I'm not a fan of chain emails - they are the modern equivalent of junk mail. Well, were. Now the blogging world has caught up with memes. If not for Fabian being amongst my favourite bloggers, I would have ignored the latest one. But he has tagged me, so...

How many books I've owned

You don't own books, as the ad goes, you merely look after them for the next generation. Usually they're pupled and turned into cardboard. As Shakespeare said in another context, in the end we are all but food for worms. Books are the same. Yet that doesn't explain why Mrs M and I have a compulsion to keep almost every book we've ever read. Given we're both bookaholics, it is a substantial number.

A perfect afternoon is one spent browsing a bookstore. I like to dream one day I'll own a small bookshop but I fear with Borders et al, the small bookstore will be going the way of books.

The last book I bought

Mr China by Tim Clissold.

The last book I read

If "The Turtle Cannot Fly" book I read to JC last night doesn't count, it would be My Life as a Quant by Emanuel Derman. Prior to that was Freakonomics, which I highly recommend.

Five books that meant a lot to me

Perfume by Patrick Suskind. This was the first I read that had a memorable impact. Brilliantly written (and translated).

American Psycho">American Pschyco and Bonfire of the Vanities. Two books that tackle essentially the same subject (the dysfunction of yuppie-ism) in very, very different ways.

Liar's Poker. The legendary book of Wall Street legends. A bible of the "old days" of finance.

I could go on but in reality almost every book I read has some kind of influence on me. I have a rule: if I don't enjoy the book after 50 pages, I give up. As my Da so wisely told me (albeit in relation to wine): there are so many good books in the world, and our time on this planet is limited, so why waste your precious time with a bad one? Mrs M, on the other hand, insists on readnig through a book even if she hates it.

I'm not passing this meme to anyone in particular. If you're interested, post about it or leave a comment here.

Did Amazon start this meme?