1) Total number of books owned?
At an extremely rough guesstimate, it's probably over 1500. One of these days, they will get cataloged, and some maybe even appraised.
I love books, could you tell?
2) The last book I bought?
OK, so this past weekend we made a trip to the Evil Store™ – a 75% off book store where, in fact, no book is over $5.00. This is a very Bad Place if your bookshelves are already overflowing.
Two of the books I bought are: The Myth of Homeland Security by Marcus J. Ranum and Pain Management by Andrew Vachss.
3) The last book I read?
Jingo by Terry Pratchett. I've finally managed to get into the Discworld books; now I like them a lot. I'm currently reading Soul Music by Terry Pratchett, Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson, and The History and Mystery of the Menger Hotel by Docia Schultz Williams.
4) 5 books that mean a lot to me?
This is harder than it sounds. OK, in no particular order:
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Told in flashbacks, the steady erosion of women's rights and the march toward theocracy. I've yet to read anything by Atwood that I haven't liked.
The Family Treasury of Children's Stories, edited by Pauline Rush Evans, published in 1956. I adored this two volume (I had the thicker, red books) set with all my heart. I probably learned to read with these books. From Mother Goose, Grimm, and Aesop to Greek myths to Jack London to mini biographies (Joan of Arc, Paul Revere, Thomas Jefferson, Daniel Boone) to Dickens, to Twain, to Jonathan Swift, to Jules Verne, to…. wonderful stuff to teach a child to love books. Alas, mine are falling apart – I need to find another copy.
Expanded Universe by Robert Heinlein. Ok, picking this book is kind of cheating; it's a collection of short stories and articles by Heinlein. On the other hand, I'm on my second copy – I wore out the first one. Exposure to Heinlein probably helped create my cynical and libertarian leanings. Other favorites are Citizen of the Galaxy and Friday.
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. One of my all time favorites. I get more out of it every time I read it.
Animal Farm by George Orwell. Here's another one that probably warped my little mind. I first read this book when I was pretty young, probably about third grade. I'm quite sure that most of it whoooshed over my head, but it still stayed with me. I read it again in Jr. High and learned all sorts of things that I'd previously missed. I still read this one (and of course, 1984) once a year or so.