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Recommendations based on Lost on Planet China: The Strange and True Story of One Man's Attempt to Understand the World's Most Mystifying Nation, or How He Became Comfortable Eating Live Squidby J. Maarten Troost
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The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific
by J. Maarten Troost
A humorous memoir of a couple's misadventures while living on a remote island in the Pacific.
In the book Troost described how he and his girlfriend Sylvia adjusted to life on the remote small island in the South Pacific, and built a life for themselves there. Troost described the unusual ... (Wikipedia)
Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu
by J. Maarten Troost
A humorous, quirky look at the cultures of Fiji and Vanuatu, told through Troost's personal experiences.
With The Sex Lives of Cannibals , Maarten Troost established himself as one of the most engaging and original travel writers around. Getting Stoned with Savages again reveals his wry wit and ... (Goodreads)
The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World
by Eric Weiner
A humorous exploration of the pursuit of happiness, through visits to different countries.
Weiner spent a decade as a foreign correspondent reporting from such discontented locales as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Indonesia. Unhappy people living in profoundly unstable states, he notes, inspire ... (Goodreads)
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
by Bill Bryson
A humorous account of a man's attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail, reflecting on the beauty and history of the American wilderness.
The book starts with Bryson explaining his curiosity about the Appalachian Trail near his house. He and his old friend Stephen Katz start hiking the trail from Georgia in the South , and stumble in ... (Wikipedia)
Under the Tuscan Sun
by Frances Mayes
A woman's journey of self-discovery and renewal through a move to Tuscany.
The story details the trials that Frances and her husband Ed had to go through to renovate their Tuscan property, an abandoned villa ( Bramasole ) in rural Cortona in Tuscany . As university ... (Wikipedia)
The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University
by Kevin Roose
An exploration of faith and culture at an evangelical college, through the eyes of an atheist.
The hilarious and heartwarming, respectful and thought-provoking memoir of a college student's semester at Liberty University, the "Bible Boot Camp" for young evangelicals, that will inspire ... (Barnes & Noble)
Adrift: Seventy-Six Days Lost at Sea
by Steven Callahan
A harrowing tale of survival at sea after a shipwreck, and a man's inner journey.
Before The Perfect Storm , before In the Heart of the Sea , Steven Callahan's dramatic tale of survival at sea was on the New York Times bestseller list for more than thirty-six weeks. In some ways ... (Goodreads)
River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze
by Peter Hessler
A memoir of a Peace Corps volunteer's two-year stay in a small Chinese town on the Yangtze River, exploring the culture and history of the region.
In the heart of China's Sichuan province lies the small city of Fuling. Surrounded by the terraced hills of the Yangtze River valley, Fuling has long been a place of continuity, far from the bustling ... (Goodreads)
Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction
by David Sheff
An intimate look at a father's struggle to understand and help his son through his addiction.
With a new afterword Now a Major Motion Picture What had happened to my beautiful boy? To our family? What did I do wrong? Those are the wrenching questions that haunted David Sheff’s journey through ... (Goodreads)
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
by David Simon
A year-long journey with Baltimore homicide detectives as they solve murders and navigate the city's complex social and political landscape.
From the creator of HBO's, The Wire, the classic book about homicide investigation that became the basis for the hit television show. The scene is Baltimore. Twice every three days another citizen is ... (Goodreads)
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
by Michael Pollan
Exploration of the modern food chain, examining the impact of food choices on our health and the environment.
What should we have for dinner? The question has confronted us since man discovered fire, but according to Michael Pollan, the bestselling author of The Botany of Desire , how we answer it today, at ... (Goodreads)
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors
by Piers Paul Read
Story of a group of Uruguayan rugby players who survive a plane crash in the Andes and must fight to stay alive.
On October 12, 1972, a plane carrying a team of young rugby players crashed into the remote, snow-peaked Andes. Out of the forty-five original passengers and crew, only sixteen made it off the ... (Goodreads)
The Places in Between
by Rory Stewart
A pilgrimage across Afghanistan, uncovering the country's forgotten history.
Stewart arrives in Afghanistan in January 2002, beginning his journey in Herat and proceeding on foot to Kabul . He is initially accompanied by two armed guards, Qasim and Abdul Haq, at the ... (Wikipedia)
Columbine
by Dave Cullen
Investigation into the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, exploring the perpetrators and the aftermath.
"The tragedies keep coming. As we reel from the latest horror . . . " So begins a new epilogue, illustrating how Columbine became the template for nearly two decades of "spectacle murders." It is a ... (Goodreads)
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life
by Steve Martin
A memoir of the comedian's rise to fame, from the early days of stand-up comedy to the heights of success.
In the midseventies, Steve Martin exploded onto the comedy scene. By 1978 he was the biggest concert draw in the history of stand-up. In 1981 he quit forever. This book is, in his own words, the ... (Goodreads)
Nickel and Dimed: On
by Barbara Ehrenreich
A journalist's exploration of poverty in the U.S., exposing the struggles of low-wage workers.
