Sort of a booklist.

[contentedmoo]

The following can be terribly sad and disturbing, but are also really interesting, if you are into that kind of thing. Most of these were recommended to me by either my brother, Lauren, or Felix. These sorts of things balance my Avatar-watching and fiction reading

Comments

[sunpony]

AH, some light reading!

Chomsky's book on hegemony is worth reading. I have not read the book on failed states. I have read excerpts from Pollan's book and it seems quite excellent. He just wrote an op-ed for a major paper about the ramifications of the new farm bill which made me realize that, damn, farm bills are really important!!! Pollan is sharp, and a good writer. Chomsky is brilliant, but not as good a writer.

For more stuff along these veins, check out A Power Governments Cannot Suppress, a recent collection of essays by Howard Zinn. He re-engages a number of American historical events and strips away their mythological aspects to talk about the everyday struggle of people to change things. Bitter but also inspiring.

For a really different view on things, Murray Bookchin's Post-Scarcity Anarchism is heavy, but very thought-provoking. Bookchin puts forth the argument that there are sufficient resources and wealth in the world that social revolution could increase the living standards for people the world over. It

[contentedmoo]

I thought that booklist might catch your eye, and that I could rely on you to offer up some good recommendations. :) Thank you!

[warriorbtch]

Heh-- speaking of "light reading", I'm reading a book on the phenomenon of female infanticide and sex-selective abortions in India. Despite the downer content, it's extremely interesting and quite readable...gives you a whole new perspective on things, particularly now with the Supreme Court pro-life business going on over here.

Disappearing Daughters by Gita Aravamudan (who is apparently a distant cousin of mine, go figure).

[warriorbtch]

PS: it was awesome to see you last night! :)

[contentedmoo]

Wow, that does sound heavy, but also interesting. Thanks for the recommendation, I'll add it to my list. Seems like a topic Lauren would be interested in too. Some of her recent reading she'd been telling me about includes the, hmmm, perhaps less than ideal way pregnancies and births are handled in the US.

It was good to see both of you too! It always is. :)(sorry if I was a bit more tired and quiet than usual).