Any suggestions on a very good read?

[truhavoc]

I'm only two months removed from college and I am going through intellectual withdraws. I would prefer something philosophical but anything thought provoking (I'd like to avoid politics for now) will be considered!

[Endangered Specie]

1. "The Design of Everyday Things" - David Norman.

Quite interesting even if you arent much into the field of design, but its enough to make you stop and think the next time you (fail to) open a door or use a phone.

[truhavoc]

3. $10.85 used on amazon...I will look at the local library, thanks

[LynzM]

2. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Interesting stuff. You may want to read it twice :)

[truhavoc]

5. Hmm...does look very good! Can't believe i've never found it before n/t

[LynzM]

7. Yeah, it is very good

Maybe not quite as 'textbook' as you're looking for (not sure?), but it's a great read. I did have to read it twice, since you 'see' so much more of what's going on, reading it the second time. My dad actually lent me his copy in high school, and I got my own during college. Mayhaps I'll pick that up for a re-read next.

If you like fantasy/historical fiction/political intrigue, George R.R. Martin's "Song of Fire and Ice" trilogy is great, too.

[truhavoc]

8. I'm in a weird situation...

I worked (full-time) in a job that most people would hold as a career throughout college while taking 20 credit hours of classes (political science & philosophy double major). I've always been the type to pick up the general themes of things right away and retain them...a trait which allowed me to * my way through school. Now I am missing all the lost opportunities, and am finding myself in a information hungry mood where I want to read as much as possible. I appreciate all the suggestions, looks like I will be taking a nice trip to the library very soon.

[swag]

4. Fiction!

"Myra Breckenridge" by Gore Vidal
"Mildred Pierce" by James M. Cain
"Two Girls Fat and Thin" by Mary Gaitskill
"The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
"Notes from the Underground" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
"Labyrinths" by Jorge Luis Borges (collection)
"The Golden Bowl" by Henry James

otherwise,

"On Certainty" by Ludwig Wittgenstein
"The Big Con" by Richard Maurer (a must for everyone, really)

[swag]

6. powells.com or any good used bookstore

will have copies of everything mentioned in my autobiographically egregious post.

[JanMichael]

9. Anything by Albert Camus or Milan Kundera. "Iron Heel" by London...

...if you want to get ugly.

And this.

[RandomKoolzip]

11. Ditto on the Camus.

Just finished "Exile and the Kingdom;" Camus' fiction is great, but his philosphical writings are excellent. I've never encountered a philosopher whose ideas on the meaning of life are so similar to my own.

[Magrittes Pipe]

12. That's why you keep pushing that rock.

You're being DEEP.

Okay, whatever. :P

[RandomKoolzip]

13. "We have to imagine Sisyphus happy."

And he is, pardner. He is.

[jpgray]

32. He's personally endorsed by Manchester's most famous drunken malcontent

Guy named his band after a Camus book, after all.

[Magrittes Pipe]

44. Yes, he is very pretentious when sober.

Blessedly, that is very infrequent.

I suppose I shouldn't talk, as my high school band was named after a Thomas Hardy novel....

[RandomKoolzip]

10. "Lipstick Traces" by Greil Marcus.

Outlines the history of the dada-surrealist-situationist-lettrist movements in Europe and their ties to late-seventies Punk music culture. Fascinating read, and not as dry as it sounds; Marcus is an exciting and witty hagiographer (there's a lot of biography in here) and an even better delineator of rock music's lowbrow vicissitudes.

[stanwyck]

14. The Time Traveler's Wife

just gave my copy to a co-worker so I don't have the author's name. Wonderful book. Not science fiction...well, there is time traveling. Great read.

[solinvictus]

15. "The Lucifer Principle" by Howard Bloom

This book essentially explores humanity's self-destructive nature as an intrinsic part of our biology.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0871136643/qid=1092103243/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/104-1072572-0813553

[Mara Steele]

16. On Killing by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman

On the psychological cost of learning to kill in combat & in society.

A philosophical and thought-provoking book, to say the minimum. Just finished it up a while ago & it left a big impression on me; I think it should be required *high school* reading in this society hell-bent on war.

[Endangered Specie]

20. I doubt youll find it being handed out at the recruit station.

[Mara Steele]

33. That is true, of course :-)

if I were a teacher I would make it req. reading though, or at least a few chapters...

[LSU_Subversive]

34. Oh, you just reminded me of an excellent book of that sort of genre

Achilles in Vietnam. Has anyone else read that? I highly, highly recommend it.

[Mara Steele]

17. Addicted To War

A quick read, comic-book style, very thought provoking. Explains very succinctly the historical, political, and economic reasons why America is ADDICTED TO WAR...

Check out the site here: http://www.addictedtowar.com

[EstimatedProphet]

18. Any Philip K. Dick novels

The Valis trilogy, Ubik, A Maze of Death, Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Flow my Tears in particular.
Also, Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

[mdmc]

19. I currently reading fabulous small jews

:kick:

[Nevernose]

21. Don't forget the short stories, and "Man in the High Castle."

"Man in the High Castle" for some reason just DISTURBS me on some fundamental level. I've never been able to get more than halfway. Same with "Canticle for Leibowitz." I don't know what it is, except maybe that on some level, those particular novels are almost too true.

[onebigbadwulf]

22. Don't listen to these people - DA VINCI CODE IS ULTIMATE

ANY Dan Brown novel
-Especially- Da Vinco code
Angels and Demons
Digital fortress


ANY Chuck Palahniuk novel
-Especially- Fight Club
Choke
Invisible Monsters

[Nevernose]

23. The 1st half of "Angels and Demons" was pretty good

The second half, though, with the wierd, parachuting pope, sucked major ass (that a technical term, by the way).

