My book meme

Blogs often exist in isolation, but together they can form a community, digital committees of correspondence, and in the case of the MOB, a wonderful way to meet and match wits with various politicos, activists, and other smart people online or over at Keegan's. You don't even have to have your own blog, but it helps.

For example, within the last week or so, the MOB has been playing a game of pass the meme, in which each blogger answers a set of questions about the books he or she is reading, and then they "tag" five more bloggers to do the same. The Night Writer was kind enough to tag me, so here goes:

Total number of books owned ever: I would estimate dozens, but someone who helped us move into our current home said it best, "Haven't you ever heard of the library?"

Last book I bought: In But Not Of: A Guide to Christian Ambition by Hugh Hewitt. I bought one for me and one as a high school graduation gift last year. The book challenges Christians to live their faith by making a difference (and starting a blog).

Last book I read: I just finished reading Bicycling Magazine's Guide to Bike Touring: Everything You Need to Know to Travel Anywhere on a Bike by Doug Donaldson. This book updated my bike touring knowledge and experiences of twenty years ago to the 21st century. The most interesting and practical innovations in cycling since the early 1980s to me are sports nutrition and the Camelbak.

Five books that mean a lot to me:

• The Bible
• The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
• The Schools We Need and Why We Don't Have Them by E. D. Hirsch
• The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
• All Too Human: A Political Education by George Stephanopoulos

Honorable mentions:

• Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty by Harvey Mackay — everything you ever needed to know about networking, but didn't know enough to ask
• The Dance of Legislation by Eric Redman — taught me that there is more to the legislative process than the "How a Bill Becomes Law" handout

And for a question that is not part of the meme, but should be: Five books that I want to read before I die:

• A History of the English Speaking Peoples (four volumes) by Winston Churchill — because Hugh Hewitt said to, and because I love history
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert Persig — because all of my tech writer colleagues are horrified that I haven't read it
• Reagan's War by Peter Schweizer — because one of my best friends said it's a must-read
• John Adams by David McCullough — Cheri Yecke recommended it, so have a lot of others
• Howard Hughes: His Life and Madness by Donald L. Barlett — movie stars, aeronautical engineering, and politics!

And finally, to these five bloggers, "tag, you're it:"

• Derek Bingham of Freedom Dogs
• LuAnn Walters of Talk Education
• Alex Spurrier of Bellowing Bantam
• Anoka Flash of Centrisity
• The Education Truth Squad at Minnesota E-Blog

(Don't bother tagging Scholar at Scholar's Notebook, because he is me.)

Who started this anyway?

BOOKS