I'm binge-reading several things by Karen X. Tulchinsky. I'd read several of her short stories in anthologies of erotica, but wanted to check out her books. I read Love Ruins Everything on my weekend trip, and had so much fun reading it that I jumped right into its sequel, Love and Other Ruins, when I got home tonight (a butch and her new femme love are central to the stories). I am also about 1/3 of the way through the much more serious and very well written The Five Books of Moses Lapinsky, which won a couple of book awards in Canada. And In Her Nature also arrived, which I may keep on my bedside just for the cover photo.

Related question: Does anyone else like to do what I call "binge-read"? I enjoy reading a number of different books by an author in a row, or reading a bunch of books in a series, or several books on particular topic or theme, or even several books in a certain format (graphic novels or books written as if they were a personal journal, for example). I enjoy the chance to compare and contrast things within the book I've read, while they're all fresh in my memory.

Last week I finished a book called Re-enchantment: Tibetan Buddhism Comes to the West by Jeffrey Paine.

He can write entertaining journalistic prose, which I appreciate. But he leaves a lot of stuff out (How can he not mention Pema Chodron?) and gets some things wrong (A google search will reveal that Zina Rachevsky is not a member of the Russian nobility). He has no bibliography, and I can see why. It would have revealed his failure to do enough research.

Still, it is totally worth reading. It is a series of profiles of people who were significant in bringing Tibetan Buddhism to the west. There's not much about the organizations they founded or the obstacles faced or anything other than personality.

I hated reading the sections on the lamas who tried but screwed up badly (IMO) -- Chogyam Trungpa (slept with a lot of followers) and Jetsunma (completely crazy -- sorry, if you are a follower). I was surprised at how difficult those chapters were for me to read even though I knew about these people. I also cringed through the entire chapter on Hollywood Buddhists.

On to the good stuff. I had already read a book about Tenzin Palmo's life. She is a British woman who spent 12 years in a Himalayan cave meditating. But I still enjoyed his chapter on her, probably just because it was better written than the book I read -- Cave in the Snow. It's an amazing story.

I also loved reading about Lama Yeshe, who died in 1984. It made him come alive. And Jan Willis, one of the first western followers of Tibetan Buddhism, now a Professor of Religion at Wesleyan. Here's a picture of them.

http://www.existentialbuddhist.com/w...xnHTaHMeNn.jpg

The section on Harold Talbott, a person from a privileged background, who very early on went to India and studied with now storied Lamas, was wonderful. He is the person who introduced Thomas Merton to the Dalai Lama. What is cool about him is that, while he has accomplished some things -- edited books, translated, run Buddhist centers -- basically he has spent his life practicing. He always felt like a failure in some ways. He's from a very accomplished family, and by our standards, he kind of wandered through life. But his equanimity is so well described. It makes you see the difference between one of us and someone -- a relatively ordinary someone (no great lama or teacher) -- who has spent his entire life in practice. And there are real differences.

The chapter on the Dalai Lama is full of the magical stories you read elsewhere, but it is still lovely. In fact the book is written by a believer in the magical side of Tibetan Buddhism, so it can be alienating if you are put off by that. I am listening to a book on Audible right now called The Naked Buddhist by Adrienne Howley, an Australian nun. I do not enjoy how she teaches Buddhism (too simple and preachy), but I appreciate that she teaches from the position of an absolute atheist. She does not believe in any of the magic or superstition. I believe in some of it. But I think that an emphasis on the magic -- and certainly on lama worship -- obfuscates the dharma.

Anyway, the book was a pleasure to read and filled in a lot of the gaps I have re lamas and others who are often mentioned in this tradition (Western Tibetan Buddhism).

I am now reading one of the Jason Bourne books written by Eric Van Lustbader. Cliched but good. I hate it when someone comes and interrupts a conversation JUST when our hero is about to learn a key piece of information. Grrr.

I do that :) mostly because when I'm in the library, I grab all the books from an author (all the Tolstoy, for example.) I also enjoy reading books set in the same time period, but by vastly different authors, for a new point of view.

