Colin Fletcher has recently become one of my idols. A self confessed “compulsive walker,” he has walked and recorded his trips, the most widely known being a 1000 mile summer walk through California from Mexico to Oregon, and his journey from one end of the Grand Canyon to the other.

The latter trip has been immortalized in his 1967 book, aaa|The Man Who Walked Through Time|0679723064|aaa. I found this book fascinating. Having just grabbed it from the shelf at the Library I had no idea exactly what to expect from it. What I found was a little bit Backpacking guide, a little bit geological/environmental guide, and a lot of personal philosophy.

Fletcher’s writing evokes Thoreau, page after page. He writes of his desire to esacpe civilization and his excitement to seek meaning in the Canyon. While in the canyon he hikes, swims, writes and attempts to connect with those who had gone before him. Stories of Native Americans and early explorers bring the reader into the ‘recent’ past while explanations of rock history bring us millions of years into the past. Although Thoreau and Fletcher were anxious to escape society, by the time their adventures were nearing an end they were both ready to reenter the civilized world.

I hope that someday I have the opportunity and the stamina to embark on such a journey. Until then I will have to be content to keep reading.

It may be most appropriate that my first experience with the writings of Ernest Hemingway should be aaa|The Sun Also Rises|0684800713|aaa as it was the first novel that he published. Hemingway’s writings fall into the catagory of “books I probably should have read by now, but haven’t” and I’m glad that I have delved into them at last.

‘SUN’ is the story of several expatriots living, writing and drinking in Paris in the 1920’s. Throughout their travels and romances and experiences we can see them struggling to deal with the changes in their lives in post-war Europe.

While the stories of the main characters were intriguing, what I enjoyed most was the narrative style of the book. Hemingway writes in the first person in quick declarative sentences. Throught the voice of Jake Barnes one almost feels as if they are right there drinking by the Seine, fishing in the Irati, or watching the Torreadors in Pamplona. “Maybe Jake is a friend of mine, telling of his travels,” I thought.

I guess I expected Hemingway to be a much more difficult read than it was. There are certainly themes of existentialism, change and unrequited love throughout, but none of the high falouting prose found in other books of the sort.

While wandering the Library on Election Night I came across a book that I felt like I should have read ages ago, aaa|Their Eyes Were Watching God|0060931418|aaa by Zora Neale Hurston. I’m not sure why I’ve never read it, having heard it recommened several times. I thought to myself, “today’s the day,” and checked it out.

It was a quick read, only a couple commutes on the train, but it’s one of those stories that will stay with me. I found it difficult to get into at first. Hurston writes in the black vernacular and it took me a while to get used to Ah=I and ken=can, but once it clicked, it clicked.

Janie was a free spirit caught in a world of practical and sober people. Her first two husbands were not love matches, although they offered her the security that she and her grandmother thought she needed. Only after the death of her second husband does she gain the freedom that she truly wants…only to have it… (well, I guess I don’t want to give the whole story away!)

Told from the black perspective in 1930’s Florida, aaa|Their Eyes Were Watching God|0060931418|aaa offers the readers an inside look at what being black was like in the beginning of the 20th century. Entertaining, funny, and though provoking, it is no wonder that so many schools include this book on their reading lists.

Are you tired of all the politalk that you’ve been seeing on tv, the web and this site? Are you anxiously awaiting the end of election day. Do the words, “Hanging Chad” send you into convusions? I have the solution for you. Communism. Well, maybe not as an option for the United States, but it made great reading material for me the last couple weeks.

My most recent read, aaa|Wild Swans|0385425473|aaa by Yung Chang, opened my eyes to life in Communist China. Being a history buff I have studied Communism and the theories and policies of Chairman Mao Zedong but had yet to understand the effects on the Chinese people.

Chang walks the reader through China’s history in conjunction with her own family’s history. We learn about her Great Grandmother, ‘Wu’ Er-ya-tuo (which means, Number Two Girl), her Grandmother, concubine to a War-Lord, and her Mother, an enthusiastic Communist leader and how these women affected the life of the author. The men in these women’s lives make appearences, but are hardly the focus of the book.

The adventures of Chang and her family sometimes border on the unbelievable, but are put into context with the discriptions of Mao’s regulations and the tortures that were carried out by his followers.

This very personal look into Communist China really gives those of us in the capitalist west a unique perspective. The research done by the author along with the fact that she grew up the child of two middle ranking Communist officials, makes this book a logical companion to texts and historical documents regarding the Communist reign. Despite needing to refer to the family tree at the front of the book, and the author’s tendency to go back and forth from story to story, this was a very enlightening read. I’d reccomend it to anyone looking to hear another side of the story.

Attention All Authors; How to get me to pick your book off the library shelf:

First, make sure that the title on the spine is nice and easy to read. If I can’t tell what book it is or who wrote it it’s unlikely that I’ll want to read it. Second, a nice, unobtrusive color could be helpful. Third, it doesn’t hurt to be an author I’ve heard of and/or alphabetically next to and author I (or Oprah) have heard of. I know it sounds shallow…but sometimes I do pick a book by its cover!

