August 26th, 2014 by Rachel | Tags: Book, Peace Corps | 2 Comments »
Many Peace Corps volunteers advised me to bring lots of books because my access to internet, television and many entertainments will be limited, and I will have a lot of downtime. Believe or not, I am looking forward to receiving some rehabilitation for internet addiction. I am undeniably addicted to the internet. It has made me a little more unproductive as I do not spend as much time reading good books as I would like to. I am truly looking forward to revitalizing the life before the internet days.
Reading good books will allow me to continue to explore my interests in social issues, public health, traveling, and anthropology and acquire new knowledge. I of course included a few guilty pleasure books. Here is a list of books I hope to read during the service:
- A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar by Suzanne Joinson
A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn- Mango Elephants in the Sun by Susana Herrera
The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person Can Create Extraordinary Change by Adam Braun- Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
- Uprising: A New Age Is Dawning for Every Mother’s Daughter by Sally Armstrong
- The Road of Lost Innocence by Somaly Mam
- Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War by Leymah Gbowee and Carol Mithers
- I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
- The Green Hills of Africa by Ernest Hemingway
- Women Travelers: A Century of Trailblazing Adventures 1850-1950 by Alexandra Lapierre
- A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella Bird
- Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Beautiful Ruins by Jesse Walter
- Paris to the Pyrenees by David Downies
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder- If It Were Only True 2 by Marc Levy*
The Forever Fix by Ricki Lewis- Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares
- Not Fade Away: A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found by Rebecca Alexander*
- The White Man’s Burden by William Easterly
- Girls Like Us by Rachel Lloyd
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg- Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
- Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen
- Reimagining Global Health edited by Paul Farmer, Arthur Kleinman, Jim Kim, Matthew Basilico
- Leaving Microsoft to Change the World by John Wood
- Creating Room to Read by John Wood
Chasing Chaos by Jessica AlexanderIt’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War by Lynsey Addario
I am always open to recommendations – please feel free to share your recommendations in the comments below.
*Books I already have on my Kindle.
– Strikethrough: I finished reading.
2 Comments
Lisa
August 27, 2014 at 8:32 am
I’m a voracious reader and rarely give 5 star reviews. These are some books that made the cut:
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin
Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
When She Woke by Hillary Jordan
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon
Rachel
August 31, 2014 at 4:46 pm
Lisa – Thank you so much for the great list of books! I will definitely look into all of them!