Last couple days of the Booksale

I managed to make my way over to the booksale both yesterday and today - and I'm so glad I did! Yesterday, everything was half-off and today, everything was 50 cents! I've learned something new about myself - I have an odd taste for non-fiction that nobody else in Hawaii seems to have. -All the books that I put back earlier in the week were still there on 50 cent day! While I am happy I was able to pick these books up, I am somewhat disappointed that nobody else wants these books as I do! Oh well.

Yesterday's treasures included:
Prodigal Summer - Barbara Kingsolver (Lucky I found this!)
Simple Abundance - Sarah Ban Breathnach (The words of a friendly stranger standing next to me encouraged me to get this book - only a dollar!)
Cecilia Bartoli - Rossini Heroines (CD) - One of my favorite mezzo-sopranos, and definitely the best when it comes to early music...another lucky find for only a $1.50!
Banker to the Poor - Okay, yes, I have this book already, but here's the story: I find Banker to the Poor in hardback in the economics section. A co-worker/friend had recommended it to me but last I talked to her, she didn't have it yet. I thought I'd pick it up for her. Well guess what? She was at the booksale, too! And she didn't need the copy, but her friend (who she always talks to me about) was at the booksale and so she introduced me and I gave the book to her. It always works out. And besides, it's the kind of book you'd just pass on to another person, anyhow. They told me about a book group that's meeting to discuss it in a couple weeks. I'm looking forward to it. :)

Today's treasures:
Moyers on America (Bill Moyers) - I didn't even realize there was a separate section for journalism/media - how did I not find this before? My mother picked up a different Bill Moyers book earlier in the week from the politics section. Perhaps we'll do a switcheroo once she's done.
Development & Social Change a Global Perspective - So this is a text from 2004 so it is slightly out of date, but it was priced at $4! Anyhow, after this class I've become more interested in the digital divide from a global perspective, and I'm hoping there might be some of that in this book.
Can We Talk about Race? (Beverly Daniel Tatum) - I remember when she was "Dean Tatum" at MHC. You had to write an essay just to get into her classes in the psych department because the demand was so high!
Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools (Jonathan Kozol) - I was picking between this and Kozol's "Amazing Grace" earlier in the week. Now, I've got both of them!

The past two days bring my book total up to 16 books and one CD and the cost up to about $22. Not bad! I have to say, as I was picking up those 4 books today, I was feel guilty that I had too much. I already have so many books. I decided it was okay. The education books that are in good condition will be donated to my grad department and others will be given away to interested friends.

The booksale was great fun this year. I look forward to reading all my new books!

Thoughts on Information Literacy at the Booksale

It's Tuesday, and day 4 of the Friends of the Library of Hawaii booksale and I have gone 3 out of the 4 days. :) Books are organized in broad categories (literature, hobbies, art, philosophy, sci-fi, etc.) but aren't always necessarily under the category you'd figure they would be in. Furthermore, broad categories are as organized as it'll get...no Dewey decimal system there! As I wandered through the tables of books today I thought - you know, this is kind of like surfing the internet in a way. There's a ton of information there and you try your best to search where you think you'll find what you want - but really, you've just got to search and dig. You can pull out a book of interest because the title looks interesting, or maybe because the spine or cover appeals to you somehow, but really, until you pull it out and look closely, you really don't know. You need to use some critical thinking and information literacy skills to find what you want and decide whether the book you picked up is what you want.

I picked up some excellent books from the bookfair a few of which I was actively looking for, and some that...how shall I put this...I didn't know I wanted until I found them! I was judicious in my decisions, of course, I put back some books I was definitely interested in but thought that they wouldn't be high on my reading list and perhaps they would be higher up on someone else's list.

Here are the treasures I came away with:
1) Tuesday's With Morrie - Mitch Albom
2) Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
3) Amazing Grace - Jonathan Kozol
4) Research Design - John Creswell
5) This Book is not Required (revised edition) - Inge Bell & Bernard McGrane
6) Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington - Thomas Cathcart & Daniel Klein
7) Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell (SCORE!!!)
8) The Accidental Asian - Eric Liu
9) Waiting for Snow in Havana - Carlos Eire
10) Zami A New Spelling of My Name - Audre Lorde

--All of these for about $16!!! :)

While completely engrossed in Banker to the Poor (while walking to the office) I ran into a woman who wanted to see what I was reading. I came away from that conversation with yet another book recommendation, "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson - I will have to get it, it's totally up my alley. "Reading Lolita in Tehran" is also now on my list. Man, I'd kill for a "pause" button for my life so I could stop everything for a bit and just READ.

