October 2010

57) Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts, 936 pages, Abacus, 2003

WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by Nabeela Barday

ELAPSED TIME: 10+ days

RATING: Very Good

This is an amazing story.... but about 400 pages too long.  Roberts' experiences as a criminal, an addict, a health care provider, a money launderer, forger, gangster, Bollywood actor, and Mujahedeen are unbelievable and make for gripping reading.  His friends and mentors cause him to think about why and how he chooses different paths and the meaning of right and wrong.  I recommend reading this book in 200-page chunks - with 2 months between each chunk.

58) The Lost Boy, by Dave Pelzer, 331 pages, Health Communications, 1997

WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by Rubab Mavani-Hassanali

ELAPSED TIME: <1 Day

RATING: Good.

This book picks up the amazing story of Dave Pelzer's childhood (a Boy Called It, see above) and takes you through the rest of his childhood... This child, saved from his demonic mother and continually saved by a series of foster parents and angels throughout the system.  Without their help, he would have been lost so many different ways... but he came out of it and survived.  That one of his brothers was also abused, but that Dave never tells us what happened to him, is worrisome... That the system never went after the mother is sad.

59) PlayerOne, by Douglas Coupland, 246 pages, House of Anansi Press, 2010

WHY I PICKED IT: It's Douglas Coupland.  It's the Massey Lecture

ELAPSED TIME: 2 days

RATING: Good

I love Coupland.  I generally really enjoy the Massey Lectures.  Sadly, this didn't meet expectations.  Coupland likes to challenge his readers to think about the meaning of it all, to think about how and why we relate to one another.  Typically, he has been successful in doing so with characters that I fundamentally like, relate to, and care about.  Unfortunately, this book didn't get there.  I did enjoy the dictionary of terms at the end, but not enough to rate this book anything higher than "Good".

60) A Man Named Dave, by Dave Pelzer, 331 pages, Penguin, 2000

WHY I PICKED IT: Third book in a trilogy, recommended by Rubab Mavani-Hassanali

ELAPSED TIME: <1 Days

RATING: Meh.

This guy is a testament to perseverance, and living proof that you can overcome where you came from.  It is great to hear how most of his brothers did, but sad that they never rebuilt their relationship.  Wouldn't really recommend this book, unless you really loved the first two.