I wanted to share a list of some of what I think are the coolest, most inspirational books ever, and I don’t think they are commonly read these days. (Correct me if I’m wrong!) I hope folks might find something new here, and if so, let me know! I love to read and to share good books.

1.) Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl is a book by a concentration camp survivor which will really make you think. It will definitely move you, and it may even change your life. It did mine.

2.) The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom is also a very inspirational book having to with the author’s experiences during WWII. Well worth reading.

3.) Notes to Myself: My Struggle to Become a Person by Hugh Prather. I found this book to be very inspirational and thought provoking, as have all of my friends that have read it. It’s poetic, uplifting, and a relatively quick read.

4.) Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. This tale which on the face of it seems to be about a misfit seagull actually has very important and meaningful overtones which are helpful for the spirituality of humans, too.

5.)Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of The Dalai Lama by H.H. Dalai Lama. Even for those of us who are not buddhist, this book is extremely inspirational and thought provoking. I’d urge everyone to read it, and give thought to what he has to say.

So, I just thought I’d mention these. I’d be interested to know if any of you have read any of them, and if you did, what you thought about them.

100. IT (1990, Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace)
99. The Beyond (1981, Directed by Lucio Fulci)
98. Cloverfield
97. Don’t Look Now (1973, Directed by Nocolas Roeg)
96. Night of the Creeps (1986, Written and Directed by Fred Dekker)
95. Dead Ringers (1988, Directed by David Cronenberg)
94. Return of the Living Dead (1985, Written & Directed by Dan O’Bannon)
93. Scream (1996, Directed by Wes Craven)
92. Final Destination (2000, Directed by James Wong)
91. Re-Animator (1985, Directed by Stuart Gordon)
90. The Descent (2005, Directed by Neil Marshall)
89. The Ring (2002, Directed by Gore Verbinski)
88. Puppet Master (1989, Directed by David Schmoeller)
87. Salem’s Lot (1979, Directed by Tobe Hooper)
86. Seven (1995, Directed by David Fincher)
85. Hostel (2005, Directed by Eli Roth)
84. Jason X
83. May (2002, Written and Directed by Lucky McKee)
82. Sweeney Todd
81. From Beyond (1986, Directed by Stuart Gordon)
80. Jacobs’ Ladder (1990, Directed by Adrian Lyne)
79. Suspiria (1977, Directed by Dario Argento)
78. Ginger Snaps (2000, Directed by John Fawcett)
77. Altered States (1980, Directed by Ken Russell)
76. Videodrome (1983, Written and Directed by David Cronenberg)
75. Pet Semetary (1989, Directed by Mary Lambert)
74. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981, Directed by Steve Miner)
73. The Host (2006, Directed by Joon-ho Bong)
72. Halloween 2 (1981, Directed by Rick Rosenthal)
71. Event Horizon (1997, Directed by Paul Anderson)
70. Alien Vs. Predator
69. Resident Evil
68. 1408
67. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006, Directed by Scott Glosserman)
66. 28 Weeks Later (2007, Directed By Juan Carlos Fresnadillo)
65. Army of Darkness (1992, Directed by Sam Raimi)
64. The Lost Boys (1987, Directed by Joel Schumacher)
63. The Zombie Diaries
62. A Tale of Two Sisters (2003, Directed by Ji-woon Kim)
61. Day Watch (2006, Directed By Timur Bekmambetov)
60. The Deaths Of Ian Stone
59. Crazy Eights
58. Resident Evil 3
57. Frontiers
56. The Orphanage (2007, Directed by J.A. Bayona)
55. The Omen (1976, Directed by Richard Donner)
54. Day of the Dead (1985, Written and Directed by George A. Romero)
53. Amityville Horror (1979, Directed by Stuart Rosenberg)
52. The Sixth Sense (1999, Directed by M. Night Shyamalan)
51. Diary Of The Dead
50. Day Of The Dead: The Need To Feed
49. High Tension (2005, Directed by Alexandre Aja)
48. Man Bites Dog (1992, Directed By Remy Belvaux)
47. The Thing (1982, Directed by John Carpenter)
46. Resident Evil 2
45. Poltergeist (1982, Directed by Tobe Hooper)
44. Rosemary’s Baby (1968, Directed by Roman Polanski)
43. The Blair Witch Project (1999, Directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez)
42. Trackman
41. Cemetary Man (1994, Directed by Michele Soavil)
40. 30 Days Of Night
39. Night Watch (2004, Directed By Timur Bekmambetov)
38. Ju-On (2000, Written and Directed by Takashi Shimizu)
37. Wolf Creek (2005, Directed By Greg McLean)
36. Dawn of the Dead 2004 (2004, Directed by Zack Snyder)
35. Nightmare on Elm Street (1984, Directed by Wes Craven)
34. Dawn of the Dead (1978, Written and Directed by George A. Romero)
33. The Howling (1981, Directed by Joe Dante)
32. Frailty (2001, Directed by Bill Paxton)
31. Dead Alive (1992, Directed by Peter Jackson)
30. Black Sheep
29. Phantasm (1979, Directed by Don Coscarelli)
28. Death Note II: The Last Name (2007, Directed By Shusuke Kaneko)
27. Death Note (2006, Directed By Shusuke Kaneko)
26. Hell Raiser (1987, Directed by Clive Barker)
25. Grindhouse (2007, Directed by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez)
24. Evil Dead (1981, Directed by Sam Raimi)
23. Trailer Park Of Terror (2008, Directed By Steven Goldmann)
22. Darkness Falls (2003, Directed by Jonathan Liebesman)
21. Feast (2005, Directed by John Gulager)
20. Friday the 13th (1980, Directed by Sean S. Cunningham)
19. Audition (1999, Directed by Takashi Miike)
18. Jaws (1975, Directed by Steven Spielberg)
17. The Shining (1980, Directed by Stanley Kubrick)
16. Kingdom Hospital
15. Exorcist III
14. Reincarnation
13. Ringu (1998, Directed by Hideo Nakata)
12. Dog Soldiers (2002, Written and Directed by Neil Marshall)
11. Silence of the Lambs (1991, Directed by Jonathan Demme)
10. The Mist (2007, Directed by Frank Darabont)
9. Let The Right One In (2008, Directed By Tomas Alfredson)
8. Shaun of the Dead (2004, Directed by Edgar Wright)
7. Halloween (1978, Directed by John Carpenter)
6. Cube (1997, Directed By Vincenzo Natali)
5. 28 Days Later (2002, Directed by Danny Boyle)
4. Aliens (Special Edition) (1986, Directed by James Cameron)
3. Carrie (Special Edition) (1976, Directed by Brian De Palma)
2. Alien (1979, Directed by Ridley Scott)
1. The Exorcist (The Version You’ve Never Seen) (2002, Directed by William Friedkin)

