god is not great how religion poisons everything

chapter seven: revelation:  the nightmare of the old testament

This chapter, and to a certain extent, the entire book, is written for an audience with an understanding of religions, particularly Christianity.  This book discusses and argues a number of events cited in the holy books. If the reader does not have a current, basic understanding of the event through past readings or bible study, it is like reading gibberish, let alone the ability to enable any critical thinking.  If one chooses to read this book, I would suggest an understanding of the main religions, holy books and events of the world as a mandatory requirement to make the best of what the book offers.  On that note, how did I expect to analyze and critique a book that claims "religion poisons everything" without an understanding of religions other than Islam.  I expected a practical comparison of a life of faith versus a moral life that is not necessarily rooted in faith. I was searching for something and thought I found it in this book.  I think my main lesson from this book is my limited knowledge of religion. So, I embarked on a brief internet search for information on the Old Testament, as this was the subject matter of this chapter, and realized that it will be worthwhile to read the content of these books, eventually.  Most probably by way of a condensed version, for the sake of knowledge but more so for the understanding of where believers are coming from and the motivation for their faith.  In what does their faith lie?  Where is it rooted?  How are the events and teachings of the bible so convincing that they live their one life on earth according to it - and credit their self made productions, and successes in life to God and define them as blessings?

Having said that, this chapter is about the Old Testament and attempts to expose various event and verses as evil. Such as the treatment of women and slaves.

In order to grasp a deeper understanding, I had to conduct my own study on the Old Testament itself.  Here is what I learned:

The Bible as used by Christians is divided into the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The Old Testament has 39 books in total, which consist of:
Pentateuch - 5 books
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

Historical Books - 12 books
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, First Samuel, Second Samuel, First Kings, Second Kings,
First Chronicles, Second Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther.

Poetic books- 5 books
Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

Prophetic books- 17 books
Major Prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel
Minor Prophets - Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk,
Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.

Below is a list of the books with a brief description of their contents.

Pentateuch

1. Genesis - Creation, the Fall, the Flood, spread of the nations, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Enslavement in Egypt.
2. Exodus - Enslavement, Moses, 10 plagues, Passover, Leave Egypt, Red Sea Crossing, Mt. Sinai and the 10 Commandments
3. Leviticus - Instructions on sacrificial system and the priesthood. Instructions on moral purity.
4. Numbers - Still at Mt. Sinai, people make false idol, punishment, 40 years wandering begins.
5. Deuteronomy - Moses' discourses on God's Acts for Israel the Decalogue, the ceremonial, civil, and social Laws, and covenant ratification.

Historical Books

1. Joshua - First half of Joshua describes the 7-year conquest of the Land of Promise. The last half deals with partitioning the lands to the people.
2. Judges - Time of Judges.  This was a bad time period.  The Israelites did not drive out all the inhabitants of Canaan and began to take part in their idolatry.  7 cycles of foreign oppression, repentance, and deliverance.  In the end, the people failed to learn their lesson.
3. Ruth - Kinsman redeemer in Boaz, redeeming Ruth, a Moabitess.  Speaks of righteousness, love, and faithfulness to the Lord.

The next 6 books trace the time from Samuel to the Captivity

1. First Samuel - Samuel carries Israel from judges to King Saul
2. Second Samuel - David as King, adultery, and murder.
3. First Kings - Solomon, Israel is powerful. Solomon dies, then division of tribes: 10 to the north and 2 to the south.
4. Second Kings - The Divided Kingdom.  All 19 kings of Israel were bad; therefore, captivity in Assyria (722 B.C.). In Judah, 8 of 20 rulers were good but went into exile too.
5. First Chronicles - A recounting of the history of Israel to the time of Solomon.
6. Second Chronicles - continued recounting of the life of Solomon, building of temple, to the captivity.  History of Judah only.

The Next 3 books deal with Israel's Restoration.

