Saturday, January 20, 2007
Off Topic - Books
Most people who know me know that I am not a prolific book reader. I have been reading a lot (well... for me a lot) on this trip though, so here's a list of some good stuff I have enjoyed in the past few months, all are recommended:
Haunted, Chuck Palahniuk - received c/o Mike & Sarra (thank you) it's not a horror, but it's horrific, short stories from the past of the main characters connected by a single plot that currently ties them together.
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho - received c/o my sister (thank you), an enjoyable self-help book without being preachy.
Stranger Than Fiction, Chuck Palahniuk - Non-fiction short stories, very good. There is some weird stuff going on in this world.
The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery - A classic, stunning, read it. Make sure you get it with colour pictures too.
Why We Are Hungry, Dave Eggars - This man is on some good drug I still have to experience. Again, more short stories. Damn, I like short stories.
Hard-Boiled / Hard-Luck, Banana Yoshimoto - Two short stories about women stuggling with loss. I wasn't bowled over by this one but it was a solid "good".
Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll - Superb story of a girl that has her tea spiked with LSD while on a picnic.
The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Leo Tolstoy - Very heavy, the story of a man recanting his choices in life on his deathbed. Read now.
Intimacy, Hanif Kureishi - An excellent book about a man struggling to decide if he should leave his wife and family.
Haunted, Chuck Palahniuk - received c/o Mike & Sarra (thank you) it's not a horror, but it's horrific, short stories from the past of the main characters connected by a single plot that currently ties them together.
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho - received c/o my sister (thank you), an enjoyable self-help book without being preachy.
Stranger Than Fiction, Chuck Palahniuk - Non-fiction short stories, very good. There is some weird stuff going on in this world.
The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery - A classic, stunning, read it. Make sure you get it with colour pictures too.
Why We Are Hungry, Dave Eggars - This man is on some good drug I still have to experience. Again, more short stories. Damn, I like short stories.
Hard-Boiled / Hard-Luck, Banana Yoshimoto - Two short stories about women stuggling with loss. I wasn't bowled over by this one but it was a solid "good".
Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll - Superb story of a girl that has her tea spiked with LSD while on a picnic.
The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Leo Tolstoy - Very heavy, the story of a man recanting his choices in life on his deathbed. Read now.
Intimacy, Hanif Kureishi - An excellent book about a man struggling to decide if he should leave his wife and family.
Mekong delta
To kick off the last ten days of my trip, I headed south from Saigon through the Mekong delta. This is some of the most fertile land I have ever seen. The whole region is solid green, with endless rice fields, orchards and nurseries. I reckon this area feeds a good chunk of the country. Surrounding all of this are canals and varying arms of the mighty, and by now, filthy Mekong. Just think, this river has had raw sewage pumped into it in China, Lao, Cambodia, and now in Vietnam. Still, people swim in it, wash their vegetables in it and eat fish from it. I am almost certain I have done the latter.
I stayed in Ben Tre (just south of My Tho) and Can Tho City. Between the two I took a "shortcut" trip on the back of a motorcycle through the heart of the delta, and it was worth the $20 I had weaseled out of me. In total, I took 4 ferries of varying sizes on my path of Ben Tre - Vinh Long - Can Tho. Once in Can Tho, I took a river cruise to see 2 floating markets on the Mekong which also included a few hours in the interior canals outside the city. All in all, a great few days. I am now holed up for one night in Rach Gia, waiting to take a ferry tomorrow morning to Phu Quoc Island where I will spend the waning days of this trip soaked in sun and beer.
