Number of books on my shelves: 400-600
Those that I own/bought: 300-400
Last books bought:
1. “The Roaring Nineties: A New History of the World’s Most Prosperous Decade” (Joseph E. Stiglitz)
2. “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers” (Mary Roach)
3. “Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong: Why We Love France but Not the French” (Jean-Benoit Nadeau, Julie Barlow)
Books I’m reading now:
1. “America’s Right Turn: How Conservatives Used New and Alternative Media to Take Power” (Richard A. Viguerie, David Franke, Tim LaHaye (Foreword))
2. “The Embarrassment of Slavery: Controversies over Bondage and Nationalism in the American Colonial Philippines” (Michael Salman)
3. “The Nobility of Failure” (Ivan Morris)
4. “In Light of India” (Octavio Paz)
Last 5 books read:
1. “Excavating Jesus : Beneath the Stones, Behind the Texts: Revised and Updated” (John Dominic Crossan, Jonathan L. Reed)
2. “Washington” (Meg Greenfield)
3. “Poisoned Peace” (Gregor Dallas)
4. “Churchill’s Folly: How Winston Churchill Created Modern Iraq” (Christopher Catherwood)
5. “President Marcos and the Philippine Political Culture” (Lewis E. Jr. Gleeck)
Books I’ll cherish:
“The Emperor” (RYSZARD KAPUSCINSKI)
“All the Wrong Places: Adrift in the Politics of the Pacific Rim (Traveler)” (James Fenton)
“Citizens : A Chronicle of the French Revolution (Vintage)” (Simon Schama)
Passing the Baton to:
Willie
Expectorants
Madame Chiang
Market Manila
Salita Blog
Wasn’t Stiff just so… effin… cool?! … wait… you have read it, right? Or are you still working through a big backlog? (i know I am.) 🙂
Stiff was really cool, I read it on the plane coming home to Manila in May.
I’m sorry, the part where she called maggots “haciendas” just cracked me up. I loved the whole tone of the book, too – Mary Roach manages to be riotously funny while maintaining a sense of respect for the cadavers whose “lives” she chronicles.
(When I was in Singapore, I heard Mary Roach being interviewed on BBC World Service radio: the interview was by turns morbid, fascinating, and funny. That’s what made me buy the book when it finally came out here.)
I’m curious: have you read anything by Jared Diamond, like Guns, Germs, and Steel? You might find that one interesting. It’s a history book, but it’s way more “macro” than any of the history books you’ve listed here.
yes, i’ve read it, and thanks to your blog, i’m downloading part 1 of the pbs series 😀
his latest book, on how civilizations implode environmentally, is boring, though.
Richard Viguerie and Tim LaHaye? What’s the book about, a confession?
no: it’s a very interesting book about the tactics the right used to reach out to their constituents, since they felt blocked by mainstream media. basically they took a cue from the evangelists (anyway many of them are part of the right wing) through direct mailing, eventually email, etc. it’s a propagandist’s manual.
re: downloading – asar! am using a mac os9 computer at work; still can’t figure out what bittorrent client to use for my platform, so I can’t download it at all.
Let me know how it is. I’ll get a contact in the States to buy the DVD for me. 🙂
my gawd, tell your office to go osX na!!!!!!
Most of us are on OSX. The art directors, in any case. But the writers, well, since our work ain’t too graphics-heavy, we get stuck with the older machines. I”m not complaining; I get Limewire and a blazing-fast Internet connection. I just haven’t figured out what Bittorrent client works with this sh!tty box yet.
go to bittorrent.com? but still, so many crashes with os 9… i write, and i insist on osX!
Ok, got my wife to do the book meme. My pile was far less interesting than hers! Do I end up in blog purgatory if I don’t pass it on to anyone else???
What is the Gleeck book like?
marketman: yes, you will end up with blemished aubergines and unsweet cantaloupes!
torn: gleeck is full of rants but he makes some strong points which, for lack of a qualified rejoinder, are more powerful still. he presents a traditional american view i don’t quite like, but sometimes i wonder if my dislike is due to how close to home he can hit. his book on marcos is ranty but worth reading, if you can find a copy (had to get mine on alibris.com).
Manolo, how about the Filipiniana collection? Any vintage books? And by the way, can I send you the latest book my wife and I co-wrote: title is State and Society in the Philippines out of Rowman and Littlefield, with Anvil Publishing printing the Pinoy edition.
Jojo, i have about 50 or so books from MLQ and AAQ, mainly bought by my father from Otley Beyer (I understand Ambeth also has one or two, the rest, according to Ambeth, could be bought by the sackful in the 1970s in Malate). Yes, please send me your book so I can review it.
nabasa ko na yung book nina Sir Jojo. sana teacher na lang ako ng political science para ito ang dinidiscuss namin, hindi mga boring na accounting books. :p
Paeng, puede din mag-double major! Or pagkatapos ng accounting, MA in polisci or history (saka Jojo na lang).
Manolo, would love to look at your Filipiniana collection one of these days. Please send me your slow mail addy privately. Will send you a copy tomorrow.
Sorry, Manolo, haven’t been reading books because of all these blogs. 😉 Will see. Will try not to embarrass myself.
Manolo, just got a new book which might complement your interest on cadavers: Robert Sullivan’s Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City’s Most Unwanted Inhabitants (Bloomsbury, 2004). It’s about those huge brown rats that inhabit New York City. Fun read.
Done and dusted…thanks for that…made me think anyway!
Two new books that might interest you folks: Peace Zones in the Philippines, and The GRP-MILF Negotiations both authored by Soliman Santos
Hi Jojo,
Could you give a quick rundown on those two books?
Are they merely descriptive or analytical? Thanks.