I just spent a good hour looking through all my dad's topographic maps of the area around Golden, all scales and varieties, covering the area from the mica dam to revelstoke to the Nakusp ferry to Invermere to Banff and up along the continental divide to the latitude of Mica Dam again. He worked at an outfitter's shopa long time ago and stole one of each map, haha. He told me his name appeared in a book for taking a new route up a mountain and I didn't believe him, so he showed me, and also there's a pic of him skiing in this other book. I thought that was pretty cool. He told me a story about how him and my mom and a few other guys were camping way up high one night and this one guy dropped acid and when everyone had gone to bed, he went and climbed a mountain under the full moon. A big mountain too. And everyone was freaking out at 2am when they realised he was gone, but then he showed up, stoked beyond belief at how fun it had been. Awesome....
Working at the ski hill in Golden this summer, I had a ridiculous amount of time to read and I took full advantage of it. So I thought I'd share my opinions of the books I read. Between leaving the island in April and now, I think I finished 25 books. Hope you like books, cuz I'm gonna share my thoughts on the some....
Fiction:
Tom Robbins - I've fallen in love with his writing. It's almost depressing when i finish one of his books and return to the normalcy of other literature. His books are so rich in the weirdest metaphors, and the themes he incorporates are very thought-provoking. I read Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Jitterbug Perfume, and Another Roadside Attraction. Jitterbug Perfume is my favorite so far, btu the other two were great too. I fully intend to read all his other books too, he's got at least 8. I highly recommend him.
Chuck Palahniuk - Survivor - This is the guy that wrote Fight Club. I fully intend to read all his other books too. Such a raw fuck-the-world style. Very funny and witty. I'm sure any of his books are great reads, they all have such fucked up premises. This one was about the only survivor of a cult that had committed suicide and he becmoes famous, but it's so twisted.
James Redfield - The Tenth Insight - Sequel to The Celestine Prophecy, not as good as the original, but still a decent continuation. I found it to be less practical then the first and almost too 'out-there', even for me. And that's saying a lot. Still some useful stuff for sure, but he kinda loses is the pragmatic aspect at one point. I would still highly recommend The Celestine Prophecy.
Dan Brown - The DaVinci Code - This was laying around my house so I decided to debunk the hype myself. I really liked it, but having not come from a Christian background, it's hard for me to critique his handling of the religious implications. Good read though, and got me very interested in the subject.
Biographical/Autobiographical:
Mark Salzman - Iron & Silk - About an American's experience as a teacher and martial arts student in China.
Rick Ridgeway - The Shadow of Kilimanjaro - About a trek from Kilimanjaro in to the Indian Ocean (Africa). Made me rethink and change my mind about hunting. It's not really a macho thing (well, not ALWAYS), it's more of feeling the adrenaline of being in the wild, and despite the rifles, it makes you feel closer to nature. Conservationists are some of the most avid hunters. I like books that make me re-evaluate my preconceptions.
Carlos Castaneda - Journey to Ixtlan - The third book in the series, dealing with shamanism, ritual hallucinogens, native american spirituality. It's argued that this was all made up, but I give him the benefit of the doubt. He was an archaeology student who wanted to interview a shaman about peyote and ended up becoming a life long apprentice, these books were submitted as his thesis and he was awarded his master's degree for it. Crazy crazy crazy shit. REALLY makes you think about all sorts of stuff. Highly recommended. I think there's about 10 books in the series altogether and I intend on reading them all.
Robert Pirsig - Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintence - A classic that I had to read just because of the title. I didn't get too much out of the present timeline in the book, but the other stuff he talks about is some heavy shit. Deeply philosophical shit that reads like calculus, so definately not for everyone. This guy woke up one day in an asylum and his old presonality had been destroyed through shock therapy on orders from the governement (although it doesn't fully explain why). He talks about the philosophical revelations (intense!) that his old self had had. Helped me develop some ideas. Definately makes my perception of Zen and Buddhism fuller. NOt recommended unless you have some backgorund in philosophy.
Alex Grey - The Mission of Art - This is by the guy that does all the crazy art I've posted on my site like the painting below. Unfortunately I'm drawing a blank about this book, but I know I liked it. This was when I was on a plane to my family reunion in North Carolina, so I was sort've distracted. Dammit, I wish I could remember more. He examines all aspects of the art procees, like creativity and meaning and the social implications of art and all that. My apologies to Mr Grey for shooting blanks here.
Nelson Mandela - Long Walk to Freedom - Africa's freedom fighter, largely responsible for ending apartheid in South Africa. I read this huge autobiography to help me fine-tune my stance on non-violence. I've read Che Guevara, Martin Luther King, and some Gandhi, the full spectrum of the application of violence in seeking revolution. I still haven't made up my mind fully yet, but I did learn alot about South African history. He spent 23 years in jail for starting a guerilla army. I thought he would've been more non-violent, but it's kinda complex. Good book, but not highly recommended, unless you're interested in the subject. I enjoyed the Che book more. And I really loved reading Martin Luther King.
