This meme was making the rounds on Facebook, and instead of just listing the books, I thought I would expand on it.
Paddington Bear. I don't remember much, but I do remember that at such a young age I thought that England must be a strange and fascinating place, with cricket and orange marmalade.
The Soup books. Soup was a boy growing up during the Depression. His best friend wrote and narrated at least two books about him, and what a troublemaker he was. He would smoke corn silks and try to get extra cash by putting a pebble inside the tin-foil he was selling back. Apparently Soup grew up to be a Minister.
The Doonesbury comic books. I discovered them in HS, and got the whole collection from the start in 71 or so through the early 80's. Not only were they incredibly funny, but they were also a recent history lesson!
Almost anything by Kurt Vonnegut. I will single out Breakfast of Champions just because it was the first one I read. He presented such a bleak view of the world, but with just enough hope in it to make it bearable, but just. I felt kinship there.
Arthur C Clarke's The City and the Stars. Just an amazing story, considering when it was written. It was a hard choice between this one and Childhood's End, but in the end, TCATS was read first.
Lord of the Rings. Once I finally got through it, I read it once every year or so. I even got my grandpa to read it. He didn't quit know what to make of it, but was damn interested in seeing just how the hell they were going to make a movie out of it. He died before he had a chance to find out.
The God Particle by Leon Lederman. A very funny and informative book about the history for the search for the smallest particle. It goes as far back as the ancient Greeks right up to the early 90's. Very excellent primer on particle physics.
(tie) Blind Watchers of the Sky by Rocky Kolb and Coming of Age in the Milky Way by Timothy Ferris. Its hard to separate these two in my mind. They both deal with the history of and (1990's) current state of astronomy. One deals with the science better, the other with the human stories better, but both cover a bit of each. I can't recommend them enough. (see my review of Blind Watchers here)
The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. Carl Sagan's last book. It wasn't until I read this book that I really understood how a good scientist and skeptic thinks. A lot of it is dedicated to "debunking" things like UFOs and ghosts and such, but in a very sober and informative way. He not only shows why these things are not likely to be true, but also how and why we believe such things, and where there is actually interesting things (about us) to examine from such claims. And much more. I really think it should be required reading for every HS student, and again in collage. Its one of the few books I truly feel would help make the world a better place if we all read and understood what it said. (see my review here)
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins. His first book for the non-scientist. Its about evolution, and looking at it from the gene's "perspective". Very easy to follow and logically laid out. His other books on evolution are also captivating, but once again, this was the first of his on this subject that I read. Dawkins is probably the best writer of actual science that I have ever encountered, at least for me.
"List 10 books that have stayed with you in some way. Don't take more than a few minutes, and don't think too hard. It's not about the "right book" or great works of literature, just ones that have affected you in some way. Doesn't have to be in order. Feel free to play along if you'd like, I'm not tagging anyone."
Paddington Bear. I don't remember much, but I do remember that at such a young age I thought that England must be a strange and fascinating place, with cricket and orange marmalade.
The Soup books. Soup was a boy growing up during the Depression. His best friend wrote and narrated at least two books about him, and what a troublemaker he was. He would smoke corn silks and try to get extra cash by putting a pebble inside the tin-foil he was selling back. Apparently Soup grew up to be a Minister.
The Doonesbury comic books. I discovered them in HS, and got the whole collection from the start in 71 or so through the early 80's. Not only were they incredibly funny, but they were also a recent history lesson!
Almost anything by Kurt Vonnegut. I will single out Breakfast of Champions just because it was the first one I read. He presented such a bleak view of the world, but with just enough hope in it to make it bearable, but just. I felt kinship there.
Arthur C Clarke's The City and the Stars. Just an amazing story, considering when it was written. It was a hard choice between this one and Childhood's End, but in the end, TCATS was read first.
Lord of the Rings. Once I finally got through it, I read it once every year or so. I even got my grandpa to read it. He didn't quit know what to make of it, but was damn interested in seeing just how the hell they were going to make a movie out of it. He died before he had a chance to find out.
The God Particle by Leon Lederman. A very funny and informative book about the history for the search for the smallest particle. It goes as far back as the ancient Greeks right up to the early 90's. Very excellent primer on particle physics.
(tie) Blind Watchers of the Sky by Rocky Kolb and Coming of Age in the Milky Way by Timothy Ferris. Its hard to separate these two in my mind. They both deal with the history of and (1990's) current state of astronomy. One deals with the science better, the other with the human stories better, but both cover a bit of each. I can't recommend them enough. (see my review of Blind Watchers here)
The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. Carl Sagan's last book. It wasn't until I read this book that I really understood how a good scientist and skeptic thinks. A lot of it is dedicated to "debunking" things like UFOs and ghosts and such, but in a very sober and informative way. He not only shows why these things are not likely to be true, but also how and why we believe such things, and where there is actually interesting things (about us) to examine from such claims. And much more. I really think it should be required reading for every HS student, and again in collage. Its one of the few books I truly feel would help make the world a better place if we all read and understood what it said. (see my review here)
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins. His first book for the non-scientist. Its about evolution, and looking at it from the gene's "perspective". Very easy to follow and logically laid out. His other books on evolution are also captivating, but once again, this was the first of his on this subject that I read. Dawkins is probably the best writer of actual science that I have ever encountered, at least for me.
