Books in Bhutan

An college friend of mine kept a running list on her blog of books she had read while in the peace corps. This inspired me, and I decided to do something similar- I now have a running list of books in my agenda. But as I really wanted to share my thoughts on some of these books, and none of my new Bhutanese friends have read them, I thought I would turn to my blog, and write about them here.

I have been in Bhutan for 12 weeks, and have been trying to read a book a week. Somehow I have come out to 12 books…even though I know some weeks I have read 2 or 3 and some weeks I have read nothing at all.

So here they are, my first 12 books in Bhutan, with a short review following the titles (some are no longer in my possession and I didn’t write down author names).

1. A Baby in a Backpack to Bhutan- this book is a memoir about an Australian woman who leaves her job in publishing, marries a man who works for a Rimpoche and ends up living in Bhutan with her baby for three months while he works on the film “Travelers and Magicians”. It’s a lovely book, and is an interesting and charming story of a family who leads a traveling lifestyle. It’s a very rosy book, and although it tells a lot about Bhutan, it is very obviously (at least to me, who has lived here 3 months) focusing on the positive aspects of the culture. In any case, it is a lovely read and I recommend it to those who are interested in knowing more about Bhutan. I also recommend watching the movie “Travelers and Magicians” as it is a fascinating film.

2. The Wedding- This is the sequel to “The Notebook”. Enough said.

3. Three Cups of Tea- (I am assuming most people know what this book is about). I enjoyed it, as I am learning first hand about teaching in schools that are full of students who know the value of education (when you are the first generation to receive education, you value it more. I imagine it’s like being the first person in your family to go to college, except on a bigger scale). However, what I have read about the controversy surrounding this book has tinged the positive effects.

4. Water for Elephants- I read this based off a recommendation given to me by my dear friend Russell (if you read my blog I love you!) over a year ago. It’s a pretty good book, and a very entertaining story. I have not seen the movie, so don’t know how it compares.

5. Lonely Planet: Bhutan- This book is a traveler’s guide, and was mainly useful when I had that long weekend in Thimphu with nothing to do but go to restaurants. But after reading it a few months into being here, it took on an even more interesting (and sometimes comedic) level. To get a similar effect, try to read a lonely planet book about your home country. It’s pretty funny.

6. Emma- I am addicted to my kindle, and one of the great things about ereaders is due to copyright laws you can get any book written before 1920(?) or some year around that, for free online. So, I have started to read the classics.

7. Great Expectations- See the explanation for 6

8. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer- This book is really adorable (so many high schools in the US make you read Huck Finn, but this one is much more enjoyable I think. Easier to read in any case). It reminded me of all the boys in my class VI, who are very naughty but very clever and are hard to scold because they make me laugh so much.

9. A Thousand Splendid Suns- A good read, but terribly depressing. I now will probably never read The Kite Runner, as I really don’t like books that are that depressing, no matter how good they are.

10. Under The Holy Lake- This is another memoir of someone’s experience in Bhutan; a Canadian teacher in the late 80s who was in eastern Bhutan for two years. I really enjoyed it, it was well written and I thought gave a very thorough, honest, and positive all at once portrayal of what life here for a foreign teacher 20 years ago must have been like (and its strong similarities to what life is like here today). Again, this is one I recommend to people who want to learn more about Bhutan, and especially what it is like to be a volunteer teacher in this country.

11. Friday Night Lights- I bought this book on amazon after watching the first season of the TV show that is based off it. The book is so, so, so much better. It’s a memoir/sociological observation of life in a small Texas town in the late 80s where football is the center of everyone’s lives. The observations of how the sport completely dominates everything from the school to the town is really disturbing, and how this lifestyle manages to irreparably damage the high school football players it idolizes is ironic and awful.

12. 11/22/63- I LOVED this book. The funny thing is I probably wouldn’t have felt this way about it had I not been here. Don’t get me wrong; its good in any setting, but certain themes really resonated with me. The main character is an English teacher, and he goes back in time to try and stop the Kennedy assassination. However, he has to stay in the past for years preparing for this, and along the way falls in love and creates this great life for himself as a teacher in a small Texas suburb of Dallas. Throughout the novel the main character goes through this internal debate of whether he wants to stay in the past or not- and how he comes around to feeling at home and really living a full and happy life there, even though he knows he could never really belong, and its not really his home. Plus, other characters have these debates with him about whether he is meant to be a teacher or not, which is a conversation I think every teacher (teaching abroad or not) has with themselves at one point or another. Anyhow, amazing book in my opinion, I recommend it.