Thanks For The Meme (ory)

Weez memed me a week ago and I somehow missed it. I'm a bad blogger! Bad blogger! Without further to-do...The Reading Meme:

Total number of books I’ve owned. Who would know this? This question reminds me of a story I read in Zoetrope. It was about a moving library—a bus, in fact—that was manned by an old-guy librarian and housed everything that its occupant (it changed depending on who stepped in) had ever, ever, ever read. Anyways, my answer is...many books.

Last book I bought. Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino by Emily W. Leider



Look at this cover! For obvious reasons, this photograph is called the "trance portrait." I cannot put this book down. I'm completely sucked into the era, the clothing, the crazy mixed-up gender issues, the New York scandals, the Hollywood drama, everything. Did you know Valentino started out as a taxi dancer in New York? He was a "tango pirate." That's a good Halloween costume idea for you gents: tango pirate. Technically, I didn't buy this book; I snapped it up for free thanks to my Books, Inc. frequent buyer card.

Last book I read. Hmmm. I'm reading a lot of books right now (I've done this since I was little; a whole stack on the floor beside my bed), but the last one I finished was The Snow Fox by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer. A novel of 12th century Japan, both beautiful and creepy. Good for the beach.

Five books that mean a lot to me.
1) Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
2) The Third Woman: Minority Women Writers of the United States edited by Dexter Fisher. This was a text from a class I took during my second year at SFSU in 19ahemahem. It was my first look at Jessica Hagedorn, Zora Neale Hurston, Lorna Dee Cervantes, and many more. This is what I call my "well, loookee here," book.
3) Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. I love this book. I stole it from my high school. I have read it every summer since I was sixteen. This and #4 represent the pure joy of reading.
4) Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. This is the first book I can remember reading on my own. I was dead to the world, splayed out on my groovy rainbow comforter, just hanging out with Harriet.
5) Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison.

Five people I'm sending this meme to. I think I'll pass this on to my family, since I have no idea what will make their lists: Kuya Mike, Lui (if she ever updates, ever), Paqui, Toya, and Dets.