I’ve been reminded that I need to get off my arse and respond to this. I started, but got a bit stuck, which can only partly be excused by how crazily busy work has been lately.
Total number of books I’ve owned: I’ve always been too scared to count them. When I left Australia, I had five floor to ceiling bookshelves with books double-stacked on the shelves. I’d read most of them several times so I could still justifiably claim that I had nothing to read. I’ve been very, very good recently because I have the smallest room in the world, but I still have books stashed all over my room.
Last book I bought: a guide to the Hermitage, St. Petersburg. My excuse is that half the labels were in Russian only. It wasn’t for the pretty pictures, oh no. Actually, since I started writing this entry, I’ve ordered ‘Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice’ since I figure I really should know more about archaeology, as I work so closely with archaeologists.
Last books I read: ‘Small Island’, ‘Lonely Planet Russia and Belarus’, and the new translation of Proust’s ‘The Way by Swann’s’ (still. It’s so rich I can only read a paragraph at a time, like a block of very good chocolate after a meal).
Last book I finished: The Time Traveller’s Wife. I am sorta embarrassed by this, as it’s now marketed as the Richard and Judy Book Club pick, but as it was also my lezza book club pick, I had to read it.
Five books that mean a lot to me: this is where I got stuck. I could cite things like Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, which I found in my high school library, and which was proof that there was intelligent life out there.
I guess this question is easier if I think about books that have changed my life, rather than ones I can unequivocally say I love. Reading the Bible changed my life – I became an atheist as a result. Not so good if you’re seven or eight years old, and in a Catholic family, attending a Catholic primary school.
I’ll think of some others in due time, at this rate probably when I’m on site in a few weeks.