Friday Bookishness

On Wednesday, I asked if there was any interest in instituting a regular book recommendations feature, and it seems like there is, so I’ll make this a regular Friday feature unless or until we get sick of it.

My book recommendation for this week is Mark Hertsgaard’s The Eagle’s Shadow: Why America Fascinates and Infuriates the World. Not only an incredibly engaging and enjoyable read, this collection of stories from around the world is an important topic for those of us who think globally, who care about other cultures aside from our own. Knowing what others think about us is sometimes sad, sometimes scary, and sometimes very humbling. I highly encourage you to consider it.

Oh, and another one, because I can’t resist: Joshua Braff’s The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green. Just recently finished it; it’s so good. Funny, clever, well-written…I can’t really say enough about it. There are some books that, during the reading, around page 10 or so, I’ve realized I’m going to love them, and I’m going to be disappointed when they end, because I won’t be ready to let them go. This was one of those books.

(Joshua Braff, by the way, is Zach Braff’s brother. Zach was the one who wrote, directed, and starred in my favorite film of last year, Garden State. A couple of very talented brothers, these two.)

Since a bunch of people made recommendations just two days ago, I’ll include them here, in case anyone missed them. The dangerous thing about this, I’ve realized, is that the list of books I want to read will get even longer and even more impossible to ever complete. For a bookish thing like me, though, that’s a great problem to have.


Pam’s recommendations:

Partially read:
The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty/Kelley. This is a really thick one, kind of slow going in the beginning with the earlier parts of the family tree. I've just gotten to the part where Kelley speculates Barbara Bush (Chimpy's mom) was an unrealized lesbian.

Finished:
Will They Ever Trust Us Again: Letter from the War Zone/Moore. Soldiers and families write Michael Moore.
Anything But Straight/Besen. Exposes the pathetic and dangerous "ex-gay" movement.
On the Down Low/J.L. King. One man's perspective on black men that sleep with men and do not consider themselves gay, seeking and having relationships with women that they do not tell about it.
Beyond the Down Low/Boykin. (read King before Boykin, since the latter comments on the former). Book analyzes and criticizes King's theories and approach, and counters with how the black community is fostering homophobia by not allowing black men to come out.

Anxious to get started on:
Don't Think of an Elephant!/Lakoff. We've all heard about this one.
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?/Tatum. A psychologist explains the development of racial identity. 1998 Multicultural Book of the Year.
The End of Blackness: Returning the Souls of Black Folks to Their Rightful Owners/Dickerson. A challenge to the black community by the (black, female) author to stop obsessing about racism.
Don't Play in the Sun: One Woman's Journey Through the Color Complex/Golden. The biases based on skin color (colorism) within minority communities and the long lasting societal repercussions.


Gordon’s recommendations:

I recommend Jimmy Buffett's latest novel, A Salty Piece Of Land. His best yet.

For a truly obscure piece, try and find the late Ken Kesey's last work, A Sailor's Song. That guy musta put acid in his ink. Good read, tho'.



The Dark Wraith’s (noncommittal) recommendations:

Perhaps your reading circle will one day get around to some fun stuff like The Faerie Queene, or maybe something truly salacious like Chaucer's poetic translation, The Romaunt of the Rose. We take a shot at the Old English poem, Cædmon's Hymn.


Me4President recommended reading about Lincoln, Reginald Lewis, and Paul Wellstone to expand one’s mind, without giving us any bloody titles, but also amusingly noted that “Modern political and biographical works may be classifiable as fiction,” so we’ll forgive him.


Tami heartily recommends:

...all the "Thursday Next" books by Jasper Fforde. "The Eyre Affaire", "Lost in a Good Book", "The Well of Lost Plots", and "Something Rotten".


Pierce’s recommendations:

The best book I've read in the past year has been The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. It's told from the point of view of a 15 year old autistic boy. Fantastic book.

The best fantasy I've read in a while has been A Song of Fire and Ice series by George R.R. Martin. The good guys have bad habits while the bad guys are not always so bad (well, some of them are really pretty evil). The characters are more realistic than in normal fantasy, though. They each have their own motives and goals. You know how sometimes professional writers talk about how their characters start doing things seemingly of their own volition? This is one of the few times where I as a reader can truly see that happening. Aside from the obvious (Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, etc.), that's my suggestion.

and doesn’t recommend:

The worst book I've read in the past year (and I'm extremely disappointed in this one) is Philip Roth's The Plot Against America. The combination of Roth's ability to write sentences that are (no kidding) hundreds of words long and the complete cop out on the ending nearly made be quit reading it all together. A rare feat for someone whose favorite reading includes crappy fantasy and sci-fi.


Scott listed his own recommended reading here.


T. Rex recommended checking out his site for his reading list.


Please feel free to make more recommendations, too. Current reading, books you loved from childhood, books you haven’t read and want to solicit opinions on…it’s a book-lovin’ free-for-all!