Shopping for Buddha by Jeff Greenwald - I started this on Ko Phan-Ngan. Uncle Paul had gotten it from this "doctor" (the quotes are because while he was a cool guy I thought he was full of shit) from Berkley, Hank. They read it first, rather Jo read it to Uncle Paul as he had lost his glasses somewhere, and then gave it to me. I had to give it back the morning I hastily split to catch the ferry to Ko Samui to change my ticket back to Australia. That's when I ended up having to go to Phuket instead and the rest is, as they say, history. I read more of it on the plane home to SF. Still haven't finished it but will.
Love Rules by Freya North - Silly Briget Jones-esque, beach read
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - Maeve required reading being Canadian and all...got it from the Richmond Library with my little library card. I miss the little Richmond Library.
It by Stephen King - My God, it took me months to finish this book. I got it from Murray in Nepal when he was too engrossed in Anatoli Bourkreev's book (later down the list) to read it. Started it in Kathmandu and finished in Richmond almost two months later and it was a big-ass book to be lugging all around Thailand. Oh, right...I started it because I was too bored and feeling too inadequate as an intelligent human being to finish Foucault's Pendulum (Umberto Eco) that I bought in Namche Bazar. You will note that this book, is not on this list.
One for my Baby by Tony Parsons - I read this on my dive trip from the dive boat library. Probably not the best book to have on a dive boat as in the first couple chapters, the love of this man's life dies in a freak diving accident. Um, hello? Unfortunately, I had read it before the tsunami.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - I read this because Jo recommended it as "a lovely book". And it was. I also realized quite quickly that it is also the quintessential backpacker's book...a must read for everyone who quits their job to travel the world. I got it in Bangkok when I traded in that dreadful Foucault's Pendulum (that I paid $10 for!). I read it on Ko Lanta mostly, I think.
The Beach by Alex Garland - Another must read for those traveling in southern Thailand it seems. I read alot of it on the train from Bangkok to Surat Thani where I got the bus to Krabi and the boat to Ko Phi Phi to meet up with Vicky. This one was also part of the Foucault's Pendulum trade. I finished it on Phi Phi so Vicky could have it. We also saw the movie there which I thought was not as good as the book...yeah, yeah, yeah. Doesn't it always go that way?
The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev - I had read Into Thin Air years ago. This is Boukreev's account of what happened on Everest that fateful day in May of 1996. It makes Krakauer look like the asshole that I think he is. Uncle Paul recommended it, Murray bought it in Pokhara and read it in about two days so I could have it. Finished it in Bangkok at Bella Bella Guesthouse and left it on the book shelf there.
'A' is for Alibi by Sue Grafton - I can't remember a thing about this one. Uncle Paul and Jo had it when I met up with them in Bangkok. In the interest of not carrying many heavy books on our trek, we coordinated who has read what and who will read what next so we could take only three books. Smart, no?
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey - I got this book from Vicky when she was finished with it in Vietnam. I didn't love it. I think I was reading it when I met up with Uncle Paul and Jo in Bangkok. It's one of Uncle Paul's favorite books. I had a hard time finishing it but pushed my way through it and finished it on our trek so Jo could read it. I had more people in teahouses on our trek tell me, "Oh, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest...great book, one of my favorites." I must be missing something. Maybe seeing the movie will change my opinion.
Amsterdam by Ian McEwan - Now, this was a book I really liked. I read Atonement for Book Club a while back and liked it. Maeve gave me Amsterdam in Cambodia and wanted to know what I thought (I still owe her a chat about it...sorry, Maeve'ers). I thought it was strange but I liked it nonetheless. He's just written a new one, Saturday, which I'm looking forward to getting my hands on.
The Killing Fields by Christopher Hudson - Bought this one in Nha Trang and almost didn't finish it...in fact, I can't remember where I finished it but I know I did. It got very slow and tedious in the middle. I did read most of it in Cambodia and it allowed me to put together alot of what I was seeing (at the actual Killing Fields) with what happened. I probably need to do more reading on the Khmer Rouge but at least at the moment, I have the basics of all the atrocities that occurred there.
The Quiet American by Graham Greene - This one is also seems to be required reading for those traveling Southeast Asia.
Stupid White Men by Michael Moore - Ah, Michael Moore...if only you'd keep your shirt on, people would pay more attention and put more stock into your ideas. I had so many people through out my travels ask me if I had read this book when the topic of "Dubya" would come up (it always did) that I thought I needed to get on the ball. In order to avoid a Parker civil war, I'll just skip my opinions of the book and mention that I bought this book from this very, very, very aggressive little girl in Hanoi. People sell copies of books...for all intents and purposes, they are actual bound books and everything but they are just illegally copied. I think I paid something like a dollar for it. I guess there are worse ways of breaking the law.
The Thin Dark Line by Tami Hoag - I forget where I got this one but I know it was in Bangkok when I first arrived in September. Oh, I think I got it at the youth hostel I stayed at after moving from Peachy Guesthouse that was cheap but a bit skeevy. Nothing special...beach read.
Games of State by Tom Clancey - I stole this one from the Palmer. Finished it in Richmond before leaving for Bangkok.
For Love and Duty by Maisie Mosco - Oh, right...I remember this one. Another one of the shelves at the Palmer. The pickins were slim. I really slummed it on the reading front.
Chopper from the Inside by Mark Brandon Read - Yeah. This was an interesting one. I was lent this book from Chris, one of the regulars at the Roadhouse, the day Jimmy and I went visiting. We stopped by Chris' "house" out in the bush (suffice it to say there was lots of corrugated tin on the roof) and he was reading it. Told me I'd find it interesting. Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read is one of the most notorious hitmen in the underworld of Melbourne crime. He was a real nasty bloke (or I guess, is) but after spending years in prison has written several books and seems to be trying to pay his debt to society. He did some pretty sick things during his days. And I though the John Gotti and the New York mafia were tough...it was a whole new side of Aussies that I never would have imagined existed. Melbourne is definitely most like New York or London but now I realize it's more than just the food!
