Lectiograph 2

Books I'm planning to read:

1. The Primal Scream Primal Therapy: The Cure for Neurosis by Arthur Janov, Phd. (1970). Yes, this is the book that inspired one of the most successful singing duo in the 80s, Tears for Fears (and also one of my favorite. though i have yet to lay my hands on some CD copies of their old albums. i can still remember patiently waiting for this local radio station to play everybody wants to rule the world back in the 80s so i can record it in my cassette tape). In fact, the band's name was taken from a phrase from the book, "tears as a replacement for fears". Both Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith were deeply into so-called primal therapy when they formed TFF. Earnings from album sales were supposed to finance their primal therapy sessions with Janov (must have been one expensive therapy). And apparently, the titles of two songs -- Ideas as Opiates and The Prisoner -- from their first album, The Hurting, were also derived from chapters of The Primal Scream. After 13 years of separation and a string of solo albums, Roland and Curt are back with TFF's recent album, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending (that record stores here in Manila have yet to procure).
   
2. War With The Newts by Karel Capek (1936). Sorry, I don't know how to make that Czech diacritical mark above the "C" (that one site described as the "convex-down bow" and is supposed to be pronounced as "cha", as in "Chapek"). Anyway, got my own battered and yellowing copy from a popular shop here in Manila that sells second-hand books. For only 21 pesos (or almost half a dollar). It has been in my shelves for almost seven years now. Which means, I should really read it soon. Read the synopsis of War With The Newts from one of these Capek sites. And I thought the theme has a startling resemblance to that of the Matrix movies: Capek's novel had the humans enslaving this race of intelligent amphibians; the Matrix world had humans initially oppressing machines. By the way, Capek is also famous for coining the word "robot", from the Czech "robota", in his play R.U.R. or "Rossum's Universal Robot".
   
3. Antarctica by Kim Stanley Robinson (1998). Have I already mentioned that Robinson is my favorite sf writer? I have read the Mars trilogy and the prelude book, The Martians (well, partly -- i wasn't able to finish it as i also lost my copy somewhere. which could be the last extant copy here in the Philippines right now. damn). I've also read Icehenge which is about human expeditions to Pluto. But Robinson is also known for his novels that are closer to home. Like Antarctica. Don't know much about literary works that feature the barren, cold environment at the earth's poles (does shelley's frankenstein count?). I started reading this nonfiction book on the arctic by this naturalist-environmentalist. Again, wasn't able to finish it. Coincidentally, I've been scanning this paper on "rapid change, resilience and vulnerability in social-ecological systems of the Arctic" that my boss passed on to me in preparation for writing a proposal of our project's next phase. So, this should be a good read.

Next, Books that I've already read but am planning to read again . . .