Europe 2013 Top Five : #5 : Lucerne

Lucerne, Switzerland.

Number Five on my top list of places I enjoyed while backpacking around Europe.

Packing List for Backpacking Europe

Before my sister and I left to backpack Europe for about 28 days, I read packing lists obsessively on the internet. Obsessively. I hated most of them, but that did not stop me from scrutinizing each one. It is silly, but one of the things I was looking forward to most was my own packing list blog post. I may or may not have caught myself thinking, not "when I pack I will do this and this differently," but "my post will have this better and a clearer photo, etc."

OK, confession time over. On to the packing. We will start on the outside and work our way in (people who are only interested in what clothes I packed, scroll until you get to the photo with the clothes!!)

So I have a 45L pack. This one, to be precise:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-XPG-Womens-Ridgeline-Liter-Pack/1348468.uts

Overall, I was fairly happy with how it performed. It held up very well (which it should have, since we were hardly the thrill-seeking, adventure backpackers.) It had sufficient (but not impressive) pockets, and access to the inside was quite good for a top-loader. My only major complaint is that it is too long for my back and therefore did not distribute weight ideally. However, that is not the backpack's fault. My other complaint is that it is too big, but we will get to that later.

To aid with the whole "living out of a backpack without losing my mind" thing, I spent around half a day stopping at, like, SIX different stores, slowly accumulating these beauts:

They were a lifesaver. You can see in a later picture how my stuff was divided into them, but this ^ picture has all of my clothes and almost all of my toiletries. All packed down into that little stack! I really liked knowing exactly where stuff was in the bottomless abyss of my backpack. If I needed a shirt, I knew exactly which handle to grab. If I had to pull out every "item" in my backpack looking for something, it was like four or five objects instead of dozens. Some people hate cubes, so try out packing with them before you take them on a trip, but I will probably always use them in the future.

This is almost everything I took with me. I'm sure there were some last minute additions, but this is the bulk of it.

Biggest cube:
-skirt/jeans/shorts
-sweater(s)
-dress

Medium cube:
-shirts

Small (rectangular) cubes:
1 for socks/tights
1 for bras & underwear

Wedge-ish bag:
-toiletries

Flat zip document "bag:"
This was a last-minute addition, it was nearly waterproof and rather structured. I highly recommend it.
It housed:
-photocopies of passport, driver's license, credit card
-printed directions to each hostel from the train station
-Eurail map & other info
-later in the trip, post-cards or other paper things I wanted to keep nice and flat were kept here.

Small "day" bag-ette (haha funny.) Another life-saver. I took my purse, but I usually only carried it for train rides. This is what I used when we were running around cities. I never worried about pick-pockets since it was attached to my wrist and I always held it like a clutch with the zipper inside my hand. It was big enough that everything fit comfortably but small enough that it was a breeze to carry. Mine was like $7 at Walmart.
-passport
-debit card
-local currency
-chapstick
-misc necessaries

The items above with asterisks by their names are items that I ditched along the way. The lock didn't work, even though I tried it like four times before we left. I threw it away at our first hostel and bought one with a key. The converter stopped working about halfway through. Funny story, my sister's iPhone cable stopped working almost immediately, so we were already sharing my cable, then my converter bit the dust and we finished out the trip with one converter and one cable. Since we were only using our phones to take pictures and use the internet when available, our battery life was decent and it was not much of an inconvenience. I realized after I saved the photo that I did not actually throw away my money belt-necklace (lol,) I just ended up stuffing it in the bottom of my pack and forgetting about it. It was really unnecessary; I thought I might use it at a sketchy hostel or something, but I only used it once at night, just for my phone. I sadly left my wonderful stainless steel water bottle behind because it was far more hassle than it was worth; I was tremendously tired of carrying it. It took up too much room inside my bag and made too much noise clipped to the outside of it, so I left it. I will undoubtedly buy another for home use, though, you cannot beat the stainless steel bottles!

The clothes!!!!!

I realized that I never took a picture after my final cuts on my clothing, so the items with red X's in the picture were eliminated before I left. The item with a green X was eliminated on the trip (explanation to follow.)

So our trip was in September. We went to Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and France. Italy was, of course, warm, and southern Germany, Prague, and Switzerland were fairly cold. The rest of the places were moderate. So we were fairly accurate in attempting to pack for all contingencies. In Munich I was wearing almost every item of clothing I packed, and in Italy I could not imagine why I had not packed more hot-weather clothing. But in the end, I wish I had brought less clothing. I know everyone says that, but it's true. Next time I will bring less. So I am going to rate every clothing item I brought to show how much use I got out of it.

