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I will surely underwhelm folks here:
1) How many books do you have?
Rough estimate is probably about 200 or so. Not a lot, compared to many on my Flist. I'm not a collector. I am, on the other hand, a library nut. As a kid, I generally checked out about 10 books a week and went on intense reading binges. Even through college. But I rarely bought or kept books. Even the ones I got for college. I probably should have kept more than I did - but there were a lot of books that I had no desire to revisit. (e.g. Theodore Lowi)
2) What is the last book you bought?
Do comics collections count? Do gifts count? I bought "America, A Citizens' Guide to Democracy Inaction" as a gift for someone else.
3) What is the last book you read?
I'm currently reading Norman Polmar's biography of Admiral Rickover. Otherwise, the US Naval Institute's Guide to Ships and Aircraft of the US Fleet - also by Polmar. In this case, it's both job related, and interesting, to me anyway. Plus, I work with Polmar, so we've got extra copies of most of his books just lying around in our group's library.
4) Five books that mean a lot to me. (Note - some resposting from Ten Important Books meme...
The New Rhetoric - CH Perelman
This was one of the Texts for my Pre-Law Junior English Course, and it's proven simply invaluable to me in writing and speaking. I love good argumentation, and nothing I'd read before had ever given me the sort of organizing tools to communicate points in an effective way before. Though critical thinking and argumentation come natural to me, nothing I've read has been half as useful in refining my techniques. A relatively easy read, for people who think of language and useage in functional rather than artistic terms.
The Federalist Papers - Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison
This is the book that got me to choose Government over History, that has me working on the Hill, in the Navy Yard, and on K Street, instead of chilling out at a University or Teaching HS History. The construction of the US Constitution is rather brilliant from my perspective. And as a fan of history, systems building, analysis and rhetoric, I love the Papers as a document. It's a fairly clear breakdown of the purposes of a government, and how this particular governing structure was constructed to meet those objectives. Starting from the general commentaries of #10 to more specific and arcane. This is the Talmud of Government.
For someone who argues a lot, and who conducts them in written form a lot - the two books above prove invaluable to me time and time again.
The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Among what fiction I have read, 19th Century Russian heavily represents. The overly-intelectual destroying and rebuilding himself through spiritual focus. The utter pointlessness of some acts, and the deep significance of others. Finding yourself adrift inside your own head. And the overarching dreariness. There are other works I like more, Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time, Chekov's plays, much of Pushkin's canon, Gogol as well - but I read "The Grand Inquisitor" when I was 14 and it grabbed me and wouldn't let go. And I wouldn't have read War and Peace or the numerous books and plays that followed without it.
All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
Good old American Fiction. Like Darkness, it's really a political/historical novel, as Willie Stark is heavily modeled on Huey Long. (For more about Long, check out T. Harry Williams' excellent Biography, Huey Long.) It's an examination of ambition, of duty to serve the public, of ego, of jealousy, of love. Of charisma. Of what makes us want to serve others, of what makes us want to serve the public. Of ethics. And of Anne and Adam Stanton - and how we measure our disappointment. And there is beautiful, gorgous writing, particularly in the historical sections about Cass Mastern. If you found Clinton interesting, read about Huey Long. I cannot rave about these two Huey Long books enough.
And finally,
That Little Green Book from Dr. Kerwin Charles (He's the awesomest!) Cost-Benefit Analysis class in grad school. How much does that book mean to me. It's hard to put a dollar value, but in this case, I'll say it means my house. Seriously. Because being able to do a quality risk analysis is worth a whole lot. Especially when you're about to take a big gamble.
1) How many books do you have?
Rough estimate is probably about 200 or so. Not a lot, compared to many on my Flist. I'm not a collector. I am, on the other hand, a library nut. As a kid, I generally checked out about 10 books a week and went on intense reading binges. Even through college. But I rarely bought or kept books. Even the ones I got for college. I probably should have kept more than I did - but there were a lot of books that I had no desire to revisit. (e.g. Theodore Lowi)
2) What is the last book you bought?
Do comics collections count? Do gifts count? I bought "America, A Citizens' Guide to Democracy Inaction" as a gift for someone else.
3) What is the last book you read?
I'm currently reading Norman Polmar's biography of Admiral Rickover. Otherwise, the US Naval Institute's Guide to Ships and Aircraft of the US Fleet - also by Polmar. In this case, it's both job related, and interesting, to me anyway. Plus, I work with Polmar, so we've got extra copies of most of his books just lying around in our group's library.
4) Five books that mean a lot to me. (Note - some resposting from Ten Important Books meme...
The New Rhetoric - CH Perelman
This was one of the Texts for my Pre-Law Junior English Course, and it's proven simply invaluable to me in writing and speaking. I love good argumentation, and nothing I'd read before had ever given me the sort of organizing tools to communicate points in an effective way before. Though critical thinking and argumentation come natural to me, nothing I've read has been half as useful in refining my techniques. A relatively easy read, for people who think of language and useage in functional rather than artistic terms.
The Federalist Papers - Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison
This is the book that got me to choose Government over History, that has me working on the Hill, in the Navy Yard, and on K Street, instead of chilling out at a University or Teaching HS History. The construction of the US Constitution is rather brilliant from my perspective. And as a fan of history, systems building, analysis and rhetoric, I love the Papers as a document. It's a fairly clear breakdown of the purposes of a government, and how this particular governing structure was constructed to meet those objectives. Starting from the general commentaries of #10 to more specific and arcane. This is the Talmud of Government.
For someone who argues a lot, and who conducts them in written form a lot - the two books above prove invaluable to me time and time again.
The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Among what fiction I have read, 19th Century Russian heavily represents. The overly-intelectual destroying and rebuilding himself through spiritual focus. The utter pointlessness of some acts, and the deep significance of others. Finding yourself adrift inside your own head. And the overarching dreariness. There are other works I like more, Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time, Chekov's plays, much of Pushkin's canon, Gogol as well - but I read "The Grand Inquisitor" when I was 14 and it grabbed me and wouldn't let go. And I wouldn't have read War and Peace or the numerous books and plays that followed without it.
All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
Good old American Fiction. Like Darkness, it's really a political/historical novel, as Willie Stark is heavily modeled on Huey Long. (For more about Long, check out T. Harry Williams' excellent Biography, Huey Long.) It's an examination of ambition, of duty to serve the public, of ego, of jealousy, of love. Of charisma. Of what makes us want to serve others, of what makes us want to serve the public. Of ethics. And of Anne and Adam Stanton - and how we measure our disappointment. And there is beautiful, gorgous writing, particularly in the historical sections about Cass Mastern. If you found Clinton interesting, read about Huey Long. I cannot rave about these two Huey Long books enough.
And finally,
That Little Green Book from Dr. Kerwin Charles (He's the awesomest!) Cost-Benefit Analysis class in grad school. How much does that book mean to me. It's hard to put a dollar value, but in this case, I'll say it means my house. Seriously. Because being able to do a quality risk analysis is worth a whole lot. Especially when you're about to take a big gamble.