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Some Reading for Fun
Some Reading and Listening
When I started running and training for triathlons I started listening
to audiobooks. Here are a few books I've read and listened to
recently. I typically listen to audio versions of books while running,
though I also like to get the hard copy of the book to read at night.
Many of these books have been both read and listened to, some only
read, some only listened to. I only listen to unabridged versions, and
refer to books I'm listening to as books I am 'reading’, since in my
mind these have become the same, only the listening takes longer, but
can be accomplished while doing other things, like the dishes or
exercising. My ratings are 1-5, 1 indicating a book I wouldn't read
again, 5 being one that I would recommend to everyone and the rest a
fairly inconsistent, nonlinear mapping of my response to the book. I
tend to like most books I read, your mileage may vary. If you have
read any of these and disagree with my nonlinear, arbitrary rating,
I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts. I tend to discuss books,
more than write about them, so I have not put any form of review,
other than a few cursory reactions, if any. If you have a book to recommend,
I'm always looking for the next great read - drop me a note.
Eic Fiction: Must-reads.
Against the Day, Thomas Pynchon. A modern-day War and Peace with an alternate universe. 5
Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon. Fascinating, Funny, Fierce. 5
War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy. 5
The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky 5
Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy. 5
Strategy, Economics and Innovation:
The Ten Faces of Innovation, Tom Kelley with Jonathan Littman. All entrepreneurs should read this book. 4
Made to Stick, Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Everyone should read this book. 5
Switch, Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Must read for anyone managing anything. 5.
The Long Tail, Chris Anderson. New Market economics. 4
The Black Swan, Nassim Taleb. How life in a non-ergodic world is distorted by the human need to explain what we cannot know. 4
Getting to Yes, Roger Fisher and Bruce Patton. Excellent negotiation book. 4
The First Billion is the Hardest, T. Boone Pickens. 4
Where good Ideas Come From, Steven Johnson 5, excellent history of innovation and a dispelling of the Eureka moment.
How Markets Fail; The logic of Economic Calamities, John Cassidy, 5. Excellent history of natural evolution towards callapse.
Non Fiction:
Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman. in process
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin, Erik Larson. 5. Painful, but meticulously researched history of the American ambassador to Germany in the 1930s.
Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell. 5. Compelling arguments that challenge the way we account for success.
Blink, Malcolm Gladwell. 5.
The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell. 5.
Charlie Wilson's War, George Crile. 5. Excellent read.
Born To Run, Christopher McDougall. 5. Excellent book for the endurance athlete or anyone interested in a great (true) story about running.
A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink. 5. interesting read about right-brain thinking. Goes well with 'Blink’.
Drive, Daniel Pink, 5. Goes well with 'Switch’, compelling book about what motivates people, great book for teachers, parents, coaches…
Mountains Beyond Mountains, Tracy Kidder, 5. Truly inspiring.
Strength in What Remains, Tracy Kidder, 4.
Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, 4, inspiring story of a man's mission to make a difference.
A Confession, Leo Tolstoy, in progress.
Running with Scissors, Augusten Burroughs. 4 Strange, rich characters.
Dry, A Memoir, Augusten Burroughs. 5 hilarious.
Mindset, Carol Dweck. 5. Interesting research into how our mindset dictates more than our approach, but also our outcomes.
Predictably Irrational, Dan Ariely. 5. Histerical, provocative. links well with How Markets Fail.
The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson. 5. Great piece of history, wonderfully written. Interesting history of the Chicago world fair, the man who made it happen, and the mass murderer who was there, too. Reads like good fiction.
Good General Fiction:
The Pillars of Earth, Ken Follet, 4.
Let The Great World Spin, Colum McCann. 4.
Dancer, Colum McCann. 5.
This Side of Brightness, Colum McCann. 5. Wonderful.
A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry. 5.
The Art of Racing in the Rain, Garth Stein. 4
Catch 22, Joseph Heller. 5. Hilarious. reminds me of Pynchon.
Once a runner, John L. Parker, 5 Truely captures the spirit of “Drive” in endurance sports
Again to Carthage, John L. Parker, 5. inspirig sequel, especially for those of us who can't hang up our shoes for good.
The White Tiger, Arvind Adiga. 5. great along with Shantaram and Sacred Games (my India trilogy).
The Help, Kathryn Stockett. 4.
The Road, Cormac McCarthy. 5.
Water for Elephants, Sarah Gruen. 5. A good circus story.
Inherent Vice, Thomas Pynchon. 5. More accessible Pynchon, but still good.
Ulysses, James Joyce. 5. Interesting, challenging, funny.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson, 5. Interesting mystery.
The Girl who Played with Fire, Stieg Larsson, 5. Interesting mystery.
