Monday, January 05, 2004

books

in addition to not blogging, i've been reading a lot lately. in the last week or so i read the kite runner, a novel about a boy who flees afghanistan during the soviet invasion for america and then returns ro rescue an old friend when the taliban are in control. it was good, except the ending worked out a little too perfectly for my tastes. considering this was the author's first novel, it was really impressive how polished it seemed, at least to my amateurish eyes.

after that i read vernon god little about a teenage kid who is accused of a columbine-style massacre simply because he was the only friend of the killer. it was pretty funny to read, mostly in how it lampooned the media and public's obsession with a sensational story even when there are no hard facts to back up anything up.

now i'm reading after jihad: america and the struggle for islamic democracy by noah feldman. feldman is a pretty interesting guy. he was raised an orthodox jew. he holds both an american law degree and a doctorite in islamic law that he got at oxford. he teaches at nyu but us currently in iraq consulting on reforming the legal system there. from what i can tell, he is the most high profile democrat working in baghdad for the occupational forces. i heard an interview with him on npr several weeks ago and was intrigued enough to add his book to my list.

arriving in the mail today was selah a book of poetry by my old friend and fellow blogger josh corey. i want my autograph josh!