Monday, July 28, 2003
Enchanted Night
by Steven Millhauser
Ever have one of those nights when you're all revved up and have nowhere to go? When the daily routine becomes unbearable and you feel the urge to go out and find some magic to jumpstart your life? No? Well, then don't bother with this book. If you have had nights like that, then maybe you'd want to read Enchanted Night. One could say that it's the story of insomniacs in a small Connecticut town. Well, maybe a better description is to say that it's the poetic account of a hot summer night that traces the intertwining journeys of a few restless people. (and other creatures) For me, at least, it struck a chord of memory, bringing back those random evenings when I was feeling alone and longing for a touch of joy and magic. It offered the briefest of glimpses of what form such magic might take. Of course, it offers no answers or grand, dramatic events. It might not even inspire you to take a midnight prowl yourself. (I myself read it "by the light of the moon" as suggested, but my only thought afterward was to get some sleep.) (Well, if my wife had been awake, I might have been inspired to cuddle a bit....) But it was an enjoyable read, full of mood and atmosphere. Ummmm, yeah, go ahead and check it out.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut
Sunday, July 20, 2003
War Talk
by Arundhati Roy
Ms. Roy writes quite beautifully about horrible things. War Talk is a collection of essays centering on the warmongers of our age--from fascist mobs in Baroda, India to the Commander in Chief in Washington, USA. I can't imagine that it would be pleasant reading for any American who wants to feel good about their country. But this American found it very compelling. Her political biases are definitely leftist, but many of the points she makes transcend politics. What the hell is so important that it can justify the pain, suffering and death on which Ms. Roy reports? The only answer which comes to my mind is "nothing". The events of this year have increased my interest in things political and have pushed my political ideals to the left. What will come of it and how War Talk fits into it all, I don't know. But it has helped me to understand those psalms of lament in the Bible--the ones in which the writer cries out to God for deliverance, justice and vengeance. Go ahead, sacrifice some comfort and check out War Talk.
Labels: CheckItOut
Monday, July 14, 2003
City of God
by Saint Augustine
This is one of those classics that I felt obliged to read someday. I found a cheap copy and after a while I finally picked it up and plowed through it. It was rather interesting: in the early 5th century, Rome was sacked by barbarians from the north. Some folks tried to blame it on the Christians, saying that this was punishment for turning away from the old gods. City of God was Augustine's refutation of the accusation, and further exposition on the nature of those people faithful to the true God. The "city" of God, as he called it. Anyway, it had a lot of interesting ideas. Like any historical work, it was a kick to read something from the past. I was impressed by Augustine's sophistication (you'd think that by now I would have shed the modernist prejudice that our ancestors were a bunch of yokels) and was intrigued when he offhandedly referred to some of the Greek and Egyptian deities as historical people with inflated reputations. Oh, if I only had all the time in the world to investigate these things! Anyway, as enjoyable as this (abridged) version was, I'll have to rate it as very good waiting room material. It was a great read, but it really didn't change my life or even shake up my thinking for a bit. Guess I'm just too orthodox.
Labels: Augustine, WaitingRoomMaterial
Sunday, July 06, 2003
Museums of the Northwest
by Harriet Baskas
This is an accidental book for me. I picked it up impulsively as I was waiting in the checkout line at the Friends of the Library book sale. It was just a nice reference book on museums in Washington, Oregon and lower British Columbia. I put it on the shelf and had no intention of reading through it. Reading through reference books can be quite tedious, y'know. But then one morn I was looking for something light and new to read and I gave in to the impulse to peek at this new acquisition of mine. Well, now I've finally finished after weeks of reading a little bit here and a little bit there. Am I wiser for it? Well... I have come to the conclusion that it is common practice for a community to gather a bunch of old keepsakes into an old train station or Carnegie library and call it a history museum. And well they should, because what is a museum but a collection of old keepsakes? Anyway, as far as reading goes, this is definitely waiting room material. But it is a very nice resource for those who might be taking road trips through the Pacific Northwest.
Labels: WaitingRoomMaterial
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