This sort of trip requires a LOT of To-Do Lists, although I'm not complaining since I LOVE me some To-Do Lists. I'm the sort of person who will write a chore I just finished just so I can cross it off. And since we have floor to ceiling windows in our dining room, I got to write those bad boys right on the window with dry erase markers. No one can say they didn't see the list (*cough* JR *cough*).
But I digress.
In my preperation, I downloaded some books on tape (books on CD? Books on iTunes?) for the drive. I ended up only getting through on full book, and halfway through two more, but in my research I found a long list of books that I want to read.
Here are some of those. Some of these I've read already and would suggest, and some just look good. Feel free to add to this list with your favorites.
This is the first in a series that Charline Harris has written. Think Twilight, but more...adult. It's a quick read. I have this one on my iPod, and the next few in softback. Not too bad.
Or really, ANY David Sedaris book. This is his most recent and as usual, makes me laugh out loud. If you can, find the recordings of them. David reads them himself and his voice makes them even funnier. Other books he's written: Me Talk Pretty One Day, Naked, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, Barrel Fever and Holidays on Ice. He's also the editor of Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules.
Seriously. Drop everything you are doing right now and go buy this book. I finished the first 2/3 of it in 2 days, then forced myself to read more slowly to make it last longer. I finished it, and immediately started it again. This is NOT a light book. It deals with World War Two, death, little kids. But it's amazing. A+
If you want to think about things a little differently, Malcom Gladwell is your guy. From Amazon: Malcolm Gladwell poses a provocative question in Outliers: why do some people succeed, living remarkably productive and impactful lives, while so many more never reach their potential? Again, I have this on my iPod (I got it for JR, and he finished it - a huge acomplishment for someone who doesn't like to read for pleasure. No, I don't understand it either), but I started it too. So far I've learned that the most successful hockey players are usually born in January and how many hours are required to perfect a skill (spoiler alert - 10,000). I can't wait to finish it.
I had this on my iPod and listened to it at every chance. From AJ Jacobs' website: The Year of Living Biblically is about my quest to live the ultimate biblical life. To follow every single rule in the Bible – as literally as possible. I obey the famous ones:
The Ten Commandments
Love thy neighbor
Be fruitful and multiply
But also, the hundreds of oft-ignored ones.
Do not wear clothes of mixed fibers.
Do not shave your beard
Stone adulterers
Why? Well, I grew up in a very secular home (I’m officially Jewish but I’m Jewish in the same way the Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant). I’d always assumed religion would just wither away and we’d live in a neo-Enlightenment world. I was, of course, spectacularly wrong. So was I missing something essential to being a human? Or was half the world deluded?
I decided to dive in headfirst. To try to experience the Bible myself and find out what’s good in it, and what’s maybe not so relevant to the 21st century.
The resulting year was fascinating, entertaining and informative. It was equal parts irreverent and reverent. It was filled with surprising insights almost every day. (I know it’s not biblical to boast, so apologies for that).
The book that came out of the year has several layers.
-An exploration of some of the Bible’s startlingly relevant rules. I tried not to covet, gossip, or lie for a year. I’m a journalist in New York. This was not easy.
--An investigation of the rules that baffle the 21st century brain. How to justify the laws about stoning homosexuals? Or smashing idols? Or sacrificing oxen? And how do you follow those in modern-day Manhattan?
--A look at various fascinating religious groups. I embedded myself among several groups that take the Bible literally in their own way, from creationists to snake handlers, Hasidim to the Amish.
--A critique of fundamentalism. I became the ultra-fundamentalist. I found that fundamentalists may claim to take the Bible literally, but they actually just pick and choose certain rules to follow. By taking fundamentalism extreme, I found that literalism is not the best way to interpret the Bible.
--A spiritual journey. As an agnostic, I’d never seriously explored such things as sacredness and revelation.
--A memoir of my family’s eccentric religious history, including my ex-uncle Gil, who has been, among other things, a Hindu cult leader, an evangelical Christian and an Orthodox Jew.
I first read The Glass Castle a few years ago, but picked it up again a few weeks ago. This memoir is about Jeannette Walls' childhood, sharing her fond memories of her father and mother. She tells how they refused to conform to society’s ideas of responsibility, leaving their children to fend for themselves for even the most basic of needs, such as food and shelter. Jeannette tells her story in a straightforward fashion that is not touched with anger or self-pity, belying events that often shock her readers with her almost innocent presentation of the facts. The Glass Castle is an astonishing memoir that will leave the reader both stunned by the tragic circumstances of Jeannette’s childhood and awed by her strength. This isn't a thick book, but I didn't want it to end.
What books are your favorites? What is your preferred summer reading? Any more suggestions?
[cori]
