I like books

["Nathan Swartzendruber" <thefishpatrol at hotmail_com>]

Summer reading time is here. Really the only thing that differentiates my 
reading habits between seasons is, well, that they occur at different times 
of the year. Anyway, here are a couple books I've read recently. Maybe we 
can all hook each other into some new authors or at least new titles.
I like books.

#1: Four Visits to Zimbabwe, by Doris M. Lessing
Only non-travel guide about Africa in my local library branch when I got 
back, so I picked it up. Certainly a very interesting picture of the slow 
death of British colonialism, despite Zimbabwean independence in 1980. And 
the successive trips provide a living view of changing attitudes and 
opinions, both of European expatriates and Nationals. Her inner dialogue of 
changes, good and bad (both very grey categories), is very informative as 
well.

That said, there is only a loose thread of continuing story that flows 
through the entire text. Granted, she's documenting her travels, but it 
seems a bit more perspective (or a more involved editor) could have helped 
give the book a bit more flow. I'd recommend it quickly to those interested 
in an authentic look at Africa, but probably not for those looking for a 
quick read during lunches.
Out of five stars, I give this... Good but, kinda, maaaahhh.

#2, Bluebeard, by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Picked this up because I watched "The Recruit" and said, oh yeah, I dig 
Vonnegut. Once again, the only choice at the local branch, (I need to find 
an apartment next to a bigger library) but one of the more rewarding 
name-grabs I've made. Great book.

"Bluebeard" is a fictional autobiography about Rabo Karabekian, an Armenian, 
raised in California by parents who had escape genocide by the Turks. He 
discovered a talent for drawing and eventually learns under the great Dan 
Gregory (no one can draw glum horses like Dan Gregory). His path also leads 
to World War II and the Abstract Expressionist movement.

The story, however, leads the reader through the summer when he writes his 
autobiography: the events that lead him to write the book, and so forth. So 
what's built is a running commentary between his past and his present, how 
both can affect the image or even actuality of the other.
If that's the basic outline, what's missing is an impression of Vonnegut's 
laughter and simplicity. He writes with a beautiful voice and clarity that 
bring real joy to reading. Childlike, but not childish, he never strays from 
his characters, yet speaks through them with a self-effacing wisdom that is, 
I think, the book's intention: auto-biography, spoken of and to one's self.

Out of five stars, I give this... Yeah, you just need to read this. All of 
you.

Up next, Blue Shoe, by Anne Lamott, in, well, another 90 pages. Then, if I'm 
lucky, another Salman Rushdie. It's true, I like the books. They're like 
flipping through God's catalogue of lives.

Nathan

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