my ideal bookshelf

First things first- I love the public library. I still remember the first time I went to the library in the new town we had moved to when I was five. I checked out so many books. I think it's the best thing ever. There was an amazing library in the town I grew up and in Chicago, so there has never really been a need for me to buy a ton of books. Nonetheless, besides traveling, I think books (okay, and food) are my favorite way to spend money. I checked this book out at the library awhile ago but eventually it was due, and then it was overdue, and I still hadn't finished reading it.

This book asks a bunch of people what books would be on their ideal bookshelf. Even though there are quite a few people (mostly designers) I haven't heard of, the explanations (on the opposing page) are so great for every single one. Some of the books people chose aren't favorites, but books that had been significant to them at one point or another. Or, they are the books that are consuming them now.

So a few weeks ago, I decided to make the trek up north to the Book Cellar and buy this book for myself as a late birthday gift. This is Atul Gawande's bookshelf and a little bit of his reasoning:

"Writing is about speaking to others who may be confused about the same kinds of things that I'm confused about, and ho are willing to follow along as I explore what's interesting to me. How else would I end up writing about itching? I just wanted to tell a story. And I hoped it would make people feel really itchy."

regina spektor, guns, germs, and steel

listening to:

reading:

"science will win because it works"

I just finished reading this book. One of my goals has been to read a little bit each day of non-school material. I think I've been reading fewer than ten minutes a day, but it is better than zero. Also, not as good as 20. This was a quick, simple read. Although this book described some evolution and neuroscience as reasons we constructed religions, I think the most important thing we can do is to realize that every single person has the right to believe in what they choose and and to be respected for having their own (hopefully informed) convictions. And I (almost) always enjoy learning what opinions people and books have to offer.

"In religion faith is a virtue; in science it's a vice." -Jerry Coyne

waking up to you

“I will remember your small room, the feel of you, the light in the window, your records, your books, our morning coffee, our noons our nights, our bodies spilled together, sleeping, the tiny flowing currents, immediate and forever, your leg my leg, your arm my arm, your smile and the warmth of you who made me laugh again.”

— Charles Bukowski

^One of my best friends' favorite poets= reading poetry over the phone before bed is awesome.

speaking of which...

This is a literary and typographically amazing idea.

no amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart.

(i a little bit just want to read the great gatsby over and over again)

wild.

about leaving home and coming back.

our inability proves nothing but the weakness of our reason, and not the uncertainty of our knowledge

I'm reading Nocturnes, "five stories of music and nightfall", by Kazuo Ishiguro, who wrote Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day, both books I can distinctly remember reading. I remember where I was in my life, the season (summer and winter, respectively), and even where specifically I was while reading (Metra train and Kaohsiung airport). I think that means something.

"Beyond the wall that marked the end of the terrace, I could see for miles around the windows and back yards of the neighboring properties. A lot of the windows were lit, and the ones in the distance, if you narrowed your eyes, looked almost like an extension of the stars. This roof terrace wasn't large, but there was definitely something romantic about it. You could imagine a couple, in the midst of busy city lives, coming out here on a warm evening and strolling around the potted shrubs, in each other's arms, swapping stories about their day."

I particularly like the last line. And for some reason, I'm rather stricken by this picture. It's a famous corner in a well-loved neighborhood in Chicago, Wicker Park. It reminds me of when I first began exploring different neighborhoods in the city because when you're a kid, you're not aware of too much else beyond downtown. So much of it has become familiar to me now, but I've recently begun to expand even further outward. Plus, I don't know the downtown area so well anymore.

Always more to learn and see. And every window pulled up on my browser now is dedicated to flight research. Planning the next several months full of trips.

but, uh, look. you're still dead

In case you are like me and really didn't get to read the "hottest" books of 2010, there's this:

because i'm reading an excellent book right now.