My Book List
Monday, July 26, 2004
As a member of the flock, I too feel compelled to publish what are my current top reads. This took a fair amount of soul searching, but I feel I have it narrowed down. They are by no means ranked, as figuring out the six was hard enough.
#1) Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind. - This book actually comes from the Sword of Truth series, however it was easily my favorite. The others simply did not keep me as entertained. It comes from a great series about three worlds, all influenced by magic and all separated by barriers. That is, until the barriers begin to fall. Everything from erotic detail to magic and battle scenes are included. It has always been a quick read.
#2) The Harry Potter Series. - some may debate the appropriateness of the series, but what the heck, 's all good fun. I am currently working on them for the first time, and have had a problem putting any of them down. I am on book 5.
#3) War of the Witches - This book chronicles the journeys of a young anthropologist as he studies an indigenous Aztec culture in Mexico. He discusses becoming adopted into their native tradition by both a shaman and a she-woman and the immense lessons he learns. Only by uncovering the truth behind an old inter family feud will he realize the true nature through which some people have used witchcraft. If anyone in the paga-wicca-shama-druid community needs a lesson in ethics, this book is a perfect read. For anyone else who wants a great story, largely assumed to be fictionalized, it is still a quick, easy, short, and entertaining read.
#4) Always in my top 5 reads will be Plato's Allegory of the Cave. While I know this is not a book, it was probably one of the most eye opening pieces of literature I ever came across.
#5) W.E.B Du Bois' The Souls of Black Folk, is hugely uplifting, and immensely empowering. Anyone who is even thinking about becoming an activist should read this man's words. Let me show you a piece of my favorite passage. "It is wrong to encourage a man or a people in evil-doing; it is wrong to aid and abet a national crime simply because it is unpopular to do so." I read these words for the first time as the Marriage Amendment debate was heating up.
#6) And now while, I do not actually have "a" book that stands in this place I have a genre of books. In my coming to terms with myself as a gay man I found that there are several books out there answering the questions about who gay people are and what gay people have done. As a history major/buff this was cool. So I am placing books like Gay Essentials: Facts for your queer brain and Is it a choice, in my #6 position. I keep one on my desk at work, and I have several of them at home.
There ya go. Stay tuned for more next time, when I LOVE TO READ strikes back.
posted by ZEUS @ 8:06 AM,