The Lion's Game by Nelson DeMille - Read this at the Palmer too...
The Other Side of the Story by Marion Keyes - I had been seeing this book around everywhere. Everyone seemed to be reading it, it was in all the bookstores but because it was quite long and popular, it was expensive and I wasn't going to waste money on it. It's another variation of Bridget Jones. Marion Keyes is a pretty popular British author with several Bridget Jones-esque novels but I had never heard of her. One day at Gecko's (the backpacker's that I worked at for two weeks), I walk past the book shelf and to my great surprise, see that someone has left an almost brand-new copy of this book! Well, people, I can't tell you how much my day was made right then and there. It was just what I wanted, a cheesy book for by the pool that I wouldn't be able to put down. And it definitely delivered. Problem was I was leaving for the Roadhouse in a matter of days and because the other girls at Gecko's wanted to read it too, I basically spent every minute with my nose in that book. :)
Pants on Fire by Maggie Alderson - I'm telling you my reading was certainly not deep while in Cairns. Man, Cairns really dumbed me down. This book was about an English girl who moves to Sydney and learns all about city life down under complete with broken hearts, gay fashionisitas, and the coked up habits of new friends. Not the Sydney I saw but maybe I'm just not that cool.
The Bride Striped Bare by Anonymous - Got this one from Kate at Gecko's. Apparently, this woman disappears and her mother publishes her diary. Her diary is this book. Another Cairns, "make me stupid" special...
Puerto Vallarta Squeeze by Robert James Waller - It just keeps getting worse. The Bridges of Madison County guy...oh, come on.
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger - This was a beautiful book. I really liked this one although I did notice that it sat on the book shelf at the hostel for a couple of days before anyone picked it up.
Something to Talk About by Sarah Webb - Oh, yeah...I just had to do a Google search on this one because I could remember not a thing about it. This was another one of those dumb British books although this one was Irish. Only benefit of reading this book was brushing up on my Irish slang. And since I was hanging out with John, my Irish friend, while I was reading this, he could translate. Also, the first time I had heard of kite-surfing as a sport.
Solomon's Song by Bryce Courtney - I think I got this one in Bali...can't remember much about where I read it.
The Dive from Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer - I read this one in Ubud, Bali. I was really bored and would spend most of the day reading. I spent my first three nights at this one guesthouse that was really nice and then decided to slum it for the next couple of nights to save some cash so I moved to this place right off the main road (Monkey Forest Rd., I think). The owner was this creepy man who basically wanted to snag himself a western wife. He would come and sit on your porch and chat...and not leave! Amy, this Australian girl in next to me, shared my pain. We would avoid him together and she became one of the three friends I met in Bali.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - Got this one at the great guesthouse I stayed at in Sanur...they actually had a book shelf/exchange. Thank God. I remember reading most of it on my porch at the first, nice place I stayed at in Ubud overlooking the pretty pool.
Up Country by Nelson DeMille - This is the book that made me want to go to Vietnam. I read it in Sanur (on another one of my lovely porches) and said, "Yup, I'm going to Vietnam." And I did. :)
Down Under by Bill Bryson - Apparently, they changed the name of this book for publication outside the US. It's titled In a Sunburnt Country here but Down Under everywhere else. I read this before I even left the US and then had a read it again once I had seen alot of the country. Just as funny the second time...and he summed up exactly how I felt about Ayers Rock. (See web log)
The Sex Life of My Aunt by Mavis Cheek - Don't remember much about this one other than it was yet another Bridget Jones type book. I remember reading it by the pool of my first hotel in Kuta Beach, Bali right after I arrived.
The Son of John Devlin by Charles Kenney - I grabbed this off the shelf of the YHA in Cairns which now seems like a second home. I spent alot of time there. I picked it to stay at after Jill left because they had parking and I still had the rental car for another night. I stayed there almost a week while deciding to go to Bali and then again when I came back which is when I met Lucy and John and the rest of the crew. Oh, the book sucked. :)
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown - Jill bought this in the San Francisco airport on her way to Australia and I got it in a trade. I liked it...very DaVinci Code.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - I bought this in Devonport, Australia (Tasmania) to take on the Overland with me. I didn't read it much, just couldn't get into it out in the wilderness. I read alot of it in Richmond before Jill arrived and finished in the Whitsundays. Loved it...and now have to watch the BBC version of the movie as per Maeve.
I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson - Grown up Bridget Jones. Read it in Tasmania while traveling with Jurgen.
The Power of One by Bryce Courtney - I tried to read this once before and didn't get into it. I absolutely loved it. It was the first Bryce Courtney book I had read. I think I read it in New Zealand. Yeah, I got it in my DaVinci Code trade at the Queenstown YHA. Unfortunately, I didn't bring it on the Routeburn. Dumb.
The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown - Finally. I bought this in Neutral Bay (and paid full price) because I had been wanting to read it so bad. Everyone was reading it and I felt so left out! I remember the three hour flight over to Auckland seeming like 10 minutes because I couldn't put this book down. I donated it at the very first hostel I stayed at in Queenstown after Jane left. The next day on the first day of the Routeburn, I meet Peter and Janet who excitedly tell me about how they snagged a brand-new copy of The DaVinci Code from the hostel. :)
The Glass Lake by Maeve Binchy - The first book I read on my travels. I borrowed it from Joyce and read alot of it in my bedroom at Molly and Jim's resting off jet lag and getting used to all the new bird noises! When I first heard magpies, I thought they were kids playing in the street.