Andy Weir - The Martian

During an expedition on Mars, the astronaut Mark Watney gets into a sandstorm and goes unconscious. When he awakes from his powerlessness, he is alone. On Mars. Without food. Without equipment. And without a crew, because it's already on its way back to earth. For Mark Watney begins a spectacular struggle for survival ...

A great, incredibly funny book. I have rarely laughed so much, even though the initial situation doesn't seem to be conducive to laughter. And Ridley Scott's film adaptation convinces as well. So many magic moments! Especially shortly before the end. Do not miss!

 

Philip Roth - The Human Stain

In the year 1998, when America faces an ecstasy of hypocrisy in the face of impending impeachment of its president, Coleman Silk, a professor of classical literature graying in honor, is forced to resign in a New England town. The allegation against him is that he is a racist. This accusation is false, but the truth about Silk would surprise even his most relentless enemies.

I'm not really a big fan of Philip Roth. His obtrusive focus on the sexual flic-flacs of aging men is annoying and unnecessary, but what he shows with this novel is Nobel Prize-worthy. But we all know that the committee would rather honor Walt Disney than Philip Roth. A fate that he shares with many famous writers (Graham Greene etc.).

 

John Williams - Stoner

Stoner is one of the great forgotten novels of American literature. John Williams tells the story of a man who, born to a poor farmer's son, eventually discovers his passion for literature and becomes a professor - it is the story of a frugal life that left few traces.

A novel about friendship, marriage, a campus novel, a social novel, and finally a novel about work. About the hard, merciless work on the farms; about the work that puts you through a destructive marriage, about the trouble of raising a daughter in a poisoned household with patient empathy, and of wanting to bring literature to the apathetic students at the university.

> Stoner <is not a romance novel, but above all a novel about love: about the love of poetry, about literature, and also about romantic love. It's a novel about what it means to be human.

A book by an author of whom I knew nothing. The bigger the surprise. And the greater the pleasure of discovery.

 

Ted Simon - Dreaming of Jupiter (Jupiter's Dreams)

The legendary motorcyclist Ted Simon lives his dream once again: with 70 years he circles the globe on his BMW, crosses Europe, travels from Tunis to the Cape of Good Hope, transfers to Brazil and drives through America. He explores New Zealand and Australia and, after two and a half years on the road, returns to Europe via the Asian continent.

His first book Jupiter's Travels is high up on my personal canon (and probably did a lot to get me started).

Jupiter's dreams on the other hand, it has brought nightmares and depressive moods of the worst kind to me. When he describes how the plains of Africa, once populated by wild animals, are empty and lifeless, the heart becomes heavy ...

 

And here are more books that have accompanied me on my travels:

The Southindia Books

The Laos Books

The Southeast Asia Books

The Ladakh Books

The South America Books

The Nepal Books

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