What Dan read

When I joined the Peace Corps in 1965-67 (Group Nepal VI), headquarters in Washington DC gave me two precious collections: 1. a box ("locker") of 250 books to read when I wasn't out trekking across the length and breadth of Bhojpur, the district in northeast Nepal where I was stationed by myself, 2. a medicine chest packed with over a hundred prescription drugs that kept me alive many a time. The books were carefully chosen, and I churned through them omniverously. I remember one in particular that had an enormous impact upon me, Glass Bead Game (Das Glasperlenspiel), by Hermann Hesse (1877-1962). Two years before me, another Ohioan, was posted to Dharan, a sub-metropolitan city in Sunsari District of Koshi Province. He was also gifted with a book chest by the Peace Corps, and that propelled his lifelong passion for reading. Dan, who passed away at the age of 92 in July 2025, kept a handwritten list of the 3,599 books that he had read since 1962. The list went viral on TikTok and…