Book Love - A Meme

I do not do every meme that I am tagged for, but I do try to do the ones that have a literary flavor to them as well as the others than interest me and provide an opportunity to say something I haven't said before. right now I am several memes behind so today I going to do this one that Helen over at the Hellcat Chronicles tagged me with. It's all about books and my reading tastes and habits.

Total number of books owned: At any one time there are a couple of hundred books taking up residency in my house, car, or locker at work. Next year I plan to start construction on a new house and some serious bookshelves are in the plans. I hope to be able to better organize my books at that time.

Last book read: The Bridge Of Sighs by Richard Russo. I waited a long time for this one to come out and I was not disappointed. The thing I admire most about Russo is his ability to remain honest and true to the characters he creates. As a writer I know how easy it is to disguise or alter a character in order to make the reader like them as much as I do. Russo gives his readers the warts and all, yet somehow he makes me fall in love with characters that on the surface have very little excitement behind them.

Last book bought : Carols and Crimes, Gifts and Grifters. Fifteen different authors contributed to this a holiday themed collection of shirt stories, including my friend and frequent visitor of this blog, Deborah Elliott-Upton. All proceeds go the the Marines Toys for Tots program so click on the link and order yourself a copy to both entertain and give.
I can't wait for mine to arrive from Amazon.

Five meaningful books: I'm going to do these chronologically in the order in which I first read them.

Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls -- I must have been in the second or third grade when I first read this book. This story more than any other launched my love of reading. I cried when his dog died at the hands of the mountain lion. It has been years since I've read it, but I really need to buy a new copy and read it to my boys.

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain -- The signature story from the greatest American storyteller to ever live. In my humble opine. I must have been in the fifth or sixth grade the first time I read Huck Finn and although I didn't understand just how great it was then I knew I likes it, and I daydreamed more than once about how much fun it would be to build a roof and float down a river. I have read this one at least six times since then and always discover something new within the pages.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee -- For my money this is THE great American Novel, and when I first read it sometime in junior high it was the first book I ever read the last page of and immediately opened back up to reread. I only wish Harper Lee would have written another novel.

The Risk Pool by Richard Russo -- My favorite novel from my favorite contemporary author. A coming of age novel about a boy with an emotionally unstable mother and a derelict, wayward father. Tom Hanks is on slate to portray the father in a movie adaptation and I can only hope the movie does the novel justice when it finally comes out.

It is hard to pick a fifth. There are so many close ones. My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult - A novel that made me think start to finish and left me breathless at the end. A Prayer For Owen Meaney by John Irving -- Probably the best concept and execution of a novel I have read since i started writing and viewing novels in a different light. An Unfinished Life by Mark Spragg -- A great novel a pretty darn good movie except I didn't like the casting of Jennifer Lopez in the role as Jean Gilkerson.

But for my official pick ...

Eventide by Kent Haruf -- Actually, this is a two for one deal since Eventide is the sequel to Plainsong. Haruf is another author great and creating memorable and believable, yet flawed characters. When a character dies in Eventide, I mourned as if one of my long time friends had passed on. I can think of no greater honor as a writer than for readers to fell as if they know your characters on that level.

I'm not going to tag anyone but I would be interested in hearing you five most memorable books. So leave a comment. about that or if you have something to say about any of the ones I mentioned.