The perfect meme for bookworms

Although I wasn't formally tagged, I'm doing a book meme that I saw on Kathy Kehrli's blog.

1. How many books do you own?

Honestly, I have no idea. Hundreds, I'm sure. The sad thing is how many I have had to get rid of for lack of space. If I weren't constantly under pressure to weed my book collection, I would probably have a thousand or more.

As it is, when I weed my collection, I'll usually give up newer books — even ones I really liked — in favor of vintage or antique books (such as my Brontë collection or my newest oldest book).

2. What was the last book you read?

I just recently finished Principled Profit, by Shel Horowitz. Although I usually read about half fiction, half nonfiction, I realized recently that I'd been on a rather long fiction streak. I'd heard about Shel's book when I attended his chat during the Muse Online Writers Conference, and it was pretty short and unintimidating, so I decided it would be good for reinitiating myself into the world of nonfiction, work-related pleasure reading.

3. What was the last book you purchased?

Olivia, Pajama Time, and Barnyard Dance (for Michael's nephews) and the special illustrated edition of 1776 (for Michael).

I hardly ever buy books for myself anymore. I usually only read them once, so I've started checking them out from the library instead. It saves me lots of money, not to mention the agony of having to decide which ones to get rid of when I run out of space yet again. Besides, having them for a limited amount of time (usually) forces me to get to them a little sooner.

4. What five books are most meaningful to you?

I can't believe someone expects me to know which books, out of the many thousands I've no doubt read, are the most meaningful to me!

The thing that hangs me up is the word meaningful. Not necessarily my favorites, in other words. That's part of why this is so hard.

I can think of one — or actually, seven: C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. These are meaningful to be because I practically grew up on them. I've read each of them a handful of times at least. They are so engraved into my imagination that I actually cried in parts when I saw the recent movie version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in the theater.

5. What is your most obscure favorite book? Or, favorite most obscure book… [Added by Lisa]

This one is easy: Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Although Anne's work gets much less attention than that of her sisters, I think it is actually better in many ways. For instance, I think her way of addressing social issues is much more ingenious than Charlotte's monologues and narrative tangents in Jane Eyre, and her narrative techniques are at least as effective as Emily's cyclical plot in Wuthering Heights.

Your turn. Like Kathy, I'm not tagging anyone specific. Anyone who reads this is invited to participate. Just leave a link to your post in the comments.