A Few Good Books...

"But more wonderful than the lore of old men and the lore of books is the secret lore of ocean."
H. P. Lovecraft

Having sailed before and been on aboard for weeks at a time, I knew there would be alot of downtime on Llyrical:  downtime after sailing the day and downtime as great winds passed us by.  I knew I would have time to enjoy reading, one of my greatest pleasures, so I brought and read a few good books:
 
Tales of Wonder, the autobiography of Huston Smith, teacher, philosopher and author of The World's Religions. Smith had a remarkable life, growing up in the early twentieth century in a remote village in China, where his parents were missionaries.  As a college student in Missouri and later a graduate student in Illinois, he became fasinated with the many religions of the world.  He traveled the world to learn about them and was the first to teach and publish their story.  He was featured in a series of TV shows hosted by Bill Moyers introducing what he had learned to a US audience.  He was a complex man with a simple mission:  educate and inform.  I enjoyed his autobiography very much.
 
Too Big To Fail, by Andrew Ross Sorkin, the story of the fall of Lehman Brothers and its effect on the worldwide financial system.  Sorkin is a journalist and, as such, his writing style is clipped and direct:  quite effective for this tale of woe.  And what a tale is is!!!  I concluded the book certain in the knowledge of the utter complexity of global financial transactions and global financial giants; their utter arrogance; and the deep, deep involvement of governments, ours and others, in extricating citizens everywhere from the mess the financial giants made.  A gripping story.
 
The Soul of Chrisitanity by Huston Smith, was written in 2004 as a "survey" of first century Christianity.  Unlike the Smith autobiography, this one was surprisingly dogmatic and doctrinare.  I was disappointed;  my own fault for assuming a book on Christianity could be anything other.  He did spend considerable time characterizing Christianity and Christ as a religion of "love" with a message of acceptance, community and relationship.  I was glad for that.
 
The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner, is the story of Peter and Rosemary Grant's 20+ years as researchers of Darwin's finches on Daphne Major in the Galapagos Islands.  The narrative, in an almost shocking degree of satistical specification, reports on the birds of the island and their on-going evolution.  If you are not convinced of natural selection, and all its variants, before you read this book, you will after--that is, assuming you can slough through its 300 odd pages with attention to the detail. 
 
A Superior Death by Nevada Barr, a mystery located on Isle Royal National Park in Lake Superior where park ranger, Anna Pigeon, solves an underwater murder.  Our friend, Susan Baker, who had read several other Barr mysteries found it in the book exchange in Nassau.  It was quick, fun read, punctuating the more serious non-fiction I had been reading.  For all lovers of mysteries and national parks, it would be delightful! And BTW, I actually figured out whodunit!  That never happens.
 
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Mainentance by Robert M. Pirsig, a classic that was given to me in 1998 by Clyde Beers, my first Christmas as market leader of the Philadelphia office of Towers Perrin.  Clearly, I should have read it earlier. In fact, being on a motorcycle and being on a sailboat share alot in common.  For its emphasis on values alone, this is worth the read.  I should have done it sooner.
 
Stones Into Schools by Greg Mortenson, the mountain climber, turned school builder in Pakistan and Afghanistan.  Its sub-title is Promoting Peace Through Books, Not Bombs.  After reading his first book, Three Cups of Tea, I was hooked.  I truly believe education can change the world and it seems that Mr. Mortenson is living that in a remote region of the world where peace through education, is the kind of goal I could sign up for...and I may!

An Equal Music by Vikram Seth, was a brilliant story about music and musicians written by someone who is neither.  The lead character, the second violinist in a string quartet, and the love of his life, a pianist, are very intriguing characters but what hooks you in this lovely novel is the story of how music is played, especially by four players, how it is lived and how it is shared.  Now I will take on Mr. Seth's 1450 page book, A Suitable Boy, with gusto.

EasyBridge I, II, III by Edith McMullin were there books that teach the fundamentals of bridge, a game I have been trying to learn fro decades.  Ms. McMullin does a wonderful job of doing what she sets out to do and she does it with grace and good humor.  I would read one of her lessons between my other books.

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John also read a few good books.  Among them were:

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova, the story of a psychiatrist/artist, who acts as a historical sleuth solving the mystery of why a prominent painter attempted to attack an impressionist canvas in a museum.  Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey, the story of a season spent by the ranger-author in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks (which we visited last fall; the book was also recommended by our friend Susan Baker.)  Three Cups of Tea and a book on understanding weather by Chris Parker rounded out his non-fiction reads.  John also read a host of books about Orcs which we left at various book exchanges in marinas all over the Exumas.  No telling who has them now!  sandra