You Have the Power : How to Take Back Our Country and Restore Democracy in America by Howard Dean. I’m amazed that I wasn’t inundated with press on this one, particularly from my multitudinous email lists. I’m thinking of starting an amazon wishlist. It’d be practice for saying what I want. =)
Even more interesting to me is Don’t Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate–The Essential Guide for Progressives by George Lakoff.
And here’s one I saw a talk on in september that I almost forgot about: Run the Other Way: Fixing the Two-Party System, One Campaign at a Time by Bill Hillsman
More bujold books, more george r r martin books, an ipod. Hmmmm. a lemon zester, a muffin pan. A nonsucky laptop, RAM for the desktop. A video card to make ffxi go zoom. I suppose a real bed wouldn’t hurt either. =)
Anyone have other recommendations? Video games, books, and other such high value per unit volume items particularly appreciated.
i keep talking about delany, but do you know much about him or are you interested? 😉
(less political, more social)
I read one delany book prior to college. It was okay, but I didn’t much appreciate it at the time. I later found a copy of it at a different bookstore, and found it better, though still not amazing. =)
Might be worth another go.
which book?
I don’t remember the name. “Return to neveryon” maybe? It’s about this dude, who apparently led a slave revolt, skulking about some ruined house. And this kid who happens upon him. Homo-erotic slave imagery is involved. Dude tells stories (the bulk of the book, I believe) about his earlier slave experiences.
Sound at all familiar?
sounds right. i haven’t read that one – i’ve read the first two neveryons…
if you liked it at all, i’d suggest you check out some of his more adventurous work…
(trouble on) triton i think i mentioned, deals with a future where you can determine your identity, down to gender, sexual preference, race… loosely deals with it anyway.
stars in my pockets is an amazing book, and impossible to describe. not for the unambitious.
dhalgren is vaguely about commune living. and somewhat autobiographical.
the mad man is his most recent, and is alternately a love story of a philosophy grad student and a homeless man (and many other homeless men), and a murder mystery. and of course touches on subjects of aids, sexuality, cruising…. has some pretty graphic scenes in it.
of course, there are his essays (my friend jeff said that one of the books – maybe shorter views or longer views – was one of the most accurate queer essays he’d read. or something).
maybe his brief autobiographical essay on living in a commune (heavenly breakfast) would interest you.
did you catch http://wilsontxt.hwwilson.com/pdfhtml/07048/Q63WW/XF6.htm in my journal?
(interested in anything?)
I hadn’t finished reading it before. And I just did. It’s actually tremendously helpful for a 4 page paper I have due on thursday. I’m supposed to be writing as a “trusted leader in the community of color,” regarding the selection of a school board superintendent. I’ve had a bit of trouble wrapping my brain around the role, and this helped.
And thanks for the suggestions. The essays and the dhalgren thing sound particularly interesting.
heheh, cool, not a problem. dhalgren’s a pretty weird book – i think there are more pages written about what it’s about than there are pages in it… 🙂 the essays, often enough, are actually lighter reading than his fiction.
i feel like i didn’t do stars in my pockets enough justice – some of the things it tackles are family and gender definitions and roles.. and it’s essentially a love story as well.
that was the book that “converted” me into a delany fan 😉
dhalgren’s also a cool one.. but maybe heavenly breakfast would be a good place to start…
depends on what you’re looking for 🙂
You’re the most materialistic hippie I know. 🙂
you need to meet more hippies. =)