2009 Reading List
I believe one of last year's resolutions was to read at least 12 books in 2009, and I exceeded my goal. I think I'll set the same goal for 2010. Here's a list of the books I read in 2009:
1. The Complete Stories (Flannery O’Connor)
2. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again (David Foster Wallace)
3. Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes (Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein)
4. The Last Lecture (Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow)
5. Consider the Lobster and Other Essays (David Foster Wallace)
6. The Icarus Girl (Helen Oyeyemi)
7. The Broom of the System (David Foster Wallace)
8. The Opposite House (Helen Oyeyemi)
9. Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew (Ellen Notbohm)
10. Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (David Foster Wallace)
11. The Octopus and the Orangutan: New Tales of Animal Intrigue, Intelligence, and Ingenuity (Eugene Linden)
12. The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday: Unexpected Encounters in the Changing Middle East (Neil MacFarquhar)
13. This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, About Living a Compassionate Life (David Foster Wallace)
14. The Cider House Rules (John Irving)
15. When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals (Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson and Susan McCarthy)
I really, really enjoyed The Cider House Rules and all of the David Foster Wallace books I read. When Elephants Weep was really difficult to get through because of the subject matter. The chapters about joy, love, compassion, altruism, appreciation of beauty and the like were enjoyable, but those about sadness, grief, pain, fear, rage, etc. were difficult to read. I can't stand to read about animals suffering. It is nevertheless important to think about the fact that animals experience a full range of emotions (anyone who has ever had pets or worked with animals can tell you this), and that we should therefore treat them with care and compassion. The book included this quote, which I have always found moving:
1. The Complete Stories (Flannery O’Connor)
2. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again (David Foster Wallace)
3. Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes (Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein)
4. The Last Lecture (Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow)
5. Consider the Lobster and Other Essays (David Foster Wallace)
6. The Icarus Girl (Helen Oyeyemi)
7. The Broom of the System (David Foster Wallace)
8. The Opposite House (Helen Oyeyemi)
9. Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew (Ellen Notbohm)
10. Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (David Foster Wallace)
11. The Octopus and the Orangutan: New Tales of Animal Intrigue, Intelligence, and Ingenuity (Eugene Linden)
12. The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday: Unexpected Encounters in the Changing Middle East (Neil MacFarquhar)
13. This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, About Living a Compassionate Life (David Foster Wallace)
14. The Cider House Rules (John Irving)
15. When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals (Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson and Susan McCarthy)
I really, really enjoyed The Cider House Rules and all of the David Foster Wallace books I read. When Elephants Weep was really difficult to get through because of the subject matter. The chapters about joy, love, compassion, altruism, appreciation of beauty and the like were enjoyable, but those about sadness, grief, pain, fear, rage, etc. were difficult to read. I can't stand to read about animals suffering. It is nevertheless important to think about the fact that animals experience a full range of emotions (anyone who has ever had pets or worked with animals can tell you this), and that we should therefore treat them with care and compassion. The book included this quote, which I have always found moving:
The French have already discovered that the blackness of the skin is no reason why a human being should be abandoned without redress to the caprice of a tormentor [see Louis XIV's Code Noir]... What else is it that should trace the insuperable line? Is it the faculty of reason, or, perhaps, the faculty of discourse? But a full-grown horse or dog is beyond comparison a more rational, as well as a more conversable animal, than an infant of a day, or a week, or even a month, old. But suppose the case were otherwise, what would it avail? The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but, "Can they suffer?"
~Jeremy Bentham (18th Century philosopher)
posted by Catherine at 12:54 PM
4 Comments:
Good for you and what a eclectic reading list. I love reading and read over that amount these past two month. However most of my books have been mainly Sci Fi.
Mind you I am reading a book on the Russian T62 tank (Sad I know)
Anyway the reason I have put finger to keyboard, did you get my x-mas card (Paper version) and if not why not?
I did get it, thank you! I meant to send you an email after I got it, but I got so overwhelmed with holiday stuff that I didn't manage to send out my own cards this year or let people know that I got their cards. But it did arrive and it is beautiful. :)
Thanks CAT,
I was a little worried that you had upped sticks. Don't fret about not sending me a card back in reply. Its the thought that counts.
Just as this whiskey hot toddy (Glenfiddich + Brown sugar + lemon juice + hot water) won't be doing anything to combat this headcold I have picked up. but it sure makes me feel a lot better. On that note I am going to have another. (Well it is Christmas)
I say you can have as many hot toddies as you want when it's cold outside! And hey, hot drinks with lemon have been known to help relieve some headcold symptoms, even if they don't make the cold itself go away. Enjoy, and I hope you feel better soon!
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