The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Book recommendations non-fiction, anything weird, unusual or just plain interesting
Librarian
The face of liberal fascismRegistered User regular
The face of liberal fascismRegistered User regular
I intend to buy a bunch of books for myself as an early christmas treat.
Since I still have about 2 shelves of unread novels, I want to enlarge my collection of unread non-fiction now.
I am interested in history, social sciences, politics, natural science, mythology and weird shit, but I prefer books with some unique angle on the topic at hand.
Or just books that are really well written and that you would want anyone to read, no matter what topics.
I am not too interested in math or physics, so any book from that direction would have to be super awesome.
Stuff I have read or ar familiar with include the Stephen Hawking books, Naomi Klein's No Logo, Jared Diamond, Joseph Campbell, just to give a general idea.
EDIT: Bonus points if someone can recommend an entertaining book about chess that would appeal to someone with only rudimentary knowledge of the game.
Since I still have about 2 shelves of unread novels, I want to enlarge my collection of unread non-fiction now.
I am interested in history, social sciences, politics, natural science, mythology and weird shit, but I prefer books with some unique angle on the topic at hand.
Or just books that are really well written and that you would want anyone to read, no matter what topics.
I am not too interested in math or physics, so any book from that direction would have to be super awesome.
Stuff I have read or ar familiar with include the Stephen Hawking books, Naomi Klein's No Logo, Jared Diamond, Joseph Campbell, just to give a general idea.
EDIT: Bonus points if someone can recommend an entertaining book about chess that would appeal to someone with only rudimentary knowledge of the game.
Librarian on
0
Posts
There's also Word Freak, it's about the kind of funny world of obsessive Scrabble players.
Hm... Salt is kind of interesting, by Kurlansky, it's a history of the importance of salt in...well, history, it's a bit dry though.
Lies my teacher told me (U.S. History)
Zombie Survival Guide (reference)
its sequel Super Freakonomics
Trying Leviathan:
The Nineteenth-Century New York Court Case That Put the Whale on Trial and Challenged the Order of Nature
D. Graham Burnett
Blurb:
Survival in the Killing Fields - by Hang Nor. This is the autobiography of a man who somehow survived the Cambodian Holocaust, and once you pick it up you won't put it down. It's incredibly chilling, and probably not for the faint of heart or stomach.
The author has a column in the New York Times website if you want to look at some of her writing first. She's one of my favorite science writers working today.
On my list is:
Masters of Doom
Dr. Tatjana's sex advice
Survival in the killing fields
Word Freak
Trying Leviathan sounds interesting, but I will wait or the paperback edition.
Guns, Germs and Steel is by Jared Diamond, know that one already.
I also got the Zombie survival guide(and WWZ).
Freakonomics sounds nice, but has some really bad reviews, claiming that he uses statistics to back his claims in ridiculous ways, still entertaining enough to read it?
It has been mentioned before in other threads and I am interested in "Lies my teacher told me", but since I am not American my knowledge of American history is a bit sketchy at best, will I be able to enjoy the book(I have a basic understanding of American history, but I am not too sure on the details)?
What's a good book on American history?
(Not about American history, though.)
edit: whoops, missed the "non-fiction" part of this, somehow
A neurospecialist (forgot the exact title) discribing some of the weirdest cases he has encountered in his career. It truly was amazing to read about in how many different ways your own brain can get fucked up, with hilarious results. (the title can be taken literally).
Not only funny, but it also introduces some workings of the body that i wasn't even aware of. (like proprioception.. The sixth sense that didn't make the list of senses since it's so bloody obvious you forget you have it.).
He wrote one called Cod that I didn't like as much.
If you're still interested in music then I'd suggest some stuff by Daniel Levitin, specifically This is Your Brain on Music and The World in Six Songs.
On Freakonomics, I think the whole point of the book is that he's using statistics to back things up in weird ways. It's an exercise in trying to see things from a different angle. I didn't agree with half of the conclusions, but it was still a fun read.
Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste, which I don't want to forget. It's not what you'd think from the title; it's actually a book about musical tastes. The author, who admits that he can't really stand Celine Dion, spends about a year trying to figure out why other people do. What is bad taste, what is good taste, why do people like shit music? And not in any kind of mocking way.
Anyone want to beta read a paranormal mystery novella? Here's your chance.
stream
Into Thin Air is the author's account of his climb up Mt. Everest on the deadliest day on record. I went on an Everest kick after reading that.
Into The Wild was made into the movie a year or two ago. It was pretty good, but I didn't relate to the kid as much as people who loved the book seemed to.
Under The Banner Of Heaven is about the FLDS, or the Mormons that are batshit crazy. Really freaky and good book.
Edit: added links.
If you want an overview of U.S. History from a (very) leftist/progressive/etc. perspective, there's always A People's History Of The United States. As with most agenda-driven history books, it's worth taking with more than a small grain of salt.
Other good U.S. history books:
Alexander Hamilton - shockingly enough, a biography of Alexander Hamilton that also recaps the major events (and ideological conflicts) of the Revolutionary War-era United States. It also helps that Hamilton was such an entertainingly batshit insane genius (or villain, depending on your political stances) that the details of his life are more melodramatic than, say, most of the other Founding Fathers.
Nixonland - Recaps the sweeping cultural and political changes America underwent from 1964 to 1972, and puts the tenor of modern American politics in context.
