So, recently I cleared out all of my books in an effort to impose some order on my life.
Problem: 3 bookcases cluttering up my sun room and approx 500 books distracting me from my work.
Answer: Box everything up and shove it under the house.
New problem: What am I going to read?
New answer: Keep out a dozen or so books for when I just have to read something.
After everything was boxed up and put away I looked at the books that I had kept out and was a little suprised. My dozen books contained not a single work of fiction and most of these books were related to skepticism. The longer I looked at this pile of books the more meaningful it became. I’ve been collecting my books for a long time and a lot of treasure went in to those boxes. Books I would never throw away or trade, some of them worn thin as you like with no other reader but me ever touching them. Sci/Fi (Niven/Heinlein), fantasy (Pratchett/Tolkien), thrillers (Hiassen/Patterson), historical fiction (Sutcliffe/Cornwell), horror (Stephen King) and classics like Dracula, Pride and Prejudice and Heart of Darkness. None of these books made the cut to stay out of the box and with me. Boy, I think I’ve really changed.
Let me take you through the list and why these books had to stay:
The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin: Despite the importance of this book (and it is important), I think the reason why I kept this book out was because it is accessible like no other science writing I’ve come across. I mean 1) It’s science and 2) It was published in 1859. I don’t mean to denigrate myself but these two facts should exclude it from my list of books to enjoy but somehow it doesn’t. I think a lot of writers could benefit from consideration of Darwins method here.
The Demon-Haunted World, Carl Sagan: I defy anyone who has seen Cosmos to read a Sagan book without hearing his voice. I have read numerous quotes about this book being the standard text book for skepticism and that might be a fair description of the book. This book however, is much more than that. A championing of science that is never at the expense of humanity.
The End of Faith, Sam Harris: The End of Faith is a fantasic read. Sam Harris is a lucid and persuasive as any writer I’ve come across. I was raised without religion but I married into it and I worry about the effect it has on my kids. I have consumed a lot of new atheisim and to me, atheism is skepticism, it’s about as skeptical as it gets.
The Case of the Pope, Geoffrey Robertson QC: When I said I married into religion I meant Catholicism. The more I got to know it, the more I am convinced that it is the stupidest of the manistream religions. It’s administration is vile and corrupt and it’s laity are gullible and passive in the face of it’s atrocities. Although only hypothetical, it is good to see the case for Vatican accountability spelled out here. Transcripts at the end of depositions by pederast priests are harrowing, not for their detail but for their indifference.
Holy Bible – King James Version, God et al: Ok, so I lied about having no works of fiction on this list. If you take out the magic, the judgemental shit and the minor adjustments to time and space that were made to fulfil prophecy then some of it might be true and it certainly reflects the world view of certain peoples over the years (this doesn’t really convince me either). I’ll just be honest and admit that I am studying Myth in the Ancient World this semester. Particular emphasis on creation myths. In other words it turns out that only the first 50 pages are any use to me. At least it is the cheapest text book I’ve bought lately!
God is not Great, Christopher Hitchens: An awesome book! Even if you are not an atheist and have no interest in atheism you could do worse than read this book. If nothing else you will get a better grasp of the english language and just how well it can be used. A side note to this is that I recommend the audiobook (read by Hitchens himself) as further demonstration of the skill of Hitch. He speaks just as well as he writes. This book is, in my opinion the start, middle and end of the argument. What a legend.
Philosophy for Beginners, Richard Osborne: I think some would call me on this “book”, it’s more of a comic really. I have considered a little philosophy in my studies and often get quite excited by an idea or theory that gets mentioned. Then I start to read about it all and it gets dense and heavy and starts to look like a pissing contest between smart arseholes. However this light little book with it’s one page summaries of various thinkers and ages continues to encourage me. Maybe next semester…
Raising Freethinkers – A Practical Guide for Parenting Beyond Belief, Dale McGowan et al: So, I don’t often go in for this sort of thing. A practical guide to anything is a thing that looks suspiciously like a self help manual (the cover doesn’t help this impression either). However! I was pleasantly suprised and have got a lot out of this book. As much as I love my kids to death I have to admit that there is a small part of me that sees them as some kind of social engineering experiment (I wouldn’t be giving them my best if I didn’t) and this book has helped my in my approach to my kids as they grow up. Let’s be honest, you can tell another adult that it’s all bollocks and they can fuck off! But this approach doesn’t work as well with kids. If your raising kids and feel your missing a beat with life beyond belief then get this book, it’s worth it.
Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, Oxford Press: I love reference books like this. I have spent so much money on things like the SBS World Book and so on. year after year until I realised you could download very simliar from the CIA for free! Still I got this dictionary when I started university ‘cos it’s very helpful. It is also fun to just open the thing at random and learn something new.
Cruel and Usual Punishment, Nonie Darwish: Interesting book. A few years ago with the Muslim bashing going on unabated I thought I would try to learn a little bit more about Islam and Sharia. I make it a point if I can to start with the skeptical side of things. If I want to learn about something, I don’t start with it’s supporters. In religion especially there is rarely ever any honest appraisal of an ideas limitations from within the camp of supporters. This book is very critical of Sharia and for the outsider it is interesting to have something like a Sharia marriage contract gone through section by section to see exactly what’s going on here. Mostly a book about women and Islam but there are some intersting ideas about the status (and state) of men here too.
A much better book than the Complete Infidels Guide to the Koran which basically turned out to be hate speech. I wanted a critical look at the religion, not a Christian manifesto for holy war.
Seven Theories of Human Nature, Leslie Stevenson: Great book. It’s only short but gives a great distillation of the theories of Plato, Christianity, Karl Marx , Sigmund Freud, Sartre, B F Skinner and Konrad Lorenz. Each section ends with a list of recommended readings for those who want to pursue them. All in all a good place to pique your interest in “stuff”.
The Panic Virus, Seth Mnookin: Just finished reading this book. A thorough look at the anti-vax movement and how it got started. What is interesting about this book is that it takes you beyond the vaccination debate and looks at the reasons why people believe things against overwhelming evidence. It is a very human thing as it turns out.
—————-
So there you have it, my 12 books. There is a little variety here but I have come to the conclusion that I am craving a bit more reason and rationality in my life right now. I wonder what my bookshelf will look like in a year? I’ll write it up for you when I get there.
Answer: Box everything up and shove it under the house.
New problem: What am I going to read?
New answer: Keep out a dozen or so books for when I just have to read something.
After everything was boxed up and put away I looked at the books that I had kept out and was a little suprised. My dozen books contained not a single work of fiction and most of these books were related to skepticism. The longer I looked at this pile of books the more meaningful it became. I’ve been collecting my books for a long time and a lot of treasure went in to those boxes. Books I would never throw away or trade, some of them worn thin as you like with no other reader but me ever touching them. Sci/Fi (Niven/Heinlein), fantasy (Pratchett/Tolkien), thrillers (Hiassen/Patterson), historical fiction (Sutcliffe/Cornwell), horror (Stephen King) and classics like Dracula, Pride and Prejudice and Heart of Darkness. None of these books made the cut to stay out of the box and with me. Boy, I think I’ve really changed.
Let me take you through the list and why these books had to stay:
The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin: Despite the importance of this book (and it is important), I think the reason why I kept this book out was because it is accessible like no other science writing I’ve come across. I mean 1) It’s science and 2) It was published in 1859. I don’t mean to denigrate myself but these two facts should exclude it from my list of books to enjoy but somehow it doesn’t. I think a lot of writers could benefit from consideration of Darwins method here.
The Demon-Haunted World, Carl Sagan: I defy anyone who has seen Cosmos to read a Sagan book without hearing his voice. I have read numerous quotes about this book being the standard text book for skepticism and that might be a fair description of the book. This book however, is much more than that. A championing of science that is never at the expense of humanity.
The End of Faith, Sam Harris: The End of Faith is a fantasic read. Sam Harris is a lucid and persuasive as any writer I’ve come across. I was raised without religion but I married into it and I worry about the effect it has on my kids. I have consumed a lot of new atheisim and to me, atheism is skepticism, it’s about as skeptical as it gets.
