I’m an avid reader, and wherever I go, I seem to accumulate books, even here in Korea. There are a limited number of books that I find I come back to repeatedly. But are there books of lasting value, that can mean different things to you at different points of your life? Yeah, I think so. I think I’ve read a few of those.
For some of my friends, the one and only answer would be the Bible. I’ve read some small chunks of it, old testament (the stories of Genesis, Noah, Moses, Ezekiel) and new testament (Bethlehem, Sermon on the Mount, crucifixion), mainly out of curiosity, but not with the seriousness or dedication of a believer. I’ve also read substantial chunks of (an English translation of) the Koran, a few of the lesser poems of the extensive and epic Hindu teachings, the Reg Veda, as well as Confucius’ Analects, the Tao te Ching and of course The Tao of Pooh. I tried with little success to read The Egyptian Book of the Dead (not to be confused with the Tibetan one).
Of those, the Analects and the Tao te Ching appealed the most to my sensibilities, and I’ve read other interpretations/explorations of traditional Taoism. I never got around to reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Maybe later.
Oddly enough, living in Korea, a traditionally Buddhist country, has not made Buddhism any more accessible.
Two non-fiction books that have had an impact on me are The Seven Pillars of Wisdom (the autobiography of T.E. Lawrence “of Arabia”) and Coming of Age in the Milky Way by Timothy Ferris. Coming of Age … traces our understanding, philosophically, scientifically and spiritually from Bedouin beginnings in the Arabian deserts to modern concepts of superstring theory and quantum causality. Seven Pillars… is an evocative reading of a time that no longer exists in a place that can’t be recreated (an undivided Arabian peninsula), all the more compelling because it was real.
Machiavelli’s The Prince was an interesting read, but not how I want to live my life. I remember being very taken with Thomas Hobbes’ discourse on politics, Leviathan, when we studied it in university, but again I haven’t kept it nor revisited it. I don’t even know if I would today embrace any of the ideology behind it. Maybe it’s time to re-read that one.
One of my favourite works of fiction, Dune has of late taken on different flavours. Mainly the story of a royal struggle over a powerful and addictive drug, the story is also a parable about the oppression of a very Arabic people. Unfortunately, two things have changed. First, the book was wildly successful and has spawned eight or ten sequels, each diminishing the impact of the original just a little more; and second the events of late have taken the romanticized sheen off of the image of poor, oppressed desert dwellers who are secretly building a rebellious force with which to strike at and bring down a modern, technological society.
I’m currently re-reading another old favourite, Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny. Although it’s set in the future and does deal with technology, the basis of the story is a power struggle within a group of godlike humans. Some want to keep the peasant population enslaved in a Hindu-inspired culture and have used technology to take on the aspects of the Hindu gods. The other faction wants to allow the peasants to develop into a normal society and is being led by a man who is modeling himself as Buddha.
As much as ideology, it’s the dialogue that makes this story a good read. When I read it I want to delve into period pieces written about India or Pakistan. I wouldn’t know where to begin that, so I have this instead.
Two poems that I’ve read and enjoyed across a few decades are Childe Harold's Pilgrimage by Lord Byron and Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came by Robert Browning. The latter inspired Stephen King to make one of his bigger mistakes, the Dark Tower stories. Fortunately, I read the poem long before I discovered his epic mess.
