Status Update on the Reading

Every year I make a list of the books that I want to read. Most of the time I have way to many books on that list and usually I never finish all of them by the time the following year comes by. Well, New Years is coming soon, and that means it is time to reflect on the accomplishments and possible downturns of a year gone by and make new resolutions for the upcoming year. Here is my update whose purpose is mostly directed towards me.

Reading List for Year 2010
• The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway (totally forgot about this)

• The Cheapest Nights by Idris Yusuf (Yes, read it but was not so impressed)

• Das Kapital by Karl Marx (still on the radar)

• The Discovery of India by Nehru Jawaharlal (started reading it
but did not get past the first few chapters, its very heavy)

• Death and the Dervish by Mesa Selimovic (totally forgot)

• Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (I started at LEAST three times
reading this book and for some reason I always get diverted. I know it is a
classic and a must read therefore, it is still on the radar)

• A long walk to freedom by Nelson Mandela (did not even start this
and do not own it)

• City of Love and Ashes by Yusuf Idris (Done)

• Tears of the Desert by Halima Bashir (Done- an excellent read!)

• Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Oh god, please save me, in the book
club we came half way through and I just couldn’t take it anymore)

• Ernesto Guevera Che Biography (started and still working on it)


I also was reading the following books just out of the spur of the moment:

• Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevski (I started reading this for
the second time but did not finish because I realized that I had already over
analyzed this book and I perceived that there was nothing new to discover)

• Three Cups of Tea (started on the airplane going to a monitoring
visit but did not finish it)

• My son’s wife (started but got bored and really frustrated)

• The Moral Landscape ( I am currently reading with the intention
of finishing and than giving it as a gift to my friend whose b-day is coming up)

• The Kite Runner (Finished- the beginning is excellent but than
somewhere in the middle the story falls apart and becomes to predictable for me)

• The Iron Wall (Started for the second time but did not finish due
to frustration)

Fortune Cookies

As some might know I really enjoy reading fortune cookies at appropriate times and collecting them. Here is a list of fortune cookie quotes I have collected over the years. Most of them come from a restaurant I like to frequent called Chino Latino. But few are from Chinese take out foods I have ordered over the years.


Next time you get a gut feeling, take an antacid.

Your big break is coming. And a bus will be to blame.

When your mother told you not to be a slut she spoke from experience.

When was his last STD screening anyway?

That new mole isn’t malignant – but if it’s an egg sac laid subcutaneously by a parasite it’s hardly benign.

Bothered by her feminine irritation? Tell her about Summer’s Eve soothing gel.

Well. You certainly did YOUR share to contribute to the restaurant’s liquor revenues.

Why can’t you be more like your sister?

You will soon be crossing warm waters for a fun vacation.

You’ve changed your look.
You’ve changed your hair.
Now change your locks.

He has a blog and you should ask to see it.

That dirt under your date’s fingernails? Looks like a fungal infection.

Stop wasting your time with these people!

Your therapist is crazier than you are.

It’s getting late and your outfit is tired.

Your server has had it with you.

How about a mint?

When he says you make him crazy, believe him.

It’s not you, it’s me.

You are more intuitive than logical. You often learn better b y doing than by theorizing first.

What’s with all the Clay Aiken on your ipod?

The beginning of wisdom starts with deleting your Web history.

Damage control is no longer an option.

Your past is going to catch up with you. Then it will pounce, sink its talons into your back, knock over and set you on fire.

Generosity provides a solid foundation for mindfulness practice.