Lenten/Summer Reads Part 1

Powerful Prayers by Larry King

This is one book I never tire to read. Larry King distilled a heady bouquet of a book from his interviews with various personalities as to their encounters with the divine. I dip into this book when things don't go well in my life. It never fails to make me look up and thank the Lord. King's exchanges with Rabbi Irwin Katsof (who co-wrote the book) are at turns serious, funny, irate: evident of well-founded friendship between the two. King paints a very human picture of himself in search of God in his life punctuated by numerous divorces, operations and trials.

The Book of Virtues (A treasury of great moral stories) Edited with commentaries by William Bennett

One hefty book, this (832 pages!). I've started reading this since I bought a used copy last month. As with Powerful Prayers, I intend to dip into it from time to time. Bennett used very good writers like James Baldwin to retell the stories and featured stories from the Bible, poetry from masters like Robert Frost, Longfellow, et. al. The book is divided along the virtues Bennett spelled out: Self-discipline, compassion, responsibility, friendship, work, courage, perseverance, honesty, loyalty, and faith. Regardless of his republican politics, he presents a direction going back to the virtues that once made USA a great country. As a former Education Secretary, he should know where he speaks of.

Kokology 1 & 2 (The Game of Self-Discovery) by Tadahiko Nagao & Isamu Saito

An intriguing read for those who are attempting to know themselves more. Kokology (Kokoro Japanese for mind/spirit) is defined as a series of psychological games designed to uncover emotional and behavioral traits of the players. Here's how it works: You (and others) answer question(s) and based on your answer(s), an interpretation is given in the book. Example: It's your birthday and you're expectant of greetings and gifts. When you check your mail, you find out someone you'd never suspected has sent you a card. Who sent it? You also get lots of gifts. Who sent you the biggest package? The interpretations to your answer(s) are quite revealing and eye-opening.