Here's my scale:
one: I got almost no use out of this, it was not worth its weight
two: I wore this some, but I would not bring it next time.
three: I got okay use from this, I would consider it next time.
four: I got really good use from this item.
five: I literally would have been miserable without this item.

Shoes shoes shoes.
(1) pair boots - Dr. Martens Felice five
(1) pair sandals - Birkenstock Odessa four
(1) pair $2 flip-flops for showers (always wear them. Foot fungus is miserable.) five

(1) black dress - Target Mossimo - discarded due to lack of use.  one
(1) black skirt - Target. three
(1) pair blue jeans - bootcut, medium wash. five
(1) pair jean shorts - rolled cuff, medium-light wash. four
(1) pair black lounge/yoga/pajama pants. I hated these with a passion, but at the same time, you need pajamas. Just choose wisely. four

(1) black pullover - oversized, loose knit. three
(1) black cardigan. five
(1) black long-sleeve tee. three
(1) grey 3/4-sleeve shirt. two
(3) tshirts (black, grey, grey stripes). five
(2) tanks (purple, grey) - racerback. four and two (I would take one, not two, next time if preparing for the same weather as on this trip.)

(1) scarf three

Not pictured:
(1) black tights (HUE opaque sheer black tights will change your life. They look awesome, feel awesome, and I swear they never wear out. Link to Amazon below) five
(2) wool or wool-blend boot socks (cream, black) four
(3) regular socks four
(1) regular bra three
(2) sports bras (I am among the freakish part of the population that prefers sports bras) five
(5) pairs underwear. I had two pairs of Champion underwear as a cheaper alternative to "travel" underwear. They worked great. But then my regular underwear was fine too, so.  five - duh.

Accessories:
Watch five
one ring (to rule them all) four

Clothing purchased on the trip:
pair of grey tights (meh) and pair of black leggings (crap) one
black fleece jacket four



Toiletries:

So, I am a very low-maintenance person, but I have long-ish huge wavy/curly hair. So I will always look at "toiletries" and see "hair products." Here's my list:

-two travel-sized toothpaste tubes
-toothbrush with cover
- 30-pack of natural-mumbo-jumbo exfoliating face wipes (my skin only tolerates select cleaners)
-one bar of Dr Brommer's peppermint soap
-mascara
-eyeliner
-one small eyeshadow compact-y thing
-chapstick
-tinted chapstick
-travel-sized bottles of:

• sulfate-free shampoo
• heavy conditioner
• light conditioner
• hair goop (magical curling custard-type product which I fondly call Angel Snot)
• hair gel

-tiny mirror (a lifesaver)
-several hair-ties
-small collection of bobby pins

Also, just a mention, I brought 1.5 towels. I purchased an extra-large quick-dry microfiber towel which cost a whopping $30 but was worth every cent, and then I also folded up a small flour sack towel (which I swear by) and whipped it right into my other towel's mesh sack. I always wrap my hair in the flour sack towel (a two-pack costs like $1 in the Walmart dish cloth section) before getting out and drying myself off. If you have longer hair, it cuts down on drippage so much and is also more gentle on your hair. Wet hostel bathroom floors are nasty. Don't contribute to them.

Electronics:
iPhone 4S
charger cord
iPad 2
charger cord (I only brought the USB to Lightning part of the charger since I could use my iPhone charger's plug)
Photojojo Telephoto and Wide Angle/Macro lenses for the iPhone
two pairs of earphones

I brought along two books and my journal. The journal was fantastic to have along. I only made it through one short book, because I cannot read on trains or any other form of transportation. If you do not have motion sickness, bring at least one book (almost every hostel has a book exchange, although some were quite poor.) However, I also recommend not reading too much on trains. It is a fantastic way to see the countryside and even if the scenery is not thrilling, it is still a new place to take in. I downloaded the audiobook The Girl Who Played with Fire before we left, knowing that I would not be able to read much, and it was the best decision ever. The audiobook is like 16-17 hrs long, and I finished it on the plane ride home. It was fantastic entertainment on the train and still allowed me to keep my eyes glued out the window, when I was fortunate enough to have a view. My sister can read on trains and she got through five or six books during the month. If you like or can even tolerate audiobooks, definitely download one. And make it a long one.

Just a few last miscellaneous mentions:
I highly recommend stuffing a handful of healthy bars into your bag. I packed 3 or 4 Luna bars and wished I had brought more. Grocery stores can occasionally be hard to locate and having a backup plan that does not involve an 8 euro sandwich in the train station is essential.

