Anyway, I went to a used bookstore today and picked up a thick stack of books. Since I am excited for all of them, I can't help but brag about all my 'phat lewt'. Them 20+ hours of travel ain't got nothing on me now!
My fellow PCVs might just find opportunity to profit from these acquisitions as well. If you're going to be looking for some books to trade around, I'll have these on hand overseas. So let me know if you want to borrow one (or trade if i have finished), and if I am not currently reading it; it's yours.
To the suggestion of some fellow PCV's, I picked up a copy of CultureShock!: Phillippines. I tore through about seventy pages of it at the book store before the time of my exodus. I enjoy how it goes into discussions of gender roles and the psychological development that gives rise to the Philippine mentality. Also, numerous tips and comments will be useful for any volunteer to become effective, and to remain safe, in the Philippine culture. This is one of a few books that is currently competing for my reading time.
I didn't get this one from the bookstore, but I don't think I'll have it done before I leave. Oddly enough, my mom saw this in a bargain bin and got it for me a few years ago for Christmas. Before my trip to visit some of my family, I saw it on my desk back in my room and snagged it up. Good decision. It offers an inside view of the events behind the Chinese Civil War, and the subsequent mess Mao Zedong makes of the entire nation in his blind narcissism. If you have an interest in world history, geopolitics, or the like, this is turning into an excellent read.
The third book of the four I am currently working through (too many!) is the 'ole Bible. Or the Good Book to some. Though I am not a member of any organized religion, this book of God's Scripture is useful for my project for religious world peace over on my Theologia Ameliorate blog. I hope to continue working on said project during my time in the Peace Corps, so this baby will be coming with me.
The 4/4 of my current reads: This little guy I picked up in Victoria, British Columbia. It is a first person account of an actual Potlatch, told by a true member of the Native Canadian Indian culture who attended the last true Potlatch in the early 1900s. It provides unique insights into the ceremony, the mythology, the philosophies, and the psychology of this truly incredible culture. It is an awesome, evocative read, and I'm not even halfway!
Though I have already finished my first reading of the Holy Qur'an, I will be bringing it along in relation to the Theologia Ameliorate project as well because I will need to read it again. This most recent Revelation from God is the most direct in Message, and thus perhaps, the most enjoyable to read. I found it to be both enlightening and important to the world in which we live, and it was the first Scripture to really reach me about the nature of God. If anyone ever told you this book was violent, they obviously never opened the cover.
This was recommended by the only friend I have who enjoys (or perhaps tolerates) religious discussion with me. I believe it was in response to my beginning of the Theologia project, and I think he is correct in thinking I would like to give this a read. In my quest for religious reconciliation, the opinions and thoughts of a trailblazer will be most welcome. I'm sure I will be giving this little book some attention over at Theologia. From what I understand, this is one of C.S. Lewis' crowning works, where he attempts, or perhaps succeeds, at reconciling his intellect with his faith.
At the suggestion of one of my other good friends, I quickly blazed through the Elijah Baily/R. Daneel Olivaw Robot series earlier this year. Easily some of the best Science Fiction I have ever read. With the next big series on deck (The Foundation Series), I thought it would be a great time to pick up this little prequel. Anything Asimov is always incredible, so I do not doubt this one will be up to par.
Ray Bradbury is one of my favorite American authors. Like Asimov, he is a true master of the trade. This book I have never heard of, but I never heard of Something Wicked This Way Comes before reading it either. And THAT turned out to be one of the most awesome stories I've ever read. Judging from Fahrenheit 451 and Dandelion Wine, I doubt this book will disappoint. Apparently it's like if you took the Munsters and the Addams Family and smashed them together.
The problem with reading Frank Herbert's Dune? You become a sucker for any sort of desert planet science fiction. From the back of Hammerfall, it sounds like that is what I am going to get: desert planet, check, multiple moons, check, space-desert religion, check. We have a winner. Cherryh wrote The Faded Sun Trilogy, which I found immensely satisfying, so I am excited to see what else this Hugo Award winner has up his sleeves. Or perhaps pens? Anyway, I wanted to begin his Foreigner series, too, but the bookstore didn't have a used copy of the first one. I don't like paying full price for a book that has been out for over five years.
Fritz Leiber is one of the newer (1970s) Sword and Sorcery greats inspired by the epic Robert E. Howard (1920s). The stories of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser are always a great time. This is the only novel based on Leiber's two Conan-esque characters that I know of, and I only know of it because I saw it in the bookstore today. Apparently they are trying to retire, and all the nemeses of their serial adventures are getting in the way. That works for me.
Ah, yes, Piers Anthony. A name from my youth when I picked up a torn copy of Castle Roogna. It still numbers as one of my top fantasies for sheer enjoyment and originality. Many of Anthony's books are that way, but once I hit the 9th book in the Xanth series I started noticing I was reading the same book over and over (David Eddings does that same thing, now that I think about it). Anyway, besides Cruel Lye (I think book 12? It features a guy who is basically Wolverine from X-Men, and the first person perspective is hilarious), the Xanth books got boring, but I always wanted to give his Bio of a Space Tyrant series a try. If the Xanth books are anything to go by, this should be 300 pages of fun, if not depth.
Lee Kuan Yew was one of the top power players in the creation of the modern Singapore city-state. I started reading this in my early college years but balked from its thickness. Homework didn't help either. But now I think I'll have the time to plow my way through this baby. In this book, Yew describes in great detail the statecraft, the policies, the logic, and the means he and his comrades employed to turn a third world island with no natural resources into one of the most powerful economies in the world. Sounds like someone we could use in D.C. to help out a bit.
