2005.06.20–Alfred, Ohio. Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit by Daniel Quinn is a relatively new book first in 1990 I believe. It is a very quick read as it is less than 200 pages long. One point that he made struck me pretty hard. I’ve always thought that it would be a good thing if I could ever find a way to help feed some of the hungry people in the world. He observes in every species that when a suplus of food becomes available, the population rises. Every time. The implications are not pretty to my way of thinking and I will have to wrestle with this idea for some time to come. Imagine, a mere book that can have such a big impact on my way of thinking.
2005.03.26–Alfred, Ohio. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell is a relatively new book first published in 2000. It is a National Bestseller about social psychology. The end notes alone are fascinating in this well researched book. Without giving everything away, I do want to mention one point that was made in the book that intrigued me. The author states that studies have shown time and again that parents have only modest impact on children. Researchers have studied adopted children and found that by the time they come of age, they bear little resemblence to the values of the family that raised them. In study after study researchers have further noted that taking a good family and placing them into a troubled neighborhood produces troubled children. Conversely, taking a troubled family and raising them in a good neighborhood produces upstanding children. Jeanie and I purposely moved from St. Louis to Alfred so that our children would be raised in what we considered a more wholesome environment. We have often chided our boys to carefully pick their friends. It turns out that may be the only good advice I’ve ever offered anyone. Peers, it appears, is is the only influence that really matters in ones behavior. Before you dismiss this thought, read the book.
2005.03.16–Alfred, Ohio. Essential Writings by Thich Nhat Hanh was my first real exposure to Buddhist thoughts. Many are similar to thoughts I have had. Some are far different. Politics, religion, and sex are three topics I always avoided talking about with my children while they were young. Now that they are pretty well grown, I’m giving thought to writing about these topics. Wouldn’t it be a riot if my spiritual writings spawned a new movement.
2005.02.11–Alfred, Ohio. The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream by Paulo Coelho is an easy read. Pretty good too. Paulo Coelho was born in Brazil. The first edition of the Alchemist sold only 900 copies. Today, it has sold more copies than any other book in the history of Brazil and sold more copies than any other book written in Portuguese in the entire history of the language. Not bad. It was originally published in 1988 and is now available in 150 different countries in 56 languages.
2005.02.04–Alfred, Ohio. Pearl S. Buck published The Good Earth a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, in 1931. The story is based in rural China. The characters would be out of place today. Given the timeframe that the story is supposed to have happened, they are believable enough. I found it very enjoyable and much easier to read than Iceland’s Bell. I could not tell you why. Both are about the same size and both by Nobel Prize-winning Authors. Both are good stories but I recall taking much longer to read Iceland’s Bell. Curious.
2005.01.23–Alfred, Ohio. Finished reading Candide by Francois-Marie Arouet Voltaire today. It is a political satire written in 1759. It is a short read, less than a hundred pages in length. One chapter describes the land of Eldorado and may, for all I know, be the original source of this tale. This book is probably Voltaire’s best known work but perhaps not his finest effort. I found this one to be very easy reading and worthwhile, if you are interested in the classics. Also found a couple of words to add to my dictionary of peculiar words
2005.01.17–Alfred, Ohio. Finished reading Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg today. Unless you have more than a passing interest in writing, I’d pass on this one. Rather than a novel, this book is meant to be a “how to create good writing” book. I needed a break from the pile of novels I want to read and figured it may help me write better. It has several pieces of very good advice for budding authors and some that I’m still thinking about. The author states that to write well, you must read well. That only makes sense but I had never thought of it quite so. Fortunately, I quite naturally prefer reading what has passed the test of time or has received critical acclaim. Reading this advice shortly after requesting books from The Nobel Prize in Literature Laureates made me feel pretty good about my prospects.
Another notion that was particularly foreign to me is the idea of writing practice. I had heard from another source that you should write a million words before attempting a novel. That is probably true, but the idea of writing just for practice doesn’t sit well with me yet. Portions of the text seemed to me written just to fill pages. Other portions seemed to me very helpful and contained some practical tips I had not thought of.
2005.01.09–Alfred, Ohio. Finished The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams last night. It is OK. You do end up feeling for the characters. I can imagine that the props were interesting when it came out and would have been a sensation. Perhaps more than the play itself, I found the little biography/essay at the end of the book to be interesting. It is titled The Catastrophe of Success. In it he describes what it is like to overnight go from a “starving artist” to being a “superstar”.
2005.01.03–Alfred, Ohio. The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams is a very short read. The Wengfield family is one we all know. A line by Tom must resonate with nearly everyone at one time or other:
“…what I’m doing–what I want to do—having a little difference between them!”
2005.01.02–Alfred, Ohio. Iceland’s Bell by Halladór Laxness was an interesting read though I would not recommend it for everyone. Laxness does a nice job of giving us a glimpse of the life of a rogue character in 17th century Iceland. The story was a bit much at times but the people became very real to me even if they were a tad peculiar. The ending left me with a couple of loose ends. I am still trying to sort out in my mind what happened to a few of the characters, who were the good guys, and who were the bad ones.
2004.12.25–Alfred, Ohio. Received Albert Camus a Biography by Herbert R. Lottman, WiMax Operator's Manual - Building 802.16 Wireless Networks by Daniel Sweeney, and a couple of book gift certificates for Christmas. I also received a subscription to the Christian Science Monitor and of course still subscribe to National Geographic (since 1975) and the Smithsonian magazines. My reading needs are temporarily overflowing. Thanks everyone.
2004.12.23–Alfred, Ohio. Received the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Good Earth by Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl S. Buck as a Christmas gift this evening. Several times I’ve seen the book in the bookstores and have been tempted to buy it. Thanks. I can’t wait to read it.
2004.12.22–Alfred, Ohio. Readings. Book reports actually. A critique of various books that the author has read or is currently reading. Favorites or most influential are also included. Didn’t find what you expected here? You may be looking for the 2004 reading page.