My reusable shopping bag was the greatest decision. You can see it in the second to last photo, on the right. It rolls down to a tiny tube shape, and it holds a lot. I believe it's an Envirosax (or very similar,) I picked it up at the National Gallery of Art in DC on my most recent visit. It carted my laundry bag to the laundromat (we wimped on sink laundry,) carried my groceries (many grocery stores in Europe expect you to have a bag,) toted my shower supplies, and generally saved my butt. I definitely recommend the investment.

Let me know if you have any comments or would like to know more about my packing list, my trip, my life, anything!

Things I Have Learned About Europe

La Basilique du Sacré Cœur, Paris

For the month of September, I  backpacked around Europe with my sister. I fully intended to blog about it while it was happening, but... I was backpacking around Europe! I  used my precious WiFi time (with mostly crappy wifi) to make some kind of effort to stay in touch with the people back in the U.S. of A.

I think possibly waiting until I'm done has been good. Although certain details may have faded, it has put everything into perspective. Some things that seemed like the end of the world at the time are now clearly just a blip on the radar.

So, one of the things that I wanted to document about this trip is what I learned about Europe. I've been a "Euro-phile" for a while now: planning imaginary trips, researching living costs and culture, and playing around with the languages. However, none of that can compare to the knowledge that you acquire when you are actually traveling there (not to mention actually residing there, I imagine.) Therefore, here is just a brief list, in no particular order, of a few things I have learned abroad.

1. Free bathrooms are precious and should be treasured. American public bathrooms are rampant. They are everywhere. And if someone asked you to pay to use one, you would think they were a nutcase. But not only are free bathrooms a rarity in most European countries, bathrooms can be a struggle to find at all. Instead of encountering a bathroom around every corner, you wander the train station aimlessly, happy to fork over your euro once you finally find the restroom. The upside is that these pricey restrooms are usually very clean (as in, sometimes are cleaned and disinfected between each use *cough*Germany*cough*) Don't even get me started on finding a free, clean bathroom. Whoa. So, use your hostel or hotel bathroom before you leave. Use other free bathrooms you encounter. Paying to use the bathroom blows.

2. Europeans love their shoes and bags. In America, shoes are not important. In general, people just wear whatever. In Europe, it is different. There are shoe stores literally everywhere. Most of them sell bags, too. It makes sense that shoes are important since everyone walks so much. By extension, bags are also important. Stuff that I just toss into my car and pull out if I need it has to actually be lugged around when you're cycling, walking, or riding public transportation. Voila, you have an obsession with cute, practical bags and shoes.

3. Politeness is not an essential part of European life. I had heard that this was the case, but I actually did not anticipate this bothering me to the extent that it does. Despite our stereotype of being obnoxious, or "ugly," Americans are freakishly polite creatures. Every single industry in America revolves around customer service. Cashiers, waitresses, receptionists, even nurses- and just about anyone else- is considered to be "paid to be nice." Of course, high quality, efficiency, and other qualities factor in, but generally the number one priority is that you can be a nice, friendly, engaging person. Or at the very least, rein in your snarl. This is not the experience I have had in Europe. This is not, by any means, to say that Europeans are rude. I have encountered many wonderfully sweet and helpful, or gruff and charming Europeans. Politeness is just not on the radar. It is clear that cashiers believe they are being paid to scan your groceries and take your money, not to be friendly. If you fumble with your change or take too long bagging the groceries (or heaven forbid you don't speak Italian and have no idea that they just asked if you wanted a bag!) they have no qualms about rolling their eyes and sighing. This is just not culturally okay in America (not to say it doesn't happen, but it's something weird and unacceptable when it does.) This is not a problem, just a cultural difference; one of the things you have to adjust to while traveling, but it was a bigger adjustment than I thought it would be.

4. Dogs are much more well-behaved in Europe. I'm not kidding.

My long train ride must-haves!

5. A lot of trains and metros function on a modified honor system. I was not anticipating this. In most American metro systems, you have to put in a ticket or swipe a pass to even get through to the train/subway. This was the case in some places (some of Italy, Paris,) but most German-speaking countries seem to be on a different plan. You buy the subway pass or ticket, and just jump straight on the subway. There are no gates or such. A plain-clothes subway dude may come through and check tickets while you're riding, and you sure as hell better have that valid ticket if he does. Otherwise, there is no enforcement of the ticket policy.

