Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Reading in Spurts

I tend to read stuff in spurts so here's a couple groups of good books I've read recently. It's interesting to get different points of view on similar topics for a richer learning experience.

Self-Improvement/Motivation:
- Who Moved my Cheese? - dealing with change
- The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari - the Heart of the Rose technique is a really powerful way to improve controlling your thoughts!
- The Alchemist
- La Buena Suerte/ Good Luck: Claves De La Prosperidad

Very interesting to compare & contrast the themes and ideas in these 4 books.

Middle East:
- Winter in Kandahar by Steven Wilson - historical novel set during war in Afghanistan
- Ascent from Darkness - sequel to Winter in Kandahar. Historical novel set in Syria & Iraq during Iraq War
- Three Cups of Tea - true story of Greg Mortensen's efforts to promote peace by building schools for girls in Pakistan during the rise of the Taliban

Great reads - really helped me fill in my hole of ignorance about this part of the world. None was as well written, however, as The Kite Runner and a Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

2 comments:

Jenny said...

It looks so beautiful where you are! We wish we could come see you. I would absolutely love living in a beach town.
I read who moved my cheese one day at work when I was bored, it was pretty interesting. I loved A thousand splendid suns, although I had to put it down a few times to have a good cry. It definitely taught me a lot about (1) how lucky I am and (2) the culture in some countries on that side of the world.
Have fun there!

Jenny said...

We just finished "A thousand splendid suns"- wow- such a great book, however, so sad & terrifying at the same time- we had no idea how bad it really has been over there, so we agree- great books and we'll have to read your other recommended ones!