Theos-Talk Archives (December 2002 Message tt00243)

Hello,

Stranded without power yesterday, I did a lot of reading but also 
thinking about books read recently. It used to bother me when I read 
only a couple of books in a month, rather than 3 or 4, but on 
reflection I realized that I average about 800 pages per month and 
how many books is mostly a function of how long they are. Moreover, 
I realized that there is a pretty consistent pattern to what I read, 
a pattern that was not consciously chosen. Still, reading whatever I 
feel like reading next tends to break down consistently:
one book on North Carolina, usually history, sometimes environmental 
or travel books, sometimes fiction, but always with the intention of 
deepening my understanding and appreciation of the immediate world 
around me. (Currently reading a history of the Civil War in coastal 
NC.) One book with a specifically American focus, often social 
science, biography, current events, history. (Just finished The 
Emerging Democratic Majority, an analysis of voting patterns over the 
last four decades.) One that is international or abstract, either 
travel, religion, philosophy, science, but something that transcends 
national or local interest.

The book of international interest this month was one that readers of 
HPB might find of value. It's called Travels with a Tangerine by Tim 
Mackintosh-Smith. The author, a Briton transplanted to Yemen for 
many years, follows the route of Ibn Battutah, a 14th-century world 
traveler whose exploits far exceeded Marco Polo's. He was from 
Tangier, hence the title. The author starts there, and follows his 
historical mentor to Egypt, Syria, Oman, Turkey, and the Crimea. 
Since many of the places visited were also in HPB's travel itinerary, 
anyone who has wondered what those places are like now will find it 
of interest. 

Sometimes I get the impression that no one here is interested in 
reading anything other than Theosophy books over and over, but that 
can't be right. I'm curious as to what other reading interests 
anyone may care to reveal.

Paul