Fall + India Reading List

• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander - incredibly interesting theory that the War on Drugs, like slavery and Jim Crow before it, is a systematic oppression designed to keep black and brown people down. I agree with most of what Alexander argues and she presents it in a way that is interesting to both skeptics and those wholeheartedly in agreement. She provides good historical background but it gets a bit repetitive at times.

Wow, that is sad. I only read one book this fall, and it was assigned reading for my Crash class, so I'm not sure if that even counts. I haven't done a Reading List post since Fall 2011.

I've made up for with my plane rides and first few days in India, reading:

• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - I read The Secret Garden as child, and when I saw the play with BrandonB last year (his roommate is an actor) I realized the book was more complex that I remembered. Who knew it started in India? So I added to the Kindle and read it on my way over here. The book only takes place in India for the first chapter, but it was still an enjoyable read.

• The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson - Rum Diary was on Justin's reading list, and it looked like it would be fun. A quick, easy read about journalists in Puerto Rico in the 1950s doing a lot of drinking and very little reporting.

• The Phantom of the Opera  by Gaston Leroux - it's been on my to-read list after missing part of the show during my high school freshman field trip to Broadway in 2000. The book was totally different than what I expected, but it was a lovely picture of Paris in 1870. The Phantom is also known as "Erik from India" although a quick google search shows the India claim is disputed.

Thanks to Lynda and Bruce for getting the kindle, and for Justin to lending it to me. It's perfect for this trip.

Any recommendations? I have two 9 hour train rides coming up, and potentially a week without internet access, so good books are important!