Down the Rabbit Hole with the Semi-Evil Squirrel

your voice is smoking--last cigarettes are all you can get, turning your orbit around

Finally, here is the book meme I was tagged to do by TangonaT. I hope I did ok. *nervous grin*

1. How many books do I own?
More than 500, but less than 800 (I hope...)

2. Last Book I Bought:
Manga: A Perfect Day for Love Letters, Fullmetal Alchemist 3
Real Book: *digs around in memory* Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
I won't even go into my school books. I'm in denial for a little while that classes start next week.

3. Last Book I Read:
Currently: (besides various manga) The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Before that: The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman


4. Five Books That Mean A Lot To Me:
Villa Incognito - Tom Robbins
"Meet me in Cognito, baby,
In Cognito we'll have nothing to hide.
Let's go incognito, honey,
And let the world believe that we've died.

Meet me in Cognito, baby,
Of course we'll have to color our hair.
The best thing about life in Cognito
Is that everybody's nobody there.

Meet me in Cognito, baby,
We'll soon leave our pasts behind us.
The present is always a mystery,
As the future never fails to remind us.

Once we're alone in Cognito,
We'll remove all of our clothes very fast,
But though we be naked as jaybirds,
At no time will we take off our masks.

Cinderella went incognito,
And it's said that she had a ball.
It's always midnight in Cognito
By the black clock at the end of the hall.

We're destined to be clandestine,
Incognito is our very last hope.
I'll meet you where the sun don't shine,
With a fake I.D. and some dope.

So do join me in Cognito,
You know that I'll never tell.
We'll sneak in the back door of Heaven
And stroll unnoticed through Hell.

Incognito
Incognito
There, every day's a surprise
Incognito
Incognito
Where truth tells all the best lies.

(Those who travel in Cognito
--Their very lives can depend on a hunch.
They eat intuition for breakfast
And sip cold paranoia at lunch.)

If you won't meet me in Cognito,
Baby, I'm apt to go out of my head.
But if you really can't handle incognito
Meet me in Absentia, instead.

The One Who Is Missing is missing,
He can't run but He certainly can hide.
His ghost car is parked in Cognito,
Do you think He might give us a ride?

You play the game incognito,
You risk paying a very stiff price.
You'll bet the ranch on Number 13,
Though that number is not on the dice.

No news is good news in Cognito,
Addresses are damn hard to find.
The queen of spades runs the mailroom.
And all the postmen are legally blind.

Just because you're naked
Doesn't mean you're sexy,
Just because you're cynical
Doesn't mean you're cool.
You may tell the greatest lies
And wear a brilliant disguise
But you can't escape the eyes
Of the one who sees right through you.

In the end what will prevail
Is your passion not your tale,
for love is the Holy Grail,
Even in Cognito.

So better listen to me, sister,
And pay close attention, mister:
It's very good to play the game,
Amuse the gods, avoid the pain,
But don't trust fortune, don't trust fame,
Your real self doesn't know your name
And in that we're all the same:
We're all incognito."

Dune - Frank Herbert
A must read. I read it twice--in a matter of weeks. Unforgettable. And the original movie was awful. Just awful.

Bridget Jones - Helen Fielding
I don't really have to explain this do I? One of the founding novels in contemporary, pop-chic lit.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce
The Hell chapter (3) is my favorite! I could almost feel the hot suffocation of Hell. I've got a Catholic imagination for these kinds of things...

Moby Dick - Herman Melville
I think everyone should read this novel. Sure, it's long, but it's one of the best and most meaningful books I've ever read. It shows the heart of the debate of what every human feels themselves torn between: fate and free-will.

Runners Up:
Added 9/7/05 9:07pm: The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde
This is a great little story/fable/parable. (Whatever floats your boat.) I cry every time.

The Mirror of Her Dreams by Stephen R. Donaldson (and the sequel A Man Rides Through) A wonderful complex fantasy novel where the hero is a hopeless woman and a clumsy guy. Thank you, Anne for the wonderful synopsis. I was actually gifted this book for Christmas from my brother when I was in middle school. It was one of the last presents I ever received from him. It is also, the only fantasy I have ever read besides Tolkien and Harry Potter.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt

There's so many more, but I tried to give you a good example of the different tastes in fiction (I am not a non-fiction reader--gomen.)


5. Tag Five More:

Book Kitten
Though she is pretty busy with hurricane stuff. Understandably so--shouldn't we all?

I only have 3 friends with LJs or blogs. And the rest have already been tagged. Isn't that sad?

ONTO OTHER NEWS:
When FEMA says that they didn't know about the situation caused by hurricane Katrina until just Thursday (according to an article on MSN.com), I say they are lying sacks of shit. At least troops have finally arrived.