Team Of Rivals - Obligatory Civil War book. Plus it's a great read. Unless you really, really hate Lincoln.
The Nine - An accessible history of the Supreme Court, focusing more on the 20th Century Justices but covering most of the SCOTUS' Greatest Hits. Also enjoyable if you like reading about how unqualified and petty Clarence Thomas is.
1491 - American history from before it was "America". Fascinating revisionist history of what Native American culture and society was like before the arrival of Europeans.
More random shit I enjoyed reading:
The Battle For God - A history of religious fundamentalism. Gets a bit dry at times, but full of eye-opening details about the appeal of religious extremism that's more nuanced than "they're all crazy".
Charlatan - The rise and fall of one of the most notorious quack doctors of the early 20th Century. Any book that involves border radio and goat testicles is worth reading.
Paddy Whacked - An anecdote-heavy history of Irish-American organized crime, basically Goodfellas meets Potato Famine.
McMafia - A far less romanticized take on organized crime, covering how international organized crime has changed since the fall of the Soviet Bloc.
Black Sun - In the weird shit category, this is a recap of increasingly bizarre post-WW2 Neo-Nazi groups, including the truly batshit insane "Hitler will return from the hidden Nazi UFO base under the Arctic Circle" folks.
Men Of Tomorrow - A very entertaining history of the early years of comic book publishing, focusing on the incredibly shady business practices and oddball characters of that era.
Low Life - A history of New York City from the late 19th to early 20th Century, focusing on what life was like for the poor, the outcasts and the criminals.
The World Without Us - Speculates on what would happen if humanity vanished off the face of the Earth, and which of our creations would last the longest without our help (and the answer isn't all that inspiring).
As you could probably tell from the title its about probability, but its really interesting and entertaining so far. And when I say that, keep in mind I fucking hated stats classing in university.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Risk-Science-Politics-Dan-Gardner/dp/0753515539/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259624036&sr=1-2
The South Pole: The Norwegian Expedition in "The Fram", 1910-1912
http://www.amazon.co.uk/South-Pole-Norwegian-Expedition-1910-1912/dp/1850654697/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1259624245&sr=1-3-spell
I'm reading Eastward to Tartary by Robert Kaplan right now. Its a history lesson/travelogue through Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asian written about 10 years ago. Its really interesting to learn about a part of the world you don't generally hear much about, and Kaplan is a great writer. He does a great job of mixing history lessons with a compelling travel narrative. Its a bit of a period piece, because it was written 10 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall which influences many of his observations about the region, particularly since we just passed the 20th anniversary of the fall. I plan to read a lot more Kaplan in the future. He's a regular contributor to The Atlantic, so you can get a taste for his style there.
I found it to be a refreshing angle on the war.
Seconding this. So good. Feynman is one of the most brilliant people, ever.
It's good as long as you don't take it as pure science. Like Gladwell (who's also getting a lot of backlash these days) it's great at making you look at a subject from an angle you'd never think to look.
Mind and Nature
Godel, Escher, Bach
Two of the most important books that no one ever reads. You never will either, but you'll sure feel good with them sitting on your shelf.
Anyone want to beta read a paranormal mystery novella? Here's your chance.
stream
And yes, the author is the James Lipton of "Inside the Actor's Studio."
Say hello to one of the most interesting books and men of modern history.
If you have any interest in the middle east and it's current turmoil, this book will help explain a lot and give you a ton of insight into the culture and politics of the region.
Now don't get me wrong, I love me some Oryx and Crake, but it is most certainly fiction. Science Fiction, even, though for some reason (probably to do with nonsensical distaste for the genre) that's not where you'll find it shelved at Borders.
Most of my non-fiction reading is done in front of a computer screen rather than a book, but one that absolutely sucked me in recently was Legacy of Ashes, by Tim Weiner. Though obviously Weiner has an agenda, the book is extensively researched and the fact is that the CIA had its fingers fucking everywhere, so you'll find yourself covering all kinds of major events since the inception of the agency. Very awesome angle to look at history from, if like me you find yourself wikipedia'ing details as you go; to me, the last fifty years of history are vastly more interesting than the 14,950 years prior to them, because the fuckers who made it are still alive and in power today. Regardless of your position re: history repeating, recent history provides insight into both the present and future.
"Stiff" is all about dead bodies. A little off the beaten track, but she's a witty writer, and she explores all sorts of topics you've probably never thought of, like what exactly is done with bodies that are donated to science, both in the present and historically, and exactly how the decomposition process works and how it connects to ancient vampire and ghoul myths. It's a very weird subject, but hey, you asked for weird, and it's definitely an entertaining read.
"Bonk" is about sex, and again each chapter explores the topic from angles that you've probably never thought of. Funny and fascinating. I guess 'fascinating' pretty much goes without saying if you're a human with any hormones at all and the topic is sex. Easy to read this one and be entertained without feeling squeamish like you might with her other book.
Steam: badger2d
Zen and th art of motorcyle maintenance.
Old, but good reads.
The book is full of historical figures, some well known and some not so much, who were unequivocal badasses.
I already ordered the stuff I mentioned on page 1, but there's enough to keep me interested.
Today I also picked up:
Gang leader for a Day
Which looks really good so far
and
Eating Animals
Cause I really liked Everything is Illuminated.