I've decided that someday I'll have a (small) library. I haven't figured out where I'd put it. It might be cool to have a library as a room all by itself - but if I ever have kids I doubt I'd have the space. Maybe I'll just have the library in the living room? I could definitely live in a library. The bathroom is (obviously) a logical choice but for sanitation reasons I think I'll pass on that one.......

Too many books, too little time

The problem with bookstores is that every time I go into one, I find more books that I want to read – and there’s no way I’ll ever be able to read everything. In my trip to the bookstore today I came across more books I’d like to read:

The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less by Barry Schwartz – Isn’t it true? I think this would be a nice read to go along with some Malcolm Gladwell books and Kingsolver’s “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.” Personally, I don’t feel that I have an added anxiety due to the amount of choice I have in my life – but maybe I do and I’m just not as aware. As I read the synopsis of “The Paradox of Choice” I thought back to the Pew Internet Report we read for class and their findings that some people find the vast amount of information on the internet to be burdensome or overwhelming. So my question now is does everyone feel an added stress due to the amount of choice available to them? Or is it possible that this is something that is generational? How does it relate to ones thoughts about their ability to control their life?

Savage Inequalities & The Shame of the Nation by Jonathan Kozol – Both books discuss educational disparities at schools across the nation (specifically, with regards to race and class). While much of my personal interest is in regards to higher education access, these books are incredibly relevant to me because post-secondary education does not exist in a bubble. The disparities of the K-12 educational system are inextricably linked to higher education access issues and I think that both of these books would be excellent reads.

Tastes Like Cuba: An Exile’s Hunger for Home by Eduardo Machado – I found this book while perusing the biographies and memoirs section of the bookstore. I love reading people’s stories and the language of the portion on the back cover was just beautiful. It was only perhaps a paragraph or two but in it, he compared the complexities of flavor to the inherent complexities of the idea of “home” and identity.

As the title of this blog says, there are just too many books and too little time.

PS. Don't forget, the Friends of the Library Booksale starts this weekend at McKinley High School!!! (Not like I need more books!)

How I've Been Feeling Lately

Inspired

So I'm about 90% sure that I'm going to stick with this summer course. The hesitancy has NOTHING to do with the course itself, though. The topic is amazing and incredibly relevant to me and well...to all of us. We had our first online class meeting through Elluminate, which is a technology that I've only just used. So far I've only used Blackboard/WebCT and Laulima (Sakai). The main difficulty with Elluminate was that not everyone had the capacity to use a mic online so it was difficult to keep up with our small group discussions when some people were typing while others were speaking.

Our discussion was on Chapter I of our text which really provided a nice philosophical foundation to ideas such as the difference between information, knowledge, and wisdom, as well as the ethics of information technology. I was most intrigued by ideas regarding global wisdom, democracy, and power. While the chapter was from a global perspective, I couldn't help but draw parallels from the readings to what I hope will be a shift here in the US in our transition from Bush to Obama.

When Obama has been vocal in his desire to make government information available online to all, as well as making the internet available to all. Yes, I am biased, but I do believe the Bush administration was governing by trying to instill fear in its citizens and keep them (us) powerless as a means to control. Now, what Obama actually will do remains to be seen, but it is clear to me that Obama does desire to strive toward a democratic ideal by trying to promote the internet as a means of enlightening the citizens. This move would not just promote democracy through (hopefully) morally responsible citizens, but also opens doors to different perspectives and debate - a necessity for democracy.

Chapter 6 discussed the idea of digital disempowerment - including trends, political theory, and ethical considerations. This chapter also provided a solid framework from which to work, particularly in the history of democracy (from Greece to Europe to the US, to global ideals) as well as the role and ethical considerations of technology in the political arena. This article pointed out the way the Bush administrations' leader of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Michael Powell said that internet access was a "luxury rather than a necessity." -I think it's important to note that this is a good example of the way an ethical decision of one in power can be used to influence political policy (by saying it's morally acceptable to exclude people from online social networking). By the end of this article, it became clear to me that the key to overcoming the digital divide is through political will. --Which brings us back to a central question - how do we create political will? How do we engage citizens? How do we enable moral development?

