A thousand books. Well, not really, but it seems like it. Actually, I am in the middle of four books right now. And two magazines. And they're all so darn good. This is what happens when I have time on my hands.

So here goes...Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver. I love this woman. Wrapping the big truths in life around nature essays, she speaks in a clear voice. Sometimes, she reminds me of Annie Dillard. She kicked this book out in the months since September 11, and here it is, hot off the presses. As I read Barbara, I say to myself, "Ah, yes."

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje. This one is taking a way too long to get through. I picked it up after seeing a reference to it in a Barbara Ehrenreich book, but I haven't quite figured out why it was so hyped a few years ago. Still, I'm unwilling to give it up...

The Nagler book on nonviolence which is now highlighted through and through.

Finally, Austin and Mabel, in which we read about Emily Dickinson's brother's love affair. Another book which I can't quite finish but am not willing to give up.

Then there's the latest issue of the Utne Reader, and a new (to me) magazine, Yes, The Journal of Positive Futures; balm to my (aspiring) nonviolent soul. When I read these, along with Kingsolver and Nagler, I have a lot more hope for the world, hope that many people are thinking outside the box that the media and conventional wisdom present to us. These are good things.