Sven's Reading List

On the sidebar at the right, I have linked a handful of blogs that, for some reason or another, have caught my interest. I don't want to forget to check in on them once in awhile, so I keep them at the sidebar. I used to have a much longer list but in an effort to shorten the sidebar, I have minimized the "blog list." Two of the blogs are by folks living and working in western North Dakota.

Tonight, I happened to take a bit of time to look at Sven's reading list. The list is very, very eclectic. His list reminds me of my early library of about 30 books that I read during short periods of "temporary duty" to a remote air base in northern England over the course of four years.

I am very, very impressed with Sven's list. There are some challenging books on that list, particularly the Russian novels, that I have in my library. Although I have often wanted to start reading them, I've never had "whatever it takes" to actually get started.

Interestingly, there are some books on Sven's list that are also in my library, and books that I put near the top of my reading list, to include:

• Beowulf (a different translation than the one Sven has)
• The Sagas of the Icelanders (one of my favorites)
• The Sorrows of Young Werther -- Goethe (how this ended up on both our lists, I have no idea)
• Asimov's Guide to the Bible
• The Hidden Reality -- Brian Greene (actually I have a different book by this author)

It is very likely I would not have posted this note had it not been for this book on his list:

• Better Living Through Plastic Explosives – Zsuzsi Gartner

That one caught my interest. I will definitely have to obtain a copy. I hate to pay full price, so I will see if "Half-Price Books" has a copy before ordering from Amazon.com. Check out the reviews at Amazon.com to see what this book is all about.  Something tells me it would fit right in there with the Russian novels, though much shorter and much easier to read.