Summer reading.

During the past semester, I barely had any time to read real (ie, non-school) books. Thus I am trying to cram in reading as many books as possible in the time I have between semesters. I have read two novels in as many days, and I think I'd like to keep the book-of-the-day club going. But let me tell you a bit about what I read. First, I read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Now, this book is young adult fiction, which, despite being almost 22 years of age, I still enjoy. However, despite its YA status, this was an amazing book. It was pretty emotional reading, but well worth it. Today I read Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, which I couldn't put down simply due to the fact that I had to find out what happened, what it all meant, if the characters could somehow escape the cruel hand of fate! The whole plot started me thinking about bioethics and what it means to be human, which are always fun topics to kick around (but will probably keep me up at night).

Having finished those books, I'm now taking suggestions for what else I should read. Any genre is acceptable, as long as it's interesting and at least moderately intellectually stimulating.

Finally free.

I am quite pleased to report that I have survived my penultimate semester of college, fully intact. As a matter of fact, I've passed all my classes, and my mental health is surprisingly good.

In my newly acquired free time, I've taken (once again) to voraciously reading non-school books. Current reading: Out of It: A Cultural History of Intoxication by Stuart Walton. (Despite school's having ended, I never cease to be a bit nerdy.) In any case, the book covers relatively innocuous substances such as caffeine and alcohol as well as the slightly more heady categories of opiates, amphetamines, and hallucinogens. Walton makes the argument that it is part of human nature to desire to become intoxicated, just as humans need to eat and have sex and whatnot. The idea of intoxication as a basic appetite has interesting implications. But perhaps I can use it to justify my weekly trips to the bar.

Also, as I'm sure you're aware, the Christmas season is upon us. Now, call me a grinch if you will, but I'm a bit Christmas-ed out. I dread shopping at this time of year, I'm sick of hearing about the so-called "War on Christmas" (Oh please! Those poor persecuted Christians! We should be happy no one's throwing us to the lions anymore and just get on with our business!), and frankly, I still haven't figured out, after this several years of being Catholic, just what Santa Claus or Christmas trees have to do with Baby Jesus. Peace on earth? Erm, not so much, when everyone is just about stampeding each other for the latest must-have down at the Wal-Mart. Honestly. Calm down, people! Get over yourselves! Yeesh. I'll take the February doldrums over this any day.

In honor of the birth of Jesus, I leave you with this: a Dr. Suess version of the New Testament.

Zen and the Art of Catholicism

My new favorite thing to do is to sit outside on my porch and read books. It's a good, peaceful thing to do, especially when the weather is as lovely as it has been. Sometimes I bring some tea along. Among other things, I've discovered that my neighbors aren't all scary, obnoxious, and drunken college students. In fact, some of them seem quite nice.

Currently, I'm reading a book called Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha (Brach, 2003). I've gotten several reactions to my reading of this book, most of them along the lines of "You're the weirdest person I know" or "Where do you find these books???" I find it amusing how the concepts in this book (and other Buddhist-inspired writings) have so much in common with DBT. I found DBT to be alternately annoying and sacrosanct: it was the bane of my existence or my salvation. In any case, I am endlessly intrigued that the practices of DBT are quite Buddhist in origin. Things like mindfulness and indeed even radical acceptance itself are key DBT buzzwords as well as central Buddhist teachings.

The point of reading all these books is not only because they're interesting, but also so I can figure out a way to incorporate such Buddhist ideas and practices into my life. Of course they would be beneficial to my daily life in general, but if I could incorporate them into my prayer life, the results could be quite sublime. The teachings of Christ and Buddha overlap in numerous places. Buddha teaches that we must abandon the concept of "self", since we are all part of a single entity and are all interconnected. Jesus teaches that we must love our neighbor as ourselves. If our "selves" are more permeable than we envision, then it makes a great deal of sense to treat our neighbors with the same love and respect we should show ourselves. Perhaps saying that we all have a Buddha nature is the same concept as saying we are all children of God.

So I suppose I will continue to read weird books. Now if I'd only read my school books once in a while...