Book #9- "The Monkey Wrench Gang"

Normally, I probably would not have read this book by Edward Abbey. But as I was perusing Amy's book selection at her apartment, I decided to give the author of "Fools Progress" (Ken's favorite book) a chance. At first, I wasn't too impressed and felt the book was dated, but I got into the adventure of it all by the end. It is primarily an environmental book... Taking place in Utah, it addresses the problems of strip mining, logging, dam building, etc. through the eyes of four protagonists who are bent on stopping the development of the desert. The writing is descriptive and I feel like I've been to this area of the States. If things were getting bad in the 70s environmentally, I don't want to think about what it looks like now.

Speaking of the environment, I have continued my anti-plastic bag lifestyle and it is going amazingly well. I use small bags for my garbage and ran out a long time ago. I have resorted to using bigger bags from my first days in Okinawa. It has been a long time since I've been short on plastic bags. I encourage you all to STOP USING PLASTIC BAGS!!!! Totes are cute and handy. And cashiers don't care... Mine expect it and one day I didn't have my tote with me, which threw them into chaos.

Book #8 - "A Million Little Pieces"

I finally read the book that was so controversial a couple of years ago. To be honest, I admired the fact that the author duped Oprah and millions of readers. I began reading this book at a coffeeshop and I'm pretty sure everyone was staring at me as I tried to read through my fingers a la scary movie "I can't look!"... There are some seriously intense scenes in this book, notably the root canal bit. It is an interesting and powerful read whether it's completely true or not. I am going to read his next book "My Friend Leonard" once I get back to the States, even though I know that the second book is criticized even more for being fabricated. I guess since I don't know how all of this went down in the publisher's office and who ultimately decided that these books were "non-fiction," I don't feel like I've been messed with. Who cares really? It's a great book. And if Frey was as seriously messed up as it sounds like, then the fact that he has recovered and has written two successful books and has remained sober, then that is an absolute miracle.