Obama!

Yay for Obama!

As an alumnus of Punahou School and as an American, I am ecstatic and proud about Obama's victory tonight!

If you haven't read either of his books -- Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance and The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream -- I highly recommend them.

I've listened to the audio version of Dreams from My Father and it is fantastic! Every bit as wonderful as you'd except from a Grammy winner -- Obama's ability to do voices (including those of his Kenyan relatives) is unbelievable.

I haven't finished The Audacity of Hope yet but will try to do so before Obama's inauguration on January 20, 2009!

Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics by Joseph R. Biden

With Joe Biden as Obama's VP choice, I'd like to read Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics by Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

I've listened to the audio version of Obama's Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance and I have a hardback copy of The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream that I've been meaning to read.

Any thoughts on Biden's Promises to Keep?

Is it worth reading?

Does it provide insight into the man who may be our next Vice President?

How does it compare to Obama's books?

I've listened to Biden's August 2007 interview with NPR's Morning Edition; how does this memoir compare to this interview?

Click here to read an excerpt from Promises to Keep, courtesy of Random House, or click here to view the table of contents.

And lastly, click here if you're interested in a free Obama-Biden sticker, courtesy of MoveOn.org.

Audio Book - Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama

Today I listened to my first audio book (which I borrowed from the library last week on a whim): Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama and read by the author.

Click here to read Paul Watkins's New York Times review of the first edition of this book "A Promise of Redemption" published August 6, 1995 or click here to read the Introduction to the 2004 edition.

Obama's lyrical speech and talent with voices won him a spoken word Grammy in 2006 for the audio book version of Dreams from My Father and another Grammy in 2008 for the audio book edition of The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (beating out Bill Clinton for his audio book Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World and Jimmy Carter for his audio book Sunday Mornings in Plains: Bringing Peace to a Changing World).

While I prefer to read my books, listening to Dreams from My Father has made me appreciate audio books. It's quite a different experience to hear an author read his or her book.

I'm hopeful that I'll also enjoy listening to David McCullough's 1776!

Library Book Sale

I just got back from my local library's Annual Book Sale and wow, I got 24 books in almost new condition for $1.00 each (except for two hardcovers for $2.00 each). What a deal!

So these are the latest additions to my large personal library:

• The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack Obama


• The Best American Spiritual Writing 2005 by Barry Lopez (Introduction) and Philip Zaleski (Series Editor)


• The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis


• Duel: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Future of America by Thomas J. Fleming


• Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert


• Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship by Jon Meacham


• God In All Worlds: An Anthology of Contemporary Spiritual Writing by Lucinda Vardey


• The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy


• High Tide: The Truth About Our Climate Crisis by Mark Lynas


• Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer


• Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison


• The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker


• The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards


• Naked by David Sedaris


• Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces


• Personal History by Katharine Graham


• Prodigal Summer: A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver


• Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi


• The Road by Cormac McCarthy


• Running with Scissors: A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs


• The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology by Robert Wright


• The One Thing You Need to Know: ... About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success by Marcus Buckingham


• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (P.S.) by Betty Smith


• Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

That's about $440.00 worth of books for just $26.00! Can't beat that, even at the local used bookstore!