# 8,000km on a train - what to read?



## Abd_Yesua_alMasih (Oct 8, 2008)

Okay so I will be sitting in a train covering 8,000 kilometers or so over roughish terrain and difficult wintery weather (most of it).

So the challenge - what am I to read?

What makes the challenge harder? Overtly Christian books are banned! No Christian theology, no Puritians, no Reformed literature.

Suggestions? What books have got you really involved, are edifying or just interesting and you would recommend to me?

Anything goes really. It could have been written 1,000 years ago or brought out last month.


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## christianyouth (Oct 8, 2008)

A really good book I got out a year ago that is definitely one of my favorites, is a collection of George Orwell's essays. Here is the link : [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Essays-Everymans-Library-Classics-Contemporary/dp/0375415033/ref=pd_bbs_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223462873&sr=8-10]Amazon.com: Essays (Everyman's Library Classics & Contemporary Classics): George Orwell: Books[/ame]

He's one of those writers that can keep your attention no matter what subject he's writing about! He writes on political and social issues, but also has a lot of misc. essays spanning from how to prepare the perfect cup of coffee to why he loves to live in England. These essays are great reading. 

Too bad that no Christian books are allowed though.


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## Abd_Yesua_alMasih (Oct 8, 2008)

Must look at it but I have had a distaste for Orwell's work since having to study it in my first year of university  I might have to get over it. Will look at how political it is, that might have to go out the window as well


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## Backwoods Presbyterian (Oct 8, 2008)

Plato's _Republic_...


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## kvanlaan (Oct 8, 2008)

Count of Monte Cristo? Engaging and about 900 pages, as I recall... There's always War and Peace.


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## Abd_Yesua_alMasih (Oct 8, 2008)

kvanlaan said:


> Count of Monte Cristo? Engaging and about 900 pages, as I recall... There's always War and Peace.


Thats true, both are a good length and I have heard good words said them. Count of Monte Cristo seems better to get through though than War and Peace - that just looks mammoth.


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## Scott1 (Oct 8, 2008)

See if you can get a copy of "American Cesear" by William Manchester. A good, long history of the life of General Douglas MacArthur with historical background of World War I, II and the Korean War.


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## christianyouth (Oct 8, 2008)

Haha, well, it's nothing like his novels! And there are so many essays, If I recall correctly, that only about 30-40% actually deal with political issues.

Hmm, another book that I read in the past months that is really interesting is called "Guns, Steel, and Germs". It won a Pullitzer prize, so you know it's going to be well written. Here is the link for that :

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Guns-Germs-Steel-Fates-Societies/dp/0393317552]Amazon.com: Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies: Jared M. Diamond: Books[/ame]

It's really interesting, since it answered some questions that me and my brother had discussed before, like why the Native Americans were much less developed, culturally and especially technologically, than even the most ancient Mediterranean societies. Also it gives a strong rebuff to the idea that the reason why some ethnic groups have dominated while others haven't is because some ethnic groups are further 'evolved' than others.

So that's a good book, even though it has a messed up system of dating that most of us wouldn't agree with. It assumes Old earth + Evolution, but it's still an interesting engaging book. 

Now this one definitely isn't political or religious, so maybe you can take this one on your train ride.


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## Backwoods Presbyterian (Oct 8, 2008)

I cannot recommend more highly Guns Germs, and Steel. An EXCELLENT read...


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## Abd_Yesua_alMasih (Oct 8, 2008)

American Cesear and Guns Germs and Steel both look good. I think I have seen the later in the shops.


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## christianyouth (Oct 8, 2008)

Wow man... You came to the right board to ask the question! You now have a wide variety of books to choose to take on your trip, and if I know anything about the PB, you'll probably get a lot more suggestions before the day's over.


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## Tim (Oct 8, 2008)

Where are you traveling? Certainly NZ doesn't have 8000km of rail!


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## Abd_Yesua_alMasih (Oct 8, 2008)

christianyouth said:


> Wow man... You came to the right board to ask the question! You now have a wide variety of books to choose to take on your trip, and if I know anything about the PB, you'll probably get a lot more suggestions before the day's over.


It is good  most of these never occurred to me or I didn't know they were out - seems American Caesar is brand new.

I suspect by the time I wake up tomorrow the list will have blossomed. I should have mentioned there are weight limits on my bags and I want to travel light  Everything I need/want for 40-50 (except food) needs to fit into a little bag of around 10-15kg. Smaller the better.


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## Abd_Yesua_alMasih (Oct 8, 2008)

Tim said:


> Where are you traveling? Certainly NZ doesn't have 8000km of rail!


Good question but I will leave that to the imagination


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## Backwoods Presbyterian (Oct 8, 2008)

Must be taking the Oriental Express.


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## Ivan (Oct 8, 2008)

Abd_Yesua_alMasih said:


> Overtly Christian books are banned! No Christian theology, no Puritians, no Reformed literature.



