An untimely new favorite book...

Ever since finishing vet school, I've found myself reading more often than I did in the years prior to starting at Tufts.  Perhaps its because now I get to pick what I want to read rather than being forced to read on a certain topic.  Or maybe that I read so much on a weekly basis in school that my mind expects some sort of substitute now that that particular source of literature is no longer requisite.  Part of it certainly has stemmed from working strange hours, so that in my time off from work- no one else might be awake or off from work to engage in other 'normal' activities.  This is actually the case as I write this entry- it's midnight in Hawaii, I just finished a great book and am wide awake while the rest of Kailua is sleeping.  Well, there's probably a few people at the bar- but it's unlikely that they want to hear about the book I just read...so now you get to!
Probably another part of the influence in my reading more over the last 1.5 years is my former MD roomie, Alicia- who somehow manages to work full time, go to school for her master's degree, train for a marathon, volunteer at a counseling center and help lead various aspects of her local church as well.  These all come with various required or inspiring reading materials which she manages to plow through and still somehow read a new book for fun just about every week (obviously, the kindle was invented for her).  So just about once a week, I got a personalized book review from a very well read source who just so happens to have several similar tastes for life as I do.  You might as well tell me where to find the best ice cream in town...which so far in Hawaii- is the Kona coffee ice cream at the farmer's market by the way, in case you were on the fence about coming...

Anyhow, onto the book.

The book of feature is Bill Bryson's "A walk in the woods."  I finished the book in just over 1 week, which is probably the fastest I have ever read any book written for adults (I can generally get through Green Eggs and Ham a little faster...).  It is definitely in my top 5 favorite books, and at the moment I think it is only trumped by Douglas Adams' "Hitchhikers Guide" series.  I have seen the featured title in bookstores and libraries for the last few years, often in the sections of "Employee top picks" or something similar- but tend to generally discount these sections since it is often swayed by whatever is popular media at the time as well.  For instance- when they started filming for "The time traveller's wife" or when "Wicked" became a musical- only then did I see these books move to the front of stores and to the top of best seller lists, despite having read them years before.  As a side note- I recommend seeing the musical version of Wicked rather than reading the book, which is not often the case!

Part of me also probably avoided the book because of it's topic- hiking the Appalachian Trail.  Not because I have no interest in the topic, but more on the contrary that I have a great interest in the topic but neither the finances or time to undertake such a task at this time in my life.  Also because I wasn't sure how much one could write or therefore read about hiking, it's much more of a personal experience than what I could put into words.  How can you describe adequately how amazing it is to sit on a mountaintop in complete silence and see the earth stretch out for miles and miles below?  How can you relate how funny it was when you dropped the last part of your granola bar off a boulder and hit some hiker below you?  I didn't think you could- especially not a whole book or trail's worth, not even a picture can do these memories justice sometimes.  The good news is that Bryson generally doesn't try to do this, and when he does- he's fantastic at it!

So after just joining the local library branch last week, and searching for travel guide books for my new island home- I stumbled across this book about the east coast mountain range I just left.  And hence it strangely became the first book I checked out in Hawaii.  Most of the book is about the trials and tribulations of 2 middle-aged guys who randomly decide to hike the AT.  Basically, it's about how hard it is, the people you meet along the way and the changes in terrain and culture en route northward.  All this told from a sarcastic and well traveled British viewpoint, which sums up to be a hilarious adventure.

Perhaps others won't find this book quite as entertaining as I did for the reason that the book also visits several areas that I have visited or hiked in real life.  From hiking in the Smokey Mountains, through Shenandoah, upwards to the Berkshires and the White Mountains- I've always loved the Appalachians and it was neat to remember my journeys there in comparison to the authors.  The author also spends a good portion of the book recalling historical and current (in 1996) events along the trail-side towns.  This adds a cool element to the book as you begin to understand all that the AT was formed from and all that it has endured.  The journey from south to north along the AT also reflects my own journey- moving from southwest Virginia up to eastern Pennsylvania and then up to Massachusetts.  The author makes several observations about the changes in towns and culture along this route, most of which I've encountered in some variety or other.  Of course the untimely part of this all is that now I live several thousand miles away from the AT, and will have to wait a little longer to continue my own experiences there.

The AT

In short- if you enjoy hiking, sarcasm, history, live on the east coast or are just looking for a new book to read- I highly recommend this one.
Take a look, it's in a book, it's reading from the rainbow state...and now it's time for bed because that's just corny...