So Many Books, So Little Time

The Confluence Countdown householders love books. Steve and I met in grad school–both English majors, but with different interests. As a result, we have floor-to-celing bookshelves that are, frankly, overweight. We can’t say no. In short, we have a book problem.

And one book leads to another. When I discovered the print-on-demand option for Eddie Stern and Robert Moses’s journal, Namarupa, I began demanding print. When I read Eddie’s article on the philosophical history of Pattabhi Jois in Issue 13 (which I blogged about here), I wanted to know more. So I asked book-enabler Eddie Stern where I could find out more about Shankaracharya. He sent us to the bookstore at the Hollywood Vedanta Society.

So, off we went. It’s tucked into a quiet little corner of Hollywood. When I walked through the door and my eyes fell on a fifteen volume, complete Sanskrit / English translation of the Mahabarata, I said to Steve, “We’re in trouble.”

The librarian sensed this; we were displaying all the signs of book addition: giddiness, tapping on spines, sliding to the floor to read. She gave a tour of the way the volumes were organized, made us ginger tea, answered questions, made recommendations. She was delightful. This, in part, is the result:

It was a lovely hour, and we sauntered out into the parking lot, arms full (this isn’t even all of them, by the way–they wouldn’t all fit in the shot). We have Shakaracharya’s commentary on the Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita, as you can see. But also an introduction to yantras, and a breakdown of the meaning of the architecture of Hindu temples.

Then, this morning, the reading list for our yatra arrived in our email inboxes from Robert Moses. About eleven books on it.

We need a plan.

Posted by Bobbie