6. Vegetarians can eat happily until they die. It is actually stupid how meat-obsessed the U.S. is. Newer, more "hip" restaurants are increasingly offering extensive vegetarian and vegan menus, but many traditional restaurants (particularly outside of large cities) fail to have a single vegetarian entree on the menu. I have actually ordered a collection of side dishes many times at restaurants because there simply is no vegetarian option. Happily, Europe is a wealth of vegetarian options. Even if there is not an exotic item on the menu, you can count on there being spaghetti without meat sauce, or something.

7. Europeans are far more comfortable with the human body. This works both ways. Not only do they tolerate nudity far more, they also are not panting and drooling over the female body the way some Americans seem to. Cleavage seems far less common, not because women are "covering up," it's just not a big huge desirable thing.

8. The Wi-Fi sucks. Sure, it exists and everything, this isn't the wilderness we're talking about, but it's far less prevalent and also far less speedy than internet-obsessed America. It's a sad truth.

9. Upside: Quality matters. Downside: it is hard to find "mediocre" quality/price items. Because we knew we would buy so many gifts at our last two stops, we planned to buy suitcases to check on the flight back. Our backpacks were heavy enough without all that extra. My sister bought one in Lucerne. Oh my gosh, Switzerland, I love you to death and I will be back a dozen times before I die, but your prices!! I cannot even cope with them. We were at a Coop City (awesome store, by the way, it is like Target and Macy's combined,) and the suitcases were predictably expensive. I decided that I could really get away with a duffel/sports bag instead, since I did not have a lot of extra stuff to pack. The store only carried name-brand (Puma, Nike, Adidas,) and the cheapest tiny little duffel was around 40sfr ($45.) No, thanks. I ended up buying a flimsy one from a slimy nasty street market in Paris for 8 euro ($11). It is great that you can get such high quality items, but sometimes you do not need a high quality item, you need something to get you through, and that is where discount department stores like Target, Walmart, Meijer, etc. swoop in and save the day. Perhaps it is just me showing myself to be a product of my consumerist society (but I'm not, really!)

10. The fashion rocks. I mean really. And I don't just mean in places like Milan and Paris. I love the everyday street style of so many Europeans. I believe my favorite was the style of the young people in Berlin. A bit quirky, yet with the practical sensibilities that Germans hold so dear. Ahh, my heart.

11. The cars are so much smaller. And the driving so much more aggressive. I mean, the cars are tiny. Because the streets are tiny. And do not get me wrong, most of the driving was very good. But just far more aggressive than you will usually see in the U.S. I wouldn't go so far as to say the driving in Italy was good, though. More just aggressive. And wild. Borderline not-first-world. ;)

12. There is less emphasis on cleanliness. I am not saying Europeans are dirty. I'm not. Don't put words in my mouth. But in general, sidewalks are dirtier, subway stations are grimier, stores are less obsessively scrubbed, etc.

13. There is a whole lot more recycling going on. I so thoroughly applaud most European countries for making this a priority. In Germany, instead of having just a public trash can, they had these little half-moon shaped holders for bags for different types of waste: paper, plastic, waste, etc. Why isn't the U.S. doing this? Why?

14. There is less water in the toilets. Once I got to Germany I suddenly remembered that I had heard this at one point a while ago, but I had not remembered at all. It's some cool planet-saving thing to use less water. Smart. Also in some cases (German-speaking countries is where I mostly saw it,) there are two levers, one for #1 and one for #2. I have heard new toilets in the U.S. are using less water as well? But I do not know anyone with a new build, so I cannot test this theory ;)

15. The education is much ...better? different, at least? I did not get to have an in-depth conversation with any Europeans about their education system, but based on my research and experience, at the very least in the language area, their education busts the socks right off of America. The people in Germany working in shops accommodating German, French, English, and possibly Spanish or Italian-speaking people just amaze me. The six year old in Switzerland jabbering away to her mom in English, German, and French. All while I haltingly attempt to utilize my years of intermittent study of German. Sigh.

16. Tax is included in store prices. I think really only Americans will understand why this is so hard to get used to. It's nice. But also weird.

Well, I could keep going forever, but my final thought (for now,) is this.

17. Europe is such an amazing place to be. The culture, the architecture, the art, the scenery, the history, the languages. (Nearly) everything about it is so amazing. Everywhere we went, we heard about something we wanted to research, somewhere we wanted to go "next time," people and places we wanted to learn about and experience. It increased our appreciation for travel, for life at home, for Europe, for America, for the entire world.

