Ok. I know I’m pathetic. I keep a list of books I’ve read every year.
This year and this year only, I’m going to make it public. First though, my highly opinionated favourites and howlers list of my readings in 2008.
A warning: if you like Eat, Pray, Love don’t read this post.
Most Enjoyed Non-Fiction Book:
Snoop by Sam Gosling. What your stuff reveals about you. Warms the cockles of an anthropologist’s heart.
Least Enjoyed Non-Fiction Book:
How Yoga Works by Michael Roche. If anyone can figure out what Geshe Michael Roche was trying to say with this book, please let me know.
Most Enjoyed Fiction Book:
Armageddon’s Children by Terry Brooks. Reminds me why, back in 1981, I bought the Sword of Shannara and became a fantasy buff for 15 years.
Least Enjoyed Fiction Book:
I don’t have one. If I don’t get into a novel after 50 pages, I put it down and it never reaches my book list.
Favourite Book in 2008:
Hmmm… would have to be a tie between Snoop and Slow Journey South by Paula Constant
One of the Worst, Most Appalling, Pathetic, Time-Depleting, Suckhole Books I Have Ever Read:
Eat, Pray, Love.
Don’t start me on this howler. Just don’t go there. I can feel myself vomiting pasta already…
Favourite Spiritual/Yoga Book:
The Wisdom of Yoga by Stephen Cope. This book is on-par with Donna Fahri’s books and even comes close to my dearly beloved Snow Leopard (Peter Matthiessen). It’s beautiful , wise, poetic. If you’re a yogi or yogini, read this book.
Worthy Mentions:
Slow Journey South – Paula Constant. A couple who’ve never walked before decide to undertake an epic journey from London to Capetown. This is the first instalment of the journey
Dead Lucky Lincoln Hall. I’m a sucker for books about climbing Mt Everest (given that I’ve climbed half way up …)
The Dharma Bums -Jack Kerouac. Why did I wait so long to read this book? It was brilliant – indeed makes up for the aforementioned HOWLER on the list.
A list comprising 39 items:
| Title | Author |
| Seven Ancient Wonders | Matthew Reilly |
| Armageddon’s Children | Terry Brooks |
| The Wisdom of Yoga | Stephen Cope |
| The Yoga Sutra | Patanjali (Michael Roche’s commentary) |
| The Places that Scare You | Pema Chodron |
| Dead Lucky | Lincoln Hall |
| The Tracker | Tom Brown Jr |
| A Short History of Bali | Robert Pringle |
| Eat, Pray, Love | Elizabeth Gilbert |
| The Ways of the Bushwalker | Melissa Harper |
| The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic | Sophie Kinsella |
| The Devil Wears Prada | Lauren Wisenburg |
| Buddha or Bust | Perry Garfinkel |
| The Culture Code | Cloitaire Rapaille |
| Blink | Malcolm Gladwell |
| Under the Banner of Heaven | Jon Krakauer |
| Slow Journey South | Paula Constant |
| Temple | Matthew Reilly |
| The Elves of Cintra | Terry Brooks |
| Basic Black | Cathy Black |
| Snoop | Sam Gosling |
| Yin Yoga (re-read) | Paul Grilley |
| Energy etc | Swami Muktibodhananda |
| Lucid Living | Timothy Freke |
| How Yoga Works | Michael Roche |
| The Power of Now | Eckhart Tolle |
| Living Reality | James Braha |
| Gitanjali | Rabindranath Tagore |
| 50 Marathons, 50 Days | Dean Karnazes |
| Notes From a Big Country | Bill Bryson |
| Hot Six | Janet Evanovich |
| Break no Bones | Kathy Reichs |
| Vagabonding | Rolf Potts |
| Four Hour Work Week | Timothy Ferriss |
| Four to Score | Janet Evanovich |
| The Weather Makers | Tim Flannery |
| Getting Things Done | David Allen |
| Man’s Search for Meaning | Victor Frankl |
| The Dharma Bums | Jack Kerouac |
AnthroYogini 
Y’know, I’m actually in the middle of the Wisdom of Yoga…in fact, was planning on reading it this evening instead of surfing the internet and visiting blogs…DOH!
I note that you include Sam Gosling’s book, Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You on this list. Thanks for that. Sam is a friend and a member of our Advisory Board and a brilliant guy.
Given you blog is related to anthropology, I thought you might be interested in why I know Sam. We use a design process in our architecture firm called the Truehome Workshop that uses psychology, some ethnology and other techniques to help us develop design criteria that allows us to design living spaces that fit our clients in exact ways.
I presented at the annual meeting of the AAA in San Francisco on a panel led by Dori Tunstall of the University of Chicago about what we are doing…and the last chapter of Sam’s book talks about me and our approach. We met each other because our interests were similar. He interviewed a number of our clients who used the processs and we ended up in his book.
We subsequently ended up in a major article in the New York Times. If you are interested in learning more, you can visit our beta website (for the Internet version of this) at http://www.truehome.net or my blog at http://architecture0of-life.blogspot.com\
Thanks for spreading the word!
With respect,
Christopher K. Travis
CEO – Truehome.net
Sentient Architecture, LLC