuMaurier, and A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson - SCORE!) and got a 20% off coupon from Borders. Ah well, twist my arm. Only meant to buy A book, but walked out with The Squatter and the Don by Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton (dated 1885, apparently the first Latina novelist - no, I never heard of her before either), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (was always a big favorite of me mother's, who grew up there, too, but I've never read it), The Red and the Black by Stendhal, and Nickel and Dimes by Barbara Ehrenreich. (DOUBLE SCORE!)

3. Last book I read or am currently reading:
Currently reading the aforementioned Hard Times and The Pillars of Hercules by Paul Theroux (library book, and oh, yeah, there's always two or three of those around the house). Just finished Bath Triangle, Georgette Heyer, and Kiss Me Deadly, Mickey Spillane, both of which I adored especially for the dialogue. (It's unfortunate that the last will never metamorphize into my hobbits fics. Mike *stares at dame adjusting the seam of her stocking, gives her leg a close inspection* The Dame *throws smoldering smile over her shoulder* "Like what you see? I've got another just like it." Me BWAHAHAHA!)

4. Five books that mean a lot to me:
1. LOTR (Man, who knew?)
2. Complete Sherlock Holmes
3. The Charioteer, Mary Renault
4. Lorna Doone, R. D. Blackmore
5. Ramona, Helen Hunt Jackson

Oh, yeah, and anything by Iris Murdoch!!!

5. Tag five people and have them put this in their journal:
Hey, guys. If you want.

hobbitdogs
tinewen
lblover
fictualities
notabluemaia

Comments

[semyaza.livejournal.com]

You need to do a Spillane hobbits story; you really, really do.

One thing that amuses me every time--when I go to pay for my books and the person behind the counter says "Did you find everything?" I usually say "Uh, well, I found something". Duh.

Have you ever read Rohase Piercy's My Dearest Holmes?

[elderberrywine.livejournal.com]

Spillane!hobbits! That would a crackfic indeed. *ponders possibilities* I'm thinking it would be a little hard to shoehorn into Shire Morns, but the idea does have a certain appeal... *wicked grin*

Poor deluded clerks. "No, my dear, I'm afraid you don't have everything, but I'll start with this."

Have you ever read Rohase Piercy's My Dearest Holmes? Why, no, *pricks up ears* but I certainly like the sound of it!

[semyaza.livejournal.com]

It's a Holmes pastiche that came out in 1988 from GMP (UK)--two connected stories in one slim volume. It was the first published slash I'd ever seen. Watson is, of course, gay and in love with Holmes, but Holmes is 'distant' to say the least. Strictly PG but very romantic. *sighs loudly*

It still seems to be available at Amazon.ca for a reasonable price but Amazon.com charges a fortune for it. Maybe eBay? It's a must read for every Holmes fan, and though it's vastly chaster than online Holmes slash, it does tug at the heartstrings. :)

[elderberrywine.livejournal.com]

Oh, now, I so see those two the other way round (and if there ever was anything other than hobbitslash that I would write it would so be that) so that is very interesting.

Will definitely go scouting for it, thanks!

[semyaza.livejournal.com]

Forgot I hadn't answered this. Holmes is restrained and not partial to physical displays of affection. Rather sensible in late Victorian England. It has the most perfect ending though. *sighs*

[sierralois.livejournal.com]

Oh, I think we talked about this, but "The Charioteer," - that's tops on my list. I think my house has exceeded its carrying capacity for books, although I'm always buying more but then you rememember, having seen said interior of house). On my list I have "The Odyssey" to read, and I've yet to finish "The Folded Leaf" because the last chapter had the two you men in bed, happily together, and I'm afraid the ending will be sad. Love it, though. Very good. I also have to forcibly restrained at bookstores, but always give in. I have to read, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" - my sister recommends it.

[elderberrywine.livejournal.com]

Additions for books! That's what we need.

I've waded through the Odyssey many a time now, since it's (or at least parts are) required reading for 9th graders. Seems to me I orignally read a translation by the poet Robert Graves? But that was a long time ago, so I'm not sure.

The Folded Leaf? Author, author?

[sierralois.livejournal.com]

"The Folded Leaf" is by William Maxwell. I'd love to know what you think of it.

I went to Catholic school for eight years, and none of the classics were required reading, no popular authors either, like Steinbeck - I had to find them at the local library.

[elderberrywine.livejournal.com]

*scribbles this down on my list*

Dang. What did you guys read then? When I was in high school, we read Great Expectations in 9th grade, Julius Caesar in 10th, The Scarlet Letter in 11th, and 12th grade pretty much depended on what sort of English. I was in AP, and it was The Fox (?? I think?) by Voltaire, and a whole boatload of English poetry (Norton Anthology).

Nowadays, it's Romeo and Juliet and part of The Odyssey in 9th, Julius Caesar and Antigone in 10th, and then I can't remember the 11th, but it might be Huck Finn. And once again, the 12th depends.

Hmm. *looks at list* Maybe we are making progress. Odd how Julius Caesar is the one constant.

[sierralois.livejournal.com]

You know, that's a good question (what we read). I only remember discovering books at the library. My mother's a reader, and I'm sure she had some books around, though with a lot of children there wasn't much time. My older sister introduced me to LOTR. Very possibly we did get assigned reading in the later grades, but I don't remember the books, at least they didn't resonate with me.

[lbilover.livejournal.com]

Lorna Doone! Oh, I loved that book. I even own a really beautiful old illustrated edition. I read The Charioteer for the first time a few months ago. It is quite wonderful. (And I would love to see a hobbity Mickey Spillane ;-))

[elderberrywine.livejournal.com]

Oooh, fellow Lorna Dooneophile! Illustrated, no less! Lucky you!

First read The Charioteer over twenty years ago. My copy, much like my old LOTR paperbacks, falls open at certain, ahem, parts.
the night of the wedding. under the cedar. and what followed. sigh

Another vote for Spillane!hobbits, hmm? *starts to cackle fiendishly*

[hobbitdogs.livejournal.com]

Is this, like, a chain letter sort of thing? Just kidding. I really can't come up with anything interesting to put down, as I am trolling the sci fi fantasy sections of bookstores right now and am not reading a single thing with any redeeming quality. I just wish I didn't read so dang fast. Paperbacks are really getting expensive. My brain is too tired to go for anything deep.

[elderberrywine.livejournal.com]

Heh, girl, I know you've got stacks of stuff too, not to mention the Epic To End All Epics that is snorting as we speak in your garage.

And so? Best five?

[hobbitdogs.livejournal.com]

Heh. Boxes and boxes out there. I would say whining is a better term. One of those spooky, wind tunnel kind of whines, born of sheer neglect. One of these days I'm afraid one of those boxes is going to topple itself onto my head as I'm getting into the car as an act of revenge.
Unfortunately, the older I get the more juvenile my reading tastes get. I can match you LOTR and Sherlock Holmes, maybe Nero Wolf. Ack, falling asleep here...zzzzzzzzzzz.

[elderberrywine.livejournal.com]

What, not The Charioteer?

Think of the pooooorn!

[hobbitdogs.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, that too.

[i-o-r-h-a-e-l.livejournal.com]

Thousands yet we still want to buy again and again and again... :)

[elderberrywine.livejournal.com]

Oh, isn't that the truth. And as much as I love libraries (and some day I'll tell you about my Mom's library system, because she is every bit as much as a bookaholic as I am), but there is still something to actually possessing a book, and whispering to yourself that this is miiiiiine, precioussss, miiiiiiine.