I think it would be appropriate under these conditions to read _1984_ or _Animal Farm_. I can't imagine living under this type of attitude. It well may be coming to America but I will not be a very cooperative subject.

That being said, perhaps a number of the shorter classics might be interesting to read. I'm not sure about the time element involved but you might be able to get through a few of them.

Or maybe Dickens? Or Mehville? 

Or some subject near and dear to your heart. 

It must be late winter there by now.


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## Abd_Yesua_alMasih (Oct 8, 2008)

Certainly have the time. Last time I was stuck in those carriages I was going through thick Tom Clancy novels (all I could find at a local shop) at the rate of one a day - oh and a complete history of Islam. Not sure how that got there. When some Muslims in the train started to pray silently towards Mecca on their beds the guards came and said they were interrupting the other passengers and should stop.


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## JBaldwin (Oct 8, 2008)

I vote for the Count of Monte Cristo. If you can get a good translation of Les Miserables, that is a good read. Or how about Crime and Punishment?


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## Tim (Oct 8, 2008)

Backwoods Presbyterian said:


> Plato's _Republic_...



In Greek!


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## CovenantalBaptist (Oct 8, 2008)

Al Mohler's Reading List archived by month can provide helpful books that are often more general but usually have some enduring value although the focus is on more contemporary works. Perhaps you should consider bringing along a PDA (borrow one if you need to) and then you can download free PDF books or even buy them so that you can minimize your packing and shipping weight. Just bring extra batteries. Or you can always consider an Amazon Kindle if you have access to such funds.

I have not read fiction in a long time, but I would also highly recommend anything Dostoevsky - Crime and Punishment is one of my favourites.


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## BertMulder (Oct 8, 2008)

I would be hardpressed to spend much of that distance reading, would probably watch the scenery go by... (love train travel)

But, would probably be listening to my Ipod (would they inspect those?)

Am known to read everything in sight, even the phonebook, or a dictionary, so I would have no challenge by reading something not overtly Christian... It might even be the Canadian Income Tax Act, or the US Revenue Code...


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## Jon Peters (Oct 8, 2008)

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Garcia Marquez
Swann's Way by Proust
Fictiones by Borges


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## Jon Peters (Oct 8, 2008)

kvanlaan said:


> Count of Monte Cristo? Engaging and about 900 pages, as I recall... There's always War and Peace.



War and Peace is my favorite book. Don't let the size fool you, it is a page turner!


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## Grymir (Oct 8, 2008)

Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" You'll related to Hank Reardon and Dagny Taggert!


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## Jon Peters (Oct 8, 2008)

Grymir said:


> Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" You'll related to Hank Reardon and Dagny Taggert!



There are no trains that I recall but I've always preferred the Fountainhead to Atlas Shrugged. I know I'm in the minority on this one.


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## FrielWatcher (Oct 8, 2008)

why would they not allow you to read what you choose? Is this in China, or a potentially non-christian nation?


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## py3ak (Oct 8, 2008)

If you can get them, get the First and Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, each in a one volume edition (Stephen R. Donaldson, Orion). That will give you six books, each of which will probably take at least a day to read. Of course, it helps to have the OED close by when reading Donaldson, but it sounds like you'll have time to figure out the meaning of words from their context.

Or, you could take the works of Chaucer.


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## Christusregnat (Oct 8, 2008)

Kilometer; is that like the French Revolution's version of a "Murdermile"?






Abd_Yesua_alMasih said:


> Okay so I will be sitting in a train covering 8,000 kilometers or so over roughish terrain and difficult wintery weather (most of it).
> 
> So the challenge - what am I to read?
> 
> ...


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## Abd_Yesua_alMasih (Oct 8, 2008)

BertMulder said:


> I would be hardpressed to spend much of that distance reading, would probably watch the scenery go by... (love train travel)
> 
> But, would probably be listening to my Ipod (would they inspect those?)
> 
> Am known to read everything in sight, even the phonebook, or a dictionary, so I would have no challenge by reading something not overtly Christian... It might even be the Canadian Income Tax Act, or the US Revenue Code...


Last time I also educated myself on the US legal system. I found that, while informative, tended to drive me crazy when cramped up in a little box 6 feet long and two feet tall. 

I am not looking for iPod of PDA. Things too easily get stolen, and yes they can be searched. My friend last time was simply attached out on the street and a fight followed which he fortunately won. Anyhow, in my experience, you need to be prepared to loose everything.

I am sure you will all understand for security reasons I can not say where I will be going.


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## Abd_Yesua_alMasih (Oct 8, 2008)

Jon Peters said:


> One Hundred Years of Solitude by Garcia Marquez
> Swann's Way by Proust
> Fictiones by Borges


They look good.


Atlas Shrugged looks a bit revolutionary


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## Jon Peters (Oct 8, 2008)

Abd_Yesua_alMasih said:


> Jon Peters said:
> 
> 
> > One Hundred Years of Solitude by Garcia Marquez
> ...



