Mimi's Book Meme!

...and so I’ve been tagged by Stupendous Nish-pish and must therefore must write a book meme..(whetever that is!!!) (yeth nish..it is a funny word..meme, meme, mimi’s meme, mimi..duh!). Here it is….

1. Total number of books I've owned
That question is unanswerable considering I’ve lent out more unreturned books than I can remember and my mother..(yes my own flesh and blood!) insists on "borrowing" books from me. I do however have all the books that I currently own listed here. There’s a total of 228 books. (comics, periodicals and cookbooks not counted!!)

2. Last book I bought
Bought two. Fury (Salman Rushdie) & Such a Long Journey(Rohinton Mistry). Rushdie was bought more out of curiosity really. I’m halfway through this book and already it promises to be quite interesting. His style is concise and descriptive and the author seems an observant & methodical man. Minimalist Fiction at its finest.
(Nish says he uses three adjectives for every noun...but hey...so far i like it!)

3. Last book I read
The Sari Shop (Rupa Bajwa) She’s good but I’ve read better. The hero’s angst however, is unquestionably well portrayed. (hehehehee.. D&P for the day!)

4. Five books that mean a lot to me

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.(Douglas Adams) Zaphod Beeblebrox, Ford Perfect, Trillion, Arthur Dent, Marvin, The planet of Cricket. An all-time favorite! Douglas Adams Rocks!

Catch 22. (Joseph Heller) I love Black humour. Satire means a lot to me. I read this one in College. It came highly recommended by Ramesh (my erstwhile fighter pilot friend..(hmmm I wonder why?)) and I’ve possible reread it about 20 times since. I’ll probably have a quote from it on my epitaph.

Disgrace (J.M.Coetzee) I love his writing style. He stays in the moment, guiding the reader though every pulse of the characters story. Though I love all his books this one was my first. It’s simply exquisite!

Fear of Flying (Erica Jong) & I, The Divine (Rabih Alameddine). A woman’s perspective. I like it when women don’t make excuses for themselves and the way they feel. FeelGood books, both!

Lolita (Vladimir Nabakov) Another brilliant Ramesh recommendation! Reread this masterpiece a few months ago after years and it is just as compelling. I just looove the way it begins… ”Lolita. Light of my life. Fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: The tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.” (I actually enunciated it when I read the beginning. I still do.) Rapturous!
Should stop here but there’s more..

The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)

Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil (John Berendt)

The Adventures of Asterix (Gossiny & Uderzo) The indomitable village of Gauls with their antics and magic potions!

Calvin & Hobbes (Bill Waterson) Philosophy in my teacup.

Serendip (Dom Moraes), The Collected works of W.B.Yeats, Collected Poems (Sylvia Plath), Extravagaria (Pablo Neruda), The Prophet (Kahlil Gibran) Always good for rainy Sunday afternoons. Also, I had the privilege of seeing Naseeruddin Shah perform “The Prophet” at the experimental theatre. The man is genius!

Books by Rohington Mistry, V.S.Naipaul, Hanif Kureishi, Tom Robbins to name a few.

5. Which 5 people would you most like to see fill this (ok so sue me! I've named 10!)

Ramesh. He doesn’t have a blog. I really hope he starts one!
Prabha. She’s in the process of writing her own book. I’d love to know her favorites.
Nish. ..and I’ve already gotten my wish. Click here to see Nish's book meme.
Suni copywriter extraordinaire and first best friend!
Poochie. Journalist with India Today. She rocks!!
Rama. I’ve only so far managed to read some of her haiku. She’s inspired!
Siddu. Whacha reading honey?
Meherzaad. Now i know this will be interesting.
Tarun. Go on...I dare you!
Sam. I'll believe it when i see it!

So thats all for now folks. Hope you guys write some meme's as well and don't make me feel like such a fool for wasting a precious half-hour!