Arun Gandhi - Legacy of Love - Gandhi's grandson tells stories about non-violence through dealing with his grandfather. Fairly short book, but very nice. I think I'll read Gandhi's autobiography, The Story of My Experiments With Truth or another one recommended to me called Gandhi's Passion. If you see it on the shelf somewhere, pick it up, but otherwise, don't worry about it. But definitely read something regarding gandhi, besides just a historical overview of India's independance movement
David Suzuki - The David Suzuki Reader - A complilation of his best articles on many topics. I have tons of respect for this guy and I loved the first section of the book, called Interconnections. Fascinating stuff that really makes you think twice and wonder how much we really know about the natural world around us. Except for the other section on Leaders and Role Models, I found the articles to be a bit repetitive, but that's just cuz I've read so much environmental stuff before. Definitely recommend it though. It'll change the way you think about ecology.
I also read Bronwyn's mom's book, Beyond the Fortress, about here physical and spiritual trek into the Himalaya in Nepal. I think you either have to know Janus, or be familiar with the topics she talks about (like the Celestin Prophecy among other thing). I did enjoy reading it because I knew the author and also for the trekking account.
Tom Wolfe - The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test - An account of the misadventures of on of the guy's who helped opoularize LSD (no, not Timothy Leary, but he's in here too). Main character is the guy that wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Really brings you back to the '60s, especially helpful for someone as young as myself, who otherwise has very little access to such an amazing era. Written in very weird still, I enjoyed the book and was really drawn in. Recommended, especially for anyone interested in drugs, hippies, or anything that was spawned out of that era (like raves and strobe lights, believe it or not).
Other Non-Fiction:
Chogyam Trungpa - Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior - Spritual (but not clinging to any specific religion) guide to becoming a warrior. A pretty cool read, especially for hitchhiking. I have a feeling that I need to re-read it to let certain conecpts soak in, even though I've never read the same book twice. Some really good concepts and ideas and I was able to apply many of them, but I just didn't grasp it in it's entirety, so I know it'll fade away. Recommended.
The Tibetan Book of the Dead - Probably the biggest let-down of the summer. I was expecting some highly psychadelic shit and was pretty stoked by the introduction, but ultimately, I never gained anything, in fact I stopped reading about three quarters of the way thru and just skimmed the rest. Not because it was crap, but because it wasn't what I was looking for. Reminds me of Dante's Inferno, when Dante is led ona tour thru hell and learns about all the different punishments for the sinners. Interesting to certain degree, but really doesn't have any practiciality, despite it's claims. Well that's not true, in Buddhist society, I could see why this would be a highly valued book, but I couldn't take much out of it. Maybe I need to read a different interpretation. A lot of it was too esoteric and technical.
Phillip Kapleau - The Three Pillar of Zen - Really great book on Zen Buddhism, either as in antroduction or as further reading. Really helped drive the concepts home and will definately help my meditations. Highly recommended.
Aldous Huxley - Doors of Perception / Heaven and Hell - The writed of Brave New World documents his experiences with mescalin (the drug in Peyote). This was short, but I really enjoyed it. He covers a bunch of topics, but it's all very fascinating and I'd highly recommend it, especially cuz this was written back in like the early '50s, before the drug scene emerged.
Jon Krakauer - Into the Wild - My favorite book of the summer, if not ever. Documents the life of Chris McCandless, a young man who donated all of his savings and belongings the day he graduated university, then travelled the US as a hitchhiker, before he headed to Alaska and was found dead four months later. An absolutely enthralling book that stunned me. Not a long book, I read it in like 4 sitting on my days off and couldn't get my mind off it. The character of this guy is amazing and inspiring and the tale of his travels is haunting and really stoked a fire inside me. This book is solely responsible for my hitchhiking trip (Alaska was my orinigal destination). Not sure how others will feel about it, because this book speaks directly to me as a human being. A must read, VERY highly recommended.
Political:
Noreena Hertz - The Silent Takeover - Documents the rise of corporations. Not fatntastic, but not bad either. I've read so much of this kind of stuff though, so it didn't do much for me. Meh.
Joel Bakan - The Corporation - This book on the other hand was great. The movie was based on this book. Same subject as the above book, but much better written. Really helped me certain technical things about capitalism. Definately a really good book, you'll learn something. Covered most of the same stuff as the movie, but more in depth, didn't seem to repetitive though and I've seen the movie three times. Highly recommended.
Naomi Klein - Fences and Windows - A collection of articles by one an awesome activist. No Logo is one of the most important books of our time, and I'd highly recommend it. This book was ok too, but as with the David Suzuki Reader, because it's a collection of writings, it lacks continuity. But it's probably the most up-to-date book I've read on globalization. Read No Logo instead.
Still here? Whew, that was tough. After Into the Wild, Jitterbug Perfume was my favorite read of the year. I'm currently reading Bruce Lee's book that he was never able to finish, Tao of Jeet Kune Do, a fresh take on martial arts, that I think will be very helpful in my training. Also, I'm reading The Dancing Wu Li Masters, a book from the '70s on quantum mechanics for laymen that I'm really enjoying. High on my 'To Read' list are books spanning the topics of karate, paganism, exitentialism, ecology, various political fields, non-violence/civil disobedience, LSD (Timothy Leary), Aghora (a secretive and fascinating barnch of Hinduism), Tai Chi, more warrior literature, and more of Tom Robbins, Chuck Palahniuk, and Carlos Castaneda. If anyone ahs read any of the authors or books I've mentioned, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Wow, I've been working on this post for two hours....
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