[TSS] Tibetan Love

My main focus over the last week has been a book titled "the Joy of Living" by a Tibetan Buddhist monk with the tongue twister of a name Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. Yongey (Rinpoche is a title, equivalent to PhD in the west, not a last name) here writes about Tibetan Buddhist meditation, as well as the similarities between western science, and Buddhist teachings. I have about 75 pages left in the book, so will probably be finishing it today.

In other unrelated news: You will notice that "the Amazing Adventures of Cavalier & Clay" has disappeared off my currently reading list. I love the book, its a blast, but its taking so long to get through that I'm feeling a bit of burn out, loosing the push to read it. With all the stuff I have to read, and want to share with you guys, I've decided to set Chabon's book aside for a while.

[TSS] Comic Books & Bibliophilia

Ended up giving up on Dracula for now, just couldn't get into it. Instead, I started the Amazing Adventures of Cavalier & Clay, a book I saw on the Summer Reading table at Barnes and Noble and was about to buy before realizing that not only was I broke, but I already owned a copy that I'd picked up for 50 cents at my church.

The book is amazing. Its a novel about two friends that are active in the early days of comics in the 30's and 40's. Joseph Cavalier is a teenager from Prague running from the Nazi occupation, to his relatives, the Clays, and their son Sam, who live in New York city. I've only finished two chapters, but I've definitely had trouble putting this one down. The book mixes WWII history, comics, and well written characters, all three things I quite enjoy.

I've also started Patience & Fortitude, the sequel to Nicholas Basbanes's book, a Gentle Madness. Its the second book in a trilogy about books, bibliophilia, and libraries, some of my favorite subjects as a book collector. This one starts out with a discussion of ancient libraries in general, with a focus on the famous Library at Alexandria. Haven't gotten very far in this one either, but I'm looking forward to digging into it.

[TSS] the Origins of the Vampire Mythos

Dracula: I've been wanting to read some Vampire lore for a while now, and knowing the stories of the real Vlad Sepesh (?spelling?) I figured Stoker's novel, probably the most famous portrayal of the blood sucking count, would be the best place to start. I haven't got very far in it yet, but its an intriguing read. The book is written mostly in journal form, and is an engaging read. The copy I have is heavily annotated, and the annotations can be a bit distracting at times, including everything from descriptions of towns that are mentioned, to recipes for dishes mentioned in the text and just about everything else you can imagine. This means that occasionally there will be a page with only about a dozen pages of actual text, the rest being footnotes.

Insomnia: Gave up on this officially today. Still might go back to it, but with so much on my TBR pile, I decided to take a break.

History of God: Being a Comparative Religion major, I thought this would be largely review, and while there has been some stuff I already knew, like the information about the four documents hidden in the Torah, and the history of Islam, theres been more than a fair amount of new information. I'm currently reading a chapter on God as seen by the philosophers of the three Abrahamic faiths, having just finished one on God as seen by Muslims. This is one of the books I would highly recommend to all members of the Abrahamic faiths. It may test your faith, but you'll learn a lot of interesting stuff.

[TSS] Finishing "Hearts of Horses" for School

I was supposed to have finished this days ago, and I've got until Tuesday to finish it, and write two papers on it, so I've been dipping into it off and on all day.

Normally, this isn't the sort of book I'd read. The main character is a female horse-whisperer working in the Northwest during WWI. The story deals with a year in her life where she does a circle ride, literally riding in a circle from one farm to the next, changing horses at every farm, and completing the circle every day. Its a method used to break a large number of horses to saddle at the same time.

In addition to the circle ride, there's the interaction between the horse-whisperer, Martha Lessen, and the family who is her main client and her lodgings. More central to the story, however, is her romance with Henry, a farmhand at one of the farms who is employing her services.

I'm finding myself conflicted. While I'm enjoying reading this, I find myself looking forward to finishing it, so I can go on to one of the other numerous books I have that I haven't read yet.

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