But really I’m feeling  a bit interested in anyone’s life who wants to share! (So I’m a bit voyeuristic. Sue me.)

And I wonder if any of my imaginings about people in other countries have any truth to them… For example, I have always the idea that people in places like France and the UK go to the grocery (or greengrocer, or supermarket–I don’t even know what people in other countries call it!) nearly every day or every other day. That their food is much fresher than what you get here–which has usually been harvested several weeks before hitting the stores. Is there truth to this?

• I have the idea that most people in England go to a pub at least once a month. (I’m told that pubs are not at all entirely- or even mostly- “just” about drinking alcohol, contrary to the American “pub” styling which is really only a pretentious bar here in the USA.)
• I imagine that people in Germany have in general very clean and organized homes and cars and office spaces. And based on an article I read years ago, I imagine that most employed Germans get at least four weeks of paid vacation a year (vs. the two weeks that Americans get – if they’re lucky.)
• I figure that most people in Mexico and South America and Italy are very close to their extended families and see them often. (Weekly?)
• I wonder if nearly all Italians are into “football” (for the Americans, that’s what we call soccer) and at least have a passing interest. (For instance, can you name the top three teams right now?)
• I’ve been told (frankly, to my surprise) that there is a large number of people in Switzerland who for whatever reason have a gun in their household. Any truth to this?
• My youngest sister told me that some of the friendliest people she ever met anywhere when she was overseas were from Croatia. Would anyone agree?
• I have the idea that most Canadians watch what happens in America fairly closely but aren’t terribly interested in visiting here–much less moving here. Further I’d venture to say that most Canadians (90% or better?)  have never come here for medical treatment  – and have no interest in doing so.
• I am reasonably sure that the number of people born elsewhere who really wish they could be (permanently) Americans (contrary to our occasionally self-important and prideful ideas here in the US) are actually pretty much in the minority, on this planet of seven billion people. Would you snap your fingers and become an American if you could?
• My guess is that a fairly large number of people, who aren’t from the USA, if asked to choose the nationality of a person they would be trapped in an elevator with for a few hours–would NOT choose an American–or Americans would be fairly low on the list. True?

I could go on but really I’m just showing my embarrassing lack of knowledge, I guess, but I really would like to know.

And I know that people are individuals, and that it’s beyond stupid to paint a whole country with a stereotype, which was really not my goal. I guess I’m just trying to incite some discussion/commentary.

Anyway, I’d be interested in what anyone has to say….

I was just thinking about the few television shows I’ve seen from outside the United States (they are mostly all either Japanese game shows or British television shows.) It made me curious about what shows people watch the most and enjoy, whether they are from the USA or from other countries. What do you watch?

I’ve put a list of some of my favorite shows up and I’d love to hear what other people, particularly non-US people, watch most often. Or do you watch at all? In general I am not a huge TV fan, I get sick of seeing commercials for drugs every 90 seconds and so on. But here are some shows that I do enjoy:

(These are in no particular order.)

1. Stargate/Atlantis Series
2. Robot Chicken
3. Family Guy
4. American Dad
5. The Daily Show
6. Colbert Report
7. Vicar of Dibley (British sitcom shown on PBS here)
8. Moral Orel
9. Saving Grace
10. The Closer
11. CSI

Maybe it says something about me that I’m a grown woman and a few of these are cartoons, etc., but I guess we’ve got to take our pleasures where we can find them, especially when it comes to TV!

So, what might be on your list? Thanks.