This is a long list (36 total), and this year I’ve decided to divide them by fiction and non-fiction, and to add a little blurb where I feel like it. And now, in order of best to worst:
Non-Fiction (including memoirs)
The Omnivore’s Dilemma- Michael Pollan
Review here.
In Defense of Food- Michael Pollan
If you’re interested in reading Pollan’s books, I’d recommending reading Omnivore before Defense. A really great insight into why we eat the way that we do.
The God Delusion- Richard Dawkins
Semi-review here.
God’s Harvard: A Christian College on a Mission to Save America- Hannah Rosin
Review here.
The Revolution: A Manifesto by Ron Paul
Once you read this book you’ll realize that almost all the Republicans in our government aren’t anywhere near being conservative enough to use that label. I may have voted for Obama, but after reading this I think I would have given Paul more of a chance.
Guyland- Michael Kimmel
An insight into the phase that guys hit between 16-26- filled with partying, drinking, sports, and hooking up with women. Kimmel discusses why men are delaying growing up, and why some of them act like total douchebags. Although I found it very interesting, I still don’t feel bad for any guy that think it’s cool to be drunk all the time, not have a job and treat women badly.
The Glass Castle- Jeannette Walls
A memoir.
Truth & Beauty: A Friendship – Ann Patchett
A memoir.
The Conservative Soul- Andrew Sullivan
Sullivan explores conservatism and how the religious right is taking it over- among other things- such as how he has had to deal with his Catholic upbringing while being gay. This man’s intelligence never ceases to amaze me.
Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life- Steve Martin
This man can act, is funny, and can write novels, movies and an autobiography- and do it all well.
Get To Work! And Get a Life, Before it’s Too Late- Linda Hirshman
Review here.
This Land is Their Land- Barbara Ehrenreich
The Terror Dream: Fear and Fantasy in Post 9/11 America- Susan Faludi
Review here.
When You Are Engulfed in Flames- David Sedaris
This book isn’t as funny as Sedaris’ others, which usually focus on his childhood. This one is more about his relationship with Hugh, and is therefore more mature, which is why it wasn’t as funny.
Marley and Me- John Grogan
Boring, boring, boring.
Skinny Bitch
Ah, more motivation for women to take on anorexia as a lifestyle choice. Review here.
Fiction
The Time Traveler’s Wife- Audrey Niffenegger
This book has been moved to #3 of my Top Three of All Time (1. The Namesake, 2. We Were the Mulvaney’s). See review here.
Bel Canto- Ann Patchett
Better than “Run,” although I enjoyed that one as well.
The Red Tent- Anita Diamant
I loved this feminist story, told by the point of view of Dinah, Jacob’s only daughter by one of his four wives. She is barely mentioned in the Bible, but Diamant writes her as one of the strongest women in almost any book I’ve read.
The Kite Runner- Khaled Hosseini
The Miracle Letters of T. Rimberg- Geoff Herbach
A man writes suicide letters to everyone he has known, blaming them for his death, while discovering his families past. I’ll admit I had a personal interest in this book. I read the manuscript while interning here, and I couldn’t wait to read it. It didn’t disappoint- it was funny and serious in all the right places.
One Hundred Years of Solitude- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I was mostly just confused. Everyone has the same name.
Bringing Down the House- Ben Mezrich
Run- Ann Patchett
Good in Bed- Jennifer Weiner
A bit more substantial “chick-lit.” Even though it has a typical chick lit happy ending, the protaganist actually develops and isn’t just looking for a diamond ring in the end.
The Devil Wears Prada- Lauren Weisberger
Good Grief- Lolly Winston
Waiting- Ha Jin
Certain Girls- Jennifer Weiner
Sequel to Good in Bed. Not as good- but sequels never are.
Unaccustomed Earth- Jhumpa Lahiri
A loyal fan of Lahiri’s, I was a bit let down with this one. Basically, every story has some sort of Indian background and everyone in them is miserable. Even though I think she is a great writer, I’d like to see her explore a new topic.
Then We Came to the End- Joshua Ferris
The reviews said that this satire of an ad agency was funny, but I didn’t think so.
Options: The Secret Life of Steve Jobs- Fake Steve Jobs
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter- Carson McCullers
All miserable people, all the time.
You can see a list of all the books I've read here, if you are interested.
I can’t believe I am at a point in my life where I can say the following: I am almost out of books to read. I wander the aisles at the library and I don’t even know where to look or what to choose. So, please, if you have any suggestions, leave them in the comments. They would be greatly appreciated.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Books of 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
Quarter Life Crisis
A few of the bloggers I follow have been discussing the "Quarter Life Crisis" recently and one of them linked to the Wikipedia entry of the same name, which I was surprised existed (although I probably shouldn't be- everything can be found on Wikipedia). So, how do you know if you're in a QLC?
