The Book Meme

I was tagged for this Book Meme by Brian at In Pectore, and I apologize if I missed anyone else who may have also tagged me!

1.) Total Number of Books I Own

I think I have collected around 200 books, either by purchasing them myself or by donation. Many pertain to Computer Science related topics (my profession and area of study at the university), others for French, Latin, Theology, Liturgy, and Church History -- (including a half-dozen bibles (from my pre- and post- Catholic days) as well as the Catechism of the Catholic Church). A lot of my French and Latin books were given to me as gifts (most notably the Nova Vulgata [editio minor] in beautiful condition).

But don't let such a collection fool you. I am far from being one of the literati, and I struggle to discipline myself to read half the books I have collected over the last few years. My fiancée has an extensive collection of her own (but, unlike me, she's read all of her books!)

2.) The Last Book I Bought

Actually, I purchased two books during my last trip to Houston, both works by our present Holy Father, when he was still better known as Cardinal Ratzinger:

Many Religions, One Covenant

The Spirit of the Liturgy

3.) The Last Book I Read

"The Cloud of Unknowing" (Penguin Edition in Modern English), Author Unknown. I spotted this at a used book store in downtown Santa Barbara. Knowing that it is considered to be one of the foundational works of medieval mysticism, I decided that I would check it out. I'll post my thoughts eventually!

4.) Five Books That Mean a Lot to Me (in no particular order, not counting Scripture or official Church documents)

Well, before I do that, I will mention that the books that mean the most to me that are official Church documents are the Catechism of the Catholic Church, my bible (RSV - Catholic Edition), and Christian Prayer (Liturgy of the Hours).

Not counting official church documents? Okay...

- "To Kill a Mockingbird", by Harper Lee.
Would that I might never forget my Southern roots, both good and bad.

- "Candide", by Voltaire.
This book, along with Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels", helped introduce me to the world of political and religious satire and the modern dilemma of relevance. I very strongly object to many of Voltaire's characterizations, but I am intrigued by his wit. I wonder if he would object to sitting down with me for a beer or two.

- "Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin", by John F. Collins.
I have been teaching myself ecclesiastical latin from this book, in addition to using supplemental material. I know that not everyone who studies latin prefers Collins, but thus far, I have been fine with it. Over the last two years, it has enabled me to drink centuries of knowledge the Church has passed down and developed -- directly from the source. (I'm still working on digesting it, though!)

- "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", by Victor Hugo.
This was the first book to spark my interest in medieval history about a year before I had any interest in learning more about the Catholic Church. I also thought this book best portrayed the dueling themes of the grotesque vs. the sublime. What is true beauty, and do humans have the capacity to recognize it by themselves?

- "The C Programming Language", by Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie.
I'm a Computer Scientist. Where would I be without this book? Digging graves somewhere, perhaps. Maybe not.

5.) Tag five people, and have them do this on their blog.

If you haven't yet been tagged, consider yourself tagged now.