My Online Book Challenge

My ghost shipmate (who served aboard the same submersible hull as I in different years and hopefully, better radiation levels) bothenook asked me to accept his book challenge, which our fellow blogger and aviation outlander, Skippy-san, duplicated more recently. I am happy to oblige both gentlemen and in helping Amazon.com's free advertising campaign, this once:

1) Number of books you own: Over 250 (ain't goin' through my garage or attic for dusty stuff)
2) Last book bought: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia (as gift for Ibrahim)
3) Last book I read: State Of Fear (Crichton uses research and references)
4) Five books that mean a lot to me:
I Heard You Paint Houses (autographed, controversial)
The Merchant of Prato
Silent Victory
Free To Choose
Critical Path and The History of Pi (tie)

Challenge will be passed to 5 in due course, starting with Casius and Ibrahim.