Celebrations

It's been a full day of social activity--a violin recital and potluck, later a party (complete with Filipino and American karaoke)--and it's good to be back at home at last, at the computer with a cup of tea. I have misplaced The Hidden Target so I haven't been able to read it lately, although I'm sure I'll find it soon. (Don't worry, Sandie, it's rare that I really lose anything, but if it is lost I will certainly obtain another copy for you.) It's around the house somewhere, with another book I've misplaced, SeinLanguage, Jerry Seinfeld's autobiography.

I snapped this photo in San Miguel de Allende in July of 2006. A really good book to read either before or after visiting the lovely colonial town of San Miguel is On Mexican Time: A New Life in San Miguel by Tony Cohan. I read it after a relaxing trip to San Miguel, and it helped me to relive the experience. Today, I read it to freshen my memories. A national bestseller, published in 2000, this book is actually Cohan's memoir of his new life in San Miguel with his artist wife, Masako. They fell under the spell of San Miguel during a visit in 1985, and decided to leave smoggy, congested Los Angeles and move to a simpler, more engaging life in Mexico. Cohan paints a picture of a colorful, sensual, and lively town in this book, which celebrates San Miguel de Allende.

Random Acts of Kindness

Two books I just heard about today:

The Drunkard's Walk, by Leonard Mlodinow, is an investigation of how randomness affects or even "rules" our lives, and how our successes and failures may be more dependent on chance events than we realize. Sounds fascinating to me! I can no longer accept blame for everything that goes wrong (yay!), nor credit for all that goes right (darn!). This collection of anecdotes is backed up by mathematical formulas and figures by the author, who's also a physicist and professor. (Was it mere randomness that I heard about this new book on the radio today? Or was it meant to be?)

And:

The Art of Being Kind, by Stefan Einhorn.

"Being nice has nothing to do with being spineless. In his best-selling book, Stefan Einhorn shows how kindness is the single most important factor in achieving success and satisfaction in life."
~ Sweden Bookshop

Einhorn apparently makes a compelling case for kindness. Published in 2007, this book is a best-seller, sometimes out of stock (which tells me that readers value kindness).

I want to read these books! Don't they sound intriguing?