I'm currently reading the book Siddhartha by Herman Hesse.
Daniel gave this book to me last weekend, probably with more than one intention- he told me he bought it for his conservative grandmother as well...haha. I'm only half way through it so far, but its basically about a man who is looking for absolute content in his life. First, he is born as a Brahmin and follows Atman and the gods, but with his discontent he becomes a shramana and attempts to rid his body of all the senses- feeling no pain or pleasure, thirst or hunger; and then he follows Guatama (aka Buddha) to find absolute peace and truth in his teachings, but to no avail. I am now at the part in the book where he is in love with Kamala (a beautiful money loving woman) and working making a very rich living. But as everyone should already know, happiness does not lie within riches and physical attraction- I have a feeling Siddhartha will soon find this out as well.
I'll keep you posted on what happens next...or maybe you should read it yourself? I don't want to spoil the ending... and it really is a good read.
Anyways, this is probably the best book I could be reading right now. I'm sure Daniel had that in mind.
The only German I know is from of one of my German friends, Lydia, back in high school. "Ich Liebe Dich". It means "I love you".
And right now I will admit, I do love me some Herman Hesse.
