Social life around books

In posts to come, I will write about books that are currently on my mind and my reading list. But first: a bit about the process of discussing books on the web.

Over the last couple of years, I've used various websites that let you record books that you own or read and what you think of those books: LibraryThing, goodreads, Visual Bookshelf (a Facebook application), and Shelfari This selection of sites doesn't even include my Amazon wishlist ("Stuff I find interesting"), a WorldCat "Stuff I find interesting" list, my Google Books "My Library", and other lists I must have forgotten about. Some of these lists I use actively, while joining (in response to a friend's request) has been the only activity I've performed.

I've been intrigued by book-oriented social network services for some time now, but none of them has won me over. I explained my reluctance to adopt these services on p. 238 of my mashup book:

One thing that keeps me from investing too heavily in these sites is the struggle of how to move my book data in and out of any of these sites. For any given site, I look for APIs that help in that regard as well as any feeds that might allow users to easily import and export data.

In other words, I'd like to use any website of choice and have my information show up on all of them. I'd even be willing to program such information exchange (that's where the APIs come in.)

When I write about books, I have a choice about where to write -- on this blog or on one of the book social network services, or in a traditional print publication (among others). I will try to write in a lot of places and see what happens.

Taking First Steps in the Right Direction

First thing yesterday morning, I took a 2 mile stroll around my neighborhood. I used to go for long walks all the time but had settled into a rather sedentary lifestyle while writing my book. I had certainly thought often about how to get in better shape.

Yesterday morning, without all my plans in place, I decided to pause the planning and just walk! Lesson for myself: taking a simple action in the direction in which I want to go is more effective than continued planning. (I don't have to convince myself that some planning is important but I'm much more likely to over-cogitate than to under-think situations.)

Where to recycle compact fluorescent bulbs?

Yesterday morning, as I was cleaning up my desk, I came across some compact fluorescent tubes that I needed to properly dispose. I had to do a bit of web research to figure out where I could bring both these bulbs and also batteries. A directory at the Ecology Center points to IKEA as well as the Berkeley Recycling Center (see also Berkeley Energy Office). Moreover, Home Depot just started to accept compact fluorescent bulbs (as reported in the Times today: Home Depot Offers Recycling for Compact Fluorescent Bulbs)

James Wood on the problem of evil

I enjoyed reading James Wood's essay on the problem of evil in the New Yorker. He captured well at the end of the essay a question I've had for a long time, namely, why do we have go through life on earth when we have heaven as the ultimate destination? If it's the exercise of human free will that enables evil to take hold on earth, how will heaven not be earth redux in which freedom will lead again to a fall? And if heaven is some special place in which freedom is fully consonant with the impossibility of human evil, then why does God put us on earth in the first place? Or maybe we won't be truly free in heaven at all.

I've never seen a satisfactory answer to the question that Wood poses. The essay made me think that it would be a great idea for New College Berkeley or my church First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley to host a class -- or at least a talk -- on the topic.

Pittsburgh might shrink but it won’t disappear!

As Deaths Outpace Births, Cities Adjust - New York Times:

    While natural decrease occurred in many Southern cities that were magnets for retirees, the overall population was replenished by the influx of younger migrants. But in Pittsburgh and other places outside the South, not only has the population aged in place, but also, to a lesser extent, the very old — often disabled and widowed — have returned to spend their last years with children and grandchildren and avail themselves of better medical treatment and transportation.

Hmmm....I don't think Pittsburgh will shrink to nothing though.

FRONTLINE on Darfur

I enjoy watching online episodes of the PBS series FRONTLINE. Yesterday, I started viewing FRONTLINE: on our watch:

    The world vowed "never again" after the genocide in Rwanda and the atrocities in Srebrenica, Bosnia. Then came Darfur. Over the past four years, at least 200,000 people have been killed, 2.5 million driven from their homes, and mass rape has been used as a weapon in a brutal campaign supported by the Sudanese government. In On Our Watch, FRONTLINE asks why the United Nations and its members once again failed to stop the slaughter.

The program prompted me to revisit Save Darfur's Take Action section. I also discovered a source of analysis that I hadn't known about concerning Darfur and Sudan: sudanreeves.org :: Sudan Research, Analysis, and Advocacy by Eric Reeves, an English professor who has devoted the last nine years researching and writing about Sudan. I took a small action today by signing my name to an email urging President Bush to take some immediate action. I hope that it will make some difference, even a small one, in bringing justice and peace to the region.

Clouds from plane level



Clouds from plane level, originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

On the plane ride back from Pittsburgh, I learned to literally stare off into the clouds. I struggled with some boring moments but quickly settled in watching some rather amazing patterns take shape. Wow -- clouds form and dissolve all the time all over the world, and I was barely aware of this process.

green beans and pot stickers



green beans and pot stickers, originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

One of the great things about Trader Joe's food is how you get create (or maybe I should say assemble) a good tasting and nutritious meals in minutes. A few days ago, I microwaved the pre-washed green beans for five minutes and pan fried some Thai potstickers.