The Stranger

 The Stranger by Albert Camus

1989

Weight: 6 oz

Method of Disposal: Donating

I reread The Stranger before donating it and am now reading The Plague, which feels quite pertinent these days.  

The main character in The Stranger is not believable or even all that likeable, but he is representative of an existentialist belief about life and as a tool to show how others interpret and see what they are looking to see in someone.  He is not believable because existentialism is not believable.  Can we care about a character whose life has no meaning?  He is so many things to so many people, but he hardly has an opinion himself except about his mortality and, even that, he lets go quickly.

I read this in English.  If my French were not so rusty, I would love to read it untranslated.  Regardless, I always enjoy Camus.  His books read quickly, but they linger a long time.

Life

LIFE! Why We Exist...And What We Must Do To Survive  by Martin G. Walker
2006
Weight: 4. 8 oz
Method of Disposal: Left at Chocalatte off Shallowford

This book got great reviews.  I cannot personally review it for you...sorry.  I realized soon after picking it up that I just cannot get into the philosophy mindset right now.  I am not convinced the time will come anytime soon.  I was drawn in by the title.  I want to know why we exist and what to do with it!  I guess I am just not ready to hear the answer yet.  I kept reading it and thinking, what is the point and how does this really help me continue to exist?  Even a reason for life does not give my life the reason I need to make it matter.  Why do I care about life's perseverance?  I do not claim any fault with the book.  I did not even finish it.  I am sure it is as good as so many other people have said, and I hope it reaches one of its intended readers now that I have let it go.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

The Unbearable Lightness of Being By Milan Kundera

1999

Weight: 9.6 oz

Method of Disposal: Leaving in Coralville, Iowa

I brought this book with me on the plane. I wanted to read it again before letting it go. It has probably been almost ten years since I last read it. It explores sex vs love, philosophy, living under an oppressive regime. It exposes human relationships as the ignorant, trite, and bumbling experiences they always are.

I am writing this from a hotel room, while my niece wails in the background, upset because she accidentally overfilled her cup with water and it spilled. It is hard to focus on Kundera and also hilarious to think about him in the drama that is ensuing. As it were, I am going to end this post here and find a place to leave this book behind and hope that someone picks it up who might enjoy it. Tomorrow, I fly back to Atlanta. I will spend my time on the plane reading So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell.

Textbook Bundle/Borders Closing

Abnormal Psychology in a Changing World by Nevid, Rathus, and Greene
Globe Literature by Globe Book Company
Gilbert’s Living With Art by Mark Gelten
An Introduction to Modern Philosophy: Examining the Human Condition by Castell and Borchert
Paso a Paso 1 by Scott Foresman
Weight: 17 lbs
Method of Disposal: Donating or giving away

I have chosen this collection of books for a variety of reasons, the main one being that all together they are very heavy. I chose them, by weight, out of guilt. See, the thing is, well, Borders is going out of business, and I got an e-mail today saying that everything was 60-80% off. I thought I would just drop by to say good b ye to the big ol’ beast. I’m getting rid of all my books so there would be no reason to buy more. Maybe I could get some stationary or a journal. And, all of the sudden, I left with 4.5 lbs of books, despite myself. Don’t worry, I will give them away too. They were just so cheap, and I was overcome. I was not thinking clearly, I guess. I know I should have just gone to the library but…
The Great Penguin Rescue: ( Come on!—inserted by me) 40,000 Penguins, a Devestating Oil Spill, and the Inspiring Story of the World’s Largest Animal Rescue. How could I resist the world’s largest rescue of my favorite animal or a fiction book acclaimed by Deb Olin Unferth?

Whatever. I do not need to justify myself any further.

A very brief history of the textbook bundle:
I have carried around Abnormal Psychology since I went off to college. It was one of my mom’s old textbooks. Globe literature must have come from a garage sale, but it looks like a book you would use in middle school. Living with Art has a three dollar sticker on it, but I do not know if I bought it or if it came from someone else. Paso a Paso is from high school. It was the book used in the Spanish Classes. It was the school’s property, but I am not the one who stole it. I inherited it. I took Français anyway. The Modern Philosophy book was found outside of a professor’s office at NC State in Raleigh. It was free to a good home and so I took it. I was visiting Tracy, and I lugged it all around town and then back home.

Another reason am letting these books go is because it is September 1st, and I am 29 days away from taking the GRE. My brain is on ridiculous standardized testing and on whether or not I will ever get up the courage to go to grad school. Where would I even go? It seemed appropriate to choose scholastic books. I will be much lighter now and that much closer to leaving for school again?