I have taken the list to heart to seriously follow a plan to read more diverse books than I have had in the past. I am amused and somewhat taken aback by some folks who have commented here that the list is "too liberal", or that his book or that book (particularly religious themes) have been left off. I think it is short-sighted that readers think that these 50 books is all you have to know to understand life. That is a very shallow view. To me, this list is like a solid beginning when one goes to college to obtain a good solid liberal arts education. You learn to acquire the critical skills to be able to continue your life by continuing to read and self-educate. I have now taken the list and am finished with or reading five of them, and intend to continue. I hope to be able to read about subject matter that will allow me to be curious enough to read other related books of that subject or era and do so with a an educated platform. Reading is knowledge. Reading 50 books is but a drop in the bucket. As you get to know your library, 50 books here, and 50 books there, and 50 more books, and then 50 more,,,,,pretty soon you just might be able to function as a literate human being. When you get to that stage, you can understand why Fox News is nothing more than a comic page in the Penny Saver. Turn off the tube now and then and read a good book. Suggestions are available if you cannot think of a book to read.
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What to Read Now. And Why
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THE BOTANY OF DESIRE Before Pollan became a food-world demigod, he wrote this insightful, engaging account explaining our appetites by tracing the evolution of four plants: potato, tulip, marijuana, and apple tree. BUY AT AMAZON | SEE LIVINGSOCIAL USER REVIEWS |
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THE REGENERATION TRILOGY War can wound more than the body. These novels, inspired by the World War I experiences of British soldiers, explore the trauma of staying alive while others die. BUY AT AMAZON | SEE LIVINGSOCIAL USER REVIEWS |
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SENATOR JOE MCCARTHY An elegant short-form primer on the machinery of Washington's morality-and a timely reminder of what happens when demagogues gain access to what Rovere calls "the dark places of the American mind." BUY AT AMAZON | SEE LIVINGSOCIAL USER REVIEWS |
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YEAR OF WONDERS The plague that arrives in a small 17th-century village in Brooks's historical novel makes swine flu seem like the sniffles-but death also brings the possibility of a new understanding. BUY AT AMAZON | SEE LIVINGSOCIAL USER REVIEWS |
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THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG The unlikely friendship between a middle-aged Parisian concierge and a cosseted 12-year-old drama queen proves cultural sensitivity transcends social background. BUY AT AMAZON | SEE LIVINGSOCIAL USER REVIEWS |
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GONE TOMORROW Jack Reacher is one of the best thriller characters at work today. Escape into a fantasy where thwarting terrorists is just a matter of grim purpose and quick reflexes in this, Child's 13th installment. BUY AT AMAZON | SEE LIVINGSOCIAL USER REVIEWS |
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THINGS FALL APART In one of the first novels in English from an African perspective, Achebe makes our language his own-and the injustices of colonization all too clear. BUY AT AMAZON | SEE LIVINGSOCIAL USER REVIEWS |
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AMERICAN JOURNEYS Traveling by train, the Australian author scans a post-Katrina America while racking up an impressive trove of insight and observation few natives could match. BUY AT AMAZON | SEE LIVINGSOCIAL USER REVIEWS |
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COTTON COMES TO HARLEM One of a brilliant series of brutal, hilarious, and vivid crime novels featuring Harlem police detectives Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson; no one ever wrote better about race. BUY AT AMAZON | SEE LIVINGSOCIAL USER REVIEWS |
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THE NEW BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF FILM If you don't argue with Thomson on just about every other page, then you aren't paying attention. In a world where film criticism is dying, Thomson make a case for it-eloquently and adamantly. BUY AT AMAZON | SEE LIVINGSOCIAL USER REVIEWS |
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