So I've decided that since I'm lightening my pack when I head to SE Asia (no boots, fewer clothes, smaller sleeping bag)... I'm going to allow myself to carry a book. E-gad!
My friends... I need your help! I'm pretty sure the book stores of Auckland and Honolulu will allow me to find pretty much whatever I want.
Post a comment and tell me what I should pick up and why. Fiction or non-fiction... I'm cool with either. Right now I'm considering The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, or How We Die for my imminent and lengthy flights.
Sell me on your suggestion... maybe you'll also get some good suggestions for that summer reading list.
(Family... I know you're reading my nonsensical ramblings... post a comment for a change! Go crazy! Post a couple! Don't be scared... the blog won't bite)
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11 comments:
Owls and Other Fantasies - poems by Mary oliver
Illusions by Richard Bach
Rumi - The book of Love
-Anything by Rumi!-
The Shipping News by Annie Proulx. An easy read that will actually make you want to go to Nova Scotia. Not that you need someplace else to visit, but a great story anyways.
--Jim
Hmmm. I have to disagree with Anonymous above if you're thinking PLANE ride-- though pocket rumi on top of something big and thick and plot driven maybe. I read A LOT in SE Asia. But I'm a writer. There are TONS of places in Thailand though to buy/swap books in English though, for not too much money. Especially in Chiang Mai or Bangkok. So I'd grab whatever you think you will not find in SE Asia while you're in Hawaii. I bet you can get Eggers and Kundera in Thailand.
I recommend "Guns, Germs, and Steel" if you haven't read that yet. It's an interesting take on why certain peoples ended up doing better in certain areas of the world than others throughout time. And it's really thick. Also, perhaps you should just start penning your own book. I'd read it.
Tim,
My Mom gave this book "A history of God: The 4000 year quest for Judaism, Christianity, & Islam". It was written by a defunct nun and it's really a good general book about the history of each of the religions listed above. It's a pretty interesting book for people like you and me who know nothing about the bible, you should check it out. The authors name is Karen Armstrong
Phew - lots of suggestions already! I'll offer up one more - All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren. It's the perfect travel book (in my opinion) - long but not heavy, excellent but not a page turner (so it'll last more than a few days), and some of the best metaphors I've ever read. Eggers and Kundera would be very good choices too.
Happy Travels!
Popo the Salad Girl
ooh, no, wait--I take it all back. I'm with "All the King's Men." Excellent book, long enough AND there's a new movie adaptation coming out this year with a stellar cast, so definitely good timing.
"the unbearable lightness of being" - very good, but be prepared to blush if you are reading on a long flight...or so says my friend ryan who read it on his way to Chile.
also, a very good read is "Middlesex"-Eugenes?, and "Oh the Glory of it all", Sean Wisley -if you like memoirs. Plus, both are over 400 pages long, so you get more words for your time. Oh, and the "Celestine Prophecy" is pretty interesting...but i'm worried that you might take off to Peru to discover these profecies for yourself, and we might never ever see you again!
You guys are awesome!
I think I'll go with All the King's Men... suggested by my two writer friends.
The other book suggestions are great. Illusions already has a spot on my "List"... the rest of them are now on there.
Funny... I actually finished The Unbearable Lightness of Being on my flight from Sydney to Honolulu. Indeed... I did some blushing, but also a good deal of thinking, rethinking and contemplating. A very good book.
Jess... thanks for the tips on Thai book swap shops. I'll keep my eyes open.
Keep throwing me suggestions... I'd love to add to the list. Take care kids!
How about letters from a skeptic ?
http://www.sharperimage.com/us/en/catalog/productview.jhtml?sku=dg301
I'm a bit late, but just in case you get bored here another for your list.
Short history of nearly everything by Bill Bryson. I sort of think the name should be a Short history of human science, but that wouldn't sell well.
E=MC2: A Biography of the world's most famous equation, David Bodanis is another good one.
Founding brothers is also good, though I'm not sure if you'll find that one in a general bookstore. A short history of the intertwined lives of Adams, Jefferson, and alike.
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