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Books Read Since Graduation

  • Aug. 1st, 2006 at 10:54 AM
Photo - Wedding Mirror
List recreated to the best of my abilities at this late date. This entry will be edited in the future to add additional books as I start and finish them. At some point I may briefly codify them as to which I recommend and by how much.

Books Read (or listened to):

  1. The Conscious Bride - Sheryl Paul
    This book is about preparing for one's wedding on an emotional level. It talks about the "dark underbelly" of the engagement, a topic which is normally taboo. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is getting married.
  2. The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
    This book is about the women in the Biblical story of Jacob, Leah, Rachel, and Joseph. It is very good.
  3. The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown
    This book was a best seller for a reason. It's quite the page turner, and gives the reader something to think about too. Get ahold of an illustrated addition to read, if possible, so you can see the art they refer to as you go along.
  4. Snow Crash - Neil Stephenson
    Interesting science fiction book set mostly in Southern California. I honestly didn't like it all that much, but everyone I've ever spoken to who read it absolutely loved it. So maybe it's just me.
  5. A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson
    Bill Bryson is an absolute hoot, and this book is no exception. It is not, however, a history of nearly everything... it is mostly a history of science, but very interesting nevertheless.
  6. His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman
  7. His Dark Materials: The Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman
  8. His Dark Materials: The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman
    This science fantasy series takes place between parallel worlds. The characters are compelling, and although it feels like a childrens book at first, stick with it: the topics and ideas have plenty of depth, particularly as you get to the second and third books.
  9. Nickel and Dimed - Barbara Ehrenreich
    The author works various minimum wage jobs to try to see how hard it is to get by. It is very interesting, but in many ways I felt the book said more about the author's lack of understanding of the world, than what she learned in this exercise.
  10. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
    Boy floats for over a year stranded on a lifeboat... with a tiger. This is a truly weird book.
  11. Wheel of Time: The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
  12. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
    Interesting, though somewhat far fetched, story about an interesting culture. The Geisha are glorified entertainers and sometimes prostitutes in Japan.
  13. I, Robot - Isaac Asimov
    Short stories. Kind of repetative.
  14. The Great Hunt - Robert Jordan
  15. Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlosser
    Fassionating book. Highly recommend, but not while you are eatting!
  16. Dealing with Dragons - Patricia C. Wrede
    Not as cool as I remember as a child, but there was a Stoned Prince, so it wasn't all bad.
  17. My Life - Bill Clinton
    I loved Bill Clinton's memoirs. A great book about recent politics and history from somebody who lived through it.
  18. Wheel of Time: The Dragon Reborn - Robert Jordan
  19. The Diamond Age - Neal Stephenson
    I really enjoyed this book. It's a little less weird than Snow Crash, and I liked the characters better. I also liked the concept of the "Young Lady's Illustrated Primer" raising the protagonist--a young girl living in poverty, whose mother has a series of abusive boyfriends.
  20. Wheel of Time: The Shadow Rising - Robert Jordan
  21. In a Sunburned Country - Bill Bryson
    Another great book by Bill Bryson. This one is about Australia. I wasn't interested in Australia before picking up this book, but it's really good.
  22. Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
    Quite possibly the funniest book I have ever read.
  23. Naked in Baghdad - Anne Garrels
    Anne Garrels is a foreign correspondent for NPR. This book is about her experiences in Baghdad right before the war.
  24. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J. K. Rowling
  25. Hegemony or Survival - Noam Chomsky
  26. Wheel of Time: The Fires of Heaven - Robert Jordan
  27. The Lathe of Heaven - Ursula K. Le Guin
  28. Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
  29. Lord of Chaos - Robert Jordan
  30. The Five Love Languages - Gary Chapman
  31. Gift From The Sea - Anne Morrow Lindbergh
  32. Wheel of Time: A Crown of Swords - Robert Jordan
  33. In Suspect Terrain - John McPhee
  34. The Partly Cloudy Patriot - Sarah Vowell
  35. Smart Couples Finish Rich - David Bach
  36. The Lexus and the Olive Tree - Thomas L. Friedman
  37. Wheel of Time: The Path of Daggers - Robert Jordan
  38. Confessions of an Economic Hitman - John Perkins - August 4, 2006
  39. A Walk In The Woods - Bill Bryson - September 2, 2006
    Bill Bryson attempts to hike the Appalachian Trail, and this book is more or less what you might expect from Bill Bryson and such an endeavor--an absolute hoot. Highly recommended.
  40. (in progress, but not current) Nightfall - Isaac Asimov
  41. Wheel of Time: Winter's Heart - Robert Jordan
  42. Collapse - Jared Diamond - September 27, 2006
  43. Wheel of Time: Crossroads of Twilight - Robert Jordan - November 1, 2006
  44. The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger - November 10, 2006
    This book is great. Sweet, funny, interesting, and engaging. Plus, it takes place in Chicago and has time travel. One of the better works of fiction I have read this year.
  45. Eragon - Christopher Paolini - December 25, 2006
    Josh discribed this book as "The bastard child of every sci-fi and fantasy story ever told"... and frankly I have to agree: I was not particularly impressed.
  46. Wheel of Time: Knife of Dreams - Robert Jordan - January 2, 2007
    Egwene continues to kick ass... ironically, by having her own ass kicked.
  47. Earth in the Balance - Al Gore - February 22, 2007
    Al Gore is my hero.
  48. Palestine: Peace not Apartheid - Jimmy Carter - March 2007
  49. Yellow Raft, Blue Water - Michael Dorris - May 22, 2007
  50. Star Wars: Survivor's Quest - Timothy Zahn
  51. Star Wars: Outbound Flight - Timothy Zahn
  52. Star Wars: Allegiance - Timothy Zahn
  53. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J. K. Rowling
  54. Guns, Germs, and Steel - Jared Diamond
  55. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
  56. Wheel of Time: New Spring - Robert Jordan
  57. An Introduction to the US Health Care System, Sixth Edition - Steven Jonas, Raymond L. Goldsteen, Karen Goldsteen - April 23, 2008
  58. Drawing Down The Moon - Margot Adler - May 12, 2008
  59. How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie - July 17, 2008
  60. The Spiral Dance - Starhawk - July 17, 2008
  61. Go Green, Live Rich - David Bach - July 21st, 2008
  62. Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner - Scott Cunningham - July 26th, 2008
  63. Wicca, New Edition: A Comprehensive Guide to the Old Religion in the Modern World - Vivianne Crowley - in progress


