I am a male in my early 20’s, recent college graduate.
I have done very little reading on my own in the past, at least since I was in grade school.
Pretty much the only books I have read were assigned for school.
I am looking for some suggestions of books to read, here’s a little overview of what I’m looking for:
I am looking for books that I would “get something out of”, or would make me smarter or that I’d learn something from. You know what I mean.
I am thinking more along the lines of non-fiction books or biographies or whatever. I wouldn’t completely rule out fictional stories or novels or things like that, but I’d really probably steer away from them.
Since I’d be reading thes books on my own, I’d need them to be fairly interesting and keep my attention. I’d probably give up on a book fairly quickly if it was boring, no matter how educational it was.
That’s pretty much it I guess. I’m looking for some books that I would learn something from or better myself by reading, that are hopefully interesting or at least not very boring.
Animal Farm by George Orwell: Based on Russian history, so its not completely fictional. Real people depicted by animals on a farm. You’d definetly get something out of this one.
A Brief History of Time and The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking: Both are really good reads dealing with theories and concepts of physics. I’d recommend reading them in the order that I’ve mentioned.
How about Cosmos by Carl Sagan. The book is a companion to the old PBS series. Absolutely fascinating, and contains a good bit of history as well as astronomy. I got the hardback, which has many more illustrations, for cheap used on Amazon.
Along those lines – any collection of Stephen Jay Gould, anything else by Sagan, if it’s “educational” and compelling that you’re looking for.
The Marquis De Sade: A New Biography by Donald Thomas
The Armchair Economist by Steve Landsburg
The Science of Discworld by Terry Pratchett, Ian Steward, & Jack Cohen. I don’t think you’ll need to be a Pratchett fan to appreciate this one. Very good.
The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan
The Geography of Thought by Richard Nisbett
I might also suggest making a run through some fiction, specifically Kurt Vonnegut. His novels generally go very quickly–they’re generally not long, and they’re broken in to very small parts. They’re generall thought provoking and very entertaining.
Another fiction author I’d suggest immersing yourself in would be Tom Robinson. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues and Another Roadside Attraction are the ones I’d start with.
Finally, Pratchett’s Discworld novels make for great reading.
Flood suggested, “A Brief History of Time and The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking: Both are really good reads dealing with theories and concepts of physics. I’d recommend reading them in the order that I’ve mentioned.”
Hmmm…unless you are already a student of physics, this is pretty heavy-duty reading. Seriously. Read a couple pages before you actually take it home. Very lofty stuff. And it’s dumbed down for our benefit! (so I hear).
I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, but I’m reading a collection of short stories. I like them because the writer can do so much in the way of setting a mood or evoking an emotion in such a compact space. Every word is important. And for a busy person, you can put it down and pick it up when you have time, without losing continuity. It’s also great exposure to a large number of writers.
Secrets of The Temple by William Greider. Good book about the history, reasoning and inner workings of the Federal Reserve. Particulary concentrates on the 70’s to early 80’s.
Battlecry of Freedom by James McPherson. Excellent one volume coverage of the US Civil War.
The Language of Mathematics by Keith Devlin. Shows how math is the study of patterns and provides an interesting tour through select areas of the field. Good explanations of both the origin of, and practical uses of math. Want to know how determining the most effective way of packing oranges into a box affects data encryption? This book is for you.
Godel, Escher, Bach an Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter. This book defies categorization. It touches on DNA replication, ant colonies, zen koan’s, programming, recursion, artificial intelligence, art, music and a whole host of other topics.
Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam. This book studies the decline of “social capital” in America in the last 50 years as well as it’s effects. We vote less, donate less, attend community meetings less, visit friends less, are more depressed, less happy, etc.
I too, started some heavy reading on my own in my early twenties. I found J.D. Salinger books really spoke to me. granted it’s fiction, but the way the characters are written and the issues they deal with, I always get something out of it… mostly philosophical.
so, if you’re even in a fiction kinda of mind, try:
9 Stories.
Franny and Zooey.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his Sherlock Holmes stories – sharpen your powers of observation and deductive reasoning.
Alexandre Dumas (pere more than fils) historical works like * The Count of Monte Cristo* and The Three Musketeers are cultural icons, in addition to being ripping good reads.
Charles Dickens, also for the cultural icon/interesting looks at people/society category. (A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, The Old Curiosity Shoppe, et al.)
if you like ironic social commentary, try Jane Austin’s works. (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, etc.
believe it or not, but a vast majority of the “classics” that appear on so many assigned-reading lists in high school really are there for a good reason.
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. It’s fiction, about immigrants to the US in the early 1900s. It illustrates in a pretty gripping way the reasons behind some of our current labor and consumer protection laws.
I second Guns, Germs and Steel.
Godel, Escher, Bach is another one I’d say read a few pages to see if you really think you can make it through. I know I couldn’t, and I tried…and tried…
In addition to the specific books recommended, you should make time to wander aimlessly through your public library or bookstore (depending on your budget) and pick up things that just look interesting. You don’t want your excursion into reading to be too much like a homework assignment, or you might lose interest.
I’m going to recommend: Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder - some people frown upon it, but if you want a really basic but entertaining primer on the history of philospohy, it is quite good.
A History Of the World in 10½ Chapters by Julian Barnes - this book is not what you think it might be.
Permutation City by Greg Egan - SF, but a fantastic exploration of the nature of consciousness and existence.
Anything by Oliver Sacks (<b>An Anthropologist on Mars, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat </b>) - engrossing stories about a psychologist’s patients (one is a colorblind painter, or an autistic artist, or a surgeon with Tourette’s)