You can all blame Brad for passing the book buck on to me. Here’s my responses…
Estimate the total number of books you’ve owned in your life. My best estimate is probably around 1,000 +/- a few hundred. I used to own a lot more than I own now, but that’s because NYC apartments don’t afford gigantic libraries. This is probably a good thing for me.
What’s the last book you bought? The Great Book of Amber (The Complete Amber Chronicles, Books 1 to 10), by Roger Zelazny – this is one of my favorite books to give out as gifts.
What’s the last book you read? Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett. – A Christmas gift from a close friend.
List 5 books that mean a lot to you. - The Great Book of Amber (The Complete Amber Chronicles, Books 1 to 10), by Roger Zelazny. – Granted, it gets pretty out-there toward the end, but it’s still an amazing world with a ton of great characters (the names of which are my current method for determining new hostnames for computers). Also, it was good enough to spawn the venerable rogue-like game Zangband.
The Dark Tower Series (Books 1 to 7), by Stephen King. – Hands down, this is my current pick for the best fiction I’ve ever read. Mysterious, immersive, and so damn fluid.
Snow Crash, by Neil Stephenson. – In my opinion, this is Stephenson at his best. In my obsession with virtual worlds, I’ve always had a soft spot for the Metaverse.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein. – I’ve read almost everything Heinlein wrote, and this is definitely his best. Heinlein shaped a lot of my early teens.
The Stars My Destination, by Alfred Bester. – Probably the most deserving title for “Best Science Fiction Book That Most Sci-Fi Fans Haven’t Read.”
Tag five people: I’ll post links to pals if/when they post their own write-ups.