Books, Books, Books

This is perfection to me.

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx

"So many books, so little time." - Frank Zappa

"A room without books is like a body without a soul." - Marcus Cicero 

Before the BFF left post, she left her mark on our Consulate community in a big way. Not only on all of our hearts as a lovely person, a dear friend, and great leader, but also by establishing a healthy group of fellow book lovers. From what I've gathered, the Foreign Service is full of people who love to read. We spend a lot of our day reading (cables, memos, emails, news) that it would seem normal if all we wanted to do when we got home was anything BUT read. Yet, I think for many of us a good book can transport us somewhere else entirely (like our hometown, a familiar neighborhood, an adventure, a love story). At least for me, reading helps me cope with the feelings of homesickness, loneliness, the sense of being ungrounded, unsettled that occasionally come along with this career path. Reading also helps me learn about new cultures, future travel (and living) locations, and inspires me to continue my own adventures. I also love reading books suggested by other people: not only does it provide me with a glance at what's interesting to them, but it also shines light on what they think might be interesting to me. A great bonding tool for people to get to know one another.

Here in Shenyang, we've got two kinds of book clubs, both started by the BFF. The first book club I've ever participated in is comprised of other avid readers who work at the Consulate. We meet monthly to talk about a book we've picked amongst ourselves in advance. People originally submit their ideas for book club books, we present the list to everyone, tally a vote, and the top 5 or so become the next books to read for the coming months. Its a fairly democratic process, and I've often found myself voting for books that weren't the books I originally suggested. The book club has covered everything from War and Peace to Redshirts, 1Q84 and Cloud Atlas to Behind The Beautiful Forevers. The last book we read was The Book of Mormon Girl, by Joanna Brooks. As someone who knows very little about the world of Mormonism, I was very interested to read this one and hear from a few book clubbers who are Mormon themselves. By far one of the most interesting (and largest) discussions we've ever had, the last meeting was a perfect example of why this club is great for getting to know our colleagues. I learned so much and the conversation was refreshing, eye-opening, and very instructive. September's book is The Astronauts Wives Club and then later in November (my last Shenyang book club! ::tear::) I'll be excited to read The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge and the World's Greatest Piece of Cheese (which is totally my pick, evident because of the cheese, nom).

The second book club is a bit different. The Public Affairs Section often holds Thursday Night lectures on topics of interest, hosted by officers from the Consulate. My colleagues have presented lectures on sports, American sports, music, coffee, American universities, and much more. The audience is local Chinese students and English-language learners who want to practice listening and speaking. From one of these lectures started a book club for Chinese students to come in and discuss a book with an American officer. Well, just yesterday I hosted one of these on the book Farenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. A controversial book even for some Americans, 451 talks about a dystopian society where firemen burn books instead of putting out flames. Books are banned because they make people envious of what they don't have (knowledge, power, money, rights). The government controls people through television and consumerism, and leaves little room for creativity and free thinking. Needless to say, in a country where censorship is dominant throughout the media, I was curious how the book would be received. The discussion was lively and all the readers had different thoughts about interpretation and implications of a book like this. The underlying tone seemed to be that Bradbury's tale is a cautionary one, and everyone seemed to agree that we as humans have a great responsibility with knowledge its power.

I'm curious to know what everyone is reading these days. Leave a comment below and tell me what I should read next!!