The Schilthorn, Swizerland

January Book Haul :)

The highlights!!! Just a couple I'm super excited about:

Not Pictured:

I Capture the Castle -Dodie Smith

&

A Room with a View -E. M. Forster
 

The House of Mirth -Edith Wharton. I had started this and thoroughly enjoyed the way I felt enveloped in the world. I actually am excited to find out what happens, despite my not having read any of it in forever.


The Bell Jar -Sylvia Plath. One of my favorites, I am happy to have a copy =D


The Space Trilogy - C.S. Lewis (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength). I've always wanted to read these, no idea why I haven't read them yet!!!


Walden -Henry David Thoreau. I think this book will be good for my mental health. If I finish it. ;)


The Imperfectionists -Tom Rachman. This is just... the best title ever. That's pretty much all that matters.

Rory Gilmore Reading List!!!

This list is all the books mentioned by the Gilmores in my favoriteee TV show <3 I am not whole-heartedly embarking on this adventure, however I am very interested in seeing how many I have already read... Therefore:

purple: already read
green: currently reading
blue: read after starting


1984 by George Orwell
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Archidamian War by Donald Kagan
The Art of Fiction by Henry James
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Babe by Dick King-Smith
Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney
The Bhagava Gita
The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a Village in the Forest, and Saved 1,200 Jews by Peter Duffy
Bitch in Praise of Difficult Women by Elizabeth Wurtzel
A Bolt from the Blue and Other Essays by Mary McCarthy
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Brick Lane by Monica Ali
Bridgadoon by Alan Jay Lerner
Candide by Voltaire
The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer
Carrie by Stephen King
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman
Christine by Stephen King
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse
The Collected Short Stories by Eudora Welty
The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty by Eudora Welty
A Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
Complete Novels by Dawn Powell
The Complete Poems by Anne Sexton
Complete Stories by Dorothy Parker
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas père
Cousin Bette by Honor’e de Balzac
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Cujo by Stephen King
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Daisy Miller by Henry James
Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
David and Lisa by Dr Theodore Issac Rubin M.D
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
The Da Vinci -Code by Dan Brown
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
Demons by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Deenie by Judy Blume
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson
The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band by Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars and Nikki Sixx
The Divine Comedy by Dante
The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
Don Quijote by Cervantes
Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhrv
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales & Poems by Edgar Allan Poe
Eleanor Roosevelt by Blanche Wiesen Cook
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn
Eloise by Kay Thompson
Emily the Strange by Roger Reger
Emma by Jane Austen
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Ethics by Spinoza
Europe through the Back Door, 2003 by Rick Steves
Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Extravagance by Gary Krist
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore
The Fall of the Athenian Empire by Donald Kagan
Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World by Greg Critser
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
The Fellowship of the Ring: Book 1 of The Lord of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien (TBR)
Fiddler on the Roof by Joseph Stein
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce
Fletch by Gregory McDonald
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger
Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
Gender Trouble by Judith Butler
George W. Bushism: The Slate Book of the Accidental Wit and Wisdom of our 43rd President by Jacob Weisberg
Gidget by Fredrick Kohner
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
The Godfather: Book 1 by Mario Puzo
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Alvin Granowsky
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford
The Gospel According to Judy Bloom
The Graduate by Charles Webb
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Group by Mary McCarthy
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry
Henry IV, part I by William Shakespeare
Henry IV, part II by William Shakespeare
Henry V by William Shakespeare
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
Holidays on Ice: Stories by David Sedaris
The Holy Barbarians by Lawrence Lipton
House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
How the Light Gets in by M. J. Hyland
Howl by Allen Gingsburg
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
The Iliad by Homer
I’m with the Band by Pamela des Barres
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
Iron Weed by William J. Kennedy
It Takes a Village by Hillary Clinton
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
The Jumping Frog by Mark Twain
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Just a Couple of Days by Tony Vigorito
The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Lady Chatterleys’ Lover by D. H. Lawrence
The Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000 by Gore Vidal
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
The Legend of Bagger Vance by Steven Pressfield
Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them by Al Franken
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
The Little Locksmith by Katharine Butler Hathaway
The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Lottery: And Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Love Story by Erich Segal
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The Manticore by Robertson Davies
Marathon Man by William Goldman
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter by Simone de Beauvoir
Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman by William Tecumseh Sherman
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
The Meaning of Consuelo by Judith Ortiz Cofer
