Oooh...I was tagged. Since the people I know who have blogs are in the same group that have already done this, the chain will stop here (at least for me). Thanks for tagging me, Mike!

How Many Books Do You Own?
Well, considering that I keep all of my textbooks, I never use the library, and I'm starting to collect childrens' books...way too many for me to move ever again!

What is the last book you bought? I bought 4:
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain- a very quick read!
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, which everyone has been recommending
The Perfectionist by Rudolph Chelminski- about French cuisine
and Lamb, the Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore- because I'm apparently the last Episcopalian who hasn't read it!

What is the last book you read?
Kitchen Confidential. Before that, Straight Man by Richard Russo, recommended by my mom. I don't think I fit the demographic that likes his themes, though :(

Name 5 Books that mean a lot to you.
Okay, I'm going to put aside all pretentiousness and actually write the cheesy books that I love:

1. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (not of the Golden Girls)
2. The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher- I've read it a million times! It's the perfect mix of British reserve and paperback novel romance- with a pinch of Majorca flings!
3. The Old Gringo by Carlos Fuentes- I'm ashamed to say I read it in English, for the most part. It's almost impossible to follow in my native langauge.
4. Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers- A British Lord with a monocle investigating mayhem at Oxford...plus romance.
5. The Nanny Diaries- the only book ever that made me cry laughing. If you've babysat, wanted to yell at someone for how they interact with their children, or been discreetly treated like dirt by an employer, it's the funniest story ever. I hate the ending, but it's what I would have done too.

There are probably more intellectual books, or religious ones, that have important meaning too, but these mean the most. So, the tagging stops here, for me. I've decided that today is going to be torturous/filthy top-to-bottom apartment cleaning day (there should have been more hyphens, oh well). Oh, and my power was out for 12 hours and just came back on, so I'm afraid to open the refrigerator. I'm going to start swiffering to Coldplay in my pjs!