Neil stands in front of the world's highest polo field here in Leh. It's at around 12,000 feet.

Journal by Colin McAuliffe, photo by Nancy Olson

Recent readings

The following is a list of most of the books that I’ve read since Australia. I say “most,” because I’m sure I forgot some of the less-significant ones. I read a lot, and sometimes some books don’t make it into my long-term memory.

Jetlag Guide: Moldavia
This is a hilarious spoof on guidebooks. It tells you everything you need to know about the fictional country Moldavia, a land without modern dentistry. It’s a great read, although you wouldn’t really read it cover to cover, which is kind of nice because you can open it to any page and have a good laugh.

A Passage to India, E.M. Forster
This is one of those classic British Empire ex-pat novels. Kind of in the same vein as Burma Days by Orwell, it deals with the relationship between native Indians and English subjects, often talking about “the club,” another theme that lays heavy in Burma Days.

Sometimes A Great Notion, Ken Kesey
This is a pretty good book, although a bit of a hard read. It centers on the life of a few generations of a family in Oregon. It starts off a little slow and confusing, but picks up towards the end. I think Kesey was taking a lot of LSD when he wrote this one, because it’s really all over the place.

East of Eden, Steinbeck
I liked this one a lot; it’s one of those books that’s really hard to put down. Apparently it is semi-autobiographical. But it is very typical Steinbeck, sad ending and all.

The Drifters, James Michner
Another good one by Michner. Much different from the other books of his that I’ve read, although still very gripping. Written from the very believable point of view of an older guy that befriends a group of hippy-types during the sixties in Europe. It takes place in a lot of places I’ve always wanted to visit, like Spain and Turkey, so I really enjoyed it.

First They Killed My Father, Luang Ung.
A young girls’ first-person account of the Khmer Rouge invasion of Cambodia. We picked this one up from an annoying kid in front of Angkor Wat who was crying her eyes out because we wouldn’t buy her book. Well, Adam bought it, and we all read it. It’s OK.

Children of the Killing Field, Various Authors
This one is a compendium of various survivors accounts of the killing fields. It’s OK, although all the stories are pretty much the same. I bought this one from another little kid in front of Angkor Wat, who, early in the day, drew a picture for me. I tried to turn it down, knowing that it meant that I would have to buy something from her, but when I walked away, she gave the picture to Chanda to give to me. So I was stuck. She asked me my name and I told her it was Jellybean Joe Joe. She asked if I wanted to buy a book, and I said No. She then asked if maybe later, I would want buy one. I told her probably not. Anyway, on our way out of the temple I hear her yelling my name, “Jellybean Joe Joe! Jellybean Joe Joe!” I tried to escape, but to no avail. She cornered me and began trying to get me to buy her book. I didn’t want it, and she started to cry. I hopped in the car, and within minutes I was surrounded by about a hundred kids berating me and flipping me the bird, all calling me a liar, and there, right outside my window was the girl who had drawn the picture, crying her little eyes out. I’m still not sure if the tears were genuine, but they were enough. So I bought her book, thinking it would get me out of that predicament, but it didn’t. I sat there with kids yelling at me for another twenty minutes before we could get out of there. It was an ugly scene, but hey, I got a book out of it.

Among Insurgents, Shelby Tucker
This is the most interesting non-fiction book I’ve read on this trip. It’s about two guys who, in the late eighties, decided to walk across Burma, which at the time was totally illegal, and pretty much still is. Within a few days, they run into a rebel army and end up spending their entire time in their company. Tucker is pretty much insane, but his writing gives people a glimpse into a part of Burma that no one really gets to see. Of course, it really doesn’t paint a very good picture of the Burmese government.

Stranger In a Strange Land, Robert Heinlin
One of the best SciFi books I’ve read in years. In fact, I think it’s one of the best books I’ve read this whole trip. Truly insightful and interesting, and it’s in that Billy Joel song “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” The book has some great lines in it, and Heinlin invented some amazing vocabulary for the novel. Most notably the verb Grok, which Neil and I use all the time now.

One Hit Wonderland, Tony Hawks
This is a comedy/travel book by an English comedian who takes a bet that he can get a chart-topping single within a year. It’s pretty funny, and definitely worth a read. I found my copy in a Bangkok bathroom.

Filth, Irvine Welsh
Written by the guy who wrote Trainspotting, I’m sure this is a great book, however, It is seriously hard to read. It’s written pretty much all Scottish slang, and after about 20 pages I gave it up for an easier book.

Then and Now, Joseph Heller
Well, I’ve always wanted to read Catch-22, but I never find it in book exchanges, and I’m pretty cheap as far as buying books is concerned, so I have yet to get to it; however, I did manage to score Heller’s autobiography, Then and Now. It’s pretty good; unfortunately it draws a lot of parallels between his life and the characters in his books, but since I haven’t read any of them, that whole part of the book passed me by.

Jitterbug Perfume, Tom Robbins
The master of sentence construction and dirty mindedness, Robbin’s books always entertain me. He always manages to somehow fuse seriously intense subjects with copulation and debauchery, and he does it well. His descriptions are great, and the characters are always interesting. This one deals with the theme of everlasting life.

The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd
I borrowed this book off of Nancy. It is a total chick book, but very good all the same. I can totally see it as a movie with Oprah as one of the starring roles. In fact, I’m surprised it hasn’t been shot yet. Anyway, it’s set in the civil rights days and deals with a group of women overcoming this and that. Good stuff.

Bel Canto, Author’s Name Forgotten
Got this one from Kathryn in Bangkok. It takes place in a fictional Latin American Country. It’s all about opera and kidnapping, and it’s pretty good. In fact, I couldn’t put it down and was very pleased with it, until the end, which is no good at all. Maybe you shouldn’t read it.

Holidays in Hell, P.J. O’Rourke
This is a hilarious collection of travel stories, all written by a comedic genius/madman. O’rourke’s travel stories do not take you to the average places, but rather to more interesting locales such as Beirut. This one is a definite must-read.

To The Hilt, Author’s Name Forgotten
Standard bubblegum mystery stuff. Based in London and Scotland. The kind of book that has a cheesy glossy picture of the author in a silly English outfit on the back cover. Nothing worth remembering, but it kept me entertained for a few nights.

Anyway, I know there are a few others too, but I can’t remember them at all, so I’m sure they are not worth remembering nor mentioning.

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