One Hundred Years of Solitude is a unique reading experience. Borges is nice because the stories are short and you can sprinkle them in throughout the trip.


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## Pergamum (Oct 8, 2008)

Get _Elephants on Acid_ and _Hippo Eats Dwarf_, two lite books for boring trips about all sorts of strange experiments and also hoaxes and media hype.


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## Timothy William (Oct 9, 2008)

py3ak said:


> If you can get them, get the First and Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, each in a one volume edition (Stephen R. Donaldson, Orion). That will give you six books, each of which will probably take at least a day to read. Of course, it helps to have the OED close by when reading Donaldson, but it sounds like you'll have time to figure out the meaning of words from their context.
> 
> Or, you could take the works of Chaucer.



I much preferred the Gap series to Thomas Covenant, and Mordant's Need was somewhere between the two. I know I'm in a minority on that one. 

Suggestions: 
Crime and Punishment. Followed by The Brothers Karamazov.
Jane Eyre.
The novels of Jane Austen.
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
Human Action.
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
A Random Walk down Wall Street. Followed by Fooled by Randomness.


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## Grymir (Oct 9, 2008)

Abd_Yesua_alMasih said:


> Atlas Shrugged looks a bit revolutionary



Atlas Shrugged is revolutionary where you are going? You mean the've heard of her?


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## py3ak (Oct 9, 2008)

Timothy William said:


> I much preferred the Gap series to Thomas Covenant, and Mordant's Need was somewhere between the two. I know I'm in a minority on that one.



The Gap series is breathtaking, there is no doubt about it. But, as far as I am aware, it doesn't come in any conveniently bundled editions, and space constraints have to be considered. I would Mordant's Need at the bottom of Donaldson's opus, but it's been a while since I read it.


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## FrielWatcher (Oct 9, 2008)

I recommend the non-fiction book Good Calories, Bad Calories. It is a book about the research that went into dieting theory such as how and why the medical community subscribes to heart disease and cholesterol. It is an enormously interesting read. 

If you haven't read it - Sinclair Lewis' 'Main Street'


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## kvanlaan (Oct 9, 2008)

> War and Peace is my favorite book. Don't let the size fool you, it is a page turner!



Sorry, but I was about ready to personally exterminate the entire Oblonsky clan if one more came out of the woodwork (and had the Revolution not done the job for me).

What about the Three Kingdoms or Outlaws of the Marsh? They're both interesting enough, aren't tedious like Journey to the West or Hong Lou Meng, and you are accorded a certain amount of respect wherever you go when it becomes apparent that you've read them.

Count of Monte Cristo is intricate enough to remain interesting over the entire length (and beautifully laced together), but can set vengeful fires burning in the hearts of the only mildly regenerate.


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## Davidius (Oct 9, 2008)

A few hefty options...

Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy 

Smith, Wealth of Nations

Dumas, Count of Monte Cristo

Homer, Iliad and Odyssey

Goethe, Faust I & II

Dante, The Divine Comedy

Milton, Paradise Lost & Paradise Regained


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## Neopatriarch (Oct 9, 2008)

You could read some comics like Calvin and Hobbes or Dilbert.

You could learn how your car works by reading [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Auto-Fundamentals-Text-Martin-Stockel/dp/1566375770/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223561834&sr=8-6"]Auto Fundamentals (text)[/ame]. It has nice pictures in my opinion.

If you like mathematics, [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Numeracy-John-Allen-Paulos/dp/067973807X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223562104&sr=1-1"]Beyond Numeracy[/ame] by John Allen Paulos might interest you. 

Just some thoughts.


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## TimV (Oct 9, 2008)

For the other SciFi fans, David Brin has a series called The Uplift Wars. Hard core evolutionary presuppositions, but if you're mature enough for entertainment based on nonChristian views, like Homer, Rand, etc..it's engrossing.


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## Pergamum (Oct 9, 2008)

Read some Ray Bradbury or Hp Lovecraft...they rock!


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## he beholds (Nov 11, 2008)

Timothy William said:


> py3ak said:
> 
> 
> > If you can get them, get the First and Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, each in a one volume edition (Stephen R. Donaldson, Orion). That will give you six books, each of which will probably take at least a day to read. Of course, it helps to have the OED close by when reading Donaldson, but it sounds like you'll have time to figure out the meaning of words from their context.
> ...



Don't do it!! _The Brothers Karamazov_, followed by _Crime and Punishment_, if you must. I'd read the _Idiot_, before _C & P_, though, and for sure *Brother's Karamazov is the first!!*
And I second Jane Eyre (and I second it coming after Dostoevsky).


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## Timothy William (Nov 12, 2008)

We studied Crime and Punishment as one of the novels in our Russian Literature section in high school, so I read it before the others. My favourite part of Jane Eyre is the early scenes where Jane is a schoolgirl; I wish I had read it when I was that age, instead I only reached Jane Eyre in my twenties.


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