The Case of the Pope, Geoffrey Robertson QC: When I said I married into religion I meant Catholicism. The more I got to know it, the more I am convinced that it is the stupidest of the manistream religions. It’s administration is vile and corrupt and it’s laity are gullible and passive in the face of it’s atrocities. Although only hypothetical, it is good to see the case for Vatican accountability spelled out here. Transcripts at the end of depositions by pederast priests are harrowing, not for their detail but for their indifference.
Holy Bible – King James Version, God et al: Ok, so I lied about having no works of fiction on this list. If you take out the magic, the judgemental shit and the minor adjustments to time and space that were made to fulfil prophecy then some of it might be true and it certainly reflects the world view of certain peoples over the years (this doesn’t really convince me either). I’ll just be honest and admit that I am studying Myth in the Ancient World this semester. Particular emphasis on creation myths. In other words it turns out that only the first 50 pages are any use to me. At least it is the cheapest text book I’ve bought lately!
God is not Great, Christopher Hitchens: An awesome book! Even if you are not an atheist and have no interest in atheism you could do worse than read this book. If nothing else you will get a better grasp of the english language and just how well it can be used. A side note to this is that I recommend the audiobook (read by Hitchens himself) as further demonstration of the skill of Hitch. He speaks just as well as he writes. This book is, in my opinion the start, middle and end of the argument. What a legend.
Philosophy for Beginners, Richard Osborne: I think some would call me on this “book”, it’s more of a comic really. I have considered a little philosophy in my studies and often get quite excited by an idea or theory that gets mentioned. Then I start to read about it all and it gets dense and heavy and starts to look like a pissing contest between smart arseholes. However this light little book with it’s one page summaries of various thinkers and ages continues to encourage me. Maybe next semester…
Raising Freethinkers – A Practical Guide for Parenting Beyond Belief, Dale McGowan et al: So, I don’t often go in for this sort of thing. A practical guide to anything is a thing that looks suspiciously like a self help manual (the cover doesn’t help this impression either). However! I was pleasantly suprised and have got a lot out of this book. As much as I love my kids to death I have to admit that there is a small part of me that sees them as some kind of social engineering experiment (I wouldn’t be giving them my best if I didn’t) and this book has helped my in my approach to my kids as they grow up. Let’s be honest, you can tell another adult that it’s all bollocks and they can fuck off! But this approach doesn’t work as well with kids. If your raising kids and feel your missing a beat with life beyond belief then get this book, it’s worth it.
Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, Oxford Press: I love reference books like this. I have spent so much money on things like the SBS World Book and so on. year after year until I realised you could download very simliar from the CIA for free! Still I got this dictionary when I started university ‘cos it’s very helpful. It is also fun to just open the thing at random and learn something new.
Cruel and Usual Punishment, Nonie Darwish: Interesting book. A few years ago with the Muslim bashing going on unabated I thought I would try to learn a little bit more about Islam and Sharia. I make it a point if I can to start with the skeptical side of things. If I want to learn about something, I don’t start with it’s supporters. In religion especially there is rarely ever any honest appraisal of an ideas limitations from within the camp of supporters. This book is very critical of Sharia and for the outsider it is interesting to have something like a Sharia marriage contract gone through section by section to see exactly what’s going on here. Mostly a book about women and Islam but there are some intersting ideas about the status (and state) of men here too.
A much better book than the Complete Infidels Guide to the Koran which basically turned out to be hate speech. I wanted a critical look at the religion, not a Christian manifesto for holy war.
Seven Theories of Human Nature, Leslie Stevenson: Great book. It’s only short but gives a great distillation of the theories of Plato, Christianity, Karl Marx , Sigmund Freud, Sartre, B F Skinner and Konrad Lorenz. Each section ends with a list of recommended readings for those who want to pursue them. All in all a good place to pique your interest in “stuff”.
The Panic Virus, Seth Mnookin: Just finished reading this book. A thorough look at the anti-vax movement and how it got started. What is interesting about this book is that it takes you beyond the vaccination debate and looks at the reasons why people believe things against overwhelming evidence. It is a very human thing as it turns out.
—————-
So there you have it, my 12 books. There is a little variety here but I have come to the conclusion that I am craving a bit more reason and rationality in my life right now. I wonder what my bookshelf will look like in a year? I’ll write it up for you when I get there.
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