1. Ezra - Cyrus let most of the Jews return to their land of Israel.  Zerubbabel led the people (539 B.C.).  Ezra returned later with more Jews (458 B.C.) Built the temple.
2. Nehemiah - Building the walls of Jerusalem.  Nehemiah got permission from the king of Persia to rebuild the walls (444 B.C.).  Revival in the land.
3. Esther - Took place during chapters 6 and 7 of Ezra. Mordecai.  Plot to kill the Jewish people.

Poetical 

1. Job - a righteous man tested by God.  Deals with God's sovereignty.
2. Psalms - Consists of 5 divisions.  Worship in song.  Large variety of subjects
3. Proverbs - Practical wisdom in everyday affairs.
4. Ecclesiastes - All is vanity.  The wisdom of man is futility.
5. Song of Solomon - A song between Solomon and his Shulammite bride, displaying the love between a man and a woman.

Prophetical

Major Prophets

1. Isaiah - Looks at the sin of Judah and proclaims God's judgment.  Hezekiah.  Coming restoration and blessing.
2. Jeremiah - Called by God to proclaim the news of judgment to Judah, which came.  God establishes a New Covenant.
3. Lamentations - 5 lament poems.  Description of defeat and fall of Jerusalem.
4. Ezekiel - He ministered to the Jews in Captivity in Babylon.  Description of the end of times.
5. Daniel - Many visions of the future for the Gentiles and the Jews.

Minor Prophets

1. Hosea - Story of Hosea and his unfaithful wife, Gomer.  Represents God's love and faithfulness and Israel's spiritual adultery.  Israel will be judged and restored.
2. Joel - Proclaims a terrifying future using the imagery of locusts.  Judgment will come but blessing will follow.
3. Amos - He warned Israel of its coming judgment. Israel rejects God's warning.
4. Obadiah - A proclamation against Edom, a neighboring nation of Israel that gloated over Jerusalem's judgments.  Prophecy of its utter destruction.
5. Jonah - Jonah proclaims a coming judgment upon Nineveh's people.  But they repented and judgment was spared.
6. Micah - Description of the complete moral decay in all levels of Israel.  God will judge but will forgive and restore.
7. Nahum - Nineveh has gone into apostasy (approx. 125 years after Jonah) and will be destroyed.
8. Habakkuk - Near the end of the kingdom of Judah, Habakkuk asks God why He is not dealing with Judah's sins.  God says He will use the Babylonians.  Habakkuk asks how God can use a nation that is even worse than Judah.
9. Zephaniah - The theme is developed of the Day of the Lord and His judgment with a coming blessing.  Judah will not repent, except for a remnant, which will be restored.
10. Haggai - The people failed to put God first, by building their houses before they finished God's temple.  Therefore, they had no prosperity.
11. Zechariah - Zechariah encourages the Jews to complete the temple.  Many messianic prophecies.
12. Malachi. - God's people are lax in their duty to God. Growing distant from God.  Moral compromise.  Proclamation of coming judgment.

Retrieved from:  http://www.carm.org/christianity/bible/old-testament-books

god is not great how religion poisons everything

chapter 6: Arguments from Design
This chapter is about evolution & natural selection versus creationism.  Facts from history are provided to support evolution, survival of the fittest rather than instant creation of a species.  The point is made that religion may have come first, but now science and knowledge has caught up and provide reasons and evidence for the way things are.

the count of monte cristo

This book is pretty amazing.  The writing is incredible - I get lifted away as I read and I feel like I am this invisible observer watching the story unfold.  I am at a section of the book right now that is a little difficult to digest because I don't quite understand it.  Here's what's happening - Dantes, who was my hero of the book, (this seems to be slipping away), seems to have slipped from reality and has built an underground, wonderous orient excape on the Island of Monte Cristo. He has hired a dumb servant who had his tongue cut off for going beyond his "rights"; Dantes saved him (in a way) and he now lives in the underground with Dante.  Dante calls himself Sinbad the Sailor.  It seems as though he has travelled through the middle east and has collected all of the keepsakes from various countries and has decorated his underground home with them, concealled from everyone except for those he invites in.  He has invited people in (blindfolded) and has spent evenings with them talking and smoking hashish and when his visitors leave, they are left with such curiosity about this man and his home.  They try to find the entrance to the cave but can't - they search for it, for the opening to this underground world, but are continually unsuccessful.  Sinbad the Sailor has become almost like a living legend.

