Ahira's Hangar

Baking Cakes in Kigali, a novel by African writer Gailie Parkin. Just started it, but it is very good thus far. It is a about a Tanzanian baker who has settled in Rwanda six years after the genocide (her husband has been hired by the new university in the capital city).

Just finishing up with Harris' Hannibal Rising.

--A

The Wild Blue by Steven Ambrose, a history of American bomber pilots and crews over Europe during WW2.

I've been reading lots of manga lately. If anyone want to discuss let me know and maybe we'll start a new thread?

Additionally, I'm reading a new book about how Japanese pop culture might conquer the world or maybe just the U.S., , it's not a particularly scholarly nor deep book on the topic, as the webpage says it's like a Wired article and that magazine is usually about as deep as People. But the book has alot of interesting interviews and tidbits. One of the books interesting points is he bookends the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the Sept. 11 attacks as events similar enough to cause the elements that made manga and anime king in Japan to cause it to take over the U.S. pop culture scene.

Sorry, taras, that link to Japanamerica isn't working for me. But it sounds fascinating. Unfortunately, I've never read any manga. I am familiar with anime - though not in all its variations.

As to the possibility that Japanese pop culture might conquer the world, well...maybe. I'd have to see the arguments. Certainly, Japan has been a dominant force in shaping the style and content of, say, video gaming, which I understand is now a multi-billion dollar industry rivalling Hollywood. I'm also aware that Japanese cinema itself has had a growing influence on Hollywood movies over the years. But conquer? I know of only one country - the USA - whose culture could be said to have conquered the world (for good or bad).

FYI, fixed link.

Thanks! That book might be worth browsing through if I see it at the library.

Per Esmer's suggestion, I'm reading A Sorcerer's Crossing: A Woman's Journey by Taisha Abelar.
I haven't read non-fiction in a long time; I'm already on the first renewal and am barely 50 pages in.
But, there is a lot to contemplate on as a I read, so I expect it to be slow going...

A high school classmate of mine who found me on Facebook also sent me a public domain Word file of the Tao Te Ching. When I'll find the time to read and process through that, I don't know...

Reading "The Dragon Keeper " by Robin Hobb a fairly new book just released in the summer. I like Robin Hobbs books .

Trying not to sound like a huge JERK, BUT doesn't Robin Hobb (AKA Megan Lindholm) belong in "What Fantasy your reading" thread in Fantasy forum?

To personally celebrate the release of the remastered Beatles, besides listening to all the CDs, I'm reading a book called Tell Me Why by Tim Riley. It examines the Beatles through their music, album by album, song by song. So it's not a straight biography of the band, of which there are already many. (I'll get to those in due course.)

The Sacred Hoop by Paula Gunn Allen. The subtitle is, "Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions". I found it at the used bookstore awhile back and am finally getting around to it. I've read another book by Allen, called Grandmothers of the Light, which was pretty good. I think The Sacred Hoop was published first, but I'm not sure. Anyhow, it's pretty good. I've got a couple of other Native American-themed books waiting for me when I'm done with this one.