I have a problem. I am an avid fan of "Friends of the Library" program. This means I usually end up visiting them once a month and end up coming out with five or six books that I am really excited to read, only I never get around to reading them because I am reading books that suddenly catch my eye or have been meaning to read or I get a Borders' gift card and get to buy new books that smell really good and feel really crisp and clean.
So. In my small apartment at Berkeley, I have only ONE bookshelf. It's doubly packed meaning I use each shelf twice-- kind of like ingrowing teeth. Or sharks' teeth, layer upon layer. And then I stack books atop that. It's a mess. So I am determined to start actually reading books that I buy. I promise. I am even making a list of books I will read after I finish Suite Francaise (I am on page 148 out of 367 plus appendices... studying for midterms get in the way of everything! Or not studying is probably more accurate). Here goes:
1. American Prometheus. The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. There was a time when I was heavily obsessed with Oppenheimer... and I was excited when he made a brief appearance in Feynman's memoir, Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman! Feyman is incredibly eccentric; I cannot stress that enough. I was too aghast at all the revelations he made to appreciate the work at all. I felt physically uncomfortable. Plus, I don't think Feynman has a strong enough grasp of his accomplishments because he's too unaware of his intellectual pursuits as opposed to his awareness of his emotional and social ineptitudes. Oppenheimer is supposed to be someone who is both a ladies' man and super smart (duh). I'm excited! Too bad this biography is incredibly long... I think I get really burned from reading really long texts. But still. I should read it because I bought it.
2. The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud. I have no idea what this is about actually, but it was on every "Best of 2006" list ever. Oh, I just read the back cover. Three friends in early thirties in NYC. Hey, that's where I'm moving to next year. Maybe this will get bumped up on my reading list.
3. Sula by Toni Morrison. I love Toni Morrison! The book is short! It has a horribly tacky book cover I want to redesign. Con: Member of Oprah's Book Club. Oprah gives me the creeps.
4. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. I feel "eh" about reading this novel. I feel like it's about Eurotrash dressed up in 16th century garb. Whatevs. I wish the library bookstore had carried Atonement instead.
5. Balzac ad the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie. I'll admit this: whenever I see Asian American authors at bookstores, I tend to buy their books. It's kind a solidarity thing, it's kind of impulsive and irrational. But I support my fellow Asian/Asian American authors! I googled this book and apparently Sijie actually moved to France and this book was originally published in French, which is pretty awesome. Balzac is about China during Mao's reign and books about the Cultural Revolution are my weakness. If you're looking to learn about that time period, I highly suggest Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng. I read this when I was fourteen, so it's been a while but it is probably THE books that made me appreciate memoirs because it had something so profound to say about living history and hope. Aw, I kind of wish I had actually bought the book instead of being cheap and borrowing it from the library.
And what's crazy is that there are so many other books on my to-read list and I actually get anxious about not having read them! I waste time on stupid books like Kite Runner. But I think my hatred for that book deserves its own post... which will probably follow when I next feel like not studying.
currently rereading for midterm:
The Unintended Consequences of Cold War Area Studies
Immanuel Wallerstein
currently listening to:
All The Pretty Girls Go To The City
Spoon
xoxo Tiffany
No comments:
Post a Comment