Latest books

I have managed to make my way through a few more books, but will confess I'm unmotivated to write any half-hearted reviews, but I will say that they were all entertaining and worth the read. Click the links for more details:

• A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
• The Quiet American by Graham Greene
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
• The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Into the Wild

Towards the end of my time in Kerala, having run out of reading material, some fellow travelers were nice enough to pass along 'Into the Wild' by Jon Krakauer. The book had come highly recommended from them but based on the short description on the back I didn't have especially high expectations. I ended up being pleasantly surprised; it turned out to be so good that I ended up reading it all on my ferry ride through the backwaters. It's the true story about a man that graduates from college and decides he wants to live more freely and to that end he donates what money, abandons all his possessions save a small backpack, and he spends two years hitch-hiking around the US before ending up in Alaska to go into the wild and live off the land and ultimately ends up not making it out alive. It's a pretty quick read, and I would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in travel, the outdoors, or looking for a good story.

Four More Books

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai:
The 2006 Booker Prize winner, another great, but of course depressing, look at India during the 80s through the eyes of characters still clinging to the cultural remnants of the British, those forging ahead and those caught in the middle. If you liked 'The God of Small Things' you'll enjoy this one, they are pretty similar in style.

Middlesex: A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides:
One of the best books I've read on this trip and that I would highly recommend, this is both the story of a Greek family and their migration to Detroit, Michigan as well as a girl in that family who finds out that's not quite what she is.

Next by Michael Crichton:
I'd have to rank this as Michael Crichton's worst book to date, or close to it. Several disjointed story lines about genetics, the bio-technology of it, the laws surrounding it, and the social reprecussions of all of the above. The book is confusing at times and laughable at others, and I would recommend staying away from it.

First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung:
The harrowing story of a young girl and her family's experience living under the Khmer Rouge during the genocide in Cambodia. While the book was an interesting story, and a decent high-level look at the what happened in Cambodia, I would recommend reading it only if you're interested in a story of survival but not necessarily looking for any real look at what happened in Cambodia.

Books: More Good Reading

A few more great reads for anyone looking for one...

Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey Of A Desert Nomad by Waris Dirie:
The true story of a Somali girl that runs away from her family and their life in the desert and eventually becomes a super model. Being a ghost written book, it definitely has that feel, and while the story is somewhat interesting the latter half of the book starts to move in the direction of a commentary on the barbaric rituals performed on women in Somalia before 'woman-hood'. I'd skip this one unless you're desperate and can't find anything else.

The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good by William Easterly:
A very interesting book about the failure of Aid to help developing countries (primarily those in Africa). I would highly recommend this to anyone that has an interest in development work, from those that work in it to those that contribute financially to it, and especially those that have read 'The End of Poverty' by Jeff Sachs that I mentioned earlier. Definitely one of my favorite books of the trip. I'd love to discuss it with anyone that does manage to read it.

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barak Obama:
Admittedly I only made it through the first quarter of this book but plan to finish it when I can get a hold of a less bulky edition (I'm thinking pirated copy in India). Liberal of Conservative, this should be read, if not simply to provoke/promote some thinking. Don't worry, it's pretty engaging and moves fairly quickly.

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy:
Another book about India that had come highly recommended and was excellent but again rather depressive as most of the India books I've read seem to be. A book about 'two egg twins', things said and not, and anglo influenced India. If you have to choose, I'd go with 'A Fine Balance' first though.

On Beauty by Zadie Smith:
I'd heard a lot of buzz about this book and had seen a few people reading it along the way, so finally picked it up when I passed through England last week. The book turned out to be quite different that I'd expected at the onset, and admit that when I finished I was left feeling a bit disappointed, but it did provoke a lot of thought and the more I think about the book the more I enjoy it. The characters are very relateable and the book moves smoothly as it carries you through a bit of a roller coaster, definitely worth a read.

Book Reviews

Alright, despite the lack of blogging for the past few weeks I've kept up on the reading and rather than trying to write a review for each one, here is a quick break down.

