A mad desire to read AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Ken Fuller 08/17/2010

A mad desire to read

AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Ken Fuller 08/17/2010 The purchase of second-hand books is one of this outsider’s few compulsions. But don’t run away with the impression that I spend my time browsing through expensive antiquarian collections in Manila or other world capitals. No, I’m talking about the hardbacks you can pick up from the second-hand stack in a chain bookstore for P99. A few days ago, I netted another three: Elie Wiesel’s A Mad Desire to Dance (2009, what a title!); Walter Mosley’s Fearless Jones (2001); and the 50th anniversary edition of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road (2007). I kicked myself for not hitting the stack sooner, as there would almost certainly have been one or two more gems to be had. By this means, I address both past and future. On the Road, first read 40-odd years ago, will be a trip down memory lane. Kerouac was the original “beatnik,” precursor of the hippy; he could have messed up my life with his pseudo-Buddhist, drop-out nonsense if I’d let him. He died at 46, an alcoholic mouthing right-wing sentiments. A Mad Desire, on the other hand, will be my first Wiesel, but probably not my last..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100817com5.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL JBC: Still a Palace adjunct FRONTLINE No hope for credibility FEATURE Kabul’s frustrated expats run the streets NO HOLDS BARRED An open letter to P-Noy AN OUTSIDERS VIEW A mad desire to read focus Obama policy feeds violence on Kabul’s doorstep FEATURE Petraeus holds out prospect of reconciliation with Taliban