Larry's Xmas Reading

One of my favorite things about Xmas is receiving numerous reading gifts from my bookish relatives and friends. This Xmas was no different.

I started out reading Snow by Orphan Pamuk (gift from Gail). It is a novel by a Turkish author which describes the rise of radical Islam in rural Turkey. The secular cast of the Turkish government (in the book) surprised me as well as the persecution of political Islamists. According to this author, the rise of this movement is quite controversial, at least in Turkey. There is also much discussion of the pros and cons of living in the West. The poet author describes the lure of the West (in this case, Germany) to those who otherwise have very mixed feelings about its beliefs and lifestyle.

The next book I chose from the pile was a gift from Carolyn, our friend in Chapel Hill: Blood Done Sign My Name by Timothy Tyson. It describes the author's upbringing in Oxford, NC, the son of a minister, during a time of serious racial strife (around 1970). The major event is the murder of a young black man by a notorious local Klansman and two of his relatives. It describes the trial and the amazing acquittal, in spite of overwhelming evidence of guilt, and the subsequent racial rioting. The book hit home, since Gail and I were in Chapel Hill during this turbulent period - full of Vietnam and racial protests.

I next started A Regimental Affair on the train to NYC to visit Matt and Kristy (and their new baby!). Written by Allan Mallinson, it describes the life of a cavalry officer in the post Napoleonic era. After the wars with the French, they undertook domestic peace keeping chores on the home front and then went to Canada to stabilize the border near the Great Lakes. This is a good one for fans of historical fiction (e.g. author Patrick O'Brian).

My goal is to finish my Xmas reading by June. I'm now on to The Beautiful Cigar Girl by Daniel Stashower (gift from Lauren) - more on that later . . .