"Himalaya"
Dec. 18th, 2008 11:29 pmHere's a list of audiobooks read by their own authors that I didn't finish:
"The miserable mill" / Lemony Snicket.
"Summerland" / Michael Chabon (even though he can even do voices)
"Subtle Knife" / Philip Pullman
"A Wrinkle In Time" / Madeleine L'Engle
(maybe "Watership Down" or the red mouse story)
What a difference an ex-Python makes! On top of that, Michael Palin also has very nice turns of phrases.
Some memorable bits from the book include:
-- a Pakistani boy who eccentrically answers questions with "why not?" as the positive;
-- the prince who's a champion tent-pegger and an enthusiast for quail racing;
-- Palin's Churchill voice;
-- a mountain road so ravaged by a snow storm that it was closed in 126 places;
-- the story of an unlucky concubine named 'pomegranate flower';
-- road slogan "Rather be Mr. Late than a late Mister";
-- the word 'pundit''s origin as an Indian spy;
-- Tibetan monk's military arguing exercise - 'there's no such thing as water';
-- the 60 year old author bonding with a hale 58 year old elephant;
-- national dish of Bhutan ('Kingdom of Thunder Dragon') - chilly in cheese sauce.