As of this week, we have been in Swaziland for six months. In my last blog post I talked about just how much has changed in the past year and how I now feel we are settling into our "new normal." One part of our new routine that I am very grateful for is that ability we now have to read much more. I have always enjoyed reading – especially historic nonfiction – but now it is easy to fit reading into our days. What is crazy is that I don’t feel like I have turned into a bookworm; however, that must be the case since I just realized that I had read well over 20 books in 6 months. Here is the list in alphabetical order.
1984 – I started reading "Hunger Games" but Beth took the kindle from me, so I started reading the classic dystopia book.
Animal Farm – At one point a few months ago I found an old paperback copy of this book in the closet and decided it was probably one of those books that everyone should read.
Bonk – I love Mary Roach and after reading all her other books, I figured I should read this one too.
Cold Death (or something like that) – I am not sure of the title, but this was another paperback I found in the closet. It was about a bunch of trappers that died in Canada. Not a great read.
Fear and loathing in Las Vegas – Another one of those books that I felt obligated to read if for no other reason than to connect with the cultural references it creates.
Flight to Heaven – Thought it was "survival story," but quickly realized that was not the main point.
Freakonomics – I had a pdf copy of this given to me and really enjoyed reading it. I love the "approachable science" type books.
Heart of Darkness – I have had this book on my kindle for a while, but finally found the time to read it. Unlike some "classics" that I feel like I should read, I really enjoyed this one.
HIV/AIDS: A very short introduction – I read this book on the airplane over.
Hunger Games Trilogy – Beth got me to read these. I enjoyed the concept, and found them very engaging, but I thought the last book ruined the trilogy.
- The Hunger Games
- Catching Fire
- Mockingjay
Journey on the Estrada Real – This book was written by an author whom we met here in Swaziland while he was doing a story on the Cabrini sisters. I really like his wry humor and crazy stories.
Kitchen Confidential – yet another book I found in our closet. It was entertaining.
Lab 257 – I just finished this book tonight and found it interesting, but a bit wandering in terms of the topic.
Love Mercy – It was very interesting to read this book since it is about friends of mine from Kentucky going on a trip to Swaziland. It was odd to read a book about people I know going on a big journey to the place I live.
Stieg Larsson Trilogy – I hardly every read modern fiction, but absolutely loved these books.
- The girl who kicked the hornet’s nest
- The girl who played with fire
- The girl with the dragon tattoo
The Communist Manifesto – Another book I have had on my kindle for a while and felt like I should read.
The five dysfunctions of a team – Since I am getting more and more into the management side of things, I wanted to have some fresh ideas to have bouncing around my head.
The Red Badge of Courage – I read this book when I was in school and had downloaded it awhile ago. I didn’t like it then, and thought I might have just been too immature to appreciate. But unfortunately no… I still didn’t like it.
Unbroken – This was a great true story of an olympic runner turned solider turned POW. Excellent!
Of all the books, Unbroken was probably my favorite. I also really enjoyed Freakonomics. I enjoyed reading the fiction books more than I expected I would. I also found myself fascinated by the classics "Heart of Darnkess" and "1984."
Who knows what the next 6 months will hold. On one hand, I have read a lot of the books on my "to read" list and I don’t have a lot of books I am dying to read. However, I actually expect to have more time to read now that things have started to settle down. All I know is that the next book I will be reading will be Tipping Point because I already have it on my kindle.
If you have any suggestions on what I should read next – especially in the exploration/survival and "approachable science" genres – please send me an email or leave me a comment.