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[starlagurl]

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Awwww...cute, get him that one.

Or or or! My favourite, Catcher in the Rye.

[wakingdream]

Of Mice and Men is fantastic. Any old classics. are great. Gulliver's Travels was a favourite of mine as a kid. My dad read it o me and I read it again later on.

[semi-backpacker]

Thanks to all for the great suggestions! I'm bound to find at least one book he enjoys this summer!!

[raniroo]

I am about to read my signed copy of Married to a Bedouin (A NZ lady married and lived in Petra, raised 3 children partly in Petra and partly in NZ)...amazing woman...and I was lucky enough to meet her son Rahmi when I was travelling in Petra....

[starlagurl]

Oh yah, I heard of that lady, maybe from you before haha.

I just finished reading Vagabonding... I thought it was a very inspirational book, but I didn't find it very practical... It was a nice easy and flowery read though.

[2olives]

I just finished The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. Such a disappointment. Her first book, Tipping the Velvet, was magical. But every book she has published since (this is her fourth) has been an increasing disappointment from the last.

I started listening to Tuesdays with Morrie on my iPod while flying last Wednesday, but realized that after the first disc, none of the chapters identify what disc they came from, so I couldn't continue with it. I was majorly irked, I was enjoying the book so much. After some quick research online this weekend, it seems that uploading audiobooks to the iPod in a way that makes the files usable is a long, tedious process. I already returned the discs to the library, so I guess I'll have to reorder them and start over. Hrmph.

My next book to read is Herzog by Saul Bellows. I also picked up a Visual Knitting book to try and learn real knitting as I become more proficient with knitting on the looms. No time to get into it much yet, though. I'm suffering a bout of "I wish I had more time" these days.

[2olives]

This week I read the second Harry Potter book, Chamber of Secrets. I wasn't impressed with the first one so never returned to the sries years ago. But a conversation with a co-worker who has read them all and whose kids are very into the bokos made me try it again. Chamber of Secrets was okay. More entertaining than the movie was, I think

[purplebuggy]

I'm reading Weevils, Wat and Wallabies (1920-1945) by Jackie French. It's from a series of books called Fair Dinkum Histories and they're kid's books about the history of Australia from Indigenous times to the latest which is this book I'm reading. There are 5 other books available and all talk about an era in Aussie history.

I think they're written really well and would recommened them to people interested in reading about the history of places before they travel. (Especially because they only take a few days to read.) They're written in the style similar to Terry Deary's Horrible Histories which I enjoy (even as a grown up!) The only down side is at least one fact in each book I've noted to be wrong, specifically I got VERY angry when I read that HMAS Australia sinking the German Emden when in fact the Sydney-Emden is known as Australia's most significant naval battle (Sydney I sunk the Emden in Australia's first major battle as it's own Navy, not a colonial Navy). It is good, however, with it's minor factoids that the books throws in though such as the bird "rosella" is named after the birds being prominanant at Rose Hill (now near Parramatta, near Sydney) so were 'Rosehilllers' and then Rosellas. The speciific book I'm reading is similar and actually giving me information on our past Prime Ministers (which, sadly, us Aussies aren't too good on...).

pb

[wakingdream]

I'm on the last few chapters of Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden. Excellent! It's a 2008 Giller Prize Shortlist Nominee.

"an astonishingly powerful novel of contemporary aboriginal life, full of the dangers and harsh beauty of both forest and city. Through Black Spruce is an utterly unforgettable consideration of how we discover who we really are."

[aopaq]

I was just getting into Collapse by Jared Diamond when I rushed for my flight and left it in the Calgary airport.

I since was given Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler which I am having problems getting in to.

[2olives]

I was just getting into Collapse by Jared Diamond when I rushed for my flight and left it in the Calgary airport.

I since was given Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler which I am having problems getting in to.

Aww, that is terrible.

[wakingdream]

I since was given Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler which I am having problems getting in to.

I hate when that happens! Especially if I've been anticipating a good read and the book is a flop for me. A disappointment indeed.

[freddies_world]

Right now I'm reading "The Places In Between" by Rory Stewart. A story of his walk across Afghanistan, from Herat to Kabul, in 2002. So far so good...

There's a really good book about family life in Afghanistan that I read awhile back, The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad if anyone's interested in that sort of thing.

I just read "The Places in Between" What a great journey. That guy is a brave soul. Rory Stewart was just on CNN commenting on the war in Afghanistan. He's slightly crazy but incredibly brave!!

[Paul]

Right now I'm reading "The Places In Between" by Rory Stewart. A story of his walk across Afghanistan, from Herat to Kabul, in 2002. So far so good...

There's a really good book about family life in Afghanistan that I read awhile back, The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad if anyone's interested in that sort of thing.

I just read "The Places in Between" What a great journey. That guy is a brave soul. Rory Stewart was just on CNN commenting on the war in Afghanistan. He's slightly crazy but incredibly brave!!

What were his comments on the war?

[travelmonster]

South East Asia on a budget - I got it for my birthday

[2olives]

South East Asia on a budget - I got it for my birthday

That sounds like a fun and useful read. Are you planning a trip to SEA?

[travelmonster]

Yes and I'm VERY excited

Its going to be part of my round the world trip - by current plan I'll be in SEA for around 2 months in total.

[sianeth]

I got a book about travelling to Asia for my birthday too! Ghost Train to the Eastern Star by Paul Theroux... no idea what it's like yet, only that he's travelling from London through Eastern Europe to Asia by train... hmm!

[purplebuggy]

I got a book on volunteering holidays for my birthday (very relevant given I'm about to spend a year doing that...)
I'm currently reading "The QI Book of Animal Ignorance" which is a humourous but factual book on animals. AND 2 books by Walter Moers from his Zamonian series his most recent book (The Alchemaster's Apprentice) has the review on the back " Moers' creative mind is like J.K. Rowling's on ecstacy" if it gives you any idea what they're like.

[laorfamily]

I just finished reading "The Secret War with Iran: The 30-Year Clandestine Struggle Against the World's Most Dangerous Terrorist Power" and have moved on to the autobiography of Buzz Aldrin (signed personally by the man himself )