MrsHobieJoe wrote: 

is plowing through it a good sign? 
I think we have some similar tastes in books  . . ..

 meower wrote: 

Cool - thanks. I'll see if I can get her books at my local used bookshop

 Welly wrote: 

love her. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Atkinson
she's in Edinburgh

 meower wrote: 

No, never heard of her.

 Welly wrote: 
oh I've heard him on NPR...... will definitely check it out.  Do you know Kate Atkinson?

 meower wrote: 
Nope.

"Eric Weiner's The Geography of Bliss signals the arrival of the next great category of literary nonfiction: the philosophical self-help humorous travel memoir.

Weiner, a veteran foreign correspondent for National Public Radio, has covered a multitude of catastrophes and maladies from more than 30 countries over the past two decades. For The Geography of Bliss, however, he decided to tell the other side of the story by visiting some of the world's most contented places.

Using the ancient philosophers and the much more recent "science of happiness" as his guide, Weiner travels the world in search of the happiest places. Many authors have attempted to describe what happiness is; fewer have shown us where it is, and what we can learn from the inhabitants of different cultures.

As Weiner makes his way from Iceland (one of the world's happiest countries) to Bhutan (where the king has made Gross National Happiness a national priority) to Moldova (not a happy place), he calls upon the collective wisdom of "the self-help industrial complex" to help him navigate the path to contentment.

He travels to Switzerland, where he discovers the hidden virtues of boredom; to the tiny-and extremely wealthy-Persian Gulf nation of Qatar, where the relationship between money and happiness is laid bare; to India, where Westerners seek their bliss at the feet of gurus; to Thailand, where not thinking is a way of life; to a small town outside London where happiness experts attempt to "change the psychological climate." He also travels within the U.S.-and discovers that paradise is always a step away.

Throughout his global quest, Weiner integrates the insights of classical thinkers on happiness, augmented by one-liners worthy of a stand-up comedian. This is travel writing that simultaneously journeys across the globe and through the author's mind.

Weiner is no dispassionate observer. In his quest for the world's happiest places, he eats rotten Icelandic shark, smokes Moroccan hashish and intervenes to save an insect in distress. Almost. Full of inspired moments and earned epiphanies, The Geography of Bliss sets out to accomplish a feat few books dare and even fewer achieve: to make you happier."

Great book - with some absolutely laugh out loud bits.

 Welly wrote: 

no. 
is that by him?
I read Choke, Fight Club and Lullaby and Haunted...........

 meower wrote: 

Just finishing The Geography of Bliss. Really enjoyed it. Have you read it?

i love this author

 Welly wrote: 

I've read a ton of stuff by him.  Enjoy !

Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk

"A 13-year-old terrorist from an unidentified country has infiltrated an American suburb disguised as a foreign exchange student.  He's been trained, brainwashed, and has an arsenal of deadly moves, including the formidable "Striking Cobra Quick Kill" and the alarming "Flying Giant Stork Death Kick."  

Pygmy is a parody of American excess as narrated by a young, undersized terrorist.  Palahniuk has adopted a vigorously regimented dialect of broken English to tell the story of little Pygmy's violent schemes; we see the world through his "dispatches," and the narrative requires constant effort on the part of the reader to decode.  That effort is rewarded by the humour and fresh perspective that the awkward locution offers. 

On a trip to the mall, Pygmy makes the following observations: "Not total all glass, extruded aluminum metal frame silver edge, doors slide gone until reveal inside stand old woman, slave woman appareled red tunic, spring apparatus gripping tunic front to hang swinging sign, printed 'Doris.'  Ancient sentinel rest gray cloud eye upon operative me, roll eye from hair and down this agent, say, voice like old parrot, say, 'Welcome to Wal-Mart.'"  With the aid of several other "operatives," Pygmy sets to work on "Operation Havoc," which, if successful, will leave millions dead. "

From a review in The National Post