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** STICKY ** Suggested Reading

arg-fallbackName="UrbanMasque"/>
John Perkins - Confessions of an Economic Hitman
Christopher Hitchens - Letters to a Young Contrarian
Aldous Huxley - The Doors of Perception
Thomas Paine - The Age of Reason
George Orwell - 1984

On my to do list:

-Fahrenheit 451
-Pacifism as Pathology
 
arg-fallbackName="RichardMNixon"/>
Catch-22 is my favorite book, one of the only books I can recall quoting in conversations the way movies usually are.

Reading Good Omens right now, also recommended.
 
arg-fallbackName="Tenderfoot"/>
Depending on your speed, these could cover anywhere from 2 years to a lifetime ;)
  • Robert Heinlein (yes, even the "juveniles").
    Jean Auel ("Earth Children" series).
    Tom Clancy (the novels he wrote solo).
    Anne McCaffrey.
    Ken Follet (Pillars of the Earth, World without End).
That should cover the "entertainment" part :)
  • Stephen Jay Gould (Full House, and a number of articles' compilations).
    Peter Senge (Fifth Discipline series).
    Charles Handy (The Age of Unreason).
    Edward de Bono (Six thinking hats, and some others).
    Thomas Harris (I'm Ok, You're Ok).

And I most certainly overlooked an author or two that was important to me at some point or another :(
 
arg-fallbackName="TheFlyingBastard"/>
I always tell people that if they're ever going to read anything in their lives...

ever...

only one book...

make that book Dune by Frank Herbert. (Not to be confused with the atrocities written by his son Brian and Kevin Judas Anderson.)
 
arg-fallbackName="Noumenon"/>
Probably the most influencial book of my reading life was Daniel Dennett's Consciousness Explained. It was the first non-fiction book I recall reading voluntarily, it sparked my interest in science generally, and I still consider the multiple drafts model to be how my brain probably works. In addition to reading various other Dennett titles, I greatly enjoy Dawkins and the other horsemen, although I have read progressively less of each (two by Harris, one by Hitchens, probably the ones you would expect). But, since half the members of this forum have probably read them all too, I thought I would pick out some other favourites by name, all that I've read over the last three years.

Fiction:
Q, Luther Blissett - an absolute epic, set during the blood-soaked madness of Reformation Europe, in which history turns on the actions of a rebelious free-thinker (or what passes for one in the 1500s). It's brilliant, and was written by four Italian anarchists who named themselves after a moderately well-known English footballer...

Colony, Hugo Wilcken - very much in the vein of Joseph Conrad, imagine Heart of Darkness filtered through David Lynch.

Player Piano, The Sirens of Titan, Mother Night and Cat's Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut - anyone who loves The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy must try Vonnegut; I am now a fan of both writers but, with no disrespect to Douglas Addams, even having only read these four titles Vonnegut is a clear step up.

...and, if only because I've just finished reading it for the second time:

The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro - an example of a perfect novel.

Non-Fiction:
Homicide - A Year on the Killing Streets, David Simon - the book that spawned the TV series, and eventually led to the work of genius that is The Wire.

In Cold Blood, Truman Capote - I'm not well read of the classics, generally, but the ones I do read prove their status.

Science-related:
Schrodinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality, John Gribbin - Gribbin is an excellent summariser of science, as well demonstrated here, but also...

The Science of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, Mary and John Gribbin - I enjoyed the His Dark Materials series, with some reservations, but this short book is a masterpiece of scientific clarity, perfect for getting a youngster interested in science or for any old folks who didn't pay enough attention at school, like me.
derkvanl said:
Helliconia (spring, summer, winter) - Dan Simmons
Click to expand...
That's Brian Aldiss, actually, but I also enjoyed them a lot - interesting ecosystem he built, even if the spirituality is a bit hard to swallow!
 
arg-fallbackName="Laurens"/>
Some of my favourites:

God's Problem - Bart D. Ehrman
The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins
God Is Not Great - Christopher Hitchens
The Bible, The Biography - Karen Armstrong
Breaking The Spell - Daniel Dennett
Bad Science - Ben Goldacre
Cosmos - Carl Sagan
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson
A Riot Of Our Own, Night and Day With The Clash - Johnny Green
Chronicles - Bob Dylan
Revolution in the Head, The Beatles Records and the Sixties - Ian MacDonald
Crazy Diamond, Syd Barrett and the Dawn of Pink Floyd - Mike Watkinson & Pete Anderson
 
arg-fallbackName="Duvelthehobbit666"/>
If I read the posts correctly, there is no Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan. Shame on all of you, so I will recommend it.
 
arg-fallbackName="Laurens"/>
Having just finished it I would also like to recommend 'Homage to Catalonia' by George Orwell. If only for his vivid description of being shot through the neck...

As you can probably tell by my avatar, I've been reading a lot of Orwell recently :mrgreen:
 
arg-fallbackName="Pulsar"/>
Just finished Steven Erikson's first Malazan Book of the Fallen, and immediately started on book 2. All I can say is wow! This is among the best fantasy ever written. If you love fantasy, these books are a must.
 
arg-fallbackName="Laurens"/>
I'm reading through Bad Science by Ben Goldacre, it's one of the few books I've read that I feel tempted to pass on to pretty much everyone.
 
arg-fallbackName="Laurens"/>
I just bought the following book:

51Ytotz99bL.jpg


I don't think its the kind of book I could read from cover to cover, but it does look like it has shed loads of reference material. The illustrations/diagrams are really good, and it seems to have an awful lot of info in it.
 
arg-fallbackName="Darkchilde"/>
American Gods - Neil Gaiman
The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman
Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
All the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett
The Night's Dawn trilogy (The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, The Naked God) - Peter F. Hamilton

If any more pop up, I'll make another post.
 
arg-fallbackName="Prolescum"/>
Aha! In an attempt to avoid duplicating other suggestions...

Some fiction:

Etgar Keret - The Nimrod Flipout (short story collection, funny and ocassionally poignant)
Robert Rankin - Dance of the voodoo handbag (or in fact, any Robert Rankin book - bonkers but brilliant)
Claude Vorilhon - The Message Given to Me by Extra-Terrestrials (The tale of Rael - added for being better and funnier than scientology)

Some non-fiction:

Samuel P. Huntington - The clash of civilizations and the remaking of the world order (don't tell Thunderf00t about this one)
Seth Godin - All marketers are liars (we all should take note of what the enemy is thinking :lol: )
Christopher Lee - This Sceptred Isle (originally a radio 4 production, I bought the book about ten years ago for a train journey - excellent, easily digestible stuff)
 
arg-fallbackName="Dragan Glas"/>
Greetings,

If I listed my recommended book-list - my library! - I'd probably crash LoR's server!

I'll probably have to just list the authors - after I've compiled it...
Duvelthehobbit666 said:
If I read the posts correctly, there is no Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan. Shame on all of you, so I will recommend it.
Click to expand...
Actually, Duvelthehobbit666, this is included in the **Sticky** Critical Thinking Resources topic.

Kindest regards,

James
 
arg-fallbackName="Pulsar"/>
Finally finished Deadhouse Gates, book 2 of the Malazan Empire. And I dive straight into book 3.
Yes, I'm addicted. This is one of the best fantasy series I've ever read.
 
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