More Book Ideas.

I mentioned before that after a few interviews about reading material I would compile a list of books that I plan to take with me. Here is a solid part of that list.

Damian by Herman Hesse - A sort of coming of age tale that takes place in the years leading up to and after WWI

Narcissus and Goldmund by Herman Hesse - The story of a young German man named Goldmund wondering throughout medieval Germany searching for the meaning of life.

Apparently these first two books are practically required reading in many other countries around the world, but for whatever reason, never really caught on in the United States.


The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell - writings on the comparative mythology of the journey taken by the archetypal hero. On a side note, someone game me this book when I became an Eagle Scout my junior year of high school. I never read it and had totally forgotten about it until it came up in this conversation. After a little searching, I was able to find it buried in a box out at my parents house, and now am very much looking forward to reading it.

Moby Dick by Herman Melville - This is considered to be one of the greatest novels in the English language. Yet another example of something that I've always wanted to read, but just never got around to actually doing it.

Call of the Wild by Jack London - I can remember reading this when I was younger, but I think it would definitely be worth revisiting. FYI - the first movie adaptation of this book, starring Clark Gable, was filmed up at Mount Baker. Yes, that Mt. Baker.

Runaway Horses by Yuko Mishima - According to wikipedia, this book explores the boundary between atheism and religious belief by presenting Honda (one of the main characters) with seeming evidence of reincarnation and exploring his emotional responses. The religions of Buddhism and Shinto are contrasted.

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco - From what I've heard about this book, it sounds kind of like The Divinci Code, only set in the year 1327.


I'm looking forward to these, as they should keep me busy for a little bit.