Did his years in captivity catch up to him?  There is much left to read...stay tuned

god is not great how religion poisons everything

chapter 4
Here's the opening quote for thought:

In dark ages people are best guided by religion, as in a pitch-black night a blind man is the best guide; he knows the roads and paths better than a man who can see.  When daylight comes, however, it is foolish to use blind old men as guides.
 ~Heinrich Heine, Gedanken und Einfalle

god is not great how religion poisons everything

chapters 2 & 3
well this is a struggle.  a tough read - am I absorbing any of this?  I don't feel like he is tying his points together at all or am I just distracted tonight?  Somewhere in each chapter, usually towards the end, he'll say and that's how "religion poisons everything".  How does it?? I thought the book would be written more from a philosophical stance, but seeing that he is a journalist, perhaps this was the wrong assumption.  Okay, it was the wrong assumption, I am realizing this as I am typing this.  He provides examples from the places that he has been, factual experiences he has had and information about religions and religious leaders to illuminate how religion complicates things and instigates violence and hatred but as I said he needs to draw it together at the end...so what I am saying is....WHAT?? I find myself trying to draw my own conclusions; piece it all together in my mind.  And yes, that is what a journalist does - presents the facts and we are left to our own devices to judge. He mentions places, religions, people I have never heard of which leads to further difficulty in understanding.  Just a little description would help!  And the vocab -  apostate, gallantry, suppurating??? come again...

Must work on my vocab!

god is not great how religion poisons everything

As I am reading the Count, I will continue to infuse my reading with a little non-fiction.  So I have started God is not Great.  The title caught my attention, and I am interested to hear Hitchen's point of view.  I have read the first chapter, and this journalist is speaking from knowledge.  He has experienced religion, grew up with it and had questions and doubts that filled his mind, even as a young one so he started to learn and enlighten himself and not just about religion.

I have yet to learn why he thinks Religion Poisons Everything.

the count of monte cristo

DANTE'S HAS ESCAPED FROM PRISON!!! He was imprsioned in a dark dungeon for 14 years as an innocent man.  His mentor the abbe Faria just died, he had his third fatal seizure as predicted, and now Dantes has lost his dear friend, who was like a father to him.

I finally understand where the title of the book came from.  Bear with me.  So the abbe kept rambling on to the jailers that there was hidden treasure, millions and they assumed he had gone mad and would just laugh at him.  The fact was that he was the most lucid of them all.  At the time of his arrest, he was the secretary to Count Spada.  The Spada's were a well known, wealthy family and had a long history.  However, this wealth was never seen after the earliest, original Spada.  The abbe Faria searched through the family books and papers and after years, after the last Spada died, unraveled the mystery of the hidden treasure on the Island of MONTE CRISTO.

the 7 habits of highly effective people - last entry

I wanted to comment on the last two habits...in case I left any of my readers in suspense.  That was a joke because I don't have any readers!

Habit 6:  Synergize
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  Remember this is under the "Interdependent" section.  Covey talks about synergy in communication, the classroom and business.

Love this quote:  "We seek not to imitate the masters, rather we seek what they sought."

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

This is the most important habit.  It is about "preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have - YOU!"  So many excuses as to why we ignore our own health.

I try to relay this message to people I care about, but they don't seem to listen.  Let's try it in Covey's words:

"This is the single most important investment we can make in life - in ourselves, in the only instrument we have with which to deal with life and to contribute.  We are the instruments of our own performance, and to be effective, we need to recognize the importance of taking time regularly to sharpen the saw in physical, mental, spiritual and social/emotional ways."

There is much substance to this book that I feel like I need to re-read it now that I have given it a once over.  But will give it a rest and pass it on to someone else...just for a little while as this is a keeper!

Well, that's it for the 7 habits.  I won't forget you! And promise to revisit you regularly throughout my life.  Thank you for reconfirming what "to live", "productive" and "meaningful" means.

