FRICTION NYC

For all my fellow CU brethren and all other curious eyes who know the excitement of being able to crawl into a comfy chair with a good book but don’t know what the next one should be, I would like to start an on-going post of some of my favorites and my recents.

So, after 24 is over and you are ready to turn off the TV and find that the best reality show is between your ears, I will start with a few of my favorites:

- Life of Pi (Yann Martel - 2003) -
Teaser: A survival story of a son of a zookeeper who boards a cargo ship with his family and their zoo animals in order to relocate and the boat sinks He is stranded on a lifeboat with a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and a tiger and must survive 200-something days at sea in a boat the size of an East Village studio.
Thoughts: An amazingly written story that seems completely believable at times and beautifully unbelievable at others, but it is one of those that is so good, when you hit the last 10 pages you will want to start all over again.

- The Alchemist (Paulo Coehlo - 1993) -
Teaser: A story of Shepherd boy who goes on a search to the Pyramids to find a treasure. He has no idea what the treasure is which takes him on a journey with only a beginning and an end yet to be realized
Thoughts: A very quick and easy read and probably one of the very few books that changed my life and the way I look at a lot of things. A very simplistic read but the roots in spirituality and personal conquest really plant a seed and make you look at your path differently. Loved it!

- Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini - 2004) -
Teaser: the story of two very different Afghani friends and their lives as the country of Afghanistan is transformed from a incredibly vibrant town to the war-torn state it is in now. The book is based on the cultural differences of the two friends, their passion for the game of kite fighting, and how the smallest decisions can change your life forever.
Thoughts: Just finished this one - it is a great combination of a history of the country and, at the same time, it amazingly creates these two characters that are hard to forget. I love the ‘Mystic River’ tragedy of it in the setting of a country I know very little about. In the end, it is just a damn well written book and a must read.

All are up for grabs for anyone interested to borrow -