Citizen of the Galaxy, by Robert A. Heinlein

I always consider it a great day when I come across a Heinlein book that I haven't read yet. I think I picked this one up years ago in a library and read a few pages, always meaning to get back to it. I remember the early part of the story where the young boy is being sold at a slave auction for a rediculously small price.

I really enjoyed this book, and found myself rooting for the protagonist. There are two characteristics that are often found in Heinlein's books that are found in great amounts in this one:

First, there are all sorts of observations about the nature of culture, and how arbitrary that our customs sometimes are, and yet how critical they are to proper functioning. Some people have no respect for customs, and act as if it doesn't matter whether they follow custom at all.

Second, there is a strong father figure in this story, not unlike Jubal Harshaw in "Number of the Beast", or "Stranger in a Strange Land". There is also an element of how such a father has to manipulate his son for the sake of the son.

There is also a progression - in a sense that the protagonist can not absorb all of the knowledge about himself all at once, but must accumulate it bit by bit.

I also was struck by the number of times Heinlein comments that people are able to ignore facts that are right in front of them, or even horrific facts if they are separated by enough time or distance.

This book was first published in 1957, and at 282 pages, I would say it is of middling length for a Heinlein story. There are several that are much longer. It is one of only a few books that I've been reading that my son Nick has picked up and read.

It is well recommended.

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

At first the average guy might think this is a "woman's" book, and be unlikely to seriously consider reading it.

Or, if you are skittish of such topics as meditation, divorce, depression, gurus, and so forth, it might scare you off.

But I think it would be a mistake to let any of those things keep you from reading this book. I myself put it off for a while, but once I had read just three chapters, I knew I would finish this book gladly.

For one thing, the author is truly going through an adventure, spending four months each in Italy, India, and Bali. For another, the author is simply a likeable person, and you can derive vicarious enjoyment from her experiences. Further, there is enough good solid heft to this story to satisfy the most demanding mind. In essence, this story is as deep as you care to take it.

Along the way, you learn many interesting details about life in each of these countries, and Elizabeth makes a fun person to serve as the point of view for experiencing these places.

The book has 108 chapters for an interesting reason, and you'll find that out when you read it. I found much to relate to in the book, including her experience with divorce and her joy in travel. My reading of the book was interrupted for a couple of weeks with our floods in eastern Iowa, but I found it easy to get back into and enjoy again.

Perhaps this is a book that only needs to be read once, if you read it carefully, but it was fun enough to enjoy reading again - perhaps on one of our own trips.

My final comment is that this book answers the question of how you can have everything but still be unhappy.