Recommended Books

Below are three book series I have really enjoyed.

Sword of Truth Series

The Sword of Truth is a series of eleven epic fantasy novels written by Terry Goodkind. The books follow the protagonists Richard Cypher, Kahlan Amnell and Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander on their quest to defeat oppressors who seek to control the world and those who wish to unleash evil upon the world of the living. While each novel was written to stand alone except for the final three that were intended to be a trilogy, they follow a common timeline and are linked by ongoing events that occur throughout the series.

The main character is a young man named Richard Cypher, a Westland woods guide whose simple life is forever changed after he becomes the Seeker of Truth - a position similar to that of a Confessor, requiring him to uphold justice in the world.

The Dresden Files

In the world of The Dresden Files, magic is real, along with vampires, demons, spirits, faeries, werewolves, and other mythical monsters. Harry Dresden works to protect the general public, who are ignorant of magic and the dark forces conspiring against them. This makes it difficult for Harry to get by as a working wizard and private eye. The Chicago PD's Special Investigation unit, when led by Karrin Murphy, regular employed Dresden to help solve cases of a supernatural nature.

Wheel of Time Series

Set in a world where two kinds of magic exist, one female and the other male, the Wheel of Time series features the hero Rand. Rand is on an epic quest to unite the diverse peoples of his planet against the Dark One, who threatens to destroy their world. His quest takes him through a series of complex and well-delineated alien cultures. Jo-Ann Goodwin in New Statesman and Society calls the Wheel of Time books "high fantasy that demands to be taken seriously. . . . [Jordan] has been rightly praised for creating an entirely convincing and compelling alternative world, complete with social systems, cultural differences and competing motivations."

I have also enjoyed many books by Tom Clancy, a famous military/spy author who now also has his name plastered on many popular video games.

My Favorite is the Jack Ryan Series. Many will recognize some of them due to the movies they inspired.  Debt of Honor, Hunt for the Red October, Clear and Present Danger, and Sum of all Fears are a few.

I'm always welcome to new suggestions for reading material, so feel free to leave ideas in the comments below.

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When Privatization Goes Wrong

When an hour of parking costs more than an hour of minimum wage work, there is a problem.  Parking meters are not meant as sources of income.  They're meant to help lower traffic, increase public transportation, and otherwise help the roadways.  Chicago is now putting forth a $6.50 / hour parking fees downtown.  This would kill downtown business traffic as well as raising rates of employees who may have to pay the parking fees for their cars while they work.
The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago is trying to get "quickie" approval for a proposal to privatize the city's parking meters. Under the 75 year lease, Chicago's 36,000 parking meters would be controlled by a partnership that includes Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and LAZ Parking. This partnership will, naturally, raise prices. Critics of the proposal say that charging $6.50 an hour by 2013 to park downtown would hurt local businesses. More troubling is the potential for a conflict of interest:
Ald. William Banks (36th), one of the mayor's staunchest City Council supporters, warned that charging $6.50-an-hour to park at Loop meters and forcing drivers to feed those meters 24/7 would be a "definite deterrent to people visiting the downtown area," hurting retailers and restaurants. Parking enforcement could get tougher if the contractor exercises its right to "supplement" the city's ticket-writing efforts to "protect its revenue."
Supplement the city's ticket writing to "protect its revenue?" Well, that seems like a conflict of interest, doesn't it? Consumerist expects to receive a lot of email from angry motorists should this deal go through.
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