What I'm Reading

Recently Nigel asked what sort of things I am reading so I thought today I'd spend a few minutes talking about the books that are currently on my nightstand or in my purse.


Every night before I go to sleep, I read at least one poem from the Best Loved Poems of the American People. I've done this for so long that I've committed quite a few of them to memory. There's just something soothing about reading poetry, isn't there? My favorite of all the poems in this book is Byron's "She Walks in Beauty".



Next is Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope. I started reading this book a while back and sort of allowed it to become buried. I want so much to believe that there is someone good, honest, and Lincolnesque in today's world of politics but often it's difficult not to be totally disillusioned. As I recently began again to read his latest work I was taken by Obama's eloquence and grace. I don't know if he has what it takes to run the country, but his writing certainly has what it takes to move me and to give me hope that there can be people in politics who are good and decent, people who believe the government is for the people not the select few who have amassed fortune and power, and who believe the government of the most powerful country in the world can really help its people and the rest of the world to be a better place.


I always carry a book in my purse to read for those times when I'm sitting in the doctor's office waiting room. Since there's so much serious illness around me, I spend a lot of time there. My latest is Mary Higgins Clark's Nighttime is My Time. It's very light reading but I'm always up for a suspense, intrigue, thriller sort of book. This isn't Clark's best, but it's moderately entertaining.


I found this book when I was browsing through Bill's bookshelves one night. America's First Ladies: Private Lives of the Presidential Wives has proven interesting and lightweight reading. Since each chapter is an 8-10 page self-contained mini biography of one of the former US President's wives, it's perfect for those times when I have only 15-20 minutes to read. Perhaps what has struck me the most from reading this book is the reminder that history hasn't always given these ladies their due when it comes to recognizing and remembering their achievements.


Of course you'd be surprised if I wasn't reading something about hypnosis or hypnosis related, wouldn't you? Bandler and Grindler's Frogs into Princes is an in depth look at Neuro Linguistic Programming or NLP. NLP is a bit complicated to explain so I thought I'd quote Wikipedia for a brief definition.

NLP is an interpersonal communications model and an alternative approach to psychotherapy based on the subjective study of language, communication and personal change.

It sounds complicated but the Wikipedia entry does a fairly decent job in explaining the very basics of the concept. This is my second read of this book as it's quite fascinating, a bit complicated and a lot to absorb.



Lastly there's Sensual Woman: An Exploration of the True Meaning and Value of Sexuality. You thought I wasn't going to mention anything sexy, didn't you? ;) I have only pulled this one out to start reading it so I can't really say much about it. Amazon.com says the book

explores the history of sensuality and how it can be seen in great women of the past, including those portrayed in myth and legend, and how today's generation can, if willing, recover the lost benefits of true sensuality.

Someone sent this to me as a gift and since it looked interesting I thought I'd give it a read.