It occurred to me the other day that I must have trawled my way through quite a lot of books since leaving Australia. Since I have an e-reader it's pretty easy to keep track of just what you're read and after a quick glance at the Amazon accout (and, ahem, download list), it turns out that I've come in at somewhere over 100 in the last 20 odd months.
So...what are some of the ones that have stuck with me? In no particular order....
1. Into Thin Air and Under the Banners of Heaven (Jon Krakauer)- journo who writes gripping non-fiction on a disastrous attempt on Mt Everest (1) and the growth of the Mormon sect in the US (2)
2. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks- quite a crazy story about the impoverished black women who was unwittingly the source of the first human cell line
3. The Blind Assassin & the Year of the Flood- Margaret Atwood- two beautifully written and very visual novels- i think she was Booker nominated...it's not hard to see she is also a poet.
4. Likewise- anything and everything by Pat Conroy- granted the man has a bit of obsession with southern USA but he paints beautiful, vivid images of the Carolinas with his stories (Prince of Tides & Beach Music were probably my favourites)
5. Game of Thrones- I mocked Martijn for his love of elves-and-gremlins, fantasy novels...and then I read the first of George R Martin's books and promptly chewed my way through the next four in one concerted effort. If only the damn man would hurry up and finish parts 6 and 7!!!!
6. Les Miserables- stayed with me for all the wrong reasons. Urghh...how did anyone ever get through this?? I really wanted to find out if Jean Valjean and Cosette would ever find happiness....but then Victor Hugo got in the fucking way. Sorry Victor, you are not for me.
7. River of Darkness: Francisco Orellana's Legendary Voyage of Death and Discovery Down the Amazon- awesome account of the one of the craziest feats of exploration. Best read when you're huddled under your mosquito net in the jungle!!
8. Into The Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest (Wade Davis)- I love these tales of derring-do from back in the day when there was still uncharted territory to explore. The story of Mallory and the earliest attempts on Everest are nicely placed in the historic context of Britain between the world wars.
9. Inside Scientology (Janet Reitman)- do you already think Scientologists are fruit-loops?? Read this- the truth is much, much weirder than your imagination is capable of believing.
10. Hellraisers: The Life and Inebriated Times of Burton, Harris, O'Toole and Reed: admittedly, this book gave us both a chance to feel good about the amount of booze we ingest. Makes Justin Bieber look like a fucking choir boy (I mean ever more of a fucking choir boy). There are numerous jaw-dropping anecdotes in this book but Oliver Reed downing 126 pints in a single 24 hour session is definitely up there with the best (worst?!?).
Ahhh, and so many more. The Kindle is by far the most loved item in my backpack. If anyone has any recommendations to see me through the next six months, let me know!!
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