Barb tagged me with this book meme; I did a quick count around the unit, and found 533 books: this is a little imprecise, as there were probably books that I couldn’t find hiding around the place. There would certainly be another two hundred books I’ve owned that stayed with mum and dad when I moved out, so let’s say 733. It seems like it should be way more than that, for some reason!
Last book I bought: Islam in our backyard by Tony Payne.
5 books that mean something to me. That’s a tough question. In no particular order:
After the first death (Robert Cormier) – was the first, or at least one of the first books I read that didn’t have a “happy ending”; probably shaped my understanding of the bad in the world before I had much first (or even second) hand experience.
Biblical View of Self Esteem, Self Love and Self Image (Jay Adams) – Just because a book says it’s about self esteem doesn’t mean it will help you feel any better. This was probably the first Christian book I read that I found significantly unhelpful, but again, a valuable learning experience. If you know someone who is upset, giving them this book is like throwing an anvil to a drowning man. Having said that, I haven’t read the book in over ten years, so perhaps my recollections are dim.
The Design of Everyday Things (Donald A Norman) – I read this one while i was at uni, and it helped shaped my thinking about the IT stuff that I do more than any programming book or other book that tells you what to do. This book helped me stay motivated to learn more about human-computer-interaction, and other things that I try not to talk about at dinner parties.
Big Things: Australia’s Amazing Roadside Attractions – when I was 10, my great uncle and aunt took me to see the Big Merino in Goulburn (their home-town). For a child who hadn’t seen much of the world, this was a pretty amazing thing to see, and has been something that has inspired me to go in search of other Big Things around the place. It’s hard to describe the reason that I keep going to these strange things, but it brings back a sense of childhood happiness. This book was a gift from friends who wanted to encourage me to pursue that dream of seeing them all.
Ordering Your Private World (Gordon MacDonald). Barb actually gave me this book way back in 1990; it was one of the first books I read that encouraged me to think about people as more than just creatures of logic and decision making. Flicking through it again, I’m encouraged to re-read it, not necessarily agreeing with everything it says, but to reconnect with the idea of an “inner world”, and of spending time developing on the more important things.
Sadly, none of the books I’ve read in the last two years have made the cut; perhaps books man more as you get distance from them.