My latest read, aaa|Ray in Reverse|0142000094|aaa, by Daniel Wallace, was chosen because, a) it was in a spot where I could see the front cover, and b) was billed as, “by the author of Big Fish“. I loved the movie Big Fish and figured that another story by the same author would be just as good.

It was good. An easy read, it only took me one day (two train rides) to finish it. The novel tells the story of Ray’s life, you got it, in reverse. The first chapter starts in Heaven and you gradually work backwards through his life back to his childhood.

Ray’s life is not spectacular. The events that are highlighted throughout his life could have happened to anyone. They may have happened to you. What makes this book special is the way that Wallace takes these mundane events and adds in fanciful details. At one point Ray is suffering from Cancer and as he deals with the fact that he will die he comments that he is growing wings. He can even feel them poking out from behind his shoulders.

There may be nothing extra special about Ray or his life, but Wallace has turned him into an interesting character.

After a somewhat excruciating reading experience, I finally finished aaa|A Widow for One Year|0345424719|aaa By John Irving. A few years ago I read “The Cider House Rules” and was looking forward to reading another novel by the same author.

‘Widow’ was an interesting read. I am torn as to whether or not I actually enjoyed it. The book focuses on the themes of Family, Love, age and aging, and Death. These themes were all fully developed throughout the novel and I really felt as if all the different plots were brought to a satisfying conclusion.

While reading some of the reviews of ‘Widow’ on Amazon I noticed that many readers enjoyed the first half of the novel and found the second half lacking. My take is just the oposite. I was completely put off by the overly sexual nature of the beginning of the book. Now, I don’t consider myself a prude… and I can appreciate the use of sexual relationships as a means to drive the plot… but I think that Irving went a little overboard. The second half of the novel focused more one the lives and struggles of the characters than on their libidos.

Over all, the book was deep, complicated and full of characters who aren’t sure who they are or what they want. Although I seriously considered returning it to the library after the first couple chapters I was intrigued enough to finish. I think I’m glad I did.

[A side note] When I was half way though I saw the author on The Today Show with Katie Couric… He was promoting a new children’s book that is based on a children’s book written by a character in ‘Widow’. I thought it was a bit ironic that my reading this book and his appearance on TV coincided. Weird.

I should have read it sooner. I know… but I never got around to it. Last week I poked though the book shelves at the Salvation Army and bought a $0.50 copy of ***Fast Food Nation|http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060938455/worldwidewood-20***.

Eric Schlosser goes all out in his book to air all the dirty laundry of the fast food industry. He includes stories of the foundings of many restaurants, a “Jungle” style report on the meat processing industry, and anything you’d ever want to know about E.coli O157:H7 (and more!)

I don’t consider myself to be one of those staunch social activists who will preach to all who will listen about the evils of Fast Food, but I have to admit, some of the stuff Schlosser brings up is a somewhwhat convincing. If only I could get delicious, addictive french fries for a buck from the organic store!

Whether or not you think you might want to give up fast food I think that this is still a good book to check out. I learned much more about meat packing and french fry making than I ever expected to. There are also some underlying social themes as well. While reading “Fast Food Nation” I was reminded of another book that I read in college, ***The McDonaldization of Society|http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0761988122/worldwidewood-20***. Both books tackle social and economic issues brought about with the introduction of fast food into the American culture.

This is good stuff. It has the potential to spark some long and involved conversations. If I was back at the ***OE|http://www.oregonextension.org*** I’d be ready to jump in. As it stands, however, I’ll be content to chat about it with Peter…or anyone else who’s interested.

That is, until he writes another novel… I just finished reading ***Deception Point|http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671027387/worldwidewood-20*** which means that I have now completed his four works of fiction.

I enjoyed Deception Point for the same reasons that I enjoyed his other three books… for the introduction of ideas and groups and terminology that I otherwise would not have known about. Even though Brown uses scientific terms and phrases, they do not overwhelm the book…and you can skim them if you want and not loose too much of the plot!

Speaking of the plot…It felt suspiciously similar to the plots of ***The Da Vinci Code|http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385504209/worldwidewood-20***, ***Angles and Demons|http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671027360/worldwidewood-20*** and ***Digital Fortress|http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312263120/worldwidewood-20***. The details are different, but the charactersare almost interchangeable.

All in all I found it to be a good, exciting read. Best of all, Brown was able to sucker me into some of his plot twists and kept surprising me!

I don’t usually go for those mishy, mushy books about God and faith that seem to all be written by women. Due to this prejudice I was wary of the latest book lent to me by Mom, ***Keeping Faith|http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0688177743/worldwidewood-20***.

Despite my doubts, I dug in. And to my surprise, I enjoyed it. The main story,that of a young girl who sees God, is surrounded by the marrital problems between her parents and the media’s obsession with her gift.

I appreciated the unorthodox approaches to the ideas of faith and God and religion. Author Jodi Picoult admits in her preface that she has and may again offend some in the religious world. I found her ideas to be fresh and intriguing, and not at all offensive.

I could not put this book down, but found the end just the teensyist bit unsatisfying. Everything just seemed to fall into place too perfectly and smoothly. But up until then it is a great, “makes me think” type of novel.