Characteristics of quarter-life crisis may include[citation needed]:
These emotions and insecurities are not uncommon at this age, nor at any age in adult life. In the context of the quarter-life crisis, however, they occur shortly after a young person – usually an educated professional, in this context – enters the "real world".[1] After entering adult life and coming to terms with its responsibilities, some individuals find themselves experiencing career stagnation or extreme insecurity. The individual often realizes the real world is tougher, more competitive and less forgiving than they imagined. Furthermore, the qualifications they have spent so much time and money earning are not likely to prepare them for this disillusionment.
- feeling "not good enough" because one can't find a job that is at one's academic/intellectual level
- frustration with relationships, the working world, and finding a suitable job or career
- confusion of identity
- insecurity regarding the near future
- insecurity concerning long-term plans, life goals
- insecurity regarding present accomplishments
- re-evaluation of close interpersonal relationships
- disappointment with one's job
- nostalgia for university, college, high school or elementary school life
- tendency to hold stronger opinions
- boredom with social interactions
- loss of closeness to high school and college friends
- financially-rooted stress (overwhelming college loans, unanticipatedly high cost of living, etc.)
- loneliness
- desire to have children
- a sense that everyone is, somehow, doing better than you
Bush Expands Health Care Clinics
I may disagree with much of what he has done, but Bush has done some good in his eight years in office. Some good news:
In Mr. Bush’s first year in office, he proposed to open or expand 1,200 clinics over five years (mission accomplished) and to double the number of patients served (the increase has ended up closer to 60 percent). With the health centers now serving more than 16 million patients at 7,354 sites, the expansion has been the largest since the program’s origins in President Lyndon B. Johnson’s war on poverty, federal officials said.
“They’re an integral part of a health care system because they provide care for the low-income, for the newly arrived, and they take the pressure off of our hospital emergency rooms,” Mr. Bush said last year while touring a clinic in Omaha.
With federal encouragement, the centers have made a major push this decade to expand dental and mental health services, open on-site pharmacies, extend hours to nights and weekends and accommodate recent immigrants — legal and otherwise — by employing bilingual staff. More than a third of patients are now Hispanic, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Bush Passes Right of Conscience Rule
In another attempt to stick it to the American people one more time, Bush passed legislation that protects health care workers from doing anything that might go against their religious beliefs.
From Feministing:
Well, the threatened "right of conscience" regulation was pushed through by President Bush on Thursday as a "midnight regulation ." This regulation would allow anyone to refuse to participate in medical procedures they feel goes against their religious beliefs. "Employees" are defined broadly: from the pharmacist filling a prescription for antibiotics to a cashier refusing to ring out oral contraceptives, to the one who cleans the surgical tools after a procedure involving a blood transfusion. From The Washington Post :
The far-reaching regulation cuts off federal funding for any state or local government, hospital, health plan, clinic or other entity that does not accommodate doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other employees who refuse to participate in care they find ethically, morally or religiously objectionable.
The regulation is clearly targeted toward providing a way for medical professionals to opt out of performing or assisting in abortion procedures and prescribing and dispensing the "Morning after Pill." But this isn't *just* an issue of reproductive rights, as if that weren't reason enough to be outraged. Refusing AIDS treatment to unmarried or gay patients, refusing blood transfusions to patients (Jehovah's Witnesses ), refusing to treat mental illness with anything but prayer (Christian Scientists ) are possibilities as well.
According to an American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists report via The Los Angeles Times :
In calling for limits on “conscientious refusals,” ACOG cited four recent examples. In Texas, a pharmacist rejected a rape victim's prescription for emergency contraception. In Virginia, a 42-year-old mother of two became pregnant after being refused emergency contraception. In California, a physician refused to perform artificial insemination for a lesbian couple. (In August, the California Supreme Court ruled that this refusal amounted to illegal discrimination based on sexual orientation.) And in Nebraska, a 19-year-old with a life-threatening embolism was refused an early abortion at a religiously affiliated hospital.
This clearly isn't even about the moral objection to a procedure (such as abortion, birth control, blood transfusions, sex change operations, etc.), which is outrageous enough; but a person who has made life choices with which a medical professional disagrees can essentially be refused treatment. My question is, if one finds the practices of one's profession so objectionable, should you be working in that profession? RA Charo "criticizes those medical professionals who would claim 'an unfettered right to personal autonomy while holding monopolistic control over a public good'" (quoted in the New England Journal of Medicine ). There are many jobs or professions I will not work because of ethical objections. For starters, Wal-mart.
But what's most insidious (as if it all weren't), is that the vaguely worded regulation could be stretched to include those not directly involved in the medical procedures (such as equipment cleaners), or those making appointments or ringing customers out for medical procedures or products they disagree with or disagree with their application. As if American sex education isn't fucked up enough as it is, can you picture a Christian refusing to see condoms to a teenager?
Interestingly, that report also defines "conscience" as:
"the private, constant, ethically attuned part of the human character. It operates as an internal sanction that comes into play through critical reflection about a certain action or inaction. An appeal to conscience would express a sentiment such as 'If I were to do 'x,' I could not live with myself/I would hate myself/I wouldn't be able to sleep at night.'"
Oh, the irony of Bush acting on behalf of those who wish to act "conscionably" and being able to live with one's actions from his administration that has been anything but.
Further, I myself feel it is morally unconscionable that we don't have universal health care and that corporate CEOs make 250 times what average workers make. Does this mean I get to stop paying taxes?
----
Imagine, you are just raped, you go to the pharmacy to get Plan B, and a pharmacist says, that goes against my religious beliefs, I refuse to give it to you. Now, if you live in a big city you will most likely be able to go somewhere else to get it (although you better hurry up, you only have 72 hours before you might get pregnant), but what about women in rural towns where they may be only one or two pharmacies where the pharmacy managers are Christianists and will make choices about your uterus for you?
Thankfully, Obama will undo the rule, although it will be time-consuming. He will also be undoing the new Health and Human Services Rule that redefines abortion if it is passed. And it is my assumption that after he fixes Bush's final mistakes, he will make women's reproductive freedom much more comprehensive than it has been the past eight years.
The possible passage of the conscience rule is something that I have been following for awhile now, and obviously I'm none to happy about it. Anytime any political party or person chooses to make a decision on another persons reproductive choices it is an injustice. Following this story gives me yet another reason why I refuse to associate myself with any religion- I don't care what god anyone prays to, but no person (doctor, pharmacist, cashier) should be able to push their religious beliefs on me.
Further reading:
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
I See You!
A three-month-old giant panda plays in its pen at the Bifengxia base of China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center on December 11, 2008 in Yaan of Sichuan Province, China.Thirteen panda cubs have been born at the Bifengxia base since the May 12 earthquake hit the province of Sichuan, which destroyed many critical panda habitats. By China Photos/Getty.
All together now..."awwwww!"
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The Bible and Gay Marriage
The cover story in the recent Newsweek is about the Bible and gay marriage. The writer, Lisa Miller, argues that even though religious opponents of gay marriage say it's prohibited according to the Bible, what the Bible teaches actually argues the other side.
She starts with discussing the examples of marriage that are present in the Bible: Jesus never married, and in fact encouraged his followers to leave their families. The apostle Paul thought of marriage as just something to quench lust, and other men were polygamous, including Jacob who fathered children by four different women. Is this really the guide we want to go to for marriage advice?
She continues:
The argument goes something like this statement, which the Rev. Richard A. Hunter, a United Methodist minister, gave to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in June: "The Bible and Jesus define marriage as between one man and one woman. The church cannot condone or bless same-sex marriages because this stands in opposition to Scripture and our tradition."
To which there are two obvious responses: First, while the Bible and Jesus say many important things about love and family, neither explicitly defines marriage as between one man and one woman. And second, as the examples above illustrate, no sensible modern person wants marriage—theirs or anyone else's —to look in its particulars anything like what the Bible describes. "Marriage" in America refers to two separate things, a religious institution and a civil one, though it is most often enacted as a messy conflation of the two. As a civil institution, marriage offers practical benefits to both partners: contractual rights having to do with taxes; insurance; the care and custody of children; visitation rights; and inheritance. As a religious institution, marriage offers something else: a commitment of both partners before God to love, honor and cherish each other—in sickness and in health, for richer and poorer—in accordance with God's will. In a religious marriage, two people promise to take care of each other, profoundly, the way they believe God cares for them. Biblical literalists will disagree, but the Bible is a living document, powerful for more than 2,000 years because its truths speak to us even as we change through history. In that light, Scripture gives us no good reason why gays and lesbians should not be (civilly and religiously) married—and a number of excellent reasons why they should.
Continue reading for all the reasons why religous conservatives should actually endorse gay marriage. She goes on to discuss what I have always felt when it comes to religion and this topic: if Jesus preached love and acceptance, then shouldn't we let those who love each other celebrate that love, and accept them for who they are, regardless of which sex they prefer? It's not the idea of gays getting married that irks religious conservatives, it's the thought of gay men having sex together that makes them uncomfortable. Miller makes all these points and more in the article, showing that the argument that religious conservatives use- using the Bible to defend their homophobia- doesn't hold water.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Jessica Alba Photoshopped
From Jezebel, the original and Photoshopped image of Jessica Alba in an ad for Campari. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with the original, she's thin and gorgeous. But not thin enough! Just keep this in mind the next time you see any woman in any type of advertisement, at any time.
What do Women Want? Diamonds of Course!
I also know men who put much more time and thought into their gifts than the idiots portrayed in this commercial. And the doghouse, really? How hackneyed a term IS that?
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Some Good News
From Jezebel:
It seems that Cosmopolitan's long-standing position as the top magazine of choice for college students has worn off: a new survey reports that Time has replaced Cosmo as the favorite college magazine. The reason? Possibly Barack Obama, whose message of change may have sparked collegiates to focus on more serious issues than the newest faux-Kama Sutra sexual position. More signs of seriousness? The top website was listed as CNN.com while Perez Hilton and CollegeHumor dropped off the list of favorite websites. Now that is change we can believe in. [AdAge]
