photo by luisbg
Inspired by Art Garfunkel’s list of every book he’s read over the last FORTY years, I’ve begun keeping my own books read list.
Are you considering reading one of the books below? Leave a comment if you want to know if it’s worthwhile. Already read one of the books below? Leave your thoughts below if you want to start a dialogue.
Have a Goodreads account? Friend me!
In progress
- Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison by Michel Foucault
- Consilience by Edward O. Wilson
2009 reads:
Non-fiction (11)
- Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth by Margaret Atwood
- The Lessons of Terror: A History of Warfare Against Civilians by Caleb Carr
- Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post 9/11 World by Noam Chomsky
- Blessed Unrest: How the largest movement in the world came into being and why no one saw it coming by Paul Hawken
- Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and L.Hunter Lovins
- Sex in Crisis: The New Sexual Revolution and the Future of American Politics by Dagmar Herzog
- The Green Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems by Van Jones
- Why Europe Will Run the 21st Century by Mark Leonard
- Religion, Values, and Peak-Experiences by Abraham H. Maslow
- Party of One: A Loner’s Manifesto by Anneli Rufus
- Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries by Naomi Wolf
Fiction (21)
- The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg
- Gone Tommorrow by Lee Child
- The Army of the Republic by Stuart Archer Cohen
- Wild for Him by Janelle Denison
- Some Rain Must Fall by Michel Faber
- Woman in Red by Eileen Goudge
- A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
- Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
- Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
- The Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle
- Walking in Circles Before Lying Down by Merrill Markoe
- Power Play by Dierdre Martin
- Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
- New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
- Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
- Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
- Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk
- Special Topics in the Calamity of Physics by Marisha Pessl
- Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
- Dangerous Secrets by Lisa Marie Rice
- Instant Attraction by Jill Shalvis
- Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace
2008 reads:
Non-fiction (23)
- Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America by Steve Almond
- The Birthday Party: A Memoir of Survival by Stanley Alpert
- The Pedant’s Revolt by Andrea Barham
- Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance by Noam Chomsky
- Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond
- Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream Barbara Ehrenreich
- Millennial Leaders: Success Stories From Today’s Most Brilliant Generation Y Leaders by Bea Fields, Scott Wilder, Jim Bunch, Rob Newbold
- The Coconut Oil Miracle (Previously published as The Healing Miracle of Coconut Oil) by Bruce Fife
- Anatomy of Love: A Natural History of Mating, Marriage, and Why We Stray by Helen Fisher
- The History of Sexuality: The Use of Pleasure, Vol. 2 by Michel Foucault
- What’s the Matter With Kansas? by Thomas Frank
- Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism by Michelle Goldberg
- 20 Something Manifesto: Quarter-Lifers Speak Out About Who They Are, What They Want, and How to Get It by Christine Hassler
- Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self by Sandra Ingerman
- The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Noami Klein
- The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What It Means for All of Us by Robin Meredith
- The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack Obama
- How the Pro-Choice Movement Saved America by Cristina Page
- When the Rivers Run Dry by Fred Pearce
- The United States of Europe: The New Superpower and the End of American Supremacy by T.R. Reid
- Make a Name for Yourself: Eight Steps Every Woman Needs to Create a Personal Brand Strategy for Success by Robin Fisher Roffer
- Existentialism And Human Emotions by Jean-Paul Sartre
- A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again by David Foster Wallace
Fiction (27)
- Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
- Last Seen Leaving by Kelly Braffet
- Surviving Demon Island by Jaci Burton
- Nothing to Lose (Jack Reacher Novels) by Lee Child
- Book of the Dead (Kay Scarpetta, No. 15) by Patricia Cornwell
- Vanilla Bright like Eminem by Michel Faber
- The Scandal Plan: Or: How to Win the Presidency by Cheating on Your Wife by Bill Folman
- Causing Havoc (SBC Fighters, Book 1) by Lori Foster
- Hard to Handle (SBC Fighters, Book 3) by Lori Foster
- One Foot in the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 2) by Jeaniene Frost
- Body Heat by Katherine Garbera
- Intuition by Allegra Goodman
- Otherwise Engaged by Eileen Goudge
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
- The Lecturer’s Tale: A Novel by James Hynes
- Publish and Perish: Three Tales of Tenure and Terror by James Hynes
- Party Favors by Nicole Sexton and Susan Johnston
- The Bastard on the Couch: 27 Men Try Really Hard to Explain Their Feelings About Love, Loss, Fatherhood, and Freedom by Daniel Jones
- Obedience: A Novel by Will Lavender
- Dedication by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
- Dogs of Babel by Caroline Parkhurst
- Lost And Found by Caroline Parkhurst
- Lucky Charm by Carly Phillips
- Superstition by Karen Robards
- Hide & Seek by Clare Sambrook
- To Catch a Thief by Christina Skye
- Good Grief by Lolly Winston
April 22, 2008 at 1:43 pm |
I really want to read “The Audacity of Hope.” Let me know how it is!