Book 3 Complete: the 7 habits of highly effective people

So I finished the 7 Habits last night.  It was really good. Very powerful.  Lasting effects.  It is one of those books that you keep for a life time and refer to every now and then to keep you on your toes!! IF YOU BUY INTO THIS WAY OF LIFE. 

For me, it is also about hope.  Hope for individuals and the world.

Here's a quote from my sister, "yeah if you apply it to your life, useless if you don't...". 
She is right.  But even awareness of this way of living may plant a seed of a different tree. 

the 7 habits of highly effective people - part 14

Habit 5:  Seek First to Understand then to be Understood
Wow! This section of listening is enlightening.  It sheds new light on past situations and offers a key to unravelling an individual.

How often do you feel as though you are battling with someone although you are both wanting the same outcome?

Without trust, we may feel and think one thing, but communicate something else. Hah!

the 7 habits of highly effective people - part 13

Habit 5:  Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
The name of the habit explains this one.  It starts with explaining the importance of listening, empathic listening.  I love this book because it throws out all the past jargon of listening skills and exposes them in the reality of what it does.  People can see right through it.  Either you are genuinely listening or you're not.

This book can be useful in so many areas of life.  Having relationship issues?  Try empathic listening - it is a BIG deposit in the emotional bank account.  It gives a person "psychological air".  Covey compares it to the air we breath, if suddenly all the air was sucked out of the room, you would strive for nothing else but to get air - survival would be your only motivation.

Similarly, the greatest need (next to physical survival) of a human being is psychological survival - to be understood, to be affirmed, to be validated, to be appreciated. AFTER THAT VITAL NEED IS MET, YOU CAN THEN FOCUS ON PROBLEM SOLVING. When the bank account is healthy.

So true.

"This need for psychological air impacts communication in every area of life."

Are you listening??

the 7 habits of highly effective people - part 12

Habit 4:  Think Win/Win
Covey talks about 6 paradigms of human interaction:

1. Win/Win
2. Win/Lose
3. Lose/Win
4. Lose/Lose
5. Win
6. Win/Win or No Deal

So which one is the best?  Yes, Win/Win (although it may not be appropriate in all cases). "Win/Win is a frame of mind and heart that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions".  It is the hardest way but it is the courageous and considerate way.

There are so many sound concepts in this chapter; you have to read it to achieve the essence.  Read it.

the 7 habits of highly effective people - part 11

Habit 4: Think Win/Win
I have entered into Interdependence!  The seven habits move from dependence, which is about private victory, to independence, once you have mastered private victory, and arrives at interdependence, public victory.

This chapter, like all the chapters, covers many concepts, one of them being the Emotional Bank Account.  This can apply to any type of relationship.  It is an analogy to an actual bank account and considers deposits and withdrawals.  There are six major deposits:

1.  Understanding the individual
2.  Attending to the LITTLE THINGS.  I couldn't help myself in capitalizing this because I felt like it needed further emphasis for anyone who may be reading my blog.
3. Keeping commitments
4. Clarifying expectations
5. Showing personal integrity
6. Apologizing sincerely when you make a withdrawal

Oh the world would be such a happier place if we all did this.

the 7 habits of highly effective people - part 10

Habit 3 - Put First Things First

To recap the habits thus far:

Habit 1: Identifying that you are in charge
Habit 2: Envisioning the potential
Habit 3: Actualization through independent will

Habit 3 is putting habit 1 & 2 into action!  I have to define integrity here because so many say they value integrity.  How does one value, offer or recognize integrity, if they don't practice it?

"Integrity is, fundamentally, the value we place on ourselves.  It's our ability to make and keep commitments to ourselves.  Honor to ourselves."

To take this one step further, integrity doesn't exist if the self hasn't been mastered.

Be a function of your values rather than a function of the impulse or desire of any given moment.

