Okay. So I lied.

I said in my previous post that I would blog for 15 minutes every day. Well, as you can see, I am not one for daily disciplines! It's hard to get back into the habit of blogging once I have fallen out of the habit. Today, Jonathan said that my brother-in-law commented on the fact that I have not been blogging for 15 minutes every day, which lulled me out of my laziness. I had no idea people were actually still reading (and perhaps anticipating) my writing! The perfectionist in me tricks me into thinking that every entry has to be a good entry; hence, if I don't have anything inspirational to write, then don't write anything at all.

Well, screw perfectionism. :) This one is for you, bro-in-law!

This summer, I have been reading a lot -- some pleasure reading, some more serious reading in preparation for the upcoming school year. I actually derive a lot of pleasure from reading about "serious" issues. For example, two of my recent finds have been on issues of oppression, war, ethnic tensions.

1. Brother, I'm Dying by Edwidge Danticat: a memoir about the life of two brothers from Haiti, who survive political upheaval, war, and eventual "exile" in the States.

2. What is the What by Dave Eggers: a semi-memoir about the life of Valentino Achek Deng, a surviving Lost Boy of Sudan who is now residing in the United States.

Lastly, my "serious" reading is Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. I usually do not have patience for dense reading such as this, but this book is fascinating and makes me re-think the way our understanding of history is construed and colored by the perspective from which we are taught.

More on this later... my fifteen minutes is up! :)