Also, great challenge. I should go through my books and only vow to read previously purchased ones that I haven’t touched yet. I have a book buying problem…
April 22, 2008 at 1:57 pm |
Lauren,
I’m about 2/3 of the way through, and I think it’s really great background on how he come to run for president, and the belief systems that he realizes make him a bit different than other politicians. And he does try to reconcile that people on opposite ends of an argument actually have more in common than generally accepted, and finding compromise depends on starting with those common goals and moving forward.
Try bookmooch.com; you post books you want to get rid of, letting others mooch them. You can do the same to get the ones you want.
What’s sitting in your book pile?
April 28, 2008 at 2:49 pm |
Hi!
I wanted to know if “20 Something Manifesto” was worth reading? I’m a recent college grad failing at… well everything and could really use some reading suggestions.
April 28, 2008 at 3:20 pm |
Abba,
I’m glad you found me, and I hope you book mark me and come back, so you can tell me how you’re doing. Welcome to your quarterlife crisis.
It depends on what you’re looking for right now. If you need to commiserate, 20 Something Manifesto is primarily a collection of others’ twentysomething experiences, with Christine’s feedback thrown in. 20 Something, 20 Everything is really more about you figuring out what you want and how to move positively in that direction. There are considerably more exercises that make you take stock of your life, if you’re willing to journal about them. They’re both really easy reads, very conversation in writing style.
Lindsey Pollak has a book called from College to Career that covers all the things you wish someone had told you before graduating. She has a great blog over at lindseypollak.com
Lindsey, Christine, and a third author Alexandra Levit host a podcast called 30/20 Vision at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/3020vision/
You should also check out BrazenCareerist.com
There are lots of 20something bloggers there focused on career and personal development for Gen Y. Sign up for a username; feel free to post in the forum there. People are pretty quick to respond and help where they can.
PS, If not the library, http://www.campusi.com generally finds you your best book deals.
July 2, 2008 at 9:58 am |
What genre of novel are you going to write?
July 2, 2008 at 11:20 am |
i want to write dystopian political thrillers, you?
September 30, 2008 at 7:37 pm |
Collapse is the best book I’ve read in the past few years. I hope you a) get through it and b) enjoy it. Good luck both with the list and with the novel.
September 30, 2008 at 10:08 pm |
I’ve been halfway through Collapse for almost 3 years, I decided I should actually finish it.
November 24, 2008 at 10:48 pm |
[...] Booking It [...]
February 1, 2009 at 9:00 am |
[...] Booking It [...]
March 3, 2009 at 8:08 am |
[...] Booking It [...]
April 3, 2009 at 4:21 am |
Lee Child is one of my current can’t wait til the next one comes list. Jack Reacher’s take on life and especially the military is hilarious fun to read. If you like him, you might really like Thomas Perry. His Jane matches Jack tick for tack.
April 3, 2009 at 7:53 am |
Thanks for the tip, rhbee.