Hazelnut Reflections

book tag

Tina at Frustrations, Hopes and Dreams just tagged me (this is much more fun than being stuck endlessly as "it" in grade school).

How many books do you own? (Do we count the ones in my parents' house in Wilmette that they're still bugging me to move?) Let's say 500. Like Tina, I've become a big fan of the library, although I still need to get a card here in OKC.

Last book I bought: The Botany of Desire, by Michael Pollan. I also just finished reading Pollan's book on gardening. I've found both books to be instructive and thought-provoking as I create my little greenspace on the patio.

Last book I read: We Thought You'd be Prettier, by Laurie Nortaro. If you have not discovered the brutally honest and funny works of Laurie Nortaro, you must, MUST go out now and get them. Just remember I used the word brutal. NOT for the faint of heart. Even better if you've ever lived in Phoenix (or, being a former Tucsonan, lived in Arizona and despised Phoenix).

5 Books that mean a lot to me (not, as we've all pointed out, including the Bible and the BCP).

So I've come up with 5, four of which are series. . .

1) The Lord of the Rings. Means even more to me now as an adult and I can understand the greater themes going on in Tolkien's work. Thanks to Peter Jackson for helping me rediscover the written work. I read these books 20 or so times in high school while everyone else was reading Flowers in the Attic.

2) The Dark is Rising series by Susan Howatch. The older I get, the more the books I read as a child or teenager stand out to me. What's not to like about this series if you're an Anglophile who loves fantasy novels? Arthurian motifs, scenes in Cornwall and Wales. As a child I scared myself silly reading the Grey King and its terrifying wolf scenes.

3) Not surprisingly, let's add the Harry Potter series as well. As Rowling's writing matures, her themes resonate more and more with me as well. Sign me up for the Order of the Phoenix.

4) Back to reality. Everything Annie Lamott has ever written. How can one choose between Traveling Mercies, Bird by Bird, or Operating Instructions? The clergy of MO gave us her latest as a parting gift and it ended up in the "important papers--open immediately" bag, which of course is sitting unopened in a closet. Maybe I'll read it this week.

5) Finally, for the feelings it evokes and the thoughtfulness of her insights, Barbara Kingsolver's High Tide in Tucson.

And now, who to tag? Let's see, Barbara, Abigail, Jason. Oh, and how about Monk-in-Training?

posted by Emily @ 12:12 PM