Over the past year, I’ve found some time to read quite a few books. When I actually sat down and made a list, I discovered that I had read more than I thought I did. I’m not sure if I can repeat the task next year, but we’ll see.
NONFICTION
The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
The End of Faith by Sam Harris
Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris
Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky
The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria, This book is very boring, but if you want to read it, ask me. I’ll give it to you for free.
Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild
The myth of invasion: The inconvenient realities of migration from Africa to the European Union [pdf] by Hein de Haas of Oxford’s International Migration Unit
FICTION
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle
SHORT STORIES
“The Dragon in my Garage,” by Carl Sagan
“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut.
Both are great and I should read more short stories. I used to love short stories as a kid. Some of my favorites were “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant. All of the short stories are legally online for you to read.
Though I read a lot more non-fiction than fiction, my favorite book over the past year, however, was We. It’s an absolutely brilliant book and it’s one I’ll probably read again.
So, some stupid ass woman hits Paul in March 2010. His car is totaled. This is what happened after that.
On March 30, 2010 it’s in Omaha, Nebraska at an insurance auction.
The car is now for sale for $6500 in the UAE. English Translation of the page.
Two days ago, Paul totaled his car. He was leaving McDonald’s with his free cup of coffee, when the sun blinded him and a woman plowed into him. He had stopped at the stop sign on the corner of 10th and S and was pulling out when it happened. His side airbag exploded, sending him bouncing around the car. His cup holder busted and sent the coffee splattering around the front of the car. The seatbelt and air bag ended up injuring him.
After spending close to five hours in the emergency room at Regional West Medical Center, Paul was released. He went home with several pulled and stretched neck muscles and a banged up left shoulder. Today, he was complaining that his ribs and hip hurt as well.
That’s the good news. Unfortunately, Paul’s Chevy Aveo was totaled. We bought it brand new in 2009 and had only put 9600 miles on it. Other good news is that Paul had gap insurance. That means we don’t have to make payments on a car that has been totaled.
The insurance lady wanted it repaired, but it would have cost more than $13,000 to repair. His car was valued at $12,800, so it had to be totaled. Paul isn’t happy about it, but there’s not much we can do. We just have to accept the fact that he’s okay and he’s lost his car.
Since we’re back to one car, I’ll be driving Paul to work the rest of the school year. We decided not to another car right away and use the money on a couple of bills. We’ll probably look in August or September at new cars again. Paul says he’d like another Aveo, so we’ll see in a few months what happens.
February 18th, 2010
Irene
It was snowing pretty hard this morning, so I told Paul that, if he was uncomfortable driving, I’d be happy to drive. He responded, “No, I’m comfortable right up to the moment I drive off the road.”
February 17th, 2010
Irene
So, I spoke with someone today whom I respect, and the topic of discussion was someone who I think is stupid. The person I was speaking with agreed and commented, “XXX is dumber than a post.” While I laughed heartily at that comment, I thought it was a bit insulting to posts. I’m pretty sure posts are smarter.
