non-fiction reading

[BART]

recently re-discovered books. yes, and damn... so thirsty. my readings in the past 6+ months have been mostly about worldview, astronomy, quantum theory (for laymen), the human experience, religous philosophy. have knocked out these recently:

how proust can change your life - alain de botton
status anxiety - alain de botton
the quantum zoo - marcus chown
the language of god - francis collins
the god delusion - richard dawkins
mere christianity - c.s. lewis

I'm mostly interested in surveying, so favoring a perspective is less important to me than familiarizing myself with intellectual heavyweights. i've also been supplementing my reading with internet published lectures on whatever, from debates on gay marriage to sermons to sam harris lectures to osho talks on buddhism to interviews with ayn rand. all beautiful, useful in their own way, and entertaining. anyone have any suggestions? what non-fiction are others reading/liking? college peeps, what has been forced upon you that you ended up adoring? interesting documentaries/vids/lecture clips?

[DjMattyD]

The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

[junwin]

A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson

totally awesome and is fucking funny

[BART]

both noted, that's what im talking about...

[Mmm... Pasta]

What's So Amazing About Grace? - Philip Yancey
(It's Bear Gryll's favorite book.)

[narwhal]

Richard Dawkins is a very well educated man but seriously he comes of to me as the hugest prick in prick history.

[cmallen111]

"God is not Great" - Christopher Hitchens

Havent read it but saw alot of interviews with him on the Daily Show and some CNBC shows. Pretty Controversial book i guess.

[BART]

Richard Dawkins is a very well educated man but seriously he comes of to me as the hugest prick in prick history.that criticism of him has also been made by many who otherwise largely agree with his ideas. his delivery can absolutely be abraisive. but after exploring his works, i think his offerings are worth getting over his unapologetic delivery (which he offers an explaination for btw, not that it completely absolves him, but it's an interesting cultural discussion nonetheless and important in understanding why he is that way). sharing his strictly materialist worldview is not a requirement for learning from him, and unfortunately i think his abrasiveness discourages some people from realizing this. i think it would be nearly impossible to read his books and not have one's understanding enriched in some way. the man's admirably brilliant at what he does. i'm referring mostly to his reflections of the human reality and experience, his expertise in biology, etc. his rants on the ills of religon don't particularly interest me.

re: "God is not Great" - Christopher Hitchens. i explored hitchens book and lectures a bit, honestly i couldn't get into him. same for sam harris.

[DT]

Recently picked up Applebee's America, excellent, check Amazon for info (recommended by a colleague). Also been re(x100)reading some old Ellison non-fiction like Watching.

[narwhal]

Cat in the hat is a bad ass non fiction read.

[John Dorian]

When elephants weep. by Jeffery Moussaieff and susan Mccarthy


its a book in support of the notion that animals have human like emotions. its a pretty decent book. not to long either.

[John Dorian]

oh and of course "brief history of time" hawking. i listened to this book so i would understand it better. definetly worth reading though. and its such a classic in the science world. judging by the list you have already read i wouldnt be surp[rised if you have already read it, but if not you must.

[BART]

brief history of time when i was younger, have it on my bookshelf. probably time to revisit.