List one or a few books that you enjoyed.
<城南旧事> by 林海音
<adventure capitalist > By Jim Rogers
a three-year drive around the world that would ultimately set the Guinness record for the longest continuous car journey
<A gift to my children> By Jim Rogers
<River town> By Peter Hessler.
When Peter Hessler went to China in the late 1990s, he expected to spend a couple of peaceful years teaching English in the town of Fuling on the Yangtze River. But what he experienced - the natural beauty, cultural tension, and complex process of understanding that takes place when one is thrust into a radically different society - surpassed anything he could have imagined.
I haven't finished it yet but love it.
Recent favourite
The Chimp Paradox by Steve Peters
It helps explain many reasons for bad China days, and how to cope with chronic culture shock.
It is not a book about China, nor is it a book about culture shock. It is about human behaviour and should be used to reference ones self.
Absolute classics that I've read a few times:
*1984 - George Orwell
*Animal Farm - George Orwell
*Hitcher's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Some books I've read recently which I really enjoyed:
*Ender's Game - Scott Orson Card <one of those unputdownable books - very good ending>
*The Beach - Alex Garland <a good overall message for travellers>
*Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts <an epic true story - thought-provoking and intriguing>
The Foundation series by Isaac Asimov is my favorite, stellar scifi.
For history, Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond.
Having just watched Game of Thrones, I'm currently reading the first book in the installment and it's quite tough to put down.
@Lucky Lucy River Town was excellent
@vexed Animal Farm is amazing, The Beach a must for SE Asia travelers, and the entire Ender's Game series is phenomenal.
I waste a lot of my time downloading ebooks for my kindle, and I have accrued a collection of about 1000 books. If any one else has been doing the same thing we should meet on QQ and do some old fashioned filesharing :)
@bosnianXCII, yes, river town is amazing!! and the story happened when i was in elementary school. what Peter wrote about the chinese life is mostly what i remembered. and fuling is just 2 hours from my hometown.
I love reading though i am too lazy to read everyday.
But trying too, haha,
1000 books? Very impressive!
you can do book exchanges with people, it'll be fun, i guess.
@bosnianXCII: Yes, I've heard the Ender series is great, only read book 1 but I'm on the look out for the others. I'm also hoping to read The Foundation series by Isaac Asimov.
I tend to scour the second-hand bookshops / book exchanges for good books, so sometimes I can go a long time between different books in a series. It's a good way to discover new authors and I like the feel of a well-read book.
And how could I forget Gun, Germs and Steel? A seminal book and very readable.
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
One of the finest writers alive. His villains are some of the most malevolent in literature.
My favorite book is one night at the call center of the famous writer chetan bhagat.It was a fantastic story i ever read.
George Orwell is my favorite, have read 1984 and animal farm for several times!
Hard to beat "Quarter Horse Journal"