Books I've Read Since Starting this Blog

In addition to my Environmental Literature list, I'm starting this list: Books I've Read Since Starting this Blog. (Note: Books are listed from most current at the top to my earliest reads at the bottom.)

• When You Are Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris
• Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time, by Greg Mortensen and Oliver Relin
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling
• Chi Running: A Revolutionary Approach for Effortless, Injury-Free Running, by Danny Dreyer
  
• Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall
  
• The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett
  
• Into Thin Air, by John Krakauer
  
• Touching the Void, by Joe Simpson
• A Thousand Acres, by Jane Smiley
• Not Buying It, by Judith Levine
• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity, by David Allen
• Into the Wild, by John Krakauer
• Jesus Land, by Julia Scheeres
• The Tortilla Curtain, by T.C. Boyle
• Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides
• Bargaining for Eden, by Stephen Trimble
• North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell
  

Good stuff, huh? I know I've been enjoying them. Some more than others, of course, but for the most part all of these books have been excellent reads. I think in addition to these two lists I will also add something down the road that constitutes my top 25 favorite books or something, but that will be at a later date. What are some of your favorite books that you have been reading lately? Any recommendations?

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Idealism as the new Realism

A friend of mine sent me a link to an article about re-thinking the current free-market economic system called A Revolution in Spirit, by Benjamin R. Barber. This article is particularly poignant for both the times America is facing and also for me personally as I am in the middle of my Voluntary Simplicity Course and rethinking my own identity as a consumer. The main theme of the article is stated nicely here: "The issue is not the death of capitalism but what kind of capitalism--standing in which relationship to culture, to democracy and to life?" and it goes on to say:

"Refashion the cultural ethos by taking culture seriously. The arts play a large role in fostering the noncommercial aspects of society. It's time, finally, for a cabinet-level arts and humanities post to foster creative thinking within government as well as throughout the country. Time for serious federal arts education money to teach the young the joys and powers of imagination, creativity and culture, as doers and spectators rather than consumers."

I'm all for that. There has never been a better time than now to rethink the mindset that America has been propelling for upwards of thirty years. I'm also a fan of these suggestions:

"Recreation and physical activity are also public goods not dependent on private purchase. They call for parks and biking paths rather than multiplexes and malls. Speaking of the multiplex, why has the new communications technology been left almost entirely to commerce? Its architecture is democratic, and its networking potential is deeply social. Yet for the most part, it has been put to private and commercial rather than educational and cultural uses. Its democratic and artistic possibilities need to be elaborated, even subsidized...For far too long our primary institutions--from education and advertising to politics and entertainment--have prized consumerism above everything else, even at the price of infantilizing society. If spirit is to have a chance, they must join the revolution."

It wont be easy to make these changes, that's for sure. But in a society where identities are shaped by what you purchase and consume and the divide between the rich and poor continues to separate itself, why not seriously consider some alternatives? I want to make something of my time here on Earth that is worth more than the demarcations of trash that I can produce as a consumer. "We elected a president committed in principle to deep change. Rather than try to back out of the mess we are in, why not find a way forward?"

This article addresses some great issues; more than I can portray here. I challenge you to read it and really think about it. What does capitalism mean and how can looking at it a little differently change the ways in which our society, economy, and culture are fueled?

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