The Yangban's book tag

Since I've been 'tagged' by the Marmot, I guess I should post the book thingy.

How many books I've owned

I've owned maybe 300-400 hundred in my lifetime.  The rest I checked out from the library.  With normal attrition (including friend's 'long-term borrowing' and selling some at the flea market) I'm now down to about 50 here in Korea and another 100 or so in storage back in the States.

The last book I bought

The Two Towers (on my second rereading).  The second-to-last book that I bought was Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader, which I was lucky enough to buy at Bradley Martin's book opening at the Woodrow Wilson Center in D.C.

The last book I read

I'm actually working on Martin's book now.  I put it down a while ago, having ODed on reading about North Korea on the latest Cummings Nork lovefest.

Five books that have meant a lot to me

The Bible, by  Moses, Peter, Paul etc.  OK, maybe that is cheap to say but it is the only book that I've read at least some every year of my adult life.  BTW, one of my favorite books of the Bible is the book of Nehemiah.  In addition to the normal bit about following God, it is a great example of collective action at work.

Almost anything by Dostoyevski.  I first started reading his books in high school, which saved me from being one of those college freshmen spouting Nietzsche quotes all over the place.  The Posessed is probably my favorite although Crime and Punishment and The Idiot are also great.

Over the Line by Chuck Downs, is probably my favorite book on North Korea.  Downs extensively reviews Nork negotiating tactics from 1951 to 1999 and reveals a pattern of making agreements, reinterpreting them and then blaming the other side when the agreement breaks down.

Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose is by far my favorite history book.  It is a great book about Lewis and Clark, two of the greatest studs in American history.

The Metaphysical Club by Louis Menard traces the development of American thought from the end of the Civil War to the early 20th century, leading to the development of pragmatism.

Honorable mention goes to 등산지도200산 (Uh, I think that means something like "Hiking Trails for 200 Mountains.")  That book helped me get around several dozen mountains all over Korea.

On Deck (OK "Next Victims")

Plunge, Josh at One Free Korea and Brian at Cathartidae (I assume he will tag Drambuie Man for me)

Comments

[Joshua]

Thanks . . . I think. Just for background, exactly what is the origin of this little plague?

[Andy (AKA: The Yangban)]

I don't know. Let's see (no links, just names going backwards): One Free Korea, Flying Yangban, The Marmot's Hole, The Asia Pages, Macam-Macam, Far Outliers, Pearsall's books, Randy McDonald, Charlie Stross, The Early Days of a Better Nation, Knappster: Blog Naked for Jesus, Being Thomas Luongo, The Eclectic Econclast, Economics with a Face, Freespace, TexasBestGrok, The Llama Butchers, The Irish Elk, Diary of a Suburban Priest, The Commonplace Book of Zadok the Roman, Cyntr, Deo Gratias, Epiphany, (Had to do some digging here since Deo Gratias linked to the blog rather than the post), Minivan Mom, (digging again) Pilothea Rose at Home, (digging again: Link to the post, people!) Illuminated Obscurity, (digging) Working Mommy, Sarcastic Kitty, (Dang, Kitty didn't even give me a link, but I'm determined to get to the bottom of this.), Scrawlings from a Submissive Mind, Rainbows and Roses, Moments of Desire (As a side note, we've now gone into that part of Bloggerland inhabited by chicks that post drawings of half-naked chicks with angel wings.) and finally.... Shackn Up with Caz (Who has deleted all her posts except the one that says goodbye.) I hope that answers your question to your satisfaction though I'm sure it goes back much further.

[Brad Spit]

I didn't read the bible, but I did see the movie.

[Jackie]

That's a good list of books you got there. I like the Bible a lot too.

[alec Porter]

It's Menand.