Saw this on WSJ.com today

"Cynthia Crossen's self-imposed challenge this week was to save money by reading a book that she owns but has never read."

Do you own books you've never read and, most likely, will never read?

What about the books you've posted here?
Do they tend to be: 1) specifically sought or 2) sitting around / finally got-to's?

- Kayan

ewee (05/26): Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right by Al Franken

Leading up to the election, I needed some good liberal bias to keep me from sinking into a CNN-sponsored overload. This fit the bill nicely. Al Franken is at times absurd, but with a very serious liberal agenda.

It was also very interesting to note that when this book was written, McCain was still a bit of a moderate/independent Republican--and going up against Bush Jr. Remember those days?

Not sure if I'd recommend it, unless you're a bleeding heart liberal who needs to balance out a daily diet of conservative main stream media. In that case, it's a helps offset the hours spent screaming at the TV.

Ok, a little bit from the book:

Yes, I'm a liberal, and I'm proud of it. It's a term we need to reclaim. Because I believe most Americans are liberals like me. Most Americans believe in helping people. And most Americans believe that the government has a role to play--to create opportunity, to protect the environment, to provide for the common good.

...We have to fight. But we can't fight like they do. ...They fight with lies.

We can't do that. We have to fight them with truth. Our added entertainment value will have to come from being funny and attractive. And passionate. And idealistic. But also smart.

And on that note, here's to the dawning of a new, smarter era in American politics!

ewee (04/26) War Talk by Arundhati Roy

Later in October, I started needing some political fiber in my diet. Something to keep me on point, and even keeled. This slim tome was thoughtful and well-written. And despite the fact that it was written a few years ago, I was blown away by how relevant it remains, especially with this election, change, and all the continued work we have ahead of us.

I'll let her words speak for themselves:

"Fortunately, power has a shelf life. When the time comes, maybe this mighty empire will, likfe others before it, overreach itself and implode from within. ...For all the endless empty chatter about democracy, today, the world is run by three of the most secretive institutions in the world: the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization, all three of which, in turn, are dominated by the United States. ...A world run by a handful of greedy bankers and CEOs who nobody elected can't possibly last.
...

Corporate globalism--or shall we call it by its name?--Imperialism...
...

What can we do?

We can hone our memory, we can learn from our history. We can continue to build public opinion until it becomes a deafening roar.

...We can re-invent civil disobedience in a million different ways. In other words, we can come up with a million ways of becoming a collective pain in the ass.

...Our strategy should be not only to confront Empire, but to lay siege to it. To deprive it of oxygen. To shame it. To mock it. With our art, our music, our literature, our stubborness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness--and our ability to tell our own stories. Stories that are different from the ones we're being brainwashed to believe.

The corporate revolution will collapse if we refuse to buy what they are selling--their ideas, theif version of history, their wars, their weapons, their notion of inevitability.

Remember this: We be many and they be few. They need us more than we need them."

- From "War Talk" by Arundhati-kickass-Roy.

ewee (04/26): Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Ho hum. BOooooring. Not even interested in the movie. What was all the hype about? Wasn't even sexay in the least.

Guess it was good that it was such a fast and easy read. Made for good commuter distraction, but not sure I'd recommend it, tho lotsa people told me it was a must read...

ewee (03/26): Buddha, Volume 1: Kapilavastu by Osamu Tezuka

Ok, finally going back and posting. Been reading! Just not been able to post...this one is from mid October...]

Well, you might recall that I started with book 3 in this series. It was so good, I went insane and bought them all. In my usual geek/pake/supporting small booksellers fashion, I bought them online from independent booksellers and in hardback/used when I could (a couple of them ended up coming from Amazon, but only because they weren't available elsewhere). And now, I have the whole series.

So now I'm rationing them, and saving them for emergency situations (when chips and beer won't calm the upset, I find that these do the trick).

I can't possibly tell you how amazing these are. Osamu Tezuka is the Father of Anime, the Father of Manga, and a prolific and inspiring author/artist. His drawing style is at times poetic, and sometimes mischievous and playful. The distillation of such an enormous narrative is mindboggling, and yet he accomplishes it with grace and obvious joy.

If I could draw 0.125% as much as this man has, I will have achieved something.

Best read when you have the luxury of staying up all night (I can never seem to put it down)...or if you're up all night anyway, and need to chase away any other thoughts.