My inspiration after these two readings ties in with one of my main research interests, access to higher education. In previous classes, I've researched reasons for access issues, as well as the role of the high school counselor in providing social capital for high school students and enabling college enrollment. As the internet becomes more and more mainstream, a necessity if you will, I am now thinking maybe I should study on the internet as it relates to college admissions. On one had, the internet can provide a certain level of social capital for underpriviliged students. On the other hand many admissions offices are going "digital," requiring that applications be submitted online, which indicates another aspect of the digital divide, and yet another way underpriviliged students are disempowered.

Reading List

I've been going back and forth about whether or not to take a course over the summer, ETEC 698 Technology and Social Justice. My rationale for not taking the course is that perhaps I could use a break (I do work full time) and just spend time relaxing and catching up on my "for fun" reading list. You have to understand that for me, being surrounded by books and coffee is heaven. Of course, the course sounds fabulous, given my love for both technology and social justice...and perhaps it might be the perfect direction for my mind to be heading in after college student development.

I would also like to share my reading list here, in hopes that if I post it up and shout to the world that I'm planning on reading these books that I actually will! So, without further adieu...my summer (or perhaps year-long) reading list:

1) Banker to the Poor (Mohammad Yunus)- I've already started in on this one. A friend recommended it to me and mentioned that a local book club will be picking it up as one of their readings and I might have to join in. The book is by Pulitzer-Prize winning economist Mohammad Yunus who came up with the idea of micro-lending/microcredit. I think it will actually fit in quite well as a reading to go along with the technology and social justice course...
2) The Audacity of Hope (Barack Obama) - I had been hoping to read this for awhile but just haven't gotten around to it. Again, another reading that will, I think, tie in nicely with class!
3) Postethnic America (David A. Hollinger) - Another read I've been hoping to get to but just haven't.
4) Precarious Life (Judith Butler) - I bought this in hopes that I'd be able to read it with a book group but just haven't gotten around to it.
5) A Man Without a Country (Kurt Vonnegut)- Another one that's been sitting on my shelf. I think this will be interesting to read alongside with The Audacity of Hope...
6) The Gatekeepers (Jacques Steinberg) and College Unranked (Llyod Thacker) - These have also been sitting on my shelf for entirely too long. More admissions stuff for my brain to eat.
7) Generation Me (Jean Twenge)- Read a chapter for my last class which was great and will borrow it from DrM.
8) The Ghost Orched (Carol Goodman)- A book that didn't get the best of reviews, but she's one of my favorite authors.
9) Oryx and Crake (Margaret Atwood)- It's really a disgrace that I bought this book at least 3 or 4 years ago and still haven't read it. Haven't read any Atwood in awhile.
10) To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)- I'm reading this because it's a "disgrace" that I haven't yet read it!

Here are the books that I saw the last time I was at the bookstore that I wanted to read but they're at the bottom of the list since I've already got a 10 book waiting queue.
11) Supercapitalism - Robert B. Reich
12) Class Matters - Bill Keller
13) The Trouble with DIversity - Walter Benn Michaels
14) Animal Vegetable Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver
15) Outliers - Malcom Gladwell

The End of the Semester

Well, my previous post was my final post for this course, but don’t worry, it will not be my final blog post! I will continue blogging reflections on education, sociology, technology, life, and what’s going on in the world. Of course, if something pops into my mind as related to college student development, I’ll be sure to make mention of that as well (I’ve already got one!)

To anyone out there who happens upon my blog, I have this to say to you: Start a blog of your own! For me, it’s a fun way to process and think about my course readings…and I think it also helped me retain the information better. I’d do my readings, think about them (knowing that I was going to blog about it), pick a specific idea or perhaps do an overview, and say what it was about, what I thought about it, and sometimes relate it to myself in some way. All these efforts have helped me to retain more of what I’ve read and learned than had I not had my blog to reflect on it. (Not to mention, this is much better than my undergraduate method, which I won’t mention here…but let’s just say it involved last-minute reading during finals…..) Another great thing about blogging is that if you want to look back on something you wrote about before, it’s really easy to do a search to find the blog (as opposed to a journal where you’ll have to flip through pages).

Another thing I've started to do this semester is to read the Chronicle (or at the very least, skim the headlines for interesting articles) daily. I also follow The Chronicle, Women in Higher Ed, Inside Higher Ed, and Mount Holyoke College on Twitter!