Maximum Cow

I just finished a couple excellent books that I thought someone might be interested in. Maximum City by Suketu Mehta is a fantastic literary exploration of Mumbai (Bombay). He investigates the Bombay underworld, the bollywood movie industry, the sex trade and the religious life (and strife) of this fascinating city. He is an honest observer who is critical about his subject matter (and himself), but also exceptionally compassionate. He returned home to Bombay, the city he grew up in as a child, to see if you can ever really go back once you are an expatriate - a question that I ponder more and more as my trip grows closer.

http://www.suketumehta.com/

A less serious read is Holy Cow by Sarah Macdonald. She backpacked around India in her early twenties and hated it - vowing never to return. Fate, however, had other plans and she found herself back in India to join her fiance. She documents her travels and experiences - focusing largely on her attempts to understand India's various religious/spiritual communities. This book is easy to read and in turns hilarious and sad. I really enjoyed her perspective on love, spirituality and the sacred space many of us have found between speaker stacks.

http://mostlyfiction.com/adventure/macdonald.htm

I have copies of both these books I can lend out - just let me know.