# Looking for some books to read **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 14, 2003, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-books-to-read/188291 "2003-07-14T03:12:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sivalensis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Sivalensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sivalensis)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-books-to-read/188291/21 "2003-07-15T02:34:39Z")
that html didn’t work ☹ ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-books-to-read/188291/22 "2003-07-15T06:23:13Z")
I’ve learned a lot from Oliver Sacks and Stephen Jay Gould. Other good nonfiction: John Allen Paulos, _Innumeracy_ Jane Jacobs, _The Death and Life of Great American Cities_ Joan Didion, _Political Fictions_ Gore Vidal, _United States_ George Will, _Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball_ Try as I might, I can’t get past page 1 of anything by Ayn Rand. There must be something wrong with me. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-books-to-read/188291/23 "2003-07-15T12:00:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FisherQueen \* > \*\*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. \*\* I find I have better luck browsing the bookstore and then, if I don’t have enough money, getting an interesting title from the library. I have no idea why. Another book that is perfect, considering the age of the OP, is A Random Walk Down Wallstreet by Burton G. Malkiel. I would recommend reading this right before, or right after, John Allen Paulos’ A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market. ---
**Author:** ![Blunt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Blunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blunt)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-books-to-read/188291/24 "2003-07-15T16:24:16Z")
I just wanted to thank all the posters who made suggestions in this thread. I really appreciate it, and I will be heading to the library and/or bookstore as soon as I get a chance. This place is great, I make one request for some book suggestions, and I get a list that will last me for years. Thanks everyone! ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-books-to-read/188291/25 "2003-07-15T18:34:47Z")
My husband brought home [The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385495323/qid=1058294389/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/104-0035884-0118370) from the library, and I found it absolutely fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![Peg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Peg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peg)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-books-to-read/188291/26 "2003-07-15T18:57:33Z")
I love nonfiction! Here are some favorites that are not mentioned. [Salmon Without Rivers](http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=1-1559633611-8) by Jim Lichatowich [Ashes to Ashes: America’s Hundred-Year Cigarette War, the Public Health, and the Unabashed Triumph of Philip Morris](http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=62-0375700366-0) by Richard Kluger [Annals of the Former World](http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=1-0374518734-8) by John McPhee. It’s actually 5 books in one and about the geology of the US at about the 40th parallel. I like most of John McPhee’s writing. [Into the Wild](http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=1-0385486804-44) by Jon Krakauer is very quick reading. It’s not “educational” in the sense of pure information download, but fascinating. For light, fun reading, I love travelogues. [Round Ireland With a Fridge](http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=2-0312274920-3) by Tony Hawks left me in (the good kind of) tears a lot, as did Bill Bryson’s [A Walk in the Woods](http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=1-0767902521-4). The information re: bears may not be accurate, but you don’t read his books to learn how to escape bear attacks. Lastly, [Diamond: the History of a Cold-Blooded Love Affair](http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=1-0452283701-5) by Matthew Hart. ---
**Author:** ![Ally424](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/82dd89/32.png) [@Ally424](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ally424)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-books-to-read/188291/27 "2003-07-15T21:00:49Z")
“HACKSAW” by Edward R. Jones. Phenominal book, IMHO. Very interesting, as it entails the life of Edward Jones as he continually breaks out of prisons and chain-gangs across America. Gives you a different perspective on things, and surely kept my attention the whole way through. He writes his own biography so it’s very personal. Give it a whirl. ---
**Author:** ![Artemius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Artemius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Artemius)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-books-to-read/188291/28 "2003-07-15T21:44:28Z")
If you are interested in totally changing your perspective on life and understanding why we act the way we do and how to tap into the love and happiness that is our god given right to embrace and is within us all, may I suggest: By Miguel Ruiz: _The Four Agreements_ and it’s companion book. _The Mastery of Love_ You can buy them used for about $12 each (which includes shipping) on [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com). Happy hunting [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-books-to-read/188291.md?page=1)