# Books you must have at your fingertips **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 12, 2001, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-must-have-at-your-fingertips/57700 "2001-03-12T20:43:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2001, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-must-have-at-your-fingertips/57700/1 "2001-03-12T20:43:57Z")
On my desk I have: [ul] [li]Ohanian’s _Physics_[/li][li]Strunk and White[/li][li]_LaTeX for Everyone_ (This is MUCH less kinky than it sounds, trust me.)[/li][li]The manual for the AASTeX document class.[/li][li]Chandrasekhar’s _Radiative Transfer_[/li][li]Carroll and Ostlie’s _Modern Astrophysics_[/li][li]_IDL User’s Guide_ and _IDL Reference Guide_[/li][li]The manual for my far-too-complicated Casio calculator[/li][/ul] What books to you keep within easy reach? ---
**Author:** ![celestina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/258eb7/32.png) [@celestina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/celestina)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2001, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-must-have-at-your-fingertips/57700/2 "2001-03-12T21:05:21Z")
–Merriam Webster dictionary –whatever texts I’m teaching at the moment –whatever texts I need for the research I’m doing at the moment (too numerous to name) –whatever I’m reading for pleasure (usually a mix of sci-fi, children’s lit., romance, & classics) Ahhhhh! I need to just take up residence in a huge library somewhere! ---
**Author:** ![Balduran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2001, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-must-have-at-your-fingertips/57700/3 "2001-03-12T21:10:15Z")
Chuang’s Physics of Optoelectronic Devices Running Linux A half-dozen well-worn journal articles ---
**Author:** ![Pies\_R\_Squared](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Pies\_R\_Squared](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pies_R_Squared)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2001, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-must-have-at-your-fingertips/57700/4 "2001-03-13T01:23:33Z")
[ul] [li]All the Straight Dope books ;)[/li][li]Coxeter’s _Introduction to Geometry_[/li][li]A large number of texts on general and algebraic topology[/li][li]For fun, Nelson’s _Proofs Without Words_[/li][li]Lach’s _The How’s and Why’s of French Cooking_[/li][li]All of Douglas Adam’s books (the _Hitchhiker_ series and the Dirk Gently ones):)[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Booker57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Booker57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Booker57)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2001, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-must-have-at-your-fingertips/57700/5 "2001-03-13T01:42:33Z")
My mouse pad is a copy of “The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language” I can bearly spell.MTS ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2001, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-must-have-at-your-fingertips/57700/6 "2001-03-13T02:05:55Z")
Books almost always on my desk: The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary American Slang by Robert Chapman The Bible (even though I’m an atheist) my Straight Dope collection a BASIC programming manual (it’s been there forever but I haven’t used it in about a year) Other books that happen to be on my desk right now: Collins Greek Dictionary Nothing Risque, Nothing Gained by Richard Lederer a Windows 98 manual 3 notebooks ---
**Author:** ![Bobort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bobort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobort)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2001, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-must-have-at-your-fingertips/57700/7 "2001-03-13T03:28:24Z")
[list] [li]The _Particle Physics Booklet_[/li][li]_Perl 5 Pocket Reference_[/li][li]The _vi Editor Pocket Reference_[/li]_Mathematical Tables from the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics_ ---
**Author:** ![Odieman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a87d85/32.png) [@Odieman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odieman)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2001, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-must-have-at-your-fingertips/57700/8 "2001-03-13T03:39:58Z")
Peterson’s Field Guide to Western Birds. The Sibley Guide to Birds The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Keith ---
**Author:** ![Juniper200](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@Juniper200](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juniper200)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2001, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-must-have-at-your-fingertips/57700/9 "2001-03-13T03:42:39Z")
_Working With Words: a handbook for media writers and editors_ by Brian S. Brooks _The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law_ _Columbia Missourian Handbook of Local Style_ _The Deluxe Transitive Vampire_ by Karen Gordon My unabridged dictionary Whichever textbooks my professors deem necessary for the semester _The Norton Anthology of American Literature, 5th ed._ _The Dreamweaver 3 Bible_ _The Book of Lists, vols. 1-3_ and _The Book of Lists, 90’s Edition_ by Wallace, et al ---
**Author:** ![Anniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/cc9497/32.png) [@Anniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anniz)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2001, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-must-have-at-your-fingertips/57700/10 "2001-03-13T03:53:32Z")
Always a Swedish-English and English-Swedish dictionary. ---
**Author:** ![dodge\_this](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@dodge\_this](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dodge_this)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2001, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-must-have-at-your-fingertips/57700/11 "2001-03-13T16:22:51Z")
On my desk now, books gathered over the past week: 1. Monty Python’s Flying Circus ‘Just the Words’ 2. Jeanette Winterson ‘Art Objects’ 3. Lonely Planet Guide to Britain 4. The Order Of Things 5. Roget’s Thesaurus 6. Strunk & White ‘Elements of Style’ ---
**Author:** ![NotWithoutRage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotWithoutRage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotWithoutRage)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2001, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-must-have-at-your-fingertips/57700/12 "2001-03-13T16:49:29Z")
Only whatever I’m reading at the moment, which in this case happens to be “Reports from Holocaust” by Larry Kramer. Excellent read. Towards the end of the book, I always have another one ready to go. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2001, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-must-have-at-your-fingertips/57700/13 "2001-03-13T17:36:37Z")
I’m at work right now (so why aren’t I working?) The books I need for my job: _The Modern RPG Language - Cozzi RPG IV Jumpstart - Meyers CL Programming for the IBM AS/400 - Veal_ and just at the moment _Specifications for Filing Form 1098, 1099, 5498, and W-2G Magnetically or Electronically - IRS_ Do I know how to have fun or what? I’m also reading _Making Good Progress - The Application Developement Process - Campbell_ and I have a number of books with titles like _HTML 4 for the World Wide Web - Castro_ or \* API Concepts for RPG Programmers\* hanging around here just in case. Is it any wonder I browse the SDMB to keep awake? ---
**Author:** ![StevenCT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@StevenCT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StevenCT)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2001, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-must-have-at-your-fingertips/57700/14 "2001-03-13T19:08:23Z")
1. Perry and Chilton - Chemical Engineer’s Handbook 2. Crane - Flow of Fluids 3. Halliwell’s Filmgoer’s Companion 4. The Straight Dope Books 5. The Orthodox Study Bible 6. Arnold Schwartzenegger’s Modern Bodybuilding Encyclopedia 7. The Compleat Fawlty Towers 8. The Complete Collection of Conan-Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2001, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-must-have-at-your-fingertips/57700/15 "2001-03-13T23:34:03Z")
Merriam-Webster English dictionary Le Robert French/English dictionary La Petite Larousse French/French dictionary The Little, Brown Handbook PC Hardware in a Nutshell Microsoft Windows NT Network Administration Training Listed Stock Options And I sometimes read these just for fun! ---
**Author:** ![coming\_up\_for\_air](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@coming\_up\_for\_air](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coming_up_for_air)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2001, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-must-have-at-your-fingertips/57700/16 "2001-03-13T23:40:02Z")
I always have the **AAA Tour Guide** handy, because I have a camper and am always either going on a road trip, on a road trip, or coming back from a road trip.