Book Meme (from Mykull)

How many books I own:

I’ve probably sold a gazillion books in my lifetime (to support my heroin habit), but I currently have about 500 on my shelves.

The last book I bought:

I typically get books free from contacts at various publishing houses. (If you work in the incredibly hectic and stressful world of publishing, you too can get free books.) The last free book I got is The Insult by Rupert Thomson. I’m halfway through The Insult and it is deliciously creepy—hard-boiled noir written with a lyrical touch. The last book I bought (well, used my credit slip at a used bookstore for) was The Sound and the Fury because I had never read it. After the first 100 pages, I was like, Enough with the retard already! After the first 20 pages we totally get that he’s retarded and likes to stare in the fire! Stop repeating the same fucking phrases over and over! If I had read this when I was in college, I would have worshiped Faulkner as a god of experimental writing. But now I just find it tedious and pointless. I don’t have enough time to waste on a hack like this Faulkner guy.

The last book I read:

The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil by George Saunders. He's one of my favorite writers. Yes, he’s a bit experimental, but in a fresh and funny way. He’s not all like, I’m a retard and I’m going to repeat three different phrases for the next 100 fucking pages so you will know what it’s like to be in a retard’s head. For Saunders’s best book, check out Pastoralia.

Five books that mean a lot to me:

I don’t really read poetry anymore, but I used to basically live for it. Four of the below are poetry books that still mean the world to me. I should go back and re-read them.

The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by Stephen Mitchell.

Poems of Paul Celan, translated by Michael Hamburger.

Too Bright to See by Linda Gregg.

Plainwater by Anne Carson. This is a collection of various of her previous books, all of which I adore.

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard.

Five people I’ve tagged:

I am retarded. I don't understand this concept of "tagging." I like to stare into the fire.