Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Matt recommends
I'm asking a lot of friends and professors for recommendations for a summer reading list. Here is my reciprocal list of recommendations, the books I have either read recently or that still stay with me even though I read them long ago:
Stefan Fatsis, "Word Freak" (fascinating nonfiction about the world of competitive Scrabble)
Caroline Alexander, "The Endurance" (best work I've found about the Shackleton Antarctic expedition. Better-than-any-movie true survival story.)
William Goldman, "The Princess Bride" (better than the great movie based on it)
Edmund Morris, "Theodore Rex" (pretty good bio of Teddy Roosevelt's presidency. Slow at times, but informative about the political times 100 years ago)
Sebastian Junger, "The Perfect Storm" (not so much like the movie--it's 100% nonfiction. Nothing is speculated or made up, so it has a lot of true info on Massachusetts commercial fishing industry, weather, etc. Great ending.)
John Grisham, "The Client" (my first legal thriller, very entertaining fluff.)
Robert Jarvis, ed., "Amicus Humoriae" (anthology of actual law review articles that range from trite to tear-jerkingly hilarious)
David Quammen, "The Boilerplate Rhino" (collection of essays about the intriguing details of science and nature. Far more entertaining than it sounds.)
Jane Austen, "Pride and Prejudice," (I'm a guy, and I liked it.)
Douglas Adams, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series. (5 books. I read them in high school, then recently re-read them, and they're still the best thing in sci-fi comedy.)
Norman MacLean, "A River Runs Through It" (read it in conjunction with the movie--together they create a lot of ponderous themes about love and helping others)
Miguel Cervantes, "Don Quixote" (for a 400-year old book, it's amazing that the characters and humor are so fresh!)
Finally, I'm nearing the end of Ray Bradbury, "Something Wicked This Way Comes" (like a hallucinogenic drug trip, packed with vivid imagery, sometimes to the point of losing track of the plot, about two boys fending off an evil carnival)
Stefan Fatsis, "Word Freak" (fascinating nonfiction about the world of competitive Scrabble)
Caroline Alexander, "The Endurance" (best work I've found about the Shackleton Antarctic expedition. Better-than-any-movie true survival story.)
William Goldman, "The Princess Bride" (better than the great movie based on it)
Edmund Morris, "Theodore Rex" (pretty good bio of Teddy Roosevelt's presidency. Slow at times, but informative about the political times 100 years ago)
Sebastian Junger, "The Perfect Storm" (not so much like the movie--it's 100% nonfiction. Nothing is speculated or made up, so it has a lot of true info on Massachusetts commercial fishing industry, weather, etc. Great ending.)
John Grisham, "The Client" (my first legal thriller, very entertaining fluff.)
Robert Jarvis, ed., "Amicus Humoriae" (anthology of actual law review articles that range from trite to tear-jerkingly hilarious)
David Quammen, "The Boilerplate Rhino" (collection of essays about the intriguing details of science and nature. Far more entertaining than it sounds.)
Jane Austen, "Pride and Prejudice," (I'm a guy, and I liked it.)
Douglas Adams, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series. (5 books. I read them in high school, then recently re-read them, and they're still the best thing in sci-fi comedy.)
Norman MacLean, "A River Runs Through It" (read it in conjunction with the movie--together they create a lot of ponderous themes about love and helping others)
Miguel Cervantes, "Don Quixote" (for a 400-year old book, it's amazing that the characters and humor are so fresh!)
Finally, I'm nearing the end of Ray Bradbury, "Something Wicked This Way Comes" (like a hallucinogenic drug trip, packed with vivid imagery, sometimes to the point of losing track of the plot, about two boys fending off an evil carnival)
Comments: Post a Comment
