because i’ve been “tagged” by a couple of people some weeks ago now and because i honestly can’t think of anything better to write at the moment, i present you with a couple of memes that you have undoubtedly seen circulating the world wide web.

total number of books i own
on my bookshelf sit 75 books that i’ve actually made the effort to fork over money for and purchase. i’m pretty sure that i’ve read a hell of a lot more than 75 books in my lifetime, but i’m hesistant to spend money on them when i can just borrow them from the library.

last book i bought
the amber spyglass by philip pullman. when i first read the golden compass, i thought pullman’s series was terrible. but after reading it a second time, i started to really enjoy it. i daresay pullman’s writing style is better than that of j.k. rowling, but rowling does have a way of reeling in a much wider audience.

last book i read
henrik ibsen’s a doll’s house (those crazy norwegians). technically, it’s a play, but it’s the last thing i read while in school. ever since full-time work kicked in, i haven’t had the opportunity to enjoy a good book of my own selection.

five books that mean a lot to me

1. are you there god? it’s me, margaret. by judy blume
   blume’s signature works are symbols of my own awkward prepubescent youth: the yearning for a bigger bust, the strangeness of getting my period, the world of cute prepubescent boys. this book really hit home with me when i was a kid.
2. tuck everlasting by natalie babbit
   i loved this book also when i was a kid. it has since been turned into a movie that received such bad reviews that i never actually saw it, but i still adore babbit’s story of the fountain of youth.
3. girl with a pearl earring by tracy chevalier
   before the praise of the film adaptation, my sister demanded i read the book. i was so engrossed by the intriguing story that i finished it within a few hours, skipping some important meals the process. colin firth didn’t really exude the sensual potency that i felt chevalier’s vermeer possessed, though.
4. the stinky cheeseman and other fairly stupid tales by jon scieszka and illustrated by lane smith
   my god, how awesome this book is! scieszka’s and smith’s book of fairy-tale parody and satire was hilarious when i was younger and still holds a place in my heart today.
5. the attic mice by ethel pochocki and illustrated by david catrow
   this story of a family of mice living in a doll house situated in the attic of a human family’s house is both heartwarming and adorable. when i was a kid, i wanted to have a doll house filled with mice, too. that was before i realized that training mice to wear clothes and bake cakes is quite a complicated feat.

and now on to music…

total volume of music files on my computer
15.9 GB. i don’t think i have a lot of music on my computer, though, because i store my television shows in the same folder. i just couldn’t be bothered to separate them for this purpose.

the last cd i bought
to be perfectly honest, i don’t think i’ve bought a cd the last few years or so. i believe the last one was coldplay’s a rush of blood to the head, and that was in 2002.

song playing right now
“livin’ on a prayer” by bon jovi. hells yeah!

five songs i listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me

1. “walking away”, craig david
   it reminds me of this dude i used to like in my first year of university who treated me like crap and of just generally feeling and looking like crap. i need to be constantly reminded of my lowest point so i can try to literally walk away from all of that crap.
2. “tell him”, lauryn hill
   the song is religious in its lyrics, but what’s great is that it can extend beyond religion and relate to anyone who has ever fallen, or ever wanted to fall, in love. corny, i know, but lauryn’s vocals are seriously the sweetest thing i’ve ever known.
3. “no strings attached”, nsync
   ok, so this song doesn’t really mean a lot to me, but it does remind me of my crazy, nsync-obsessed phase. this song opened their concert in vancouver, to which my sisters and i had eighth row tickets. ahhh, justin’s pelvic thrusts…
4. “foolish games”, jewel
   what i would give to be back in those days before jewel turned into a sell-out tramp, when her songs weren’t featured on gilette shaver commercials.
5. “sunday morning”, maroon 5
   you know i just had to throw a maroon 5 song in here. this song — or, more specifically, the video — got me liking adam levine. vocally, he can often sound like justin timberlake on helium (which is, like, really really high), but he does have an air and style about him that is just downright sexy. plus, this song is mellow and fun to sing along to.