These are the books I brought with me traveling, or picked them up on the road.
The heart is a lonely hunter - Carson McCullers
It was written by a 23 year old woman in the 30's. It's about people who "know" and those who don't. Definately one of my favourites.
The little prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
(available for free at
http://pujon.kimc.net/sumgim/vianco/little/1.html)
Great book about the wisdom of innocence. I assign this to some of my more gifted middle school children (english isn't their first language). I never get tired of it, and each chapter is a good lesson in life.
The Prophet - Khalil Gibran
(available for free at
http://www.columbia.edu/~gm84/gibtable.html)
Much like The little prince, each chapter is a lesson in life, however this one almost reads like a reference manual. Each chapter is broken down by heading (within the story). Not meant to be a cover-to-cover read.
The Demon - Hubert Selby Jr.
This book is about suffering. It actually would make me nauseous to read this book, because Selby does such a good job of getting you inside the character of Harry Black. If "Requiem for a dream" disturbed you, this goes to the next level. It's kind of like a more psychological "American Psycho" and it came out years before the novel that movie was based on.
The miracle of mindfulness - Tich Nhat Hanh
My girlfriend got me this book when life away from home was getting to me. It's a guide on meditation written by a monk for a brother at another monastery. The translation is great, and it's a lay read.
Hagakure - Yamamoto Tsunetomo
(available online free at
http://www.hut.fi/~renko/hag1.html)
Although it was written by a Samurai who never even saw battle, I couldn't resist picking this up as I stood in Nijo-Jo castle in Kyoto, the home of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Plus it worked for Ghost Dog.
That's all for now, though I know I've forgotten some.
D