Everyone should have a basic knowledge of science and evolution.
So get something by Richard Dawkins (e.g. The Blind Watchmaker’, or ‘How The Mind Works’ by Steven Pinker.
Hey, thanks for all the great suggestions…and keep them coming!!
Looks like I’ll be mighty busy while I’m laying around getting a tan, or, you know, getting a massive sunburn like I do every other summer.
I’m on a Tracy Kidder kick. I read Soul of a New Machine first, then House, and I just finished Among Schoolchildren. Deciding on the next one. If you’ve never heard of him, he’s a nonfiction writer; his books are basically “a year in the life of…” some setting. House follows a family hiring builders to construct their new house, Soul of a New Machine follows a team of engineers constructing a new computer, and Among Schoolchildren is a full school year in a single classroom. In all cases, we meet and get to know ordinary people, and learn about their particular situation. And although it might sound kind of dry, I have to tell you, the writing and reporting are spectacular. They read more like novels; they’re funny, exciting, moving, everything you want from a book. Highly recommended.
Also read recently:
Privileged Hands, the memoirs of Geerat Vermeij. He’s a paleontologist who revolutionized our understanding of shell (i.e. mollusks, gastropods, etc.) evolution. Oh, and he’s also been blind since he was four.
Currently reading:
War of the Rats. A grim, gritty war romance set amid the burning husk of Stalingrad during World War Two. Very authentic, but kind of tough going due to the gritty, painful setting.
Recently? Let’s see…
“Quitting the Narobi Trio” by Jim Knipfel. About going crazy. If you like that one, he also has “Slackjaw” about going blind. Very funny. Really.
“From Dawn to Decadence- Five Hundred Years of Western Cultural Life” Jacques Barzun. Very readable actually. And full of interesting facts and references you can devastate you teachers with next month.
“We Wish Wish to Inform You That Tommorrow We Will be Killed With Our Familes” Philip Gourevitch. About the geonocide in Rawanda. Just the thing for poolside reading.
also Montaigne’s “Essays” and Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass”.
Re: “The Perfect Storm” or anything on Oprah’s list: screw 'um.
I second Good Omens. That was a great book.
Also anything by Poppy Z Brite is great. I would recommend reading Lost Souls or Wormwood by Ms. Brite first.
I just reread Redwall by Brian Jaques.
It’s generally considered children’s literature, but it’s good for everyone (long as they like fantasy and anthropomorphic animals).
Also read two of the sequals - Martin the Warrior and Mossflower.
And to make this less highbrow, I’d also like to reccomend two of the books based on the Magic: the Gathering card game:
The Myths of Magic - an anthology of the myths from the world of Dominaria (Where most Magic sets take place) - a good starting point for someone unfamiliar with M:tG, IMO.
The Eternal Ice - Book II of the Ice Age cycle - and the only one of the three that actually takes place during the Ice Age - Book I (The Gathering Dark) isn’t required to understand/enjoy it.
The Silence of the Nuns a cheap thriller.
I liked DE back in Jr. High. Now it bores me. Pshaw.
If you like fantasy, there are several better-written series that speed to mind:
Tolkein, of course!
Robert Jordan’s “Wheel of Time” series, of course.
George RR Martin’s “Song of Ice and Fire” series has already been mentioned.
Currently, I’m addicted to my newly-discovered “Sword of Truth” series by Terry Goodkind. I stayed up one night last week until 6 am and read about 400 pages of the first book.
Even though it’s not fantasy, I’ll throw in Orson Scott Card’s Ender series.
Seriously, if you like fantasy, a good place to start is Robert Silverburg’s “Legends” books. There are 3 at the moment, I believe. Each has a few stories written by today’s best fantasy authors set in their most famous worlds.
If you like sci-fi, Silverburg also has a similar collection called “Far Horizons” that will introduce you to lots of good sci-fi series.
My nonfiction tastes tend to obtuse works like Douglas Hofstadter’s “Metamagical Themas” and “Goedel, Escher, Bach - the Eternal Golden Braid,” so I won’t bore you with those.
Based on a recommendation in another book thread (and the fact that I had it in the house) I just read Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. I highly recommend it! Science fiction – but like most great science fiction (in my opinion) it’s light on the science but heavy on the human condition.
Fun pool books: Jitterbug Perfume, Tom Robbins; Crazy in Alabama (can’t think of the author; Mark Something); Famous People I Have Known, Ed McClanahan – set partially in my fair city!
I just read The Callahan Chronicals (and that IS how it’s spelled) by Spider Robinson. It’s a collection of short science-fiction stories which all take place at a bar called Callahan’s Place somewhere in Long Island, NY. All sorts of weird characters show up, including aliens, time travelers, twin telepaths and a talking dog. Robinson loves puns, the stinkier the better.
This was the first time I ever read Spider Robinson and I wanna read more.
[busting a corset stay trying not to plug her own work]
I don’t usually read non-fiction, but I just finished two great old novels: “The New Magdelen” (1873), a great melodrama by Wilkie Collins, and “Devoted Ladies” (1933), a funny, nasty social comedy by Molly Keane.
The new Stephen Huneter “hot Springs” is an exelent book if you like the Tom Clancy type stuff. IMHO Hunter is also better than Clancy as hunter’s books have more action and don’t have so many characters running around in them.
I just finished “A Civil Campaign” by Lois McMaster Bujold, the latest in the long running and utterly delightful Vorkosigan series. It starts with “Cordelia’s Honor”. If you like that, you will love the rest of the series. A great series with unforgettable characters and crackerjack plots.
In non-fiction, I recently finished “The Wealth and Poverty of Nations; Why Some are So Rich and Some So Poor.” A fascintating economic history of the world. The author is snarky and asks a lot of uncomfortable questions. Good stuff.
I really liked “The Prince of Tides” by Pat Conroy. But never, I repeat NEVER, rent the movie. I’d rather get a root canal than watch Barbra Streisand!!
Try Running with the Demon and Knight of the Word by Terry Brooks.
If you haven’t already read it, “Memoirs of a Geisha” is excellent. Can’t remember the author.
. . . Positive Match by Tony Chiu–this is an updated, faster-paced version of Coma with a twist at the end. Before that I read every John Sandford book: Rules of Prey, Eyes of Prey, etc., that I could lay hands on.
I want to read Memoirs of a Geisha. I think my daughter has a copy of it.