WanderingWhy…

One of the nice things about travel is the extra time we have to read. There is always downtime while traveling and having something to read makes all the difference. There are usually book exchanges at hostels other backpackers make use of since carrying books justs adds weight to our already overloaded packs. If you have suggestions on things we should read about the places we are going please drop us an email.

Currently Reading:

WanderingSean (WS):

WanderingDawn (WD):

Along the way we’ve read:

The Best American Magazine Writing 2007 WS and WD: A good read to pass the time.

Further Under the Duvet by Marian Keyes. WD:Not my favorite book from this author. It is a collection of short stories. Some of them I really liked, others were not as good.

The Valkyries By Paulo Cohelo. WS: Another book by one of my favorite authors but this one is a bit to new age for me, I didn’t really care for it. Amazon has some pretty mixed reviews as well.

Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time By Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin. WS: Incredible story. I can’t believe some people can be so selfless… Thankfully.

How the Light Gets In by M J Hyland. WS: The blurb in this book compared it to the story “American Beauty”–one of my favorite movies. It was not that good but still an enjoyable well written story.

Riding the Iron Rooster by Paul Theroux. WS: Probably one of the best known travel writers, a great tale of traveling China by train in the 1980’s. I’ve passed this book along to some friends headed to China.

In Patagonia (Penguin Classics) By Bruce Chatwin. WS: I read this classic because I intended to go to Patagonia on this journey. Unfortunately it’s now winter time and I don’t have the gear or the experience to make it down there.

The Viceroy of Ouidah By Bruce Chatwin. WS: I’m trying to read some of the classics and better known authors on this trip, but I really can’t get into Chatwin. I’m probably to just dumb to follow along, but his tendency to write phrases in French and Spanish as if all his readers should know the language grates on me as being pretentious.

Rabbit, Run By John Updike. WS: A fellow traveler gave me this book–good read.

Anybody Out There? WD: I loved it! Funny and sad all at the same time

The Falls: A Novel (P.S.) WD

Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. WD: I got this just because I read all her books as a kid. I finished this in 2 days–good read.

THE COMPLETE SHORT STORIES OF ERNEST HEMMINGWAY. WS: It’s Hemmingway–who the hell am I to review?

The Other Side of the Story WD

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. WS: The best book I have read on this trip. I haven’t seen the film–I’m sure it’s not as good (they never are).

Killing Rainby Barry Eisler. WS: I read this because the author is big into BJJ and works martial arts into his stories. Fun read.

Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life WS: Given to me by my good buddy Alex, this is everything you wanted and didn’t want to know about Che. I read it because his face is plastered everywhere in Latin America and I wanted to know a little more about the “rock star” on the t-shirts. The man had many admirable qualities and was a visionary–but his proposed solutions were very utopian. The Cuban experiment is now a failure (Fidel’s power hungry fault–not Che’s). Anyone who glorifies his image should read this book before sporting the trendy clothes–bit ironic really. I shipped this book to my friend in Panama–hope he enjoys it.

Ugly Americans Great Story–we both read this one. WD’s favorite of the trip so far. We gave it away to some friends–hope they enjoy it.

Travelers’ Tales Brazil: True StoriesBy various authors. WS: Numerous travel stories that cover all of Brazil–not just Rio and the Amazon. I liked this book. Dawn didn’t and traded it for a crummy airport novel.

What Am I Doing Here?by Bruce Chatwin.

Discovery Road by Andrew Brown and Timothy Garratt. We both thought this book was a bit weak for such an amazing journey spent mountain biking around the world within a year’s time. Still better than some of the crap we have read.

Eleven Minutes by Brazilian author Paulo Coehlo. WS: One of my favorite all time authors you can’t go wrong with most of his stories. This one is good but everyone should read his biggest story The Alchemist (I think I’ve seen it in half a dozen languages in various hostels while wandering).

“I, Safiya” by Safiya Hussaini Tungar Tudo. WD: This is the true story of a woman in Africa who was convicted of adultery and sentenced to be stoned to death. Excellent, excellent.

Angelsby Marian Keys. WD: If you like Jane Green, or British humor, you will enjoy this book. I laughed out loud at times.

Salon.com’s Wanderlust This is a great compilation of travel stories by travel writers from all around the globe. We both enjoyed this one.

Pompeii: A Novel by Robert Harris. WD: I really enjoyed this book (thank you Dr.Huffman!!). It is a fictional story set in the non-fictional time of a few days before, and including, the eruption of Mt Vesuvius.

One Hundred Years of Solitudeby Gabriel Garcia Marquez. WS: The famous Colombian author’s epic story is well worth a read. I’d like to see the Love in the Time of Cholerafilm out now, but will probably find the book first. Hell, even Oprah approves.

“The Truth” by Osho. WS: Looked like an interesting philosophy book.. but to me it seemed like a bunch of nutty personal utopian ideas. Communes don’t work Mr. Osho.

Skinny Dip by Carl Hiassen. WS: This is a NY Times bestseller?! What a mindless bunch of crap–seems to be written with the hope of being made into a cheesy movie that won’t last in theaters more than a weekend. Again, I read it when I was starving for something to occupy myself.

Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abingale. WD: If you liked the movie, you will love the book. I laughed out loud at some of his antics. There is a question/answer section with the author at the end.

Deception Point by Dan Brown. WD: This was a good book, especially if you liked DaVinci Code. Definitely a page turner.