and so it begins

into the wild, john krakaur (pj/NJ --> dede/SC; neil/NJ)
i bought multiple copies of this book because of some confusion, but i was happy to, as it was my first choice for a book trade book. chris mccandless leaves his home to take a life trek for an undetermined amount of time. on it he dies. i'm not ruining the story, it's a true one and this is given away on the front cover, so fret not. if you're a fan of 'on the road' style travel narratives, this is one for you. or, if you're a semi-disenchanted youth who loves to vote for the punk/vagabond/outcast, then it may be for you as well. at times you're tempted to love every essence of mccandless, and others you loathe him with a passion. he was a real person, which makes this story ring with truth and honesty. this is one of the better books i have ever read, and i still revisit whenever i need to wrap my head around something thats an easy read but really makes me think. dede from south carolina read it from a mother's perspective, as she is a mother, and gave me a whole new viewpoint on the novel as well, so for that i am appreciative. i also gave this book to neil after he left us on our tour, and headed on a 20 something hour bus ride back to jersey. he told me he can't read in vehicles, but i assured him this book would keep him company. hours later i got a call saying it was complete and wonderful. awesome!

the paradox of choice, barry schwartz (pj/NJ --> jill/DE)
too many pairs of jeans to choose from, so now my life is hard. this is the jist, as it were. with choice comes happiness, or so the thought goes, but this book argues the opposite, that with the greater choices we have the greater unfullfillment we experience, therefore creating greater unhappiness. i do see some definite truth in this, and obviously there is a limit to both sides. with no choices, we're left to nothing, with too many, we're overwhelmed. similarly, choice, much like freedom, has two sides. the freedom to choose vs. the freedom from choosing. the book lays these ideas out well, but after a while i found myself a bit bored. the only reason i traded this book in particular is because jill had already read my other book trade book, therefore rendering me useless. this was a leftover, for which i felt badly making her take, but she seemed happy to do so because she's a sweet kid.

she's come undone, wally lamb (jill/DE --> pj/NJ --> renee/AL)
if you've read barbara kingsolver's 'the poisonwood bible,' this reads similarly, in that it's broken up into sections. it differs in that kingsolver's 'bible' is seperated by character, whereas 'undone' is linear, following one girl throughout her life. the first part finds her living a semi-unhappy childhood punctuated with boughts of crushes and excitement. after the greatest tragedy falls on her, the second part shows her downward spiral and commencement of self-loathing. the third section shows semi-recovery and helps complete the picture of a young woman dealing with horrible life situations. this is not a light book, but an easy read, in that it holds your attention and allows you to see things very personally. i greatly suggest this for men, in that it is a look inside of a specific girl/woman, and while it is not an overall representation, it is something that men should strive to understand and learn to deal with properly. thanks jill.

high fidelity, nick hornby (renee/AL --> pj/NJ)
you've seen the movie, you know what it's about. but it's way better. the characters are much stronger, the internal monologue is one in which i feel i've heard a million times. the details etch out a beauty and a vision that the movie barely attempted to suggest at. i resaw the movie the day i finished the book, and spent the entire time complaining about minutia that i though changed the entire feel. rest assured, my co-watchers were annoyed beyond belief, and the fellow readers of the book told me i was an asshole for caring about such details. i maintain they made all the difference.

well, that's it for now. i have a book i'm working on now from dede, and i'll post about it when i'm done. i'm hoping to make a few more trades on this tour, and i have the motorcyle diaries by good ole che, from good ole neil to read before i can trade that as well. things are good here and hopefully there. please please let me know if you have any thoughts or questions. also, please let me know what you think about the writing/reviewing. i don't want to give too much or not enough if anyone is actually going to enjoy this. thanks so much and take care of each other.
pj