Take Me With You: A Round-the-World Journey to Invite a Stranger Home by Brad Newsham:
An interesting book about a guy who spends three months traveling through developing countries in asia and africa in a quest to pick one local to bring back to the US for an all expense month trip to experience his culture, kind of as a way to show his appreciation for all of the great cultural experiences he's had during his travels. A good, quick read for those that like travelogues.

Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller:
About a cross country road trip from Texas to Oregon and the lessons in spiritual growth and relationships that are encountered along the way. A bit too 'coming of age' for me, but interesting an insightful none-the-less. But if you're beyond your early 20's you might want to check out 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' instead.

King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild:
An amazing and detailed look at the history of the Congo as a colony of King Leopold of Belgium. While I'm generally not big into these 'history' books, this was fascinating, especially after reading 'The Poisonwood Bible' and 'East Along the Equator' which had both briefly touched on the Congo's terrible history. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the history of Congo or Africa in general.

The Prophet Muhammad: A Biography by Barnaby Rogerson:
At sometimes dry, this was a very refreshingly objective look at the Prophet Muhammed's life and the early history of Islam. A quick and easy read, it makes you wonder how things got to where they are today.

We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch:
An amazing look at the history leading up to, including, and after the genocide in Rwanda. At time a difficult book to get through, mental images of which still linger, I would highly recommend this for anyone that has an interest in humanity.

Out of American: A Black Man Confronts Africa by Keith B. Richburg :
Very similar to a book I read before arriving in Africa, 'The Africans' by David Lamb, this is the story of an African American man that moved to Kenya in the early 90s to cover Africa for the Washington Post. What was unfortunate was that despite taking place 10+ years after 'The Africans', nothing much changed other than the names involved in the problems of Africa. The other interesting thing was the difference in perspective that this author had in being a black American in Africa. I was pleasantly surprised by the insight, especially one interesting section which included a high level comparison of the differences in post colonial development between Asia and Africa.

The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time by Jeffrey Sachs:
I didn't quite finish this one. This is one man's view of how poverty can be reduced within the current generation. While good in theory, the crux of which is pour more money into aid, personally I think that's as good as it gets...theory. I've just started 'White Man's Burden' which seems to be a direct response to this books theory...

The Light of Day by Graham Swift:
A pretty worthless novel that seems to be much more about writing style than actual story line. While there were a couple interesting sections, it was largely pretty boring and goes no where. Despite being a booker prize winner I would skip this one.

Hello Africa. Tell Me, How Are You Doing? by Osei G Kofi:
I haven't quite finished this one either, but so far this has been a very different look at the state of Africa, in large part because it comes from an African's perspective and not that of a European of American. One of the most interesting things in this book is the inside front cover which shows two maps of Africa, one with Africa as it is today as well as a pre-colonial map that shows what Africa looked like with all of its tribes before colonialism.

Review:Dark Star Safari

Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux is a, somewhat pessemistic, travelogue recounting his overland trip through africa from Cairo to Cape Town in 2001, 35 years after he first worked as a peace corps volunteer in Malawi and Uganda.

Admittedly, the pessimism gets tiresome at times but often leads to some interesting insight, especially concerning the role of aid and development in Africa today. Refreshingly, he is fairly well read in regards to these topics during the trip, and cites several books for follow up (which I've since added to my list).

For those interested in a high level, American travelers perspective the changing Africa, or looking for a throught provoking travelogue that's slightly less humorous than those of Bill Bryson I would highly recommend this.

Some of my favorite travel oriented quotes from the book:

• "The best travel is a leap in the dark."
• "Traveling makes one modest - you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world."
• "I had no names, no contacts, just the idle wanderer's distinct confidence that having arrived here I was available for some sort of enlightenment; that I would meet the right people, that I would be fine."
• "You visit a place and peer at it closely and then move on, making a virtue of disconnection."

