(I bought this bamboo-and-rattan folding bookcase for $10 from a moving sale on Capitol Hill. It was only a year later that I found the “Made in the Philippines” sticker on its side, though I should have figured it out from the quality craftwork.)
Number of books I own:
About 75, I think, not counting the couple of dozen novels I left back in Manila. Most of those were old Star Trek novels, though, which I no longer really care much for. My comics are also not counted.
Last purchased book(s):
Since my “to-read” list in recent years has been growing faster than my reading rate, I’ve been holding myself back, and haven’t actually purchased any books for several months — though I occasionally do grab interesting stuff from the “for free” tables at bazaars and yard sales. The last book I bought (re-bought, actually; to replace a lost copy) was Bruce Sterling’s Involution Ocean. The last two free books were: John Toland’s biography of Adolf Hitler and The Complete Pelican Shakespeare. (I assume “Pelican” was William’s odd brother or something.) Both books were stacked on the table in the laundry room, where the apartment people usually leave free stuff.
Last re-read:
The aforementioned Involution Ocean.
Five books for a desert island:
Bible, English Standard Version. Complete Chronicles of Narnia, paperback. Any compilation of the complete works of Shakespeare. A traditional Baptist Hymnal. Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook (preferably Desert Island Edition).
Book I’d thwack someone on the head with:
Book I’d like to burn:
L. Ron Hubbard’s Dianetics.
Book that is overrated:
Fun classics:
Far From the Madding Crowd, Under The Greenwood Tree, From The Earth to the Moon and a Trip Around It, Gulliver’s Travels.
Last book read:
Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation (which I got cheap secondhand from Beth).
Five people that I tag to answer these and (optionally) take a photo of their bookcase:
Gideon, Valerie, Sara, Rowie, and Wyclif. (Yeah, that’s right: Wyclif. I call thee back out of the mists of time. ARISE!)
Addendum: Oh fine, if not Wyclif, my backup tag-ee is Sparticus.
Addendum to the Addendum: Valerie has her hands full too, so I’m passing this along to Mike-E instead.