To read (* indicates available from Audible, + indicates I own it):

  1. +The Mists of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley
  2. +The Art of Ritual - Sydney Barbara Metrick
  3. The Secret Teachings of All Ages - Manly P. Hall
  4. The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want - Sonja Lyubomirsky
  5. Real Magic - Isaac Bonewits
  6. 1491
  7. The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin
  8. More Timothy Zahn, as in Timothy Zahn that's not Star Wars (recs?)
  9. The Mother Tongue - Bill Bryson
  10. *Gifts - Ursula K. Le Guin
  11. *The Botany of Desire - Michael Pollan
  12. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
  13. *+The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey
  14. Getting Things Done


Aug. 1, 2007 - More recommendations are always welcome, I might even get to them. I am particularly interested in books on sociology, or at least that's what I'm interested in that I feel short on book recommendations for... as you can see from my list there are a good many other topics I am interested in reading about. I am also somewhat interested in recommendations for books on economics.

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Comments

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[info]boojum wrote:
Aug. 2nd, 2006 05:27 am (UTC)
Grooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of Language - Robin Dunbar (sp?)
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[info]ashke wrote:
Aug. 2nd, 2006 09:24 pm (UTC)
I took a couple of women studies classes in college, where I read some really good novels. They are:
1. "Do they hear you when you cry?" by Fauziya Kassindia and Layli Miller Bashir-it is about an African trying to seek political aslyum in the US b/c she is running from an arranged marriage and female mutalization (which is a big thing in Africa). I think some of the characters' names have been changed but otherwise, this story is true. I do STRONGLY recommend it.

2. "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" by Harriet A. Jacobs-it's not one of my favorites..it's most likely due to the fact that I've read this book at LEAST 3 times between HS and college...it's a good book to show the different turmoils and dilemnas the slave women went through down in the South

3. Anything by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. She actually wrote a very "radical" economics for her time period (late 1800s to early 1900s). The name of that book is called "Women and Economics: A Study of Economic Relation between Men and Women as a Factor in Social Evolution" (this is most likely not in any public library. I'm 99.9999% sure that I do own it..it's just not here at the moment..but you can definitely borrow it when it does get here)

4. Any of Neil Gaiman's other fiction works I strongly recommend and you can borrow (between Nick and I, we probably have about 97% of them (or maybe all of them)).

Um. I think that's about it for now..if I think of any others, I will be sure to tell you.
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[info]mandyessa wrote:
Aug. 3rd, 2006 11:41 pm (UTC)
you can look through my "sociology" books next time you are over...I have a few, it being a minor in undergrad, and having something to do with my graduate school degree. Some are text-book-y and some are just fun. I liked "why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria" "yellow raft, blue water" "raise up a child" (the last written by an African American matriarch...very cool...very real, written in her own version of english) ...there are others, check them out in the office!
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