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.