My Life With Books

This is a list of my relationship with books, based on a questionnaire at my other blog.

1. TOTAL NUMBER OF BOOKS I’VE OWNED: It’s in the thousands. Each time I’ve moved during my adult life, I manage to thin out my collection and get rid of some. Then I get more. Main topics: Art, psychology, writing, spirituality, philosophy, science fiction. I pass them along to others, loan the really good ones out, and keep the ones I refer to often. There are a few classics that I always keep: The Complete Pelican Shakespeare, The Phantom Tollbooth and A Wrinkle In Time (wonderful adult books disguised as childrens books), The People’s Almanac by David Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace, Womens Bodies, Women’s Wisdom by Dr. Christiane Northrop, Writing Well by Donald Hall, The Joy of Signing (basic sign language textbook), The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell, Hands of Light by Barbara Brennan, The I-Ching.

2. LAST BOOK I BOUGHT: CranioSacral Biodynamics by Franklyn Sills. This is a text book for students of CranioSacral Therapy, but has some excellent reading on awareness. My husband just bought two great books, a few days ago, and they are next on my list. They are: The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles by Bruce Lipton, and also God Without Religion: Questioning Centuries of Accepted Truths by Sankara Saranam.

3. LAST BOOK I COMPLETED: I re-read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkein. They are so much fun!

4. FIVE BOOKS THAT MEAN A LOT TO ME:

Book 1. The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People are Changing The World by Paul H. Ray, Ph.D. and Sherry Ruth Anderson, Ph.D. The website: www.culturalcreatives.org For 13 years this couple of psychologists interviewed 100,000 Americans and conducted 100 focus groups to determine the types of people in this country. The Traditionals and The Moderns are easily seen, but the Cultural Creatives are not so obvious. Here is a summary of what they discovered about this hidden category: “The Cultural Creatives care deeply about ecology and saving the planet, about relationships, peace, social justice, and about self actualization, spirituality and self-expression. Surprisingly, they are both inner-directed and socially concerned, they're activists, volunteers and contributors to good causes more than other Americans. However, because they've been so invisible in American life, Cultural Creatives themselves are astonished to find out how many share both their values and their way of life. Once they realize their numbers, their impact on American life promises to be enormous, shaping a new agenda for the twenty-first century.” This book can give hope to people who feel alone in this society.

Book 2. The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell. This is one of the treasures in my book collection. Joseph Campbell pours his heart and soul into describing the religions and philosophies of the world, and how they all fit together. His life’s work comes together into an enlightening tapestry, during this series of Bill Moyers interviews conducted over the last year of Campbell’s life. His passion brings history to life in a new and inspiring and personal way.

Book 3. Seven Arrows by Hyemeyohsts Storm These are American Indian teaching stories that speak to the reader on many levels at once. There is an endless stream of wisdom flowing throughout this book. No matter how many times I read the stories, I get some new understanding each time. The stories are utterly unlike anything our non-native society is accustomed to.

Book 4. Ishmael and My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. I can’t express strongly enough how much I think these two books hold the power to turn a person inside out and come to know their place in the world in a different way. Daniel Quinn brings together cutting-edge ideas from a wide spectrum of sciences, and suddenly the history of humanity has new meaning. Amazing.

Book 5. Siddhartha and Journey To The East by Hermann Hesse. When I was 17 I read these two books, and was blasted into a new awareness of my ability to transform myself into a more worthwhile person, based on my own values.

5.WHAT I AM CURRENTLY READING: Power vs. Force : The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior by David Hawkins, MD, PhD. Almost done with it!