Must Read Books?

Off Topic
41

Let’s see, things to read when you are bored:

many good one’s already taken:

to really get at the core of existentialism: Kierkegaard and if that doesn’t do you: Being and Time by Heidegger (sp)

To reiterate: The Republic by Plato

Common Law by Oliver Wendell Holmes

The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham (he taught Warren Buffet)if you want to retire wealthy

and to create some controversy, to understand what Christianity was all about originally:

Orthodos Psychotherapy by Metropolitan of Nafpaktos Hierotheos.

42

I can’t believe that no one has mentioned The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons. I loved these books more than anything I’d ever read. Hate them or love them, you can’t deny that they are damn interesting books. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is good too, although getting through the first 100 pages of book 1 is a bit slow. I’ve also heard a lot of good things about Devil in the White City. I’ll be reading that one next.

43

For the poker players…

The Making of a Poker Player - Matt Matros

He’ll have you so pumped up to play, you’ll forget all about training

Bango

44

[quote]elliot007 wrote:
i might be confused, i thought thdialogues of plato, and the republic were different(it has been about 15 years since i read these)

i thought one was the life of socrates, and that the republic was about plato’s utopian society [i could definitely be wrong about the titles]
[/quote]

Plato wrote dialogues. There are some letters that are attributed to him, as well as some poetry, but AFAIK there are no treatises attributed to Plato.

That said, Plato wrote two large works specifically dealing with city-building, which were The Republic and The Laws. Both are in dialogue form, with Socrates being the primary speaker in the former, and an “Athenian stranger” as the primary speaker in the latter. IIRC, The Laws is the only Platonic dialogue in which Socrates never makes an explicit appearance.

In terms of the life of Socrates, it’s all mixed in beginning with Parmenides and ending with the dialogues that comprise “the Last Days of Socrates,” including the Apologia (in which Socrates gives his defense to the charges levied against him).

So in that sense, The Republic and The Laws contain no real biographical information on Socrates, though still in dialogue form.

Now, Aristotle wrote both treatises and dialogues. We have, unfortunately, lost most of the dialogues; the treatises most commonly read are the Nichomachean Ethics (probably so named because they were written to his son) and The Politics. I recommend the Joe Sachs translation for either of those, btw. Of course, Aristotle had a very large body of work, but it is worth considering that his treatises were not the highest form of his teaching (remember, Plato avoided treatises for a reason… cf Letter VII for a possible reason why). Aristotle had his own school at this point, and his treatises may have been textbooks of sorts.

At any rate, that’s speculation. To return to your original question, we should differentiate The Republic and The Laws. The Republic was a “city in speech,” that is to say, an ideal city constructed under the best conditions. As such, it was unrealizable, and was founded on a “noble lie.” The Laws, on the other hand, are concerned directly with the pragmatic considerations for state-building; some say that in The Laws, Plato perfected the existing laws of Lacedaemonia.

This is all probably more than you wanted to know, but I’m bored at work… so.

45

American Psycho by Ellis

The 120 Days of Sodom by de Sade

Gruesome but most enlightning books.

46

[quote]caladin wrote:
The 120 Days of Sodom by de Sade
[/quote]

On that, there has been a recent release of a translation of Sade’s complete works, available on amazon for a reasonable price.

47

Poul Anderson’s “The Longest Voyage” is a great short story.

The Caine Mutiny
So Big

Someone mentioned Don Quixote. That is a good book, but it tough to get through. When you see allusions to it in other work, it’s always about tilting at windmills. That happens in like the first hundred pages. My theory is, no one ever gets to the next 850 pages.

48

Holy Bible - as i get older it becomes more and more important to me, when i first began reading it i was surprised at how many relevant points are made that can be applied to your life even if you do not consider yourself a Christian per se.

Also for pure enjoyment i love:

The stand - King
Dark Tower Series - King
Atlas Shrugged - Rand , i like it from an engineer’s perpective, common sense battling establishment

I read primarily for enjoyment so i don’t have an awe-inspiring list to share but i am always reading something.

49

[quote]larryb wrote:

Someone mentioned Don Quixote. That is a good book, but it tough to get through. When you see allusions to it in other work, it’s always about tilting at windmills. That happens in like the first hundred pages. My theory is, no one ever gets to the next 850 pages.
[/quote]

yeah that was pretty much all that i had heard of the specifics of the novel so when it happened early it got it out of the way - i’m about 200 pages in now and the strike’s got no end in sight.

infinite jest is the same way: its 900 odd pages with 200 pages of footnotes - i’ve loaned my copy and recommended it to about 30 people - one has gotten through it: most people quit around 150 pages.

and seconded on the dark tower series. except for the last 3.

50

[quote]andrew1 wrote:
1984
Animal Farm
One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest
A Clockwork Orange
A Brave New World
Fahrenheit 451
The Prince and The Discourses
The Republic
We
The Communist Manifesto
In Cold