What five books do you wish everyone had read/you most love to talk about? And WHY???

Ouspensky?

Tell me more?

Only haven't read that and the Churchill one.


Don't worry about revealing anything......I'm more interested in the books!

Ouspensky was a follower and interpreter of Gurdjieff, the Armenian mystic and esotericist. The book is considered to be the clearest exposition of G's ideas."The Work" (on self) attracted many 20th century intellectuals to Gurdjieff's door including Katherine Mansfield and Frank Loyd-Wright. Modern accolytes are said to include singer Kate Bush. Ouspensky broke with Gurdjieff and his own teaching was instrumental in the foundation of the current global organization known under various names, but most usually "The School of Practical Philosophy". (You can Google the Australian branches).

http://www.gurdjieff.org/needleman1.htm

Love that you pointed out Steinbeck's and Ricketts adventurers in science on the Sea of Cortex. Did you know that the actual birthday party depicted in Cannery Row was that of the famous mythologist, Joseph Campbell's, who was bumming around America in the early '30s?

I would add to Darwin's work Newton's Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, and Feynman's Lectures on Physics, I had the luxury of reading both on independent study as a senior in college. .....with a lot of help from my physics teacher, who btw was taught by Feynman at Cal Tech in the 60's. Both texts reveal the principles of the natural world.

I woud also like folks to read Carl Jung's Man and His Symbols so they could understand humanity better.

FEYNMAN-YESSS!!. waht an enjoyable intellect.

No I didnt , but I was always caught up in the life styles and the "to the bone" lives these guys led. We used to have a Doc Ricketts /Rex Stout fan club (no relationship tween those two, just the reason to have a party among dweebs)

ARE YOU SAYING YOU'VE NEVER READ DAVID SEDARIS?

Must must must.

(Sorry for the hyperventilating, especially if you've read other David Sedaris but just haven't gotten 'round to "Naked" yet.)

(Still thinking on my list.)

Another "yes" on Feynman. I enjoyed "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman" a lot, too.

OK so anyway, you know the usual Indian author litany (Seth, Rushdie, Lahiri, etc. -- good Rushdie short story in the NYer this week, first really good writing I've seen from him in a while so that was nice, though it showed some Lahiri-jealousy I think! Cribbed a bit from her. But I digress) SO I'll try to skip those.

I do love David Sedaris. Might choose "Me Talk Pretty One Day," not sure. He's a good, economical writer with a great voice, and is reliably hilarious.

"A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" might only work for people within five years or so of Eggers' age. Plus need to be Americans I think. That's one that comes to mind re: the "most love to talk about" part of your question, though.

"Stumbling on Happiness" is another of the talk-abouts -- you've read that though? Love the science of it, the experiments described, all of that.

"The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" (Junot Diaz) is a recent book I've read that I found to be flawed but seems to have stuck in my mind -- some really scrumptious characters.

I want to include one of the classics I enjoyed as an English major -- you know 'em all anyway though, presumably, so there wouldn't be a recommendation cast to it and I can't decide.

Some interesting stuff. I'll respond after work.

I included two texts because the Geology of the Appalachians has , along with the SCottish Highlands and the Alps, always been one of the definitive laboratories to understand how earth structures actually occur. The Studies of Appalachian Geology(vol I and II) are two of the most clearly written and interconnected works of any subject . Its written for workers in the field but is highly accessible (with a little help from a geology glossary) to just about anyone with a deep interest in nature and the earth.
The books were written in 1970 and 1971 and havent been surpassed since , even with newest knowledge of continental drift mecghanisms (The authors of the invited papers all had an initial knowledge of the then "New Global Tectonics" and speculated the "how its made" by themselves. They were pretty much spot on.


Whether you read it or not, its on my alltime fav list. I suppose that I wouldnt care to read tech journals in your field either. Studying rocks has always isolated me from people to an extent with which I always felt comfortable

I don't know about five books, I'll have to give that more thought but one did immdiately spring to mind, The Perennial Philosophy by Aldous Huxley. I remember being blown away by this book. It's an anthology regarding the philosophical insights that re-occur throughout history independent of culture etc with regards to reality and consciousness. It was also my first introduction to the christian theologian, Mesiter Eckhart, who was a real source for reconnection with the monotheism of the abrahamic faiths due to his interpretations of how god and man relate.

BTW, David Sedaris does an great impersonation of Billie Holiday.

here's my list of the 5 graphic novels everybody should read

I don't THINK I have ever read David Sedaris.


...checks self for wholeness......i seem to be ok despite this......off to check sedaris on amazon/barnes and.....

No way i could do this . . . i done read me too many books . . .

**** or get off the pot.

I so don't do graphic novels....but you interest me strangely grasshopper....

David Sedaris and his sister are guests on several PBS shows . They are great humorists with a "early Woody Allen mixed with James Thurber " bent. They always celebrate personal incredulity and incompetence . One of my favorite short stories was Sedaris tale of being hired to play an "elf" in a Santa diplay for Wanamakers or some dept store like that.
Sedaris often incorporates his gayness into his stories and he does it in a way that straight [people are engaged and not kept out. Hes a really good writer of the sad and funny human condition.

Hi Deb
I can produce the titles of 5 much-loved books, no sweat. It's the rest I can't manage all that well at the moment. (This cold has turned my brain to sludge & I'm having trouble stringing words together.) So I will return later, when my mind is razor sharp!

In the meantime I'll read what everyone else has to say ...

Heaven!!!!!