Reading Material...

As I've indicated before, I do a lot of reading on this trip. I finished Fast Food Nation, Around the World in 80 Days (I found it oddly fitting), and a couple Dan Brown novels.

My purchases in Chaing Mai include The Communist Manifesto, Common Sense by Thomas Paine, Video Night in Kathmandu by Pico Iyer, A History of Asia, and The Tailor from Panama by John La Carre. I also picked up a copy of this week's Economist magazine. And I finally found Walden as well.

I talked about Pico Iyer in the last book post. This book talks about how Western trends move through Asia. It should be an appropriate read.

I've always thought about reading the Communist Manifesto. I just wanted to know what it was that sparked a whole way of life for, at its time, about half the world. I thought Common Sense was necessary for some balance.

So I'm set for the rest of Thailand and couple of weeks or so of India. But, I would like some suggestions for future picks.

Criteria:
- In press long enough to be in paperback; It's lighter, and I'll be more likely to find it used.
- Should not be excessively long; Please, no War and Peace. It gets difficult to pack the big books.
- Mainstream that I would probably find it used. This is not so difficult as it sounds, but would preclude Beowulf in original Old English.
- No Russian authors. I read a few in high school, and found them depressing. I don't need that on this trip.
- No poetry. Just not in the mood.

Thanks for the help...