Exercise Your Brain*

1. The total number of books I own:
No idea. Lots? A few? I own some, I borrow some, I don't think I've ever stolen any.

2. The last book you bought:
Last time out I got five books. They were: Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse:Dune, by Frank Herbert; A Storm of Swords, by George R. R. Martin; Eight Million Ways to Die, A Matthew Scudder crime novel, by Lawrence Block; and The High Window, by Raymond Chandler.
Unless we count trade paperbacks, then I'd have to include:
New X-men Academy: Choosing Sides, by Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir, illustrated by Randy Green and Staz Johnson; Planetary: Leaving the Twentieth Century, by Warren Ellis, illustrated by John Cassady; and Phantom Jack, by Michael San Giacomo.

3. The last book you read:
Heretics of Dune. I loved it. After God Emperor of Dune almost bored me to death, Heretics really picked this series back up. Currently I'm reading the last book of the science fiction series,Chapterhouse: Dune, and it does not dissapoint. Unless we count comic books (again), then it's Phantom Jack. It was good enough that I'm going to get the second tpb.

4. Five books which are particularly meaningful to you:
I'm not going to talk about comics here, it would take too long, (but for those interested I'll throw out a few writers and illustrators: Mike Mignola, Warren Ellis, Bendis, Ennis, Morrison, Quigley, Risso, Romita)

a.) The Thirteen Clocks, by James Thurber: My favorite book of all time. Sure, it's a kids' story, sure it's only like fifty pages, but it's magic. And it's also out of print, which sucks, because there are some really great illustrations in it too. So if you happen to have a copy, send it on over.

b.) Stories of the North, by Jack London: A book I can read over and over and over and over and over, and in fact did, for years. Recently I've had some success tracking down other collections of London's short stories and have enjoyed them as I enjoy all his work (White Fang). But really To Build A Fire could be the best of the bunch.

c.) The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure (The 'Good Parts' Version), by Wiliam Goldman: As much as you love the movie, the book is better. How much better I won't say, because really, you should read it for yourself. I mean really. It's funny, it's clever, and is better than the movie - don't kid yourself, just read it.

d.) Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls: I still, that's right still, cry at the end of this book. I know what's coming, I've read it before, and still, tears. I can't help it. Go ahead, try and read this book without weeping openly. You can't, or you haven't got a shred of humanity in you.

e.) A Prayer For Owen Meany, by John Irving: So maybe some of these books are "kid stories," because it's never too late to have a happy childhood. But, this is probably the best "grown-up" book I've ever read, and almost certainly my favorite. I've read other Irving books, but nothing else comes close to the achievement of this novel. It's a complete story, comprehesive, full. It's a beautifully constructed narrative.

f.) Jitterbug Perfume, by Tom Robbins: It's another book full of magic and whimsy. It's a feel good story, it's about (like his other books) the betterment of everyday life, about how good things can be. And it's funny too.

Ok, that was six. Tough.


In conclusion, you should read all of these books. You should read all of these books and more. You should read every book you can get your hands on, because weaseling out of things is what separates us from the animals...except the weasel.

-Tom

*I was asked (told?) to post this. And it's a good thing I was limited to these specific questions, because man, if we started talking about favorite books, or favorite authors, or any other number of related topics, it might never end.