Review: A Wole New Mind

One of the best, albeit only, 'business' books I've read on this trip, A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink is a must read for anyone who is wondering how to adapt to and diversify in the new economy, the 'Conceptual Age' as he calls it. Process oriented jobs that have led the economy for the past five decades are on teh wane. He tells you to ask three questions about what you're doing:

• Can someone overseas do it cheaper?
• Can a computer do it faster?
• Is what I'm offering in demand in an age of abundance?

If you answer yes to either of the first two, or no to the last then you should consider picking up this book.

After the initial background, the bulk of the book is dedicated to strengthening the less process, more creative sides of your right brain (what he calls the six senses): design, story, symphony, empathy, play, meaning. For those interested in being more creative this book is worth the price simply for the the resources, and exercises that are listed in each 'sense' area. Highly recommended!

Review: The Poisonwood Bible

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver follows the life of an American missionary, his wife and four daughters as they move to the middle of Zaire to convert the natives, and how this experience defines the rest of their lives. A great story, made more enjoyable I think by having just finished 'East Along the Equator' which gave me a good, brief history of the Congo upto and including the time that this book takes place. Kingsolver does a wonderful job of weaving history and fiction into the stories of her strong, diverse, and surprisingly relatable female characters. I think this may appeal more to the women, but a good and quick read in any case.

Review: Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis

'Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis' by Jimmy Carter, is a very quick read and look at the current state of some of America's policy and the 'moral values' or lack there of driving that policy. While he does tend to toot his own horn a fair amount, he raises some valid and interesting points. Certainly a bit of a simplistic look at American Policy, I would recommend it to anyone with a couple of hours to spare and a belief in the fallacy of 'the moral majority'.

Review: East Along the Equator

'East Along the Equator' by Helen Winternitz is the story of a couple who embarks on a journey through Zaire primarily via the Congo river, in the early 1980's. The book describes their encounters with local merchants, catholic missionaries, secret police, and members of President Mobutu's cabinet as they work their way from Kinshasa east to Goma and back again.

While now a bit dated, this book provided an excellent view of what Zaire was like during the time of the entailed trip, as well as a historical look at the Congo as a colony of Belgium and how it ended up in it's present state.

Review: A Fine Balance

After an interesting discussion about India with a fellow traveler in Turkey who was heading that way, he highly recommended I read 'A Fine Balance' before I got there. This was another book that I had never heard of, but as soon as one person mentioned it I heard about it from several people over the course of the next couple of days. I picked it up on my way out of Turkey and spent my first three days in Kenya thoroughly engrossed. The story of four characters in Bombay during the mid-70's that end up together via a series of circumstances, this book takes you from utter despair to triumphant hope and back again. As another friend characterized it, "The best, depressing book you'll read."

A great read for anyone interested in knowing more about Indian life and culture, or wanting a tale of joy and sorrow

Review: Extremely Loud and Incrediby Close

'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' by Jonathan Safran Foer was another book I was fortunate to pick up in Cinque Terre. Flipping through the book I noticed several random images, that seemed out of place, and I was anticipating one of those books that is all ove the place, with the author 'trying things'. The person that passed it along said it was a good book, but didn't give it a rave review by any means, and being that the book is centered on a boy who loses his father in the World Trade Center disaster I didn't have high hopes. I'm happy to admit that I was wrong and pleasantly surprised. Despite 'trying a few things' and perhaps because of them, along with his mastery of language, this was another book that found me choked up on my flight to Nairobi.

If you're looking for a tear jerker, I'd certainly recommend this one. I plan to pick up his first book 'Everything is Illuminated' which is supposed to be even better.

Review: Passage to India

My friend Anna from Cinque Terre was kind enough to pass along E.M. Forster's classic 'Passage to India'. Being another one of those books that I had heard was a quintessential read, I think I failed again to get what was expected. The book was certainly interesting and entertaining, providing a good example of cultural difference, but I had a difficult time imagining the 'India' described in the book, especially having read more contemporary India books. I will be curious to see which if any of these british colonial attitudes remain.

