It is argued by people who are so inclined that spare time can only be called spare when it is used for something more trivial than it wasn’t intended for initially. Reading is never a trivial matter so reading can never be done in spare time and has to be done at a time that is better than spare.
I don’t know how much time I can spare in 2008 but the books in the picture above are ten of the books I intend to spare time for. Only nine books are in the picture and are shown in no particular order of merit, beauty or ISBN number.
Rescuing Sprite: A Dog Lover’s Story of Joy and Anguish by Mark R. Levin
Descartes’s Secret Notebook: A True Tale of Mathematics, Mysticism, and the Quest to Understand the Universe by Amir D. Aczel
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, Book 1) by Stephen King
Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond
E=mc2: A Biography of the World’s Most Famous Equation by David Bodanis
The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary Edition–with a new Introduction by the Author by Richard Dawkins
(10)
8 responses so far ↓
Cliff Burns // January 5, 2008 at 10:51 am |
Interesting stack of books…and then there’s Stephen King. I suppose your mind needs a rest after dealing with heavy hitters like Dawkins and Diamond but can I give you another suggestion (rather than King): how about Jonathan Carroll’s LAND OF LAUGHS? Creepy, brilliant…and after you read it, you’ll be hooked on Carroll for life. King is finished and was finished years ago–he’s a fiction factory, NOT an author and it’s time he went on the rubbish heap…
Matt // January 5, 2008 at 11:37 am |
What, no link for Everything Bad is Good for You?
I suppose book no. 10 is one of those embarrassing books that you can’t tell people about. I’m gonna guess it’s Janet Evanovich’s One for the Money; a great mindless read.
aka_lol // January 5, 2008 at 11:54 am |
Matt, it was hopefully an understandable omission since I was hurry to end the tedious linking process – it is corrected now. I love a mindless read and that is why I read my blog over and over, but I will definitely try One for the Money.
Cliff, Stephen King’s Duma Point is coming out in a week or two but he hasn’t been able to produce a real bestseller for years. Probably since the accident. We will see what Duma Point does. The Gunslinger is one I bought years ago but never managed to get beyond a few pages every time I try. The Dark Tower series has managed to produce a cult following and I am curious what all the fuss is about. I will take your advice on Jonathan Carroll’s Land of Laughs and you have me very curious about the book and the author.
Liane Spicer // January 7, 2008 at 11:20 pm |
I suppose the fact that I zeroed in on Everything Bad is Good For You says a lot about me. I’d probably read Guns, Germs and Steel, too. Machiavelli is one of those authors I always intend to read but never get around to.
…And I run screaming from anything with the words ‘mathematics’ and ‘equation’. Sorry.
I plan to read my second King this year, but I haven’t decided which one yet.
Let us know how these go.
aka_lol // January 8, 2008 at 7:58 am |
The equation book is very qualitative and written for people who just want to know what events led to the most popular equation since 1+1=2. Everything Bad is Good For You is a title with mass appeal similar to Lose 50 Pounds in 5 Minutes, or The Cheese Cake Diet. I will start Guns, Germs and Steel tonight since it is the one I am most curious about. It won a Pulitzer Prize I think.
krissnp // January 13, 2008 at 10:33 am |
behind the wall, Gureillas, the writer and the people, life and times of michael k, stories of Guy de maupassant, the continent of circe, and may be a one or two of others remain unfinished. I hope to remain stuck up in between them and a few more I will come across.
Feisty Berg // October 18, 2008 at 6:47 pm |
I love books. Good books are kind of like happiness or grief – neither comes when called or can be sought after- they steal up and descend on one unexpectedly. That is why I would not set out with a list of 10 I plan to read in 2008. I have already read a dozen or so I had never thought of reading, stumbled upon several re-readers in the process. Books (sigh) now maybe that is what happened to all my spare time…..salivating in Barnes Noble, reading 3 or 4 chapters when I only meant to read the blurb on the back cover……
aka_lol // October 26, 2008 at 7:33 am |
You are right, ten, and a firm ten is too restrictive. I never intended to only read ten books but I wanted to make sure the ten I listed were included in the books I will real in 2008.