Book Meme.

David Codrea of the blog War on Guns just tagged me for another blogmeme, this one on books. Who am I to refuse?

Total number of books I've owned: No way to tell. At least a few thousand. My current collection, mostly paperbacks, mostly science fiction, runs about 1,000. I try not to sell or give away anything I like, but it's difficult to provide enough room for them all.

Last book I bought: R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton. Not her best work.

Last book I read: On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society, by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, about which I hope to have a post up later today. Lots of food for thought.

Five books that mean a lot to me: I can't pick five specific books, but I think I can pick four specific authors, and one book.

Robert A. Heinlein (everything he wrote)

John D. MacDonald (his Travis McGee novels)

Robert B. Parker (his Spenser novels - even the poor ones)

- These three men molded my personal philosophy

Issac Asimov

- Asimov is in large part responsible for my fascination with science and technology. I still have his three-volume work on elementary physics, and his Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, among many others. I liked his work in SF, but it was his non-fiction writing that I found most interesting.

And the book; The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. I.

This is a collection of short stories from the "golden age" of SF that I stumbled across in a school library at about age 13. It contains such classics as "The Cold Equations," "Flowers for Algernon," "First Contact," "Microcosmic God," "The Weapon Shop," "Arena," and many, many others. This is stuff to make you think. Very subversive! Highly recommended.

Now I'm supposed to tag five others to do this. Don't feel obligated, but I am curious:

Kim du Toit

Connie du Toit (she now, occasionally, blogs on Kim's site, so she still counts!)

Bill Whittle (right, like he'll actually read this)

Rob Smith

Keith Thompson