intense

so this past week has been intense, for reasons in and out of my control. but, i've have read several books lately and have not blogged about them!

my ishmael

this was the third and final daniel quinn book in the ishmael series. i really appreciated his writing of this novel because i felt that it answer a lot of questions that still lingered after the first two books. i really enjoyed reading this one and i recommend the entire series very strongly. largely this book just further expands on his ideas about civilization, tribalism, systems, and ways that things can be changed. i love ishmael!

zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance

so i started this book over Christmas break and i picked it up on and off during the semester but this is the kind of book you really need to be able to devote time and thought to. i lacked about 1/5 of the book and i feel like i should read it again in a closer time period to really get it's experience and story. i enjoyed the book and the thought but it was hard to get into it a second time. also after reading quinn it is hard to read philosophy that kind of assumes that we already live the one and only way and only really speaks on civilization. but, for what it was i enjoyed it and i'm glad that glen and laura had me read it. also, i took it to the doctors office, (and im glad i did because i waited for over an hour (which i didn't mind)), and when i saw the doctor he looked at it and said, "You're reading that?! This is sooooo 1960's" then we had a brief conversation about how i liked it and as he was leaving he told me that he read it in college and enjoyed it and was glad i was reading it. i also took it to the physical therapy clinic and several people there saw it and asked me if i was learning to ride a motorcycle or become a mechanic. i thought the different views were interesting.

the heart of whiteness, robert jensen

this book was recommended to me by the group that i am working with, United Students for Fair Trade. a large part of their values lie in ant-oppression, which is something i am well aware of thanks to ed check and the visual studies program at texas tech. so i liked the book, which was largely about "whiteness" and what it means to be white today. he used the phrase, white supremacist society" a lot through out the book and i can see his point but am unsure whether or not he took it too far. i definitely agree that being white gives you privileges and that racism is still very apparent in our culture. he seemed to be very angry in his writing, which turned me off a bit, but at the begining he mentioned that he wanted to write a very honest book, and i think he did. so i appreciate that and the emotion that was expressed. however, i much prefer listening to ed talk about whiteness and thinking about it more on his lines of thought. i think that ed has a gift in talking about very hard and contreversial subjects with sounding angry and condescending. i really miss having class with ed. i wish i could go back and do it again, i feel like i would get so much more out of it now. but i digress! the book was good and gave me some things to think about and for that i appreciate it.

currently i am reading "brewing justice" by daniel jaffee. this is a detailed look into fair trade speaking on it's history, logistical operation, a case study in mexico, and examining many of the problems and paradoxes upon which the system operates. the book is good so far, i haven't gotten into in much, but i am very happy to be reading about it and learning more about fair trade.

i mentioned at first that this week has been intense, and it has. lots of buried fundamental issues surfaced in several areas of my life almost simultaneously. it has been hard but i have given myself time to think and to deal with things and i have prayed more than i have in a long while. i feel very at peace now and i am very thankful for God. i have come to many realizations about myself and the important relationships in my life and i am very excited for these forgotten issues to be talked about and hopefully made better. i know it will be very gradual and hard but i am looking forward to the challenge and to implementing new ways of thinking into my life and hopefully into others. i feel light again.