Book Meme

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader was "tagged" a few days ago by Buckethead of the Ministry of Minor Perfidy with that rather infectous book meme. Between your Maximum Leader being sick and just having a shitty 2 weeks, he is just now getting around to responding.

NB to Smallholder: Bill tagged you with this you know.

That all said... Here goes your Maximum Leader's response...

1. Total Number of Books I Own: Your Maximum Leader tried counting them all, but it was taking too long. He counted the hardcover and trade paperback books in the bookcases filled with books that are "his" and not "ours". "Our" books are books owned (through marriage) by both your Maximum Leader and Mrs. Villain. But Mrs. Villain (a teacher) has lots of childrens books which your Maximum Leader didn't feel right counting. Anyho... The "his" count hit 1644. There were probably a significant number of regular paperbacks not counted (perhaps another 200-300). And, in case you care, Mrs Villain estimates her book count at nearly 1100.

2. The Last Book I Bought: Humm... Your Maximum Leader preordered the latest Harry Potter book (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) last week. Does that count? The last one he bought in a bookstore was a reference manual for Macromedia Dreamweaver. Sorta sad actually...

3. The Last Book I Read: Does that manual for Dreamweaver count? Your Maximum Leader is poking through it. The book he is trying to finish is "I am Charlotte Simmons" by Tom Wolfe. He has gotten about 80% of the way through, and he just doesn't want to read further. This is unusual because he really likes Wolfe's books. In this case your Maximum Leader just doesn't care about Charlotte or Hoyt or any of the other characters. Why would your Maximum Leader want to care about some self-absorbed college kids who are pretty vacuous? He will probably plough through it in the next week or so, just to have it done.

4. Five Books That Mean a Lot to Me: Very very tough. If you ask your Maximum Leader the same question in a month, he may give you a completely different set of answers....

Shogun by James Clavell. Your Maximum Leader has read this book too many times to count. It is a compelling story. Moved by interesting characters. And filled with sex, intruigue, politics, and war. Great great stuff. Your Maximum Leader will just pick up Shogun; open it and start reading. He has worn out two paperback editions. (Perhaps he should splurge and buy a hardback.)

Rationalism in Politics by Michael Oakeshott. Two of the most important essays your Maximum Leader has ever read are in this volume. They are "Rationalism in Politics" and "On History as a Profession." Both excellent essays. "Rationalism" is a very influential article in your Maximum Leader's political thought. And "On History" has one of the greatest lines ever written about the study of history. (Paraphrasing) Oakeshott wrote, "History is a coy mistress with whom you talk no sense." Magnificent.

Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes. Your Maximum Leader sings the glories of Hobbes with some regularity so he will not do so again now. But for all of you who are in love with Locke remember this... Locke is just Hobbes for people with no guts.

Five Days in May, London 1940 by John Lukacs. Right now this your Maximum Leader's favourite book about Winston Churchill. Lukacs has a flowing style and is an easy read. He paints a clear picture about the absolutely dire situation in which Churchill found himself upon becoming Premier in 1940. If you ever thought that there was no way the Allies could have lost WWII, read this book and think again.

The History of English Speaking Peoples by Winston Churchill. It was hard to choose a favourite title by Churchill. Your Maximum Leader chose this one because its scope and sense of its own dramatic narrative make it a fun as well as educational read. Just about any Churchill book is worth the time. He did win the Nobel Prize for Literature afterall...

Your Maximum Leader will add one honourable mention here... Last Train to Memphis by Peter Guralnick. And excellent book not just describing the rise of Elvis Presley; but truly describing the cultural atmosphere in 1950s America and then dramatically showing why Elvis is such a transformational figure.

Your Maximum Leader will not "tag" others, but hopes some of the other bloggers here might go ahead and do this meme too.

Carry on.