Millions of Americans work full-time, year-round, for poverty-level wages. In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which ... (Goodreads)
Let's Take the Long Way Home: A Memoir of Friendship
by Gail Caldwell
A memoir of the author's deep friendship with fellow writer Caroline Knapp, their bond, and Knapp's untimely death from lung cancer.
The book opens "It's an old, old story: I had a friend and we shared everything, and then she died and so we shared that too.” , The connection between these women was charged from the beginning. ... (Wikipedia)
Martha Stewart's Cookies: The Very Best Treats to Bake and to Share
by Martha Stewart
A comprehensive guide to baking cookies with over 175 recipes, tips, and techniques from the queen of home cooking.
A perfect Mother’s Day gift! Cookies are the treat that never disappoints. Whether you’re baking for a party or a picnic, a formal dinner or a family supper– or if you simply want something on hand ... (Goodreads)
Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America's Wild Frontier
by Stephen E. Ambrose
Epic tale of exploration and adventure as Lewis and Clark traverse the American wilderness.
'This was much more than a bunch of guys out on an exploring and collecting expedition. This was a military expedition into hostile territory'. In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson selected his ... (Goodreads)
Then Again
by Diane Keaton
Actress Diane Keaton reflects on her life, career, and relationships through journal entries and memories.
Mom loved adages, quotes, slogans. There were always little reminders pasted on the kitchen wall. For example, the word THINK. I found THINK thumbtacked on a bulletin board in her darkroom. I saw it ... (Goodreads)
Naked
by David Sedaris
Collection of humorous essays exploring the absurdities of everyday life.
Welcome to the hilarious, strange, elegiac, outrageous world of David Sedaris. In Naked , Sedaris turns the mania for memoir on its proverbial ear, mining the exceedingly rich terrain of his life, ... (Goodreads)
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales
by Oliver Sacks
A collection of case studies, illustrating extraordinary neurological phenomena.
If a man has lost a leg or an eye, he knows he has lost a leg or an eye; but if he has lost a self—himself—he cannot know it, because he is no longer there to know it. Dr. Oliver Sacks recounts the ... (Goodreads)
My Fair Lazy: One Reality Television Addict's Attempt to Discover If Not Being A Dumb Ass Is the New Black, or, a Culture-Up Manifesto
by Jen Lancaster
A humorous memoir of a reality TV addict's attempt to become more cultured and less lazy.
Readers have followed, New York Times, bestselling author Jen Lancaster through job loss, sucky city living, weight loss attempts, and 1980s nostalgia. Now, in this bitter and witty memoir, Jen ... (Barnes & Noble)
Running with Scissors
by Augusten Burroughs
An autobiographical story of a young boy's difficult upbringing and his unconventional family.
Running with Scissors covers the period of Burroughs' adolescent years, beginning at age 12 after a brief overview of his life as a child. Burroughs spends his early childhood in a clean and orderly ... (Wikipedia)
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less
by Terry Ryan
A mother's determination to keep her family afloat through creative writing competitions.
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio is based on the true story of housewife Evelyn Ryan, who helped support her husband, Kelly, and their 10 children by winning jingle-writing contests. Kelly failed ... (Wikipedia)
Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times
by H.W. Brands
A comprehensive biography of the controversial seventh president of the United States, Andrew Jackson.
National Bestseller In this, the first major single-volume biography of Andrew Jackson in decades, H.W. Brands reshapes our understanding of this fascinating man, and of the Age of Democracy that he ... (Goodreads)
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food
by Mark Bittman
Comprehensive vegetarian cookbook featuring simple, flavorful recipes.
The ultimate one-stop vegetarian cookbook-from the author of the classic How to Cook Everything Hailed as "a more hip Joy of Cooking" by the Washington Post, Mark Bittman's award-winning book, How to ... (Barnes & Noble)
I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling With Villains
by Chuck Klosterman
A collection of essays exploring the concept of villainy in popular culture and real life, challenging our perceptions of good and evil.
From, New York Times, bestselling author, “one of America’s top cultural critics” (,Entertainment Weekly,), and “The Ethicist” for, The New York Times Magazine,, comes,, a new book of all original ... (Goodreads)
A Brief History of Time
by Stephen Hawking
Exploring the depths of time and space and the emergence of the universe.
In the ten years since its publication in 1988, Stephen Hawking's classic work has become a landmark volume in scientific writing, with more than nine million copies in forty languages sold ... (Goodreads)
Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World
by Rita Golden Gelman
A woman leaves her conventional life behind to travel the world, immersing herself in different cultures and discovering her true self.
“I move throughout the world without a plan, guided by instinct, connecting through trust, and constantly watching for serendipitous opportunities. ” —From the Preface Tales of a Female Nomad is the ... (Goodreads)
