Thursday, September 25, 2008

When I was packing for my move to Turkey, i had a hard time deciding what books to bring. Because of weight restrictions I couldn't really bring anything besides what I was reading. I had sent I few books over with James (mostly non-fiction stuff that i knew I couldn't get here) because I wasn't sure what the library at the University offer. Yesterday i went exploring around the University and ended up at the library. They had quite a few English novels...mostly older ones but at least I will catch up on my historical fiction.

One of the books I had sent over with James and have been meaning to read for over a year is 'Dreams From My Father' by Barack Obama. My mother purchased it for me, as well as his other book 'The Audacity of Hope'(which I haven't yet read). I began reading the book a few afternoons ago and after reading 40 or so pages of it I realized how much I enjoyed it and how excited I was to be reading it. I usually am not fond of autobiographies because I find them rather dry - but not this one. It basically is about Barack Obama's family and where he comes from. It is really interesting to see the multi-culturalism that is in his family and how it has affected his outlook on life. I enjoyed this autobiography because Barack Obama is very honest about his past prejudices and also talks about his frequent drug use in his late teens early twenties. Most politicians would hide this but he didn't. I was unaware of how community minded he was, and hopefully still is. I hope many people read this book in the United States before they go and vote. I have a feeling if they do then Barack Obama will be the next president.

1 comment:

Bybee said...

Thanks for dropping by! I'm going to add your blog to my blogroll. I'm sorry we weren't in BOOKLEAVES at the same time. Hope you have some luck starting a book group in Turkey. Are you teaching there?