Total number of books owned: I haven't done inventory on my shelf yet, but I estimate between 70 to 120 books, mostly non-fiction books, reference material, and sundry manuals.

Last Book(s) I bought: The Best Philippine Short Stories of the Twentieth Century, ed. Isagani R. Cruz; Nick Joaquin: Prose and Poetry; 7x10: World Poetry Choices by Seven Filipino Poets, ed. Alfred Yuson.

Last Book I read: I usually have several books in the air (so to speak), but the last book I really finished (and still remember) was Orange Girl by Jostein Gaarder.

Five Books That Mean A Lot To Me:

  1. Invent Your Own Computer Games, Fred D'Ignazio. This book introduced me to programming when my cousin's PC AT conked out and started booting into ROM BASIC.
  2. Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco. A good book (but I warn you that it can get pretty dense at places) on the inherent dangers of drawing too much meaning from things. Way better than Da Vinci Code.
  3. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell. "Reality is inside the skull," O'Brien says.
  4. Orange Girl, Jostein Gaarder. The only book that made me cry after reading it.
  5. The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy. Very beautiful story, and I could somehow relate to Michael Henchard in his defiant yet tragic individualism.

Previously: Another Haiku