Ben's Summer Reading List

So far this trip, one of my greatest accomplishment's has been that I was able to read. Yes, the road to literacy has been quite the journey for me, but after struggling through my ABC's and eventually mastering the paragraph system, I am now a full fledged reader!

I have been picking up pace recently, aided by the massive chilling effort undertaken in Koh Chang. I am currently reading a book by an NPR journalist called, The Geography of Bliss. The book is really fun, and me and the author seem to have at least a little in common, so it is pretty breezy. The book is actually the reason that I first heard of the country of Bhutan, when during an NPR interview the author was discussing the book, some of the countries, and most interestingly(to me), the country of Bhutan and their happiness index. I forgot all about the book, and the author, but when I saw it on a table of a street vendor selling random books, I thought it looked interesting, and figured out that it was the author of the book i'd heard on NPR so long ago....etc. Plus it has a borders label on it, so I like imagining that it was bought on Germantown Ave last year at their going out of busines sale! Also, be sure to check out the SUPER cute Lulu pictures that have been added by Jin below(in the past post!)

Without further adieu....

BENS SUMMER READING LIST 2010
Snuff-by Palahniuk
Adrift-Callahan
The Old Man and the Sea-Hemingway
King Solomon's Mines
1984-Orwell
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea-Verne
Still Life With Woodpecker-Robbins
Cat's Cradle-Vonnegut
Marching Powder
The Dirt-Motley Crue
Twilight
The Dharma Bums-Kerouac
Shoeless Joe-Kinsella
A Swiftly Tilting Planet-L'Engle
The Greatest Salesman in the World-Mandingo
The Rum Diary-Thompson
The Alligator Report-Kinsella
Jitterbug Perfume-Robbins
On a Move-The Story of Mumia Abu Jamal-by Bisson
The Alchemist-Coelho
Siddhartha-Hesse
A Short History of Nearly Everything-Bryson
Annapurna-Herzog
The Sheltering Sky-Bowles
Da Vinci Code



A few notes....
Favorites: Adrift is an awesome book, and I'd highly recommend it to anybody, especially if they are in to Non Fiction or adventure stories, boating, etc... It's an amazing story of the only person ever to survive over 30 days alone on an inflatable life raft.
King Solomon's Mines: I found this and 20000 Leagues at a huge bookstore in Chongqing for 2.75 each as part of the Wordsworth Classics series. They are really inexpensive classics that are pretty easy to find. Anyways, being in to the whole rock thing, i figured i should read this.... and what a story! Its really a classic adventure story, and was way better than i expected it to be. quite easy to follow along and enjoy despite how long ago it was written.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: i was doubting how much I loved this book, although I did like it, until the last paragraph... Might be the best last page i've read all summer.I love the finality and the classic strong ending of the story, So cool!
Still Life With Woodpecker: one of my top ten favorites ever. Thanks to my friend Erin for giving me this book a few years ago, she definitely nailed my taste in books. This has got to be Robbins best, if anyone disagrees, let me know and i'll read that one. Jitterbug was a huge let down afterwards, although still good.... I like the story in retrospect, more than i liked actually reading it.... and I like it even more after DaVinci Code
Marching Powder; a really cool book about the prison in La Paz that I visited.
The Dirt: a great rock and roll book. I don't want to read any more rock stories for a while, because they dont wont compare to this one. I also enjoyed reading all of their perspectives in one book, way cooler than hearing one jerk rambling on....4 jerks is much better
The Dharma Bums:I should of read this when i was 14. Another one of the best books i've ever read. Anyone that wants to be cool, or chill,etc should be required to read this before they are allowed to be down. This has got to be one of the best descriptions of a time and place that I have ever read. I really felt like I was living in the 50s/60s back in Berkeley. The descriptions of their hikes, gear shopping, their little houses on the hill in Berk really brought me back home, and gave me the best description of that era, their mindset, etc that I have ever encountered. Those guys were the real hippies, and I am eternally greatful to Kerouac for allowing me to glimpse that time and space in such a comprehensive and lifelike format. My highest praises
Shoeless Joe and The Alligator Report: I found Shoeless Joe at a bookstore for 1.50 in Hanoi, and as books are sometimes really expensive, and trades work out well, i bought it as an easy read and to add to my trading supply. It was pretty good, very different from the movie, Field of dreams, and better in many ways. I also kind of like the feel of Kinsella, he seems like a cool guy. This was confirmed when I found The Alligator Report on a bookshelf of our hostel in Phnom Penh. The book is dedicated to Richard Brautigan, which I took as a sign I should read it. I did, and it wasnt too bad, although short stories aren't really my cup of tea. Nevertheless, it only took me about 3 hours of a hot day sitting under the fan of our ghetto hostel and drinking coffee, so that was cool.
A Swiftly Tilting Planet: we found this book for 1 dollar in Laos. It had no cover, but I thought it would be a good book for Jin. I also remembered the copy sitting on my bookshelf at home next to The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. I had never read it, despite my moms subtle hints to do so. It was ok, but fantasy isn't really my thing. Jin liked it much more than me.
The Rum Diary: An amazing book. Totally not what I expected from Hunter S. Thompson. This book really brought you in to the time and place of 1950s ish Puerto Rico. I loved the melancholy mood of the book, the downward spiral encountered by the hero, and Thompsons flawless story telling. I loved this book. I'd highly recommend it to anyone, and I was shocked to find out that it wasn't published till just recently. I'd also recommend reading it before the Johnny Depp film comes out soon.
The Alchemist: not bad. usually i dont like super popular stuff, but this was a great story. he is clearly a Siddhartha fan, which is clearly confirmed by his introduction to the British copy of Siddhartha we found.
Annapurna: this has got to be one of the best adventure books(non fiction) ever written. sorta like a true dharma bums, but a lot more hardcore. It was amazing hearing the story of how people climbed mountains in the 1950s, as well as the account of their visit to Nepal, Tibet, etc.
The Sheltering Sky: A really cool book, but I felt like I was missing something. I cant wait to reread this someday and hopefully dive a little deeper in to the story. very heavy. i'm neither a fan nor a detractor. I do not deny this books power.