Mencken’s Chrestomathy by H. R. Mencken
The Merry Wives of Windsro by William Shakespeare
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Miracle Worker by William Gibson
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion by Jim Irvin
Moliere: A Biography by Hobart Chatfield Taylor
A Monetary History of the United States by Milton Friedman
Monsieur Proust by Celeste Albaret
A Month Of Sundays: Searching For The Spirit And My Sister by Julie Mars
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall
My Lai 4: A Report on the Massacre and It’s Aftermath by Seymour M. Hersh
My Life as Author and Editor by H. R. Mencken
My Life in Orange: Growing Up with the Guru by Tim Guest
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin
Nervous System: Or, Losing My Mind in Literature by Jan Lars Jensen
New Poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson
The New Way Things Work by David Macaulay
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
Night by Elie Wiesel
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism by William E. Cain, Laurie A. Finke, Barbara E. Johnson, John P. McGowan
Novels 1930-1942: Dance Night/Come Back to Sorrento, Turn, Magic Wheel/Angels on Toast/A Time to be Born by Dawn Powell
Notes of a Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Old School by Tobias Wolff
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life by Amy Tan
Oracle Night by Paul Auster
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Othello by Shakespeare
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan
Out of Africa by Isac Dineson
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition by Donald Kagan
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Peyton Place by Grace Metalious
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Pigs at the Trough by Arianna Huffington
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby
The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker
The Portable Nietzche by Fredrich Nietzche
The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill by Ron Suskind
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Property by Valerie Martin
Pushkin: A Biography by T. J. Binyon
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
Quattrocento by James Mckean
A Quiet Storm by Rachel Howzell Hall
Rapunzel by Grimm Brothers
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Rescuing Patty Hearst: Memories From a Decade Gone Mad by Virginia Holman
The Return of the King: The Lord of the Rings Book 3 by J. R. R. Tolkien (TBR)
R Is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton
Rita Hayworth by Stephen King
Robert’s Rules of Order by Henry Robert
Roman Fever by Edith Wharton
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
A Room with a View by E. M. Forster
Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin
Sacred Time by Ursula Hegi
Sanctuary by William Faulkner
Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford
The Scarecrow of Oz by Frank L. Baum
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette by Judith Thurman
Selected Letters of Dawn Powell: 1913-1965 by Dawn Powell
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Several Biographies of Winston Churchill
Sexus by Henry Miller
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Shane by Jack Shaefer
The Shining by Stephen King
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
S Is for Silence by Sue Grafton
Slaughter-house Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Small Island by Andrea Levy
Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
Snow White and Rose Red by Grimm Brothers
Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World by Barrington Moore
The Song of Names by Norman Lebrecht
Song of the Simple Truth: The Complete Poems of Julia de Burgos by Julia de Burgos
The Song Reader by Lisa Tucker
Songbook by Nick Hornby
The Sonnets by William Shakespeare
Sonnets from the Portuegese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Sophie’s Choice by William Styron
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
Stuart Little by E. B. White
Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust
Swimming with Giants: My Encounters with Whales, Dolphins and Seals by Anne Collett
Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Tender Is The Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Term of Endearment by Larry McMurtry
Time and Again by Jack Finney
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Tragedy of Richard III by William Shakespeare
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Trial by Franz Kafka
The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson
Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Ulysses by James Joyce
The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath 1950-1962 by Sylvia Plath
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Unless by Carol Shields
Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
The Vanishing Newspaper by Philip Meyers
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
Velvet Underground’s The Velvet Underground and Nico (Thirty Three and a Third series) by Joe Harvard
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Walt Disney’s Bambi by Felix Salten
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
We Owe You Nothing – Punk Planet: The Collected Interviews edited by Daniel Sinker
What Colour is Your Parachute? 2005 by Richard Nelson Bolles
What Happened to Baby Jane by Henry Farrell
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
Who Moved My Cheese? Spencer Johnson
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Worm Food: A Separate Peace

"I could never agree with either of them. It would have been comfortable, but I could not believe it. Because it seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, but that wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart."

-John Knowles

Worm Food...

Compliments of In the Woods

"I remember that moment because, if I am honest, I have them so seldom. I am not good at noticing when I am happy, except in retrospect. My gift, or fatal flaw, is for nostalgia. I have sometimes been accused of demanding perfection, of rejecting heart's desires as soon as I get close enough that the mysterious impressionistic gloss disperses into plain solid dots, but the truth is less simplistic than that. I know very well that perfection is made up of frayed, off-struck mundanities. I suppose you could say my real weakness is a kind of long-sightedness: usually it is only at a distance, and much too late, that I can see the pattern."

-Tana French