As for what I'm reading:

Cousin Bette, Honore' de Balzac.

Remember the movie Indecent Proposal, in which a man offers to pay off a couple's debts in return for one night with the wife? This is the same story-except the dude wants ten years with the wife, and in return will put up a dowry for her daughter's wedding. Meanwhile, Cousin Bette (cousin of the aforementioned wife) would today be a prime candidate for serious therapy, and I suspect is going to get even in spectacular fashion. Everyone except Bette (so far) is so supremely annoying that I find myself rooting for her.

Ethics, Aristotle

Essentially (so far), what we think is newfangled pop psychology stemmed from 350 years BC with Aristotle. To be happy, change your thoughts, root out negativity, and change your actions. Practice moderation in all things. I wish I'd read this before tons of self-help books and certainly before watching Dr. Phil.

The Way Of All Flesh, Samuel Butler

This is maybe the hardest book to get into, so far. It seems to be several generations of one family, as recounted by the narrator, and their attempts to stick to the "right" values and the "right" appearances. It's not bad, just waiting for the plot to pick up steam.

There's a film adaptation of Cousin Bette as well. It's flipping CRAZY!

Chronically. Love it. Hate when I get to the last book. I get all wiggly and don't know what to do with myself.

Now reading: The Elements, A visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe. It is an awesome book going through the periodic table with beautiful photographs and stories of the use of individual elements through time in technology, farming, health, etc.
Favorite quote so far, in relation to Arsenic. " Generally speaking, when an idea sounds as stupid as intentionally feeding arsenic to chickens, it probably is"

Nerd alert: Just spent an hour on the couch with my daughter reading out loud from this and had a blast.

(but maybe this is why I'm single)

just downloaded from my library
 

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Looking-Salvation-Dairy-Queen-ebook/dp/B000UZNR32/ref=dp_kinlend_rdm_t?ie=UTF8&m=A38SEFUGZMJU8S"]Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen: A Novel: Susan Gregg Gilmore: Amazon.com: Kindle Store[/ame]

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/I-Remember-Nothing-Vintage-ebook/dp/B003WUYOUM/ref=dp_kinlend_rdm_t?ie=UTF8&m=A38SEFUGZMJU8S"]I Remember Nothing (Vintage): Nora Ephron: Amazon.com: Kindle Store[/ame]

I do that all the time. :)





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Two-thirds of the way through Naamah's Curse by Jacqueline Carey and I'm of two minds about it. I love the writing and the characters, as usual. But this book's story is starting to piss me off. If we make one more u-turn.... RAWR!!! ... Other than that, still love Moirin and her simple free-love, hippy chick ways (I *so* relate to this character and her interaction with the world around her.) ... Also, a part of me definitely wishes she'd just dump the little stick fighter boy and go back to Ch'in to hook up with the princess... but I suppose if she did that the story would be over. LOL.

LSM
 

"Ceremony"

by Leslie Marmon Silko

Greco

I just started [ame="http://www.amazon.com/The-Twelve-Book-Passage-Trilogy/dp/0345504984"]The Twelve[/ame] by Justin Cronin, which is the sequel to his bestselling book The Passage.

Sarah's Key~Tatiana de Rosnay

The Best Exocit Marigold Hotel~Deborah Moggach

I've seen both movies based on these books as well, and I have to say that the movie of the The Best Exocit Marigold Hotel was a bit more uplifting and enjoyable than the book!

A sweet note left on the bathroom mirror ...

I traded some books in at my favorite bookstore (Powell's) and have yet to find a book that I want to read, so I'm saving my gift card to use another day. But I have been reading from the Breitenbush Fall Quarterly (a list of events and free times) and have been thinking about planning for a winter getaway or a springtime getaway. I found that Breitenbush has open availability times in December and there's a Women Only Quiet Midweek that occurs in early March. I love going up there: it's so beautiful, no matter the time of year. :stillheart: