Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Book meme

KristieJ tagged me for this meme weeks ago. I was too busy or too lazy, one or the other. Or on vacation.

1. Total number of books I own:
I can't compete with Kristie's 2289! And Rosie has her beat (2302). Incredible. I'm feeling completely deprived. Let's see... according to my spreadsheet I have 387 fiction books with about 25 mathematics and computer science textbooks I just can't part with (yeah, I'm a geek) left over from my college days from 10 years ago. Confession: I love to do calculus problems just for 'fun'. Then I have 196 in my TBR. That makes about 608. Pathetic. I need more bookshelves so I can keep more books.

2. Last book I bought
Caressed by Ice by Nalini Singh. Bought on Monday (Labor Day) with my 25% off coupon at Borders. I was there last Friday and forgot my coupon so I put it back on the shelf (bet you didn't know I had such willpower). Went back Monday and the stupid clerk claimed he scanned the coupon. Then he says "That will be $7.82". WTF??? I say "You forgot to scan the coupon." He says "Yes, I did." I say "No, you didn't." Looks and says "Oh." Good thing I was paying attention for once.

3. Last book I read
Tangled Up in You by Rachel Gibson. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. I haven't liked the last couple of Gibson's books that much. This one was very good. Maybe I should review it.

4. Five books that mean a lot to me
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - I read this book as a young girl and it shaped my sense of social justice and influences my political leanings to this day.

The Moonspinners by Mary Stewart - The first 'romantic' book I ever read. I was about 15 y.o. I devoured it and went on to read her entire backlist. This one still has a special place in my heart. Young Englishwoman on holiday in Greece encounters intrigue, suspense, danger and romance. *sigh* (be still my heart) I reread it often and it never grows old.

Red Adam's Lady by Grace Ingram - The best medieval romance I have ever read. Published in 1973. I paid $30 for my VHTF copy. Most I have ever paid for a used book. I keep promising to write a review but I hate to rave about a book that will be almost impossible for people to find.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - First time I finished this book, I started over and read it through front to back a second time. I loved the subtle English humor, the wonderful dialog, and the use of language and the character development.

Duncan's Bride by Linda Howard - The book I reread the most. Love the humor, the mail-order bride theme, the wonderful hero (who's a jerk but redeems himself in the end). And Maddie, what a heroine! Still one of the sexiest books I have ever read.

5. Tag 5 people
Well, I'm sure everyone's done this already.

12 comments:

Kristie (J) said...

LOL at the $7.82. If a clerk said that to me, I'd be thinking ooohhh squeal of a deal!!. Here, CBI is $10.
And I was suitably impressed by Tangled Up In You too.
And yea, Moonspinners. The book and the Walt Disney movie hold great memories for me too.

Rosie said...

Believe me I could hardly believe that book count either. But it's accumulated over many, many, years.

It's interesting you mention DUNCAN'S BRIDE. I haven't read it in years, but I have vivid memories of that book especially the part when he falls through the ice and Maddie has to struggle to rescue him. It's one book that has really stuck with me.

ReneeW said...

Kristie: LOL. I hate to admit I'm such a cheapskate. But the funny part is normally I would have just paid it and been half way home before I realized they didn't scan my coupon, then proceed to kick myself. Oh, I forgot to mention the Moonspinners movie. I had a girl crush on Haley Mills for the longest time.

Rosie: You make me jealous with the books. My favorite scene in Duncan's Bride is the sex in the back of the pickup truck. I also love the grovel scene at the end.

Kristie (J) said...

"I had a girl crush on Haley Mills for the longest time."
Oh me too!!! She did some wonderful movies didn't she? I forget the name of it now, but there was that one at the all girls school were she was the rebellious one and one of my favourite lines that I still quote to this day is "what a scathingly brilliant idea". And I was heartbroken at the end when she decided to become a nun.
And talking Moonspinners, I had me quite a crush on Peter McKenry (or whatever his name is) I loved him in Moonspinners, but when I saw him in The Fighting Prince of Donnegal - well my young self fell deeply in love!!

(*g* nice to have someone who can relate to these things isn't it?)

ReneeW said...

Kristie: Oh I remember that movie! Had to look it up.... The Trouble with Angels. And I remember that phrase too! I hated the nun ending too ... didn't make sense (unless you're Catholic which I'm not.) It was Peter McEnery. I was in loooove too. OK, now I need to go find that movie. It's so nice to have someone out there who understands me!

Kristie (J) said...

Renee: A stroll down memory lane *lol* How about The Scarecrow with Patrick McGoogan (or something)? I can still vaguely remember the theme song. He played a a reverend during the day, but at night he would dress up as a scarecrow and right all the injustices.
I think a lot of those old Disney movies are available on DVD and I'm so tempted to get them. But I'm almost afraid of them being hokey by today's standards, because when I was a kid I just loved them to pieces.
Or how about The Three Lives of Thomasina??? I think Haley Mills was in that one. I cried when I thought the cat died.

nath said...

wow, i am sooo impressed by your willpower... I bought CBY twice ^^; I pre-ordered it, but it's just been shipped... I couldn't wait so bought it in store ^^;

Dev said...

Haley Mills? My favorite to this day is Pollyanna ~ I cry everytime I see it (which is a lot because Hallmark channel plays it quite often)

Kate Diamond said...

Picture me girlishly squealing in delight...

I love "To Kill a Mockingbird!" And "Pride and Prejudice" is one of my favorites.

ReneeW said...

Kristie: I had such a huge crush on her I know I saw all her Disney movies. I especially loved her accent and can remember trying to imitate it :)

Nath: You sound like Cindy :) She pre-orders then buys in the store. I tried that pre-order crap but it never works out for me.

Dev: Oh, me too. LOVED Pollyanna! Still do. What a sappy movie!

Kate: Aren't they wonderful books? I reread them occasionally. Great classics.

CindyS said...

Okay, I love that Nath pulled a 'cindy' and now has two books. I have that happen all the time! But I'm working on it and I am super impressed with your willpower. I would have bought the book on Friday and then just bought more later ;)

Duncan's Bride is my second fav of Linda Howard's the first being Dream Man - paranormals were hard to find when that book was published and it was just perfect!

I'm betting I was tagged at some point but forgot so I think I'll be writing this up tonight. Although the thought of counting my books is terrifying.

CindyS

ReneeW said...

Cindy: We are very close on Linda Howard. Dream Man is my second fav. Pretty amazing. I thought Kristie tagged you but if not then I'm tagging you, please. :) I'm interested in how many books you have and of course your 5 books.

Wow, I haven't touched my blog in over 6 years and I'm still logged in!  Good thing because I have no idea what my password is.  In ...