Books

"Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?"
-Henry Ward Beecher

For me, reading is one of those rare pleasures that really, really oughtn't be rare, but tends to be nonetheless. I can get more reading pleasure vicariously through you, though! Here are some of my favorite recommendations. (Also check out the sections on Physics Books and Math Books if you're looking for a good read of a more technical flavor.)

Terry Pratchett

God of humorous sci-fi/fantasy. His Discworld series is astoundingly wonderful, and parody everything from Macbeth to pop music to feminism to journalism to special relativity. Unsure of committing yourself to a 30-book series? Try Small Gods or Equal Rites or The Truth to get yourself started.

The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins

I've bought at least ten copies of this book so that I can always inflict... er, lend out this outstanding book on evolutionary biology. Be sure to read the footnotes especially -- they often are even more interesting than the text itself.

Connie Willis

I got hooked on Bellwhether and even more so on To Say Nothing of the Dog. Superb somewhat-sci-fi-ish writing, full of fun factoids about everything from the French Revolution to enhanced bottled water trends.

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet

This one's a hefty 1,000 pages, and won't let you stop reading till you're done, so don't make the mistake of picking it up during finals week (um, not like I did that or anything...). Set in medieval England, this novel tells the story of the epic building of a cathedral and the lives that come to revolve around it.

Orson Scott Card

Yes, we've all read his Ender's Game series. But Card's talent shows up in his Alvin Maker series, as well as the surprisingly lovely Enchantment novel and the first book in the Homecoming series (though be warned, the quality of subsequent books declines exponentially).

Atonement by Ian McEwan

One of the best novels I've come across. Read it!

Isaac Asimov

Yay robots! While Asimov was one of world's the most prolific authors, his sci-fi is arguably some of the best out there. (As long as you don't want many female characters that exist for reasons other than luke-warm romantic subplots.) My favorite book is I, Robot, and his Foundation series is excellent too, particularly Prelude to Foundation.

Madeleine L'Engle

Many know her mostly for her book A Wrinkle in Time, and indeed, L'Engle is a wonderful science fiction writer. Her regular fiction, though, is rich and wonderful, too. Try A Small Rain and Troubling a Star especially.

Home | Personal | Fun Physics | Marvelous Math | Other Stuff