Blind Prophecy

As *-*-*cactuswatcher”> commandeth, so let it be…

1) total number of books you own

At last count, at least 500. Probably significantly higher by now. Books are the major decorating elelment of my room once I get the bookshelves put up and get rid of the random piles in corners. In addition to all my books, there are an equal number belonging to the rest of the family in the house. It used to be that my father owned way more books than I did, but abotu two years ago, so relatives thought they were being kind in a surprise “home makeover” while my parents were out of town and they threw out all my dad’s out-of-print sci-fi paperbacks he’s been holding onto (and rereading) for almost 30 years. Since then, he just doesn’t have the heart to collect books the way he used to – since his in-laws consider a large book collection to be trash that needs to be “dejunked.” Assholes.

2) the last book I bought

I don’t but just one at a time, typically. The last trip included: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire, Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk, Don’t Think of an Elephant by George Lakoff, Circle Round by Starhawk et. al, and Cable and Deadpool #2 (trade paperback) from the good folks at Marvel. The only one left to read is Haunted – and I’m halfway through it.

Since I already ordered and paid for the new Harry Potter book, does that count?

3) The last book I read

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. I liked it, but then I’m a fan of Maguire. What amazes me about his writing is the level of detail he gives to his characters’ lives. I think I know my characters when I write, but I never communicate the minscule details of personality as well as he does. All my characters end up being, to some degree or another, a reflection of me. I don’t think that’s true of Maguire (or if it is, I’ll never be able to tell even if I was his best friend).

4) Five books that mean a lot to me

1. The Last Herald-Mage Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey. Magic’s Pawn in particular has some magic rope around my heart and it doesn’t matter how often I’ve read it, I still weep when Tylendel meets with fate… I really don’t know why this book touches me so, expect that it must have been the first time I read a gay character in a fantasy book that wasn’t a sterotype of cannon fodder. But also because I can realted to Vanyel in every way that matters. If I ever have a child, I’m calling him Vanyel (“Van” for short, I’m sure).

2. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. As an unremarkable new student in a new city and a new school, my 10th grade year wasn’t the easiest. American Lit. HP — we read The Scarlet Letter in the first term and I discovered that I was actually pretty good at literary analysis and writing in a way that shows critical thinking about a topic instead of parroting back the instructor’s ideas. I think a major portion of the man I am began in that class, reading that book with those particular friends. It was Jill (who sat next to me) who first challenged my bigotted ideas about, well, everything. It was Christy (later, my senior year prom date) who taught me some measure of self-confidence I hadn’t known before. It was Frank who introduced me to a larger circle of friends. And Regan inspired me take a political stand about issues I beleived in. None of that has anything to do with the book, of course, except that the various event coincide in my memory with reading through The Scarlet Letter and discovering myself as I discovered the secrets of Hawthorne’s writing.

3. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. Okay, technically not a “book” so much as a “play,” but I read it before I ever saw a live (or movie) production of the show. Again, it just ties in with making some major decisions about my life. For the longest time, I was going to be a playwright when I grew up. That’s the whole reason I majored in Theater in college and minored in Dramatic Lit. I’d still love to write the next Angels in America or Death of a Salesman for the American theater, but it’s not a priority any more. I think that’s because I’ve stopped doing live theater myself and my interests have shifted as a result. Williams is still my hero, though.

4. Lord of the Rigns by J.R.R. Tolkien. I really don’t think I need to explain this to anyone on my flist, but its where I first fell in love with genre writing – particularly fantasy.

5. A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis. Strange that this made my list, since I’ve never read it. I keep meaning to, but every time I purchase a copy of the book, one of my close Christian friends loses a relative or childhood friend and I invariably give the book to them. I’m beginning to think there’s an intuition thing at work – I just know that someone is going to need that book soon. My best friend from college swears the book saved her life after a childhood friend passed away, she’s the one who first told me about it.

Honorable Mentions:
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.
The Spiral Dance by Starhawk.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare.
A Density of Souls by Christopher Rice. – again more memory contextual than based on the merits of the work itself.
The Book of Mormon by the Angel Moroni, Joseph Smith, God, various. Even though I left the church long, long ago – there are childhood lessons that will never go away.

ETA: I can’t believe I forgot about The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. Not necessarily a good influence on my life and personality growing up, but there was an undeniable affect.

5) Tag some people to fill this out on their LJ
No. If you haven’t been tagged and you want to do this, call yourself tagged by me, but I’m not a fan of this kind of chain letter approach to memes (send this to 5 friends and you’ll get some hot lovin’ tonight…)

This took surprisingly longer than I thought it would and required more thought than a typical non-meme post. That’s the sign, I think, of a good meme.

Filed under: livejournal by Jere Keys