Book tag

Mushtaq and Tiel have asked me to take a turn at Book Tag. So here goes

1. Total number of books I own - About 3500. The estimate I gave Tiel doesn't include a bunch of technical books in the basement. For most computer stuff I've decided to subscribe to Safari instead of buying. It's $20 a month, but it saves shelf space, and you get a discount if you decide the dead tree editions are worth owning
2. Last book I bought - We get a lot of books online and preorder many before they're actually released, so the latest ones we've bought might not be the latest ones to arrive in the house. Given that, the latest nonfictions are The Mongols by Curtin and The Plot: The Secret Story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion by Will Eisner and Umberto Eco. The latest fictions areCharlie Stross' The Atrocity Archives and Toad's Alchemical Adventure by Vivien Laitwood.
3. Last book I read - Nonfiction, Warriors of the Steppe: A Military History of Central Asia 500BC to AD 1700 . Fiction, Lois Bujold's Paladin of Souls.
   
4. Five books that mean a lot to me

• Seeds of Change by Ken Ausubel
  
• Principles of Personal Defense by Jeff Cooper
• Small Things Considered: Why There is No Such Thing as Perfect Design by Henry Petroski
• The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein
• The Lord of the Rings by Tolkein

The hard part is keeping it down to five.