May's reading list

• The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, Philip Pullman
  I have to admit that while I hated being left dangling at the end of the first book, it wasn't compelling enough for me to go upending various boxes to figure out where the other two got packed; I figured they'd turn up when they turned up. Well, they did do just that eventually. I tore through these two books, wanting to find out what was going to happen next. I liked The Amber Spyglass best of the three, I think, except for some mushiness towards the end I could've done without; I quite particularly liked (being vague to avoid spoilers, but I think those who've read it will know what I'm talking about) the one use of the knife and the description of what happens to those who make use of it. I enjoyed the story as a whole though more than I enjoyed any single one of the books, I think. Took a little while to warm up to it with the first book, but once I felt like the story really might be getting going, I got pulled in to it.
  
  
• Plan of Attack, Bob Woodward
  I can *almost* see how this book might've been listed on the White House's recommended reading list, as it really doesn't seem to paint Bush as badly as some other books recently released. *cough*Against All Enemies*cough* Neither does Mr.Woodward try to claim that Bush is some sort of saint, never fear. I think whatever side you come down on, you're likely to find something in this book that you can use to support your view of Bush. The PuppetmasterVice-President, however, certainly doesn't come out of this looking particularly good. Or really, good at all. Okay, he's evil, pure and simple, from the eighth dimension. (And yeah, I say that because I fall on the side that didn't like Cheney to start with.) The portrait painted of Colin Powell and his relationship with the White House and Defense makes this worth reading all on its own, especially if you find yourself wondering "what the @#$% happened, Colin?"
  
  Some particularly favorite quotes:
  
  President Bush, in response to Woodward's saying that Powell was upset about a speech of Cheney's in August in which he claimed that there was no doubt that Hussein had WMDs and that he was intending to use them: "No, I don't know about that. How do I know [he was] upset? I was in Crawford." (Frankly, I think that pretty much sums up a lot of his tenure in office right there.)
  
  Tommy Franks on Doug Feith: "I have to deal with the f*cking stupidest guy on the face of the earth almost every day."
  
  
• Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World, Lama Surya Das.
  I bought this last summer for an introduction to Buddhism class I was taking, but never got around to reading it. I have to say I'm glad something inspired me to pull this off the shelf recently, as I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It's basically a gentle introduction to the basics of Buddhism as written by an American lama trained in Tibet. It's very accessible and written in a somewhat chatty style strewn with jokes and anecdotes rather than taking a dry, academic approach to the subject. He gives an introduction to The Four Noble Truths and The Eight-Fold Path, and tries to put the practice into the context of daily Western life. I think this latter bit is what I found most appealing about the book, that he takes the concepts and shows how they can be applicable to the Western experience. hopeforyou, I kept thinking that perhaps you'd find this book interesting; if you want to borrow it, let me know.