Good Reads

I was absolutely giddy in the library today.

Last week I was perusing the library's catalog for my next read, and saw that the status on the latest book by my one of my fav authors was "in progress." In progress, hmmm? Well when I checked today, it seems the progressing was complete and it was AVAILABLE. I raced up six flights of stairs (ok, raced up three and panted up three more) - just in case anyone was vying me for this book. But when I got to the shelf....it wasn't there. Greatly saddened, but not defeated, I thought to check the restocking cart. And there (I know the suspense is killing you) was this beauty...

Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna. I am so excited to start this one. But first, I really should finish my current read, The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman. It's been interesting, but nearly 500 pages on economics is about all I need for a while (thus, the complete neglect of the required reading assignments for the economics class I am currently taking).

A few (depressing) snippets I've extracted from The World is Flat relating to the job market I am entering include...

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.

It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.

Every morning a lion wakes up.

It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.

It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle.

When the sun comes up, you better start running.

(Maybe I'll just be a monkey or something. Is that an option?)

and...

"Girls, when I was growing up, my parents used to say to me, 'Tom, finish your dinner - people in China and India are starving.' My advice to you is: Girls, finish your homework - people in China and India are starving for your jobs."

But I like this less depressing excerpt too...

There is a saying in China that whatever you put in your head and your stomach, no one can take away from you.

Well hey, I'm pretty good at loading stuff into at least one of those.