Books! (Gina's Post)

One gift Peace Corps Zambia gave us was the opportunity to read lots of books.  With no electricity or internet to distract us and plenty of time on buses, I probably read more books there than in high school and college combined.  Many thanks to friends who sent reading materials and to volunteer organizers of the amazing Solwezi house lending library.  Here's a pretty complete list of the books I read while in Zambia:

1) Nine Hills to Nambokaha
2) Eat, Pray, Love
3) The Ponds of Kalambayi
4) The Celestine Vision
5) Saving Fish from Drowning
6) Where There's no Toilet Paper: Traveler's Tales
7) Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
8) In Patagonia
9) The Secret Life of Bees
10) One Hand Does Not Catch a Buffalo
11) The Sun Also Rises
12) A Long Way Gone
13) The Celestine Prophecy
14) The Help
15) Ishmael
16) The Poisenwood Bible
17) Strength in What Remains
18) Dead Aid
19) Raising Goats for Dummies
20) Cutting for Stone
21) Set This House in Order
22) Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
23) A Time to Kill
24) Mango Elephants in the Sun
25) The Air We Breathe
26) The Dead Zone
27) The Hithiker's Guide to the Galaxy
28) The Life and Times of Michael K.
29) The Dark Star Safari
30) The Lacuna
31) Water for Elephants
32) Leaf Storm
33) Africa: A Continent Self-Destructs
34) Travel as a Political Act
35) The Trial
36) Monique and the Mango Rains
37) The Testament
38) The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
39) The Story of Beautiful Girl
40) Norwegian Wood
41) The Boy Who Harnessed the Wing
42) Pecked to Death by Ducks
43) Glimmers of Hope: A Memoir of Zambia
44) The Life of Pi
45) Persuasion
46) What Should I Do With my Life?
47) On Writing
48) The Three Letter Plague
49) A New Earth
50) Hearts in Atlantis
51) The Joy Luck Club
52) The Unheard
53) Island Beneath the Sea
54) The Alchemist
55) Join In: Multiethnic Short Stories
56) Slaughterhouse Five
57) Rich Dad, Poor Dad
58) The Tipping Point
59) 11-22-63

So of course there were lots of books about Zambia and Africa, which I found extremely interesting being then and there.  Other things I've learned: I'm still not a fan of sci-fi, an occasional classic is good for building character, and I'm much more a fan of general fiction than I used to be.  Favorite authors from my Zambia stint: Stephen King, Barbara Kingsolver, Abraham Verghese, and Amy Tan.  Hope I continue this reading trend that Zambia has taught me!