Tag or be tagged

I've been reading with great interest as the book-tagging meme goes around the blogosphere and seeing which pieces of writing have impacted various bloggers. I've since been tagged by Matt, so it's time to step up:

Number of books that I own:

Including my textbooks, I wouldn't be surprised if they number between 150-200 (if not more) without a straight count. I've also given many away since I no longer read them and I DEFINITELY have not read all the books I own as I continue to buy more...

Last book I bought:

Building Suburbia by Dolores Hayden. Having grown up in the suburbs and slowly making my way to a career in urban planning, I figured I should start reading more urban planning books. It gives a very interesting look at the history of the suburb and its various phases within American planning history and how the planning was given away carte blanche to the developers through their lobbyists. Very thorough but a rather bland ending, it gave me a good idea of where the suburb came from and where it needs to go.

Last book I read:

I just finished The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. I've been meaning to read it for a while and I finally was able to borrow it from my friend Wesley. I really enjoyed it and am eager to see how I could apply his theories in urban planning strategies. As well, it seems mildly appropriate that I was reading this book while this meme was going about. Declan here makes an attempt to trace the origin, with some degree of success. Now, the question is, which blogger out there's the Connector?

5 books that mean a lot to me:

• The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. No matter how many times I re-read these six books, I never tire of the adventures of the hobbits and their fellowship.
  
• A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. It's one of my favourite if not the favourite novels that I've ever read. There isn't a part of the book that I didn't enjoy or provoke contemplation. It also helped that we dissected in English class a year after Matt recommended it to me (I finished the book in 5 or 6 days, often staying up til 3 AM...and that was when I was still in high school and we had 8:05 AM starts...or something to that effect)
• Animal Farm by George Orwell. I really liked 1984 and its complexity, but Animal Farm was clear and to the point about its message. And all in 112 pages.
• A Time for Judas by Morley Callaghan. It's not a well-known book, but I read this in school and it was the first book to suggest a different interpretation of Jesus' story while remaining plausible. It definitely made me question my perspectives then.
• A Short History of Canada by Desmond Morton. As its title implies, it gives a comprehensive but brief look into our nation's history. A lot of interesting events happened that most people never know about and this book is a delicious appetizer to anyone who may not be interested in the main course just yet. It's one of several books that's kept my interest in wanting to travel across Canada.

Tag, You're It!

Now, I have no idea who's still reading this blog, so I'm going to just have to tag those who still have active (or quasi-active) blogs in the hopes that they'll keep this meme going from this end: Chris (here's your chance to start blogging again!), Megan (good to have you back), Wesley, Angela, and Elaine...You're It!

Update- June 17, 2005 6:01 PM

It would seem that my friend Danna was so very interested in the book tag phenomenon that she just decided to right one up to restart her blog. Good on her!. Therefore, I gotta offically tag her...so Danna, you've been tagged!