Review: The Razor's Edge

When I solicited some book recommendations back at the beginning of my trip, one book that had come highly recommended, but proved difficult to find was The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham. I finally acquired a copy upon returning to Istanbul and was glad to finally sit down and read it. I have to say that the book wasn't quite the 'quintessential travel book' that I was expecting, but certainly a very insightful and enjoyable read about a young man that embarks on a journey of 'loafing' and discovery lasting many years. Before reading it, I had a difficult time finding an adequate summary and am afraid I won't do any better here, but definitely recommend it. It looks like there is also a DVD.

Review: The Accidental

Ali Smith's The Accidental was definately one of the more odd books I've read along my trip both in style and story. The story is largely written from the first person, stream of conciousness perspective of four different familial characters: a 12yr old girl, 16yr old boy, 42yr old mother, and 45yr old step father. While the stream of conciousness was certainly a bit tough to get into at first it soon made the book very refreshing, entertaining, and more relatable than it might otherwise have been. The story involves this family and their chance encounter with a stranger, Amber, and how that encounter impacts them all.

Another good read and worth checking out, but be warned that you need to at least break the first 50 pages before you really get into it.

Review: Shop Girl

When I stopped over in Venice for a few days I found Steve Martin's Shop Girl at my friend Emilie's Place, and being that it was a small and short book I figured I would kill some time with it and save my other books for down the road. Having heard nothing about it, and not necessarily being a huge Steve Martin fan I had pretty low expectations. I have to say that I was completely wrong and very pleasantly surprised. The book moves quickly and often feels, not surprisingly, like a movie script. The characters are very relatable, if not always likeable, the content surprisingly insightful, and the dry humor very refereshing after Steve Martin's slapstick debacle of The Pink Panther. Definately worth reading, and it can be polished off quite easily between dinner and bed time.

Review: Lipstick Jihad

Lipstick Jihad is the story of an Iranian American woman that decides to move to Tehran, having spent most of her life in Souther California, and see if life in Iran is as idealized as she remembers or as bad as she's heard. She works for two years as a reporter for Time magazine out of Tehran, covering part of the middle east as she unravels the life of the moderan day young person in Iran.

A very engaging and insightful read that helped to pull back the curtain surrounding the every day life of Iranian people. Definately worth a read.

Review: Pretty Birds

Pretty Birds, a novel by Scott Simon, of NPR fame, that takes place in 1992-93 during the seige of Sarajevo and is about a young teenage girl there that becomes a sniper. A fairly interesting book made more so by my visit to Sarajevo. While the book was enjoyable and helped pass the time I found it difficult to connect with the characters and often felt like the conversations and descriptions were a bit to contrived and seemed artificial.

Review: The Africans

After reading David Lambs The Arabs I was curious to read its precursor, The Africans, about his time in Nairobi, Kenya covering all of Africa for the Los Angeles Times during the early 1980s. Unlike The Arabs, The Africans has unfortunately not been updated since it was originally written and so a lot of the information is pretty dated being that it's 20yrs old. Having said that, it was a bit disheartening to read this old information and feel like not much had changed in most of the African countries that he discusses, other than the name of the dictators in power. Other than that, the style and tone of The Africans was a bit more preachy/soap boxy and less refined in terms of flow than that of The Arabs. Overall a decent, quick read, but I would look else where for a more current overview of Africa.

Review: Shantaram

Doing all of this traveling I've finally had a chance to get back into the swing of reading and have been doing a lot. So here comes the first of several 'reviews'.

In preparation for my time in India, my buddy Josh had suggested that before I arrive I pick up and read Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts because the depictions of Indian life and culture were very detailed and very accurate. Since the book is a wopping 944 pages, I opted to go with the audio version from audible.com, which while being 43hrs long was a bit easier on the back.

I have to say that this was one of the best books I've read in years. The authors use of language was so fine and masterful that I felt completely immersed in the story and very connected to the array of characters. There were several times when I laughed out loud, or would feel myself getting choked up, something I don't remember ever happening from a book before. Reading this book certainly made me anxious to get to India and see the things described, but I would also be lying if I said it didn't make me at least a bit apprehensive as well. I would definately recommend this to anyone that likes any kind of book really.

It also looks like they are making a movie out of it.