Meme Yoink!

I caught this one on Katie's blog and since she was so kind to answer one of mine, I have to do the favor back:

The Number of Books I Own
Shit. I haven't a clue. The best estimation I have is that when we moved, we had over 20 or so boxes of books. It's kind of like those dry cleaner wire hangers -- I leave them alone in the library and they multiply like rabbits. Most are Jeff's but I'm starting to catch up to him.

The Book I'm Currently Reading
Bouncing between a couple of things -- Terry Prachett's Feet of Clay. Prachett's a lot of fun to read and I chew through those books pretty damn quick. I was also re-reading Conversations with Bono (and re-referring to it to get in the proper mindset for last Sunday's sermon), while interspersing it with Hunter S. Thompson's The Proud Highway (a collection of his letters) to make cut the sunny optimism down a little bit so I wouldn't hork on myself.

Last Book I Bought
Last two were Boondocks' new collection, Public Enemy #2, and the Bono book.

Last Book I Read
The Conversations with Bono book. I have to say I did enjoy it. Conversation books can almost be considered excessively narcissistic, but I thought it was an opportunity to trip through the man's brain. It was interesting as hell and I ended up liking him a little bit more.

Five Books that Have Meant a Lot to Me
1. Jitterbug Perfume. Tom Robbins has a very quirky style that was perfect for me in high school. But this book I constantly revisit because it's got a huge cast of interesting characters and I like his concept of romance and love with Kudra and Alobar. They're probably my favorite literary couple.
2. Survivor. Chuck Palahniuk's comic novel about the last surviving member of a religious cult is a funny, sharp poke at celebrity.
3. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Hunter S. Thompson's classic book. It's dark, funny and each time I read it, I see more of HST's reality in the world. I love his writing, even though he's a shit journalist.
4. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I didn't get it the first time I read it (when my AP English teacher referred to the book and said it was something that I'd like -- the next week, every student in my class had that book), but now I do and it's an interesting look into philosophy and a man clawing his way out of madness.
5. Joy Luck Club. I think that Amy Tan was the first writer that really described the Asian American experience for me. While my life didn't exactly mirror her characters, there were certain things that I could instantly identify with. I don't care for her later things -- she milks the antagonistic mother-daughter relationship a bit too much, but I remember reading her stuff and thinking, "Yeah, I totally understand this."

As for passing it on, I'd like to see Keidra, Sid and Amanda write this sucker out.