Elizabeth Kerner. No, not a serious religious topic. Final installment of an enjoyable fantasy series. Dragons! Female blacksmiths and assasins! Mystical healers! The Balance of the Universe!
Category: Uncategorized
-
The Village Bride of Beverly Hills
Kavita Daswani. Chick lit meets Bollywood. Like the Rabbi of 84th Street, a short, jaunty book that touches much more serious themes.
-
The Rabbi of 84th Street: The Extraordinary Life of Haskel Besser
Warren Kozak. It’s a brief read, but it’s not light. Besser, a Hasidic rabbi born in Poland who escaped before the Nazi onslaught to Palestine and later moved to New York, is a mover and shaker. Not only are his early life circumstances not light, but the book is written so sympathetically that I only gradually realized that I’m probably on the opposite side of most political questions from Besser–and that he holds his positions with the totally commited, unintentional arrogance of the very old and pious. In addition, the last few chapters descend into a sentimental, flabby account of miracle stories (told by Besser, not about him).
-
The Steerswoman’s Road
Rosemary Kirstein. Actually a reissue of two earlier books, The Steerswoman and The Outskirter’s Secret. This could be thought of as the beginning of a mystery story. There are certainly tantalizing hints that the characters are descendants of people from Earth. Why do the wizards, the steerswomen, and the outskirters have such fragmentary understandings of how things work? Of course, we all have only a fragmentary understanding, but this story is set in a world where someone, once upon a time, had the connections. Or do the wizards actually have a full understanding? Then why are they hiding it?
I guess I’ll just have to keep reading to find out.
Fine, strong female protagonists, by the way.
-
Bruce Springsteen in politics
On the off chance that someone who reads this hasn’t otherwise heard: Bruce Springsteen steps into partisan politics with this Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: Chords for Change” href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/05/opinion/05bruce.html”>New York Times Op-Ed piece: Chords for Change.
-
The Fortune of War
Patrick O’Brian. I don’t know how anyone could not call it a cliffhanger! I guess I’ll just have to race on to the next one.
-
Official UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Thanks to Philocrites for sending me after this page: Official UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights Home Page.
-
Desolation Island
Patrick O’Brian. Number five, and finally (almost) a cliffhanger. Certainly a story that ends with all sorts of loose ends, which I trust will be tied up eventually.
-
The Dance of 17 Lives: The Incredible True Story of Tibet’s 17th Karmapa
Mick Brown. In some ways a rather odd biography. Written by a British journalist who also wrote a biography of Richard Branson and the seemingly pop-culture Spiritual Tourist, this book reports myriad miracles (ancient and contemporary) in such a neutral, journalistic tone that the author seems credulous, yet also recounts interviews with antagonists on all sides of a central conflict. The author states several times that he is not a believer.
Brown sets out the very interesting story of Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the young 17th Karmapa, recognized by both the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama. The Karmapa was born and enthroned in Tibet, but escaped to India in 2000. Brown also gives an overview of the controversy that still exists within the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism over Ogyen Trinley Dorje’s recognition. A simple web search on “Karmapa” returns first a web site for the other contender recognized by Shamar Rinpoche, in addition to many of those which follow. The “Karmapa conflict” website makes it clear than Shamar Rinpoche considers Brown not to be an objective journalist.
Yes, religion is a human institution.
-
The Mauritius Command
Patrick O’Brian. I started this oh-so-long ago, but a whole slew of library books intervened. Another fine entry in the series.