Contagious Poisonwood

It has been a summer of reading - and the more people I meet, the more common an experience it seems to be. Restricted availability of television. Only so many dvds packed in my backpack. Work schedules of comrades misaligned and/or everyone is fatigued from the long day's work.

...All things considered, it is nice to just curl up with a book.

Interesting, and ultimately my purpose for this post, many people seem to be reading the same fantastic book - The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, perhaps my favorite book. This novel has become almost a symbol of my time here, repeatedly brought up in conversation. I find it interesting that so many people are just now reading or hearing of this novel, one I read in high school - but better now than never. It seems particularly intriguing that Westerners already in Africa would choose to read this book, a book about the potentially destructive force of well-intentioned but ignorant Westerners in an African community. Reading Poisionwood while in Africa would certainly lend another perspective than reading it prior to one's arrival or following one's departure. Something to consider.

Regardless, I find it refreshing that so many people are anxious to read and discuss this novel.