New 06.25.05

Brenda Ringwald is a long-time friend and exuberant participant in life, wherever it takes her or she takes it. She sent this e-mail in late winter. Perhaps some more recommendations will come out of the trip she was about to embark upon. "I write this as I am packing for four weeks in Cambodia and Viet Nam. A card-carrying travel junkie, I'm hoping to work my way up to 100 countries to qualify for the Century Club. I'm also a decade-long reader of Reading who has (horrors) never sent in a contribution. So here goes. Not surprisingly, many of the books I read this past year took me to foreign places. "Alexandra Fuller's Let's Not Go to the Dogs Tonight came as a complete surprise. It was a gift from a friend, and I was immediately taken by the style and tone. Written by a 30-something woman looking back on her formative years in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. It is full of often chilling, always poignant, and occasionally laugh-out-loud stories of growing up British in Africa. "The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, will ã quite simply ã change your life. I haven't been this deeply affected by a book in a long time. My compassion for the people of Afghanistan, and neighboring countries, grew immeasurably. The intolerance, cruelty, terror that is part of the lives of so many people on the planet will energize you to keep fighting the good fight. "For another Afghan-American story, this one true, read West of Kabul, East of New York, by Tamim Ansary. You probably know his name; he wrote the famous September 12, 2001 e-mail heard round the world AND he was a member of the Carleton Class of 1970. Okay, he graduated from Reed, but he took Rhetoric classes just like many of us did as Frosh. "The Birth of Venus, by Sarah Dunant, takes you on a real trip, back to Florence in the late 1400s. It's a lush, illuminating view of the city as it comes under the rule of the crazed monk, Savonarola. I read it shortly after reading The Rule of Four, which would have been a lot more interesting, had it taken place at a nice Midwestern college and not Princeton. The DaVinci Code it is not. "I'll end with a stretch. Well it sounds like a book about traveling: The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger. This is a bit confusing at first, but it is a delightful read. Hang in there, especially if you have ever lived in Chicago." Thank you, Brenda. These do intrigue me. And The Kite Runner is in the house because David got a copy for his birthday. Perhaps I can borrow it before he runs off to college. And don't wait so long to make more suggestions for our reading lists.