The Fun That Was Peace Corps Guyana - Mark's Blog

Postings from just north of the equator. Let's see if training in CPR and First Aid prepares me to teach Health Education in a small, remote village in Guyana. I'm thinking... no. Read all about this ill advised decision! In addition, here is the required Peace Corps disclaimer: "The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the US government or the Peace Corps." So, please, don't confuse me with the White House Press Secretary.

Saturday, December 03, 2005

Books

So as I plan for my time in Guyana, I tend to focus on one thing I will need. I then spend a few days obsessing about it - researching on the internet, asking friends, analyzing my options, then eventually not doing anything. After focusing on shirts, I then spent last weekend focusing on frame packs. I visited two different outdoor stores, found what I wanted on sale, almost bought it online, and then chickened out when during the online check-out they wanted my credit card number. So I do not have a frame pack yet. My new rationalization is that the post Xmas sales will result in a shiny new backpack for a good price. Hopefully.

Anyways, my new obsession is which books I am going to bring down there. Basically, books are very expensive in Guyana (so says Peace Corps). So I need to bring down a bunch. But PC also has a library of books from volunteers. People bring down a bunch, read them, then throw them into the library for other volunteers. So it should be fairly good - at least the obvious classics. But who knows? I can't count on it having a specific book I might want. So I'm bringing a bunch. I've been asking my brother mostly, and he gave me some suggestions. I'm thinking lengthy easy reads - The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, the Godfather Trilogy, Heart of Darkness, On the Road, and bunch more. But I know I still need more. Some Dostoevsky, maybe? I'm thinking so. But what are some other good books I should bring? So I'm sending out the question to you all. If you've gotten this far in this posting, drop me an email or something. I'd like to hear some suggestions. It's always interesting to get book advice from other people. Some of the best books I've ever read have been suggestions from my friends.