The chapters get detailed with graphic matrix examples and so on but Habit 3 is about being an effective time manager and discusses what we should focus our time on for it to serve us in the long run - 'important, non urgent" tasks.  It talks about how to say no, delegation of tasks and provides a weekly schedule that allows one to live a principle centered, effective life based on values and goals. This takes discipline.

the count of monte cristo

I am reading this at the same time as the 7 habits.  I figured a little variety is good.  The Count is excellent.  I have oh, let`s see, 1100 pages to go but I have finally sunk my teeth into it.  In just 150 pages, Dantes (the main character) has been in prison for 4 years (and wrongfully so) and Napoleon has taken over King Louis VIII for 100 days and then there was the Restoration.  How does an author accomplish so much so well in 150 pages. It is set in France in the 1800`s. Dantes father has died while he is rotting in a dungeon of darkness.  This was heartbreaking.


This is really good.  Really, really, good. Here is a line that make you think about life; about our own conclusions we draw when faced with a challenge. "The young man had never thought about escape.  There are things that seem so impossible that one instinctively avoids them and doesn`t even consider attempting them."

Yet it was possible all along.

the 7 habits of highly effective people - part 9

Habit 3 - Put First Things First
This concept like most of Covey's concepts are accurate.  This is about managing our time efficiently; the principles of personal management.  He offers a new fourth generation weekly planner that is principle centered and I am going to try it.  It is a step beyond "to do" lists and daily schedulers.  If I have peaked your interest at all in this book, he provides a sample template on page 180 of his creation of a weekly scheduler.  Check it out!  It may look intimidating but it has made a "quantum positive difference" in peoples lives.  I'll let you know how my leap goes!

More on Habit 3 to come...

the 7 habits of highly effective people - part 8

Habit 3 - Put First Things First
I would just like to quote a passage:

Many people seem to think that success in one area can compensate for failure in other areas of life. But can it really? Perhaps it can for a limited time in some areas. But can success in your profession compensate for a broken marriage, ruined health, or weakness in personal character? True effectiveness requires balance, and your tool needs to help you create and maintain it.

the 7 habits of highly effective people - part 7

Habit 2 - Begin with the End in Mind
Covey talks about writing and abiding by mission statements.  Mission statements can apply to your personal life, your family or an organization.  The important thing is if the mission statement applies to more than one person that each and everyone has input in creating the mission statement, if not:

"When people become more mature and their own lives take on a separate meaning, they want involvement, significant involvement.  And if they don't have that involvement, they don't buy it.  Then you have a significant motivational problem which cannot be solved at the same level of thinking that created it."

I just say - the people call your bluff!  You who are directing, do you abide by correct principles or those that the mission statement is based on? Why would you expect your staff to?

Here is an excerpt from a sample mission statement. This mission statement used life roles and goals as a guide.

"My mission is to live with integrity and to make a difference in the lives of others.
To fulfill this mission:
I am impactful:  What I do makes a difference in the lives of others....
...These roles take priority in achieving my mission:

Husband:  my partner is the most important person in my life.  Together we contribute the fruits of harmony, industry, charity, and thrift..."

Your mission statement will be reviewed regularly and perhaps minor changes made as you have insights or changing circumstances over the years; however:

Fundamentally, your mission statement becomes your constitution, the solid expression of your vision and values.  It becomes the criterion by which you measure everything else in your life.

the 7 habits of highly effective people - part 6

Habit 2 - Begin with the End in Mind

We all need some frame of reference to base our decisions on.  If nothing else, then why not consider the end of your life? How do you see that? What are your accomplishments?

Are the things you are doing today and tomorrow contributing to that end goal?

the 7 habits of highly effective people - part 5

Habit 1 - Be Proactive

Where do we focus our time and energy?
We have a Circle of Influence (things we can do something about) and a Circle of Concern (out of our control).

Do you know someone like this:
"Their focus results in blaming and accusing attitudes, reactive language, and increased feelings of victimization.  The negative energy generated by that focus, combined with neglect in areas they could do something about, causes their Circle of Influence to shrink."

