Reading list

I am flying to Bogotá Colombia the 18 of this month. My carry on item for this flight is relatively large hand bag filled to capacity with book and weighing just over thirty pounds. For the purpose of keeping tabs on myself and my reading progress, and for the benefit of any of my friends who might be curious I will catalog the contents of this bag which will be the entirely of my library when I Begin my new life in Bogotá.

The Jordanville Prayer Book
Without question the most essential single volume for any Orthodox Christian. I never leave home without it, and I find it a more useful resource even than The Bible, which, incidentally I am not taking a copy of, because they will be readily available where I am going.

More Terrible Than Death Violence, Drugs, and America's War in Colombia
This book comes as a gift and by recommendation from a person whose opinion I am inclined to trust concerning Colombian current affairs. I will make this book a priority.

Voces de Hispanoamérica
An anthology of South American literature. One of my course books from Buffalo State, and a valuable reference tool as well as a grand collection of stories and poems from a variety of genres.

Father Seraphim Rose His Life and Works
The exhaustive source for Father Seraphim's philosophy and thoughts. I think there may be trivialities that I disagree with him on, but by and large I feel a strong affinity to him. He is a spectacular Christian apologist and of the most important orthodox writers and public figures of our time.

Don Quijote
I have been working since I graduated on revising a paper I wrote my senior year at BSC that was to do with this novel. It is one of my favorites, and lengthy enough to be worth looking at again, and again, and again even if I didn't happen to need it to finish a paper.

The Eternal in Russian Philosphy
My familiarity with all types of philosophy is only rudimentary. There are a lot of philosophers and schools of philosophy that intrigue me, and that I want to investigate. I will start here, as this promises to have a high likelihood of being compatible with my preexisting prejudices. I think that an understanding of philosophy is necessary for fruitful interpretation of the literature that interests me. I am developing an idea for a comparative literature thesis that I may someday write fro a Doctorate, and I will need to know what I am talking about if I am ever to get that project started; more on this later.

The Spiritual Life and Hot to Be attuned to it By St. Theophan the Recluse
This book is often referred to by priests when they hear my confession or give me advise. I have read the beginning of it, and I think it will answer a lot of the questions I have.

Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future By Fr. Seraphim Rose
Probably a good thing to be familiar with.

The Stranger By Albert Camus.
One of my all time favorite works. I would have "The Metamorphosis" as well, but my only copy of that was given to me by an ex-girlfriend, so I threw it out.

An Introduction to Language
I can't imagine living anywhere without having my text books with me. After all, school exists in order to direct a person as to what he or she needs to know about and where to get that information. I don't think a person stops learning when they graduate, I believe they begin taking responsibility for their own education at that point.

Principles of Language Learning and Teaching
It should be obvious why this book is of use to me.

Camino Oral
A book about Spanish phonetics. Invaluable.

Español Para los Negocios

Culturas de España
Worth knowing. I had this class freshman year, so I didn't learn much of anything, except how to get a B with the least amount of expended effort possible.

Spanish Composition Through Literature

Latino América Presente y Pasado

UFC Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights.
If I owned only 8 dvds they would be these.

UFC 84 and UFC 94
Because 100 fights is not enough.

Rip it up and Start Again Post-punk 1078-1984
A book all about my favorite genre of music and the bands involved in it.

Galápagos By Kurt Vonnegut
I bought this book a few years ago from Talking Leaves Bookstore, which means that I was buying books for a class. Some class at that time had this book as required reading at the time, but it wasn't my class so I still haven't read it. I don't even know what this book is about, buy I never met a Vonnegut novel I didn't like.

Mrs. Dolloway
I'm not necessarily motivated to read this book, though it does seem interesting enough. I understand it may be required for the Javeriana's literature MA program which (God willing) I might participate in.

Yerma + Bodas de Sangre
Two plays by Federico García Lorca. Why not? They are thin.

Sandokan
I need to read in Spanish more.

Mundo Azul
So I have to intermediate level books in Spanish to start with. I will probably acquire more once there.

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
William Blake is easily my favorite poet.

Orthodoxy and Cathalocism.
A necessary reference.

The Men's Club
Because I've already read Fight Club and I don't have a copy of American Psycho

Cien años de Soledad
I will read this if it takes me 100 years.

Raise High the Roof Beams + Seymour an Introduction
The only significant work of JD Salinger's that I haven't read yet. I hope I can get Catcher as an e-book.

That's all I can fit in my bag folks. I hope this is interesting to you, but I realize it isn't likely to be. My future posts will have real things to read about.