Good books come to those who wait

Sometime during my first month here, I ventured to interview a judge. Rather than make an appointment, I was advised to just show up at his office and seek an audience. I was prepared to wait and while waiting, I read all of Uganda's Succession Act, Evidence Act, Criminal Procedure Rules and Civil Procedure Rules.

I wait a lot. I wait for the taxi (bus) to arrive. I wait for the taxi to fill with passengers. I wait as the taxi stops to refuel. I wait in traffic. I wait for people to show up for meetings, scheduled or unscheduled. I wait for the power to come back on so I can finish cooking dinner (on my electric stove) and finish watching whatever DVD is trapped inside the player.

Waiting has reacquainted me with an once-favored activity: leisure reading. Since my arrival, I've read:
No Future Without Forgiveness by Desmond Tutu (@, &)
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (@, %, &)
Emma's War by Deborah Scroggins (%, !)
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ronald J. Sider (?)
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller (!)
Jesus in Beijing by David Aikman (@, %)
Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder (@, %, &)

I'm now reading:
Guns, Germs & Steel by Jared M. Diamond (?)
Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinski (%)
Once There Was a War by John Steinbeck (%)

I haven't written a book review since high school and I intend to leave that record undisturbed. But some symbol-coded observations:
@ - I chewed through these books. I could not put them down.
% - I like books written by reporters. I like the way they tell the story.
! - I enjoyed these books, but at certain points, I wanted to reach into the story and strangle the protagonists.
& - These books made me cry. Not single-tear-trickling-down-my-cheek cry, but bawling-in-rage-against-the-machine cry.
? - These books are big, full of statistics, not driven by a narrative. Interesting but tough to read.

Out of my reading list thus far, my absolute favorite - no contest - is the Grapes of Wrath. I've read about 8 other Steinbeck novels, so I don't know how I've missed this one until now. I've pushed the book on two of my co-workers (one American, one Ugandan). I'm also starting/joining a book club next month. More books ahead.