The Girl who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest, Stieg Larsson, 5. I had to have the UK edition shipped, since it wasn't released in the US at the time.
American Pastoral, Philip Roth, 5.
Sacred Games, Vikram Chrandra, 5.
That Old Cape Magic, Richard Russo. 4
Empire Falls, Richard Russo, 4.
The Bridge of Sighs, Richard Russo, 4.
Straight Man, Richard Russo, hysterical academic satire, 5
Nobody's Fool, Richard Russo, 5
Lucky Jim, Kingsley Amis, hysterical academic satire, 4
Shantaram, Gregory David Roberts, 5
The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger. 4 Fun novel. Well told story. This could also go under Fantasy.
Until I Find You, John Irving. 5 I've read most of John Irving's other works (My favorites were A Prayer for Owen Meany and The Cider ouse Rules)
Last Night in Twisted River, John Irving. 5. Maybe Irving’s best yet.
The Crying of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon. This is Hilarious! 5
Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson. 5 A must read for anyone working in VR or HCI. Cyber Punk.
Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov. 5 Interesting psychological novel. Amazing prose.
As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner 5 A family of interesting characters dealing with death and last wishes of the mother. Stream of consciousness style, existential angst, colorful characters, family, determination, and a chapter consisting only of “My mother is a fish.”.
The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand 5 Individualism. An excellent philosophical discourse woven into an interesting tale. The mingling of plot and philosophy reminded me of War and Peace, though the story line was considerably less involved.
Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, 5. for a more interesting telling of this story, read Goodkind's Sword of Truth series.
The Painted Veil, W. Somerset Maugham, 5.
Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri, 5.
Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry, 5. Thoroughly enjoyed listing to this while running long distances. 'The’ western.
Tree of Smoke: A Novel, Denis Johnson, 4. Interesting story line, nonlinear.
The Book of Mirdad, Mikhail Naimy, in progress.
General Fiction:
A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini.4 Linear plot, interesting story, uncomplex.
Angels and Demons, Dan Brown. 4 A page turner, but not overly complex plot lines and very linear.
The Davinci Code, Dan Brown. 4 A page turner.
My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult, 4. Predictable storyline, but compelling and thought provoking.
Bel Canto, Ann Patchett 4.
The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown. Page-turning, predictable. 3.
Life of Pi, Yann Martel. 3
Fantasy:
The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern, 4.
George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire Series
A Game of Thrones 4
A Clash of Kings 4
A Storm of Swords 4
A Feast for Crows 4
A Dance with Dragons 4
Coraline, Neil Gaiman, 5
Stardust, Neil Gaiman, 5
Eragon Trilogy by Christopher Paolini:
Tales of the Otori Series by Lian Hearn:
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke, 4
Orson Scott Card: I really enjoy his writing. Not your typical SFF author.
Ender's Game, 5 (one of the best sci-fi stories of all time, some say)
Speaker for the Dead, 5 (I liked this better than EG, but both were great fun)
Xenocide, 4
Children of the Mind, 3
Ender's Shadow, 5
Shadow of the Hegemon, 4
Shadow Puppets, 4
Shadow of the Giant, 4
Ender in Exile, 3
War of Gifts, 3
The Crystal City, 4
Enchantment, 4
Hart's Hope. 4
Stonefather. 4
Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time Series: (JRR Tolkien style fantasy, with additional political intrigue, magic, complex plot lines, interwoven stories in the style of War and Peace. Great fun to read)
New Spring: The Novel,4
The Eye of the World, 5
The Great Hunt, 4
The Dragon Reborn,5
The Shadow Rising, 4
The Fires of Heaven, 4
Lord of Chaos, 4
A Crown of Swords, 4
The Path of Daggers,4
Winter's Heart, 4
Crossroads of Twilight, 4
Knife of Dreams, 4
The Gathering Storm, Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, 5
J. R. R. Tolkien:
Terry Goodkind
Wizard's First Rule,5. Great start to the Sword of Truth series… and I like the first rule…
Stone of Tears, 3 ,
Blood of the Fold, 3, seems like these books borrow many characters/topics from the WOT series. ,
Temple of the Winds, 4 ,
Soul of the Fire, 4
Faith of the Fallen, 4, Goodkind was a fan of Ayn Rand. Many allusions to Rand’s world from the Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged.
Pillars of Creation, 4
Naked Empire, 4
Chainfire, 4
Phantom, 3
Confessor, 3 I realize it’s difficult to end a series, but although a page-turner, this was an underwhelming conclusion. Overall, this series is much better told story than Atlas Shrugged, but the philosophy is the same.
Lois McMaster Bujold
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