How About a Reading List?

We all have multiple favourites, top-tens that slightly shift in time.

But if you had to choose one book to take with you to Mars, which one would you choose, and why? It’s difficult I know. I was torn between several, but ultimately I chose Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Nora Neale Hurston. My second choice was The Road, by Cormac McCarthy.

The why for me had to do with the tangible and melting tension between reality and fantasy - the resonance of feelings so raw. And because true love, whether between lovers, or fathers and sons, surpasses the most defeating of circumstances.

Yours?

[video:https://youtu.be/fHZ0cqAODeg]

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Centaurea's picture

Boy, I'm in trouble. The airship to Mars would take off without me, and leave me back on Earth still trying to decide which book to take.

Decisions, decisions ...

It could be a lengthy trip to Mars, so I might want some escapist fare to help me forget I'm trapped in a metal tube hurtling through space. A cozy mystery might do it. One of my favorite cozy series is the "Cat in the Stacks" mysteries by Miranda James (pseudonym of writer Dean James), starring a college librarian in Oxford, Mississippi, and his Maine coon sidekick, Diesel.

Having been born and raised in the South, I enjoy the atmosphere and the distinctly Southern characterizations. I find James' books a cut above many cozies, because his stories are written in a literate, realistic style. Well, the protagonist is an academic librarian, living in a college town that's a relatively liberal oasis in north Mississippi.

Or to keep grounded while traveling at warp speed through space, I might bring one of Thích Nhất Hạnh's works. Thay is the Buddhist monk who in 1967 was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. One of my favorite seeds for spiritual practice from Thay is this:

Breathing in, I calm body and mind. 
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment,
I know this is the only moment.

In fact, I appreciate the opportunity to remind myself of it, in writing this post. What a centering, comforting way to self-quarantine during a confusing, uncertain time for humankind.

Or this one, which I've been using lately:

"We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the Earth. Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet."

I wonder how doing that would work while standing in a spaceship going to Mars? It might be fascinating to find out.

As a third possibility, I might choose Bernie Sanders' book "Our Revolution", to help us start out on the right foot once we reach Mars.

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"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi

"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone

janis b's picture

@Centaurea

You’re right - time, destination, and unearthly conditions would have to be a consideration.

I really enjoyed reading about your choices and how they fit for you. The idea of a Sanders Mars Manual is very thoughtful and sweet.

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enhydra lutris's picture

There's a whole lot more than most folks know of.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

janis b's picture

@enhydra lutris

Those works could definitely keep you entertained and exploring for a long time.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@janis b
in his various lesser known works like Sylvie and Bruno, Hunting of the Snark, and Logic and the Game of Logic, plus many of his assorted essays.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

janis b's picture

@enhydra lutris

The first stanza of the poem, The Hunting of the Snark

They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care;
They pursued it with forks and hope;
They threatened its life with a railway-share;
They charmed it with smiles and soap.

http://www.literaturepage.com/read/huntingofthesnark-18.html

I was happy to discover the titles you listed were available online. I’ll add them to my reading list, and hope for connection in space.

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Bollox Ref's picture

I'm not sure I could read it again.

Bollox Minor was small. I pretty much had PTSD by the end.

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

janis b's picture

@Bollox Ref

It is a very traumatic story, one that would be especially difficult to read while raising a young son. It was difficult for me, as a mother. While reading, I had to stop repeatedly for relief, sometimes after only two sentences, so that I could take a deep breath and slowly absorb the emotional impact. In the end though, I was left with a sense that I had graduated to the next level of feeling. I'm not sure if I can read it again.

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