Books, Books and More Books

Someone said, "We will be the same next year as we are today, except for the people we meet and the books we read."

The following is a list of books I have read or plan to read for my trip:

Around the World Travel Planners

• The Rough Guide First-Time Around the World (3.25 stars)
• Lonely Planet's The Big Trip (3 stars)

Buddhism

• The Art of Buddhism: An Introduction to Its History and Meaning by Denise Patry Leidy (3 stars)
• The Best Buddha Writing 2009
• The Buddha's Ancient Path by Piyadassi Thera
• A Buddhist Bible edited by Dwight Goddard
• The Buddhist Handbook: A Complete Guide to Buddhist Schools, Teaching, Practice, and History by John Snelling
• Buddhist Philosophy: Essential Readings Edited by William Edelglass and Jay Garfield
• Buddhist Pilgrimage by Chan Khoon San
• Journey to Mindfulness: The Autobiography of Bhante G. by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana (3 stars)
• The Foundations of Buddhism by Rupert Gethin
• The Heart of The Buddha's Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh
• An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices by Peter Harvey
• In the Footsteps of the Buddha by Rene Grousset
• In the Footsteps of the Buddha by Marc De Smedt (2.5 stars)
• In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon Edited by Bhikkhu Bodhi
• Monkey: Folk Novel of China by Wu Ch'eng-en (Author), Arthur Waley (translator)
• Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha by Thich Nhat Hanh
• Rude Awakenings: Two Englishmen on Foot in Buddhism's Holy Land by Ajahn Sucitto and Nick Scott (2.5 stars)
• The Silk Road Journey With Xuanzang by Sally Wriggins
• Taoist Mysteries and Magic by John Blofeld (2.75 stars)
• Ultimate Journey: Retracing the Path of an Ancient Buddhist Monk Who Crossed Asia in Search of Enlightenment by Richard Bernstein (3 stars)
• What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula
• The Wheel of Life: The Autobiography of a Western Buddhist by John Blofeld (2.75 stars)

Cambodia

• Angkor: Cambodia's Wondrous Khmer Temples by Dawn Rooney (4 stars)
• Angkor by Maurice Glaize

China

• Lonely Planet's China Travel Guide
• China (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (3.5 stars)
• Travelers' Tales China: True Stories (3.5 stars)
  
  
• China's Sacred Sites by Nan Shunxun and Beverly Foit-Albert (3.5 stars)
• China Underground by Zachary Mexico (3.25 stars)
• The Essential Chuang Tzu translated and edited by Sam Hamill and JP Seaton
• My Journey in Mystic China by  John Blofeld (3 stars)
• Pilgrims and Sacred Sites in China (Studies on China, No 15) Edited by Susan Naquin 
• Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China by Paul Theroux (3 stars)
• Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits by Bill Porter
• Tao Te Ching translated by Stephen Mitchel (4 stars)
• Traveller's Literary Companion to South-east Asia (2.5 stars)
• The Way and Its Power: Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching and Its Place in Chinese Thought by Lao Tzu and Arthur Walley
• Zen Baggage by Bill Porter (2.75 stars)

India

• Lonely Planet's India Travel Guide (3.25 stars) 
• Footprint India Handbook (3.5 stars) 
• India (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (3.5 stars)
• Travelers' Tales India: True Stories (3.5 stars)
• The Age of Kali: Indian Travels and Encounters by William Dalrymple (2.5 stars)
• Along the Ganges (Armchair Traveller) by Iliya Trojanow
• Are You Experienced? (A Novel) by William Sutcliffe
• Delhi Noir (Akashic Noir Series)
• A Journey in Ladakh: Encounters with Buddhism  by Andrew Harvey (3 stars)
• Meeting the Buddha: On Pilgrimage in buddhist India Edited by Molly Emma Aitkin (3 stars)
• Middle Land Middle Way: A Pilgrim's Guide to the Buddha's India by Ven. S. DHammika
• Shantaram: A Novel by Gregory David Roberts
• Walking with the Buddha: Buddhist Pilgrimages in India by Swati Mitra
• Ram Ram India by Alex Thomson and Nick Rossiter

Laos

• The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill (2.75 stars)
• Thirty-Three Teeth by  Colin Cotterill (2.75 stars)
• Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill (2.75 stars)

Myanmar (Burma)

• To Myanmar with Love: A Travel Guide for the Connoisseur (3.5 stars)
• Burma the Alternative Guide by  Elena Jotow (4 stars)
• Burma/Myanmar What Everyone Needs to Know by David Steinberg (3.25)
  
  
• Burma's Lost Kingdoms: Splendours of Arakan by Pamela Gutman
• Burmese Days: A Novel by George Orwell (3 stars)
• Finding George Orwell in Burma by  Emma Larkin (3.25 stars)
• Splendour In Wood: Buddhist Monasteries Of Burma by Sylvia Fraser-Lu
• A Thousand Eyes by Peter Olszewski (3.5 stars)
• The Native Tourist In Search of Turtle Eggs by Ma Thanegi (2.5 stars)
• Under the Dragon by William Dalrymple (2.5 stars)
  

Nepal

• Lonely Planet's Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya  (2.75 stars)
  
• Travelers' Tales Nepal: True Stories of Life on the Road (3 stars) 
• Shopping for Buddhas by  Jeff Greenwald (2.75 stars)
• Surfing the Himalayas by Frederick Lenz (3 stars)
  

Southeast Asia

• The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget
• Lonely Planet's Southeast Asia on a Shoestring
  
• To Asia with Love: A Connoisseurs' Guide to Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam (3 stars)
  
  
• A Dragon Apparent: Travels in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam by Norman Lewis (2.75 stars)
• The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux (3.25 stars)
• Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: On the Tracks of the Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux (3 stars)
• Hard Travel to Sacred Places by Rudolph Wurlitzer (3 stars)
• The Indochina Chronicles by Phil Karber (2.75 stars)
• Learning to Breathe: One Woman's Journey of Spirit and Survival by Alison Wright (2.75 stars)
• Video Night in Kathmandu: And Other Reports from the Not-So-Far East by Pico Iyer (2.5 stars)

Thailand

• Thailand (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (3.5 stars)
• Lonely Planet's Thailand Travel Guide (3.5 stars)
  
  
• Travelers' Tales Thailand: True Stories (3.5 stars)
  
• Bangkok Days by Lawrence Osborne (3.25 stars)
• Bangkok People by James Eckardt (2.5 stars)
• Breathing Water: A Bangkok Thriller by Timothy Hallinan (3 stars)
• The Fourth Watcher: A Bangkok Thriller by Timothy Hallinan (3 stars)
• A Nail Through the Heart: A Novel of Bangkok by Timothy Hallinan (3.5 stars)
• What the Buddha Never Taught by Tim Ward (3 stars)

Vietnam

• To Vietnam With Love. A Travel Guide for the Connoisseur (3.5 stars)
  
• Dispatches by Michael Herr
• Once Upon a Distant War by William Prochnau
• Over the Moat: Love Among the Ruins of Imperial Vietnam by James Sullivan (2.5 stars)
• Paradise of the Blind: A Novel by Duong Thu Huong (3 stars)