[onebigbadwulf]

26. True, but Da Vinci is way better

until the very last word!

[truhavoc]

45. I've read (most) everything Palahniuk has to offer.

Well I am in the middle of Diary as we speak, I went through a Chuck Palahniuk and Kurt Vonnegut phase where I had to read all of their books. Choke and Lulluby were my favs from Chuck. Great suggestions though, I've been actually wanting to read the Dan Brown books you listed.

[rucky]

24. "The Miracle of Mindfulness" by Thich Naht Hahn

changed my life.

[jmags]

25. The Master and the Margarita by Bulgakov

Fantastic book. It was written in the late 20's into the 30's in Soviet Russia. The basic plot of the book revolves around how a population that has been forced to accept atheism would react if the devil showed up. Of course, with Russian literature there are many sub-plots and themes, including many biting references to the country and government at the time - which is why the book wasn't published in Russia for another three decades after it was completed.

[Sufi Marmot]

43. Another vote for The Master and Margarita...

Best. Russian. Novel. Ever.

How can you go wrong with a novel that features Pontius Pilate and a talking black cat, and a (minor) character named Archibald Archibaldovich?

-SM

[truhavoc]

46. Sounds great, this will definitely go on my list! n/t

[PVnRT]

27. "Garibaldi and His Enemies" by Christopher Hibbert

Biography of Giuseppe Garibaldi and his fight for Italy's unification.

[dorktv]

28. Small Gods by Terry Pratchett. It will blow you away because it is

the best written satire in a VERY long time.

[St. Jarvitude]

29. Logan's Run

A very good short story by Nolan and Johnson. Of course, it suffers from the same fate as most retro SciFi - that the years that then were in the distant future have already passed by - but it is an excellent read nonetheless.

[LSU_Subversive]

30. Okay, so here's my list of faves that aren't too serious or political:

1. The Memoires of Cleopatra, great historical fiction. Lots of references, so a great combo of fiction and fact. I loved it and could hardly put it down.

2. Guns, Germs, and Steel. You've probably already read this, seeing as how you're recently out of college, but just in case you haven't, it's a good read. It may also satisfy your cravings and intellectual withdrawals.

3. I liked Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, too, but if you're in the mood for light-weight philosophy, Sophie's World is a good easy read.

4. But, if you're in the mood for really good philosophy, Bertrand Russell's A History Western Philosophy is THE BOOK to read.

Happy Readings. Let me know what you think if you end up reading any of these. I love it when people ask questions like this! It gives me a good excuse to sit and stare lovingly at my books.

I'm such a nerd.

[dudeness]

31. a couple of suggestions

Koba the dread...Martin Amis
a startling look into the life and atrocities of Josef Stalin..a brilliantly written text
The Last Empire..Gore Vidal
a series of essays by the master himself
The new rulers of the world..John Pilger
a must for the politically enlightened
Bush in Babylon..Tariq Ali
for the most authorative insight into iraqs political history available..

enjoy..

[pbg]

35. The Marriage of Sense and Soul, by Ken Wilber

The most stimulating book I've read since The Emperor's New Mind, by Roger Penrose, which is also a recommendation.

Fiction?
Little, Big by John Crowley
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

[mark414]

36. the devil in the white city

historical fiction based on actual accounts;

follows two men;

one: the chief architect for the chicago world's fair

two: a psychotic serial killer who goes unnoticed due to all the hype surrounding the world's fair

absolutely fantastic, i couldn't put it down

the history and little mentions of things that later became everyday names and items is amazing

[praxiz]

37. If you're into poetry, you must read Charles Bukowski.

Here's a little sample:

Metamorphosis

a girlfriend came in
built me a bed
scrubbed and waxed the kitchen floor
scrubbed the walls
vacuumed
cleaned the toilet
the bathtub
scrubbed the bathroom floor
and cut my toenails and
my hair.
then
all on the same day
the plumber came and fixed the kitchen faucet
and the toilet
and the gas man fixed the heater
and the phone man fixed the phone.
now I sit in all this perfection.
it is quiet.
I have broken off with all 3 of my girlfriends.
I felt better when everything was in
disorder.
it will take me some months to get back to normal:
I can't even find a roach to commune with.
I have lost my rythm.
I can't sleep.
I can't eat.
I have been robbed of
my filth.


Charles Bukowski

[enigmatic]

40. Bukowski is my hero...

And was the one who made me want to become a writer. When I was going on my own 15 year endless/faceless alcohol soaked roadtrip, Bukowski was always there beside me, at least in spirit. The Best.

[xcmt]

38. I second the Calvino suggestion.

Invisible Cities is a nice, Light, Quick read. I'd also recommend If On Winters Night a Traveler and Six Memos for the Next Millennium.

Anything by David Foster Wallace (ranked in my order of preference):

Infinite Jest
A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again
Brief Interviews With Hideous Men
Girl With Curious Hair
Oblivion
The Broom of the System

[enigmatic]

39. "The Razor's Edge" by Somerset Maughm n/m

[WindRavenX]

41. Rare Earth

Ok, it's a science book BUT it contributes to philosophy because the book is essentially about the needed conditions in order to have life. Once you read this book, you will be changed forever.
It's my Bible.

[Exultant Democracy]

42. Read few Terry Pratchett dics world novels

it has all the humor of Douglas Adams, but with a philosophical edge.

[truhavoc]

47. Would you recommend a specific order to read them in?

I have found so many and didn't know if it mattered where to begin?