This is a reactive person who focuses in the Circle of Concern.

the 7 habits of highly effective people - part 4

Here's a concept:

1. The P/PC Balance
The P stands for Production of desired results and PC stands for production capability,the ability or asset that produces.  The jist of this is that if you neglect the PC, the P will falter and eventually fail. For example, if I want a well maintained home (P), I need to clean my house regularly (PC). I think we all get this but why don't we all do it?

the 7 habits of highly effective people - part 3

Habit  1 - Be Proactive

The concepts in this book aren't new.  Most of us have heard them before.  This book is for those who are really willing to put in the hard work to develop a strong foundation of principles to govern their life. Who continues through life driven by their feelings?  You are then called a reactive person.  Does your life feel out of control?

The proactive model is the idea that we have the freedom to choose our response once the stimulus has hit.  Freedom to choose through self-awareness, imagination, conscience and independent will.  Doesn't just the sound of this make you feel strong?

I will echo Covey in his definition of Proactivity.  It is more than taking initiative. It means:

• we are responsible for our own lives
• our behavior is a function our our decisions not our conditions
• we can subordinate feelings to values

WE HAVE THE INITIATIVE AND RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN.

the 7 habits of highly effective people - part 2

I would never have read this book were it not for a large cardboard box full of books that my sister was throwing away.  this one just happened to be in it and I thought I would give it a chance.

The first chapter is called 'inside out" and it has touched on some topics that I agree with.  The author, Covey, explains two trends he identified amongst success literature over the past 200 years. Personality Ethics and Character Ethics.  Character Ethics refers to the basic principles of effective living such as integrity and fidelity.  It states that people can only experience true success and enduring happiness as they learn and integrate these principles into their basic character. This encompassed 150 years of the 200 years of success literature that Covey studied. The last 50 years developed into Personality Ethics, he refers to it as being on a more superficial level. Success became more a function of personality, of public image, of attitudes and behaviors.  Take this passage for example:

If I try to use human influence strategies and tactics of how to get other people to do what I want, to work better, to be more motivated, to like me and each other - while my character is fundamentally flawed, marked by duplicity and insincerity - then, in the long run, I cannot be successful.  My duplicity will breed distrust, and everything I do - even using so-called good human relations techniques - will be perceived as manipulative.  It simply makes no difference how good the intentions are; if there is little or no trust, there is no foundation for permanent success.  Only basic goodness gives life to technique.

Do we all grasp the essence of this passage.

the 7 habits of highly effective people

I like this book already and I am only in the foreward.  Here are some quotes to start us off:

I am the creative force in my life.

Balance and peace of mind follow the person who develops a clear sense of his or her highest priorities and who lives with focus and integrity toward them.

book 2 complete: Wuthering Heights

Dare I speak of a 19th century classic with hatred? Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte, is cruel and twisted.  Filled with hatred, jealousy, emotional immaturity, death, sickness and darkness.  Need I go on?

The story is set in Northern England and the silliness occurs in two houses -  Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. The inhabitants of these two households become entwined and spew evil for two generations until the two good natured heirs outlive them all and eventually wed.  You'd think this would leave one with a blissful feeling as the book ends, but not me.  I was left asking:  what's the point?

It was a risky and shocking publish for the 19th Century by an unknown female author.  What similarities were their to the authors own life ?Most of the story is relayed through third person, either from the housekeeper, Nelly, who lived through two generations of these families or through Mr. Lockwood who arrived at Wuthering Heights as a Tenant after all was said and done.  Nelly starts in on the history of Wuthering Heights to Mr. Lockwood and so the story begins.

The development of the different characters and their motives are complicated and confusing at times.  Possessive love and irrational behavior is what governs their motives.

I like the formal dialogue of how the characters address each other. No matter how stern it actually is, it still has a nice ring to it.  "I'll make up my mind on that point by to-morrow.  It requires some study and so I''ll leave you to your rest and go think it over."  However, the slang, english dilaect that the house servants use is incomprehensible and is distracting to me as the reader.  I actually skip right over it because I don't know what it means!  "It's flair flaysome ut yah, let 'em goa on this gait..." Pardon me?

I have completed this book and will be selling it; too dark to keep in my house.  Any buyers??

book 1 complete - garden of the brave in war

I felt sad as this book ended.  It was as though the old life that O'Donnell found and fell in love was disappearing.  I couldn't help but ask what was left in America for him?  The richness that he had experienced in Iran could not be replaced.  He arrived in Iran in 1960 and stayed throughout 1970 and in this book he relayed the true essence of Iranians and the culture and avoided politics.  He feels as a foreigner it was not of his concern, politics that is. The old life he experienced was within the farm where he stayed, the places he traveled and the people he met. I have a new appreciation for the meaning of the simple life - consider living in the country with orchards and pomegranates.  Consider the diffence in the types of people and what they are trying to accomplish each day if they were living on a farm versus living in the city.  In the old life, you farmed (there are many more lines of work in the country), traveled, met a friend, accepted their invitation to their home, exchanged pleasantries and stories, some true some false, laughed, ate, stayed the night, and then parted with a gift. He made friends wherever he ventured - his travels were to shrines, tribes, Princes quarters, hunting expeditions and a waterfall. The friendships were based on a common interest or good entertainment through stories, jokes, women or opium.

I have learned that Iran has many shrines and they are mostly of poets as the Iranians are passionate about poetry.  People visit these shrines for many reasons, to repent, pay respect, etc...

He left after over a decade because the owner of the farm was going to sub-divide the land and renovate the house stripping him of all he fell in love with.  His friends gathered on his last day and they reminisced.  The experiences he had with these people were so unique.  One such instance was befriending a Prince who had a bullet lodged in his lung and whom had 5 different parties at his house at one time, all the time, each party held different groups of people. The Prince didn't believe in mixing the groups - the kinsmen wouldn't mix with the riffraff and so on.

O'Donnell delved into this new place and it became his home. The stance he takes on Iran is as an Iranian and not a foreigner.

revised schedule

I have revised my blogging schedule.  Why?  Because I just may not have anything to say after each read. I have to make my posts count rather than just posting for the sake of posting.  And, I have to keep this exciting and interesting!

Here is the new and improved schedule:

Blogging Schedule
I will blog at least five times per week.

half read books: garden of the brave in war

The full title is actually Garden of the Brave in War, Recollections of Iran. This is what it is - recollections of an Americans experiences while in Iran, written in journal form.  He writes clearly and factually.  Not to mention explicitly and with humor, some sections too explicit for me.

He grasps and relays the character of an Iranian as passionate, hospitable, envious and hypocritical.  I will site a passage later on to show this.

This talk of Iran, Iranians, and religion seems so foreign to me yet very familiar at the same time. The mourning of the religious months, the slapping of the chests and the wailing of the women over the suffering and death of the grandson of the Prophet. Am I in the mosque again? The book recalls this religious mourning month just as I remember it, different setting but same sensation.  What is going on??

Already three quarters through the book, it's intriguing to me that a foreigner continues to be drawn to this way of life - wrapped in superstition, robbery and religion.  Why did he stay for ten years?  It is alluring the way he talks about his encounters with people. No matter who he comes across, he is their guest and they have an offering and he must accept, and now they are friends.

But, I sense a loneliness at this juncture in his writings.

the mission defined

My mission is to read all of the unread books on my bookshelf in one year and of course to blog about my thoughts, critiques and experiences as the year progresses. I have become inundated with the untapped knowledge sitting on my bookshelf, so enough is enough, it is time to tap in! Just think how much smarter I will be in one year? Okay that was a joke but it is true.

I completed my reading list last night. There were more unread books strewn around my apartment than I thought; 21 unread, 3 half read and 4 action. Actions books are the books that I actually have to be an active participant in - the author and I shall become real close! He or she will be teaching me a new skill. For example, I would like to enhance my creative side so what better way than to awaken the right side of my brain. Or is it the left? I bought a drawing book, and not just one, and they are mocking me from my shelf. Very scary.

here's the schedule:

amount to read
There are a total of 28 books to read in 12 months, this is about 2.5 books a month! Is this reasonable? I'll find out at the end of the year.

reading times
Weekdays: Two hours each evening & half an hour to blog
Weekends: 10 hours each weekend & 2 hours to blog

start date: November 2, 2009
end date: November 2, 2010

let the mission begin!