Dark Star Safari- Paul Theroux

I picked up the damn thing in the first place because another volunteer had given it an outstanding review. Today, almost an entire year later I feel like it was a complete waste of my time. Paul Theroux takes us on his overland journey from Cairo to Capetown. Mostly he just used way too many pages and big words to describe what he actually did. What I will say is that I kept reading it out of respect for Theroux (he was a Peace Corps Volunteer back in the day and a rebellious one at that; if I remember right he actually got kicked out) and also because I'm not a quitter. I did love everything he had to say about what a sham development work can be, but I got sick of reading time and time again how he chose to cut himself off from the modern world for the sake of this trip and how he gave up email and a cell phone to do it. Good for you buddy, but that was your choice. You don't get any bonus points.

Two for the Dough- Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter, is once again on a mission to bring someone in. Only this time she gets a side-job hunting down a bunch of missing caskets for a funeral director. Much like the first in the series, this book was another easy beach read....perfect for the sort of days when you just want to be entertained. I started it ages ago back in August. With the move and new job I sort of neglected it for almost 3-weeks and had no problem picking up the story right where I had left off.

Farewell, My Subaru- Doug Fine

Doug Fine finds a way to go green without give up his iPod and laptop. In this book he tells all about moving to New Mexico and retro-fitting his house for green living. His writing is witty and entertaining, and I am definitely inspired to take up the challenge of green living when I make it back that side of the Atlantic. As a side note Doug keeps up a blog about his ongoing green living (http://www.dougfine.com/farewell-my-subaru), and when I emailed him about a broken link he sent a personal email response. Now that's service with a smile. :)

Into The Wild- Jon Krakauer

This is one of the few books I've actually read before seeing the movie. The story of Chris McCandless giving up his life of privilege to become a hobo is fascinating. In some ways I'd like to think I've done the same by coming here, but the life I gave up wasn't quite as privileged and my experience here is not quite as isolated. While I think the author had enough of his own interesting stories and perspectives to share, I was kind of annoyed with all of his interjections. He warns the reader of this in the Author's Note, but still, I would have been perfectly content with Chris's story by itself.

My So-called Life- Catherine Clark

Every bit as good as the tv series, the book is just a written version of original season. There was only one right? I remember when the series was on-air and how much it resonated with me during my teenage years. Then when it got cancelled for being "too realistic" how devastated my best friend, Michelle Winther, and I were. Reading the stories transported me right back to those passionate, youthful years when everything always seemed like a big deal. It was a nice little trip down memory lane.

Eat Pray Love- Elizabeth Gilbert

I had seen this book floating around the hostel for a while, but the cover and name just looked and sounded too cheesy for me to even pick it up. Then my cousin Monica sent me a copy along with a rave review and I decided to give it a shot. Basically the author went through a messy divorce, followed it up with a less than perfect relationship and decided she needed to get some perspective in her life. She took a year off (of life) to essentially eat, pray and love by spending 4 months each in Italy, India and Indonesia respectively. This book is her story. I salivated when I read about her experiences in Italy. I thought a lot about religion reading her experiences in India. And Indonesia sounded a lot like my experience here in Burkina. I'm not sure how much guys would love this book (although I know at least one Peace Corps guy has read it), but I think all of my girls and fam would probably really enjoy it.

The Alchemist- Paulo Coelho

This was definitely one of the most thought-provoking books I've ever read. The story is about a shepherd boy who has a chance encounter with a king that tells the boy about a treasure in Egypt. The boy sells his sheep, essentially giving up life as he knew it, to go in search of this treasure. Throughout his experiences and journey on the way to find this treasure the boy is constantly questioning whether or not he made the right decision. It always go back to the original idea the king shared with him about following his "personal legend" (i.e., life path / destiny). Cover to cover the book is 167 pages, an easy weekend read, and definitely worth the time.