|
July 23
|
|
Manderson
is currently reading:
The Natural Advantage of Nations: Business Opportunities, Innovations and Governance in the 21st Century (Hardcover)
by Michael Harrison Smith
bookshelves:
currently-reading,
non-fiction
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
|
|
Manderson
is currently reading:
The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time (Paperback)
by Jeffrey Sachs
bookshelves:
currently-reading,
non-fiction
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
|
|
Manderson
gave
to:
Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty (Paperback)
by Muhammad Yunus
bookshelves:
non-fiction
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in July, 2008
Manderson said:
"I had already read about Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank, such as The Price of a Dream. I highly recommend reading this book and getting it from the horse's mouth, in addition to reading...more
I had already read about Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank, such as The Price of a Dream. I highly recommend reading this book and getting it from the horse's mouth, in addition to reading other books about the Grameen Bank. Muhammad Yunus writes in a just as inspired and no-nonsense fashion as his actions demonstrate.
The parts of this book that really got me jived up are the last few chapters, especially his chapter on the United States. It made me realize some of the fundamental obstacles we face in fighting poverty; Yunus writes about the subject of poverty in the most clear-sighted of ways, sweeping aside abstractions and distractions. I would most definitely state that Yunus is a must-read for anyone seeking to fight poverty and understand its fundamental issues. I respect him and his work immensely: he speaks as that rare person who works from within the trenches, rather than as some lofty academic.
Read ,a href="http://bubbler.wordpress.com/2... blog post</a> for more thoughts in regards to poverty and the obstacles we face in the US....less
"
|
|
July 20
|
|
Manderson
added Against the Day
to the book list Best books of 2006
add a comment »
|
|
July 18
|
|
Manderson
read and liked
Marcus's
review of Against the Day:
"At 1085 pages, accommodating hundreds of characters, locales, sub-plots, digressions, etc., "Against The Day" isn't exactly summer beach reading. I bought my copy the day it was released (Nov. 21, 2006) and started reading that day. I'm cur...more
At 1085 pages, accommodating hundreds of characters, locales, sub-plots, digressions, etc., "Against The Day" isn't exactly summer beach reading. I bought my copy the day it was released (Nov. 21, 2006) and started reading that day. I'm currently (May 23, 2007) on page 892. This pace doesn't reflect a lack of desire, or even time, but rather a cautious appreciation of this book. I figure writers gamble and devote years of their lives preparing a book, while the reader invests mere hours, or days digesting it. Given that Pynchon just turned seventy, and given the ten (or more) year spans between his novels, this could well be his last...so I'm milking it.
Pynchon has always been given the rap of being "difficult." True, you'll want to keep a dictionary close at hand, and those who desire a linear plot with fully developed themes and characters will certainly be disappointed by this novel (as goes for any of his other works), yet for the persistent few, his writing is able to elicit a kind of "unhealthy mental excitement."
In a sense, you need to learn how to read Pynchon, and really, the only way to read him is to surrender to his onslaught. It requires a spirit closely related to John Keats' concept of negative capability: "that is when man is capable of being in uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts without any irritable reaching after fact & reason..." In other words, the ability to let go, and read for sensation rather than full comprehension. Once you get into Pynchon's rhythm, style, and are able to crack his codes, there is, on nearly every page a kind of "aha!" moment. He lays little tripwires in the prose, so that upon careful reading, or re-reading, the running jokes and poetic asides have a renewed, and lasting vitality. Whether it is a turn of phrase, a strange metaphor, or a moment of comedic timing that produces a l.o.l. moment of absurdity, I am continually forced to put down the book, and silently marvel at this man's capabilites as a writer. He is a mad genius, a luminary, and I would argue, one of our national treasures.
...less
"
|
|
|
Manderson
gave
to:
Against the Day (Hardcover)
by Thomas Pynchon
bookshelves:
contemporaryfiction
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in July, 2008
Manderson said:
"Pynchon, after writing a seamless and absolute classic comedy of history, Mason and Dixon, now is back to his Gravity's Rainbow form, with...more
Pynchon, after writing a seamless and absolute classic comedy of history, Mason and Dixon, now is back to his Gravity's Rainbow form, with a 1085 page juggernaut of caricatured characters that revels in tangential forays into sexual promiscuity, sci-fi balloon adventures, abstract mathematical equations, etc. This was most definitely not the book I should perhaps have picked up as a fictional "fun-to-read" book after a long non-fiction reading kick. This is not to suggest that I did not enjoy Against the Day, but rather to state that this is certainly not a book to take lightly. Like Gravity's Rainbow, Against the Day alternates between ridiculousness, mundanity, beauty, and sublimity often all within the breadth of one sentence. As with Gravity's Rainbow, I often could not distinguish whether my failure to be consistently engaged resided within my own lack of focus or within the author's.
I prefer Mason and Dixon for its more cohesive hilarity, but Against the Day has moments of startling honesty in the midst of its decadent smorgasbord of narratives. I also enjoyed the interspersed escapades of the Chums of Chance immensely.
My advice if you are considering delving into this behemoth: take your time with it, only read it when you've got the dedicated focus to appreciate its subtle beauty. I'm afraid that I hurried myself through this one a little too brusquely, as I was wending my way through library renewal after renewal, and I wanted to move on to some other books....less
"
|
|
June 14
|
|
Manderson
gave
to:
Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century (Paperback)
by Alex Steffen
bookshelves:
non-fiction
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in June, 2008
Manderson said:
"Absolutely imperative read for those keeping abreast of environmental and social causes. Great both as a reference guide to amazing organizations, websites, and books, or simply just to read and soak up its positive energy. Refreshingly optimistic an...more
Absolutely imperative read for those keeping abreast of environmental and social causes. Great both as a reference guide to amazing organizations, websites, and books, or simply just to read and soak up its positive energy. Refreshingly optimistic and clearsighted perspectives throughout, and well-organized. It essentially just acts to compile and touch upon all aspects of sustainable and progressive activities, and it does a commendable job in being as inclusive as it could possibly be. For some people it may not touch in depth enough on some issues, but the book functions primarily as a launch pad and introductory guide. Great book for coffee table perusing and conversation starting. I definitely discovered a lot of wonderful networks through reading this book....less
"
|
|
June 01
|
|
Manderson
gave
to:
Amazing Grace: Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation, The (Paperback)
by Jonathan Kozol
bookshelves:
non-fiction
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in June, 2008
Manderson said:
"I think the most important thing I gained from this book was the connection so visibly made between government budget cuts/public policy decisions and the populations that they directly impact. A lot of times we don't make that critical connection wh...more
I think the most important thing I gained from this book was the connection so visibly made between government budget cuts/public policy decisions and the populations that they directly impact. A lot of times we don't make that critical connection when we read a story in the newspaper about the latest fiscal policy or tax cuts.
The book helped me remember to focus on the all-important necessity of combating poverty, and never settling or accepting its existence anywhere. To remember that part of our essential humanity is broken when we allow poverty to exist....less
"
|
