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June 23, 2005

Evil book thingy .....

Laban Tall has set me a challenge - how many books do I read, subjects, and thoughts on them. It is part of a meme that is going round the houses, so here goes:

How many books do I own?

I have never counted them, but it is pretty close to 2,000, with bookcases in my livingroom, my dining room, and my bedroom! My collection is pretty eclectic as well. Firstly there is a large collection of Naval History, Military History, general world history, and classic literature tagged on the end of that. Then there is a growing collection of theological and religious works and histories, including a lot on other faiths. Finally there is a large body of fiction, including C S Forrester, Douglas Reeman, Alexander Kent, Terry Pratchett, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, and Rudyard Kipling. My poetry collection includes Shakespeare, Kipling, Donne, and Herbert among others.

Last book I bought

The Da Vinci Code

OK, OK, I know I said I wasn't going to, but it kept coming up in discussions so I had to read the damned thing to find out what it was all about. I hope that the vast mass who have also read it take the trouble to examine the sources for his material, most of it is from the pseudepigraphica and the apocrypha, books excluded by various authoritative scholars at various times as either being fakes, forgeries, or not adding anything to the principle body of scripture. And before anyone gets going on this, some of the source books are Judaic and were not included in the Talmud for that reason.

A good read, but purest fiction all the way through - pity the anti-Christian and anti-church conspiracy Brigade will use it to argue that this is the truth. Even Da Vinci's famous Last Supper, as we see it today is not original - it was "retouched about two hundred years after his death by a later artist because it was peeling off the wall. Who knows what is now original and what not!

Last Book I read

More difficult because I tend to read three or four at the same time. One fiction and several non-fiction depending on the mood. At present I have two "religious" treatises, one "day job" related, and a Leigh Crichton, "Time Line", on the go. The one I have most recently completed is "The Last Continent" by Terry Pratchett, which is a cheat, because this is a re-read.

As is usual with Pratchett he takes the everyday and gives it that final twist into the fantastic. His Wizards are querulous, irrascible, childish and convinced that they are absolutely the most intelligent life around. My favourite character in this book has to be Mustrum Ridcully, but the God who likes to "build" beetles and has created the cockroach - his "masterpiece" - takes some prizes! Rincewind is invariably accidently cleverer than he appears - when he stops running away - and his escape from jail and hanging is priceless.

Pratchett's send up of Sydney's Mardi Gras, the cult movie "Priscilla - Queen of the Desert", "Mad Max", and several Australian Beer ads must rate as a humorous master work.

Five books that mean a lot to me

The Bible - but then you'd expect that wouldn't you.

The Persian Boy - Mary Renault - Primarily because it introduced me to Alexander the Great in a readable format at an early age and sparked my interest in ancient history. The achievements of Alexander are still influencing our world, so definitely something worth knowing, and this book is very readable and historically accurate.

Another Mary Renault - "Great Lion of God", her life of St Paul. Historically again pretty accurate and very well researched. We know very little of Paul, or of Luke who appears in this book as well, but she has managed to flesh out both men admirably and makes them much more tangible.

Another cheat Winston S Churchill's "History of the English Speaking Peoples"., this collection of Churchill's writing covers many volumes and I read and re-read bits from them whenever I am searching for information on English History. Churchill is regarded today as jingoistic, but his insights are often far more penetrating than the sort of reactionary revisionist stuff dished up today as "history".

Finally another history "set" - "Naval Battles of the First World War" and "The Naval War against Hitler" - both first class reference books which make one all too conscious of just how hard fought the sea war was - and of the commanders on both sides who had to deal with problems from politicians, problems of supply and problems of materiele while fighting a war of attrition. Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham's famous signal to a destroyer commander during the evacuation of Crete who reported that his ship had engine trouble, was damaged, and short of fuel summed up just how tough - "This is no time for destroyers to be breaking down. Proceed as soon as possible in any way you are able!"

As Laban has "tagged" me, so I now tag (with apologies!): The Truth Laid Bear, Cynical Cyn, G'day Mate, Rev'd Mike, and Skipjack. Have fun folks. By the way, Laban, I could not reply to your message as your system did not create an e-mail link, just a permalink!

Posted by The Gray Monk at June 23, 2005 07:10 PM

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» Ex Libris Moi from Reverend Mike's House of Homiletic Hash
Who'da thunk there'd be such interest in my library. However, having been tagged, not once, but twice with the "book meme" that is making the rounds, and lacking anything else about which to post since I've vented my spleen about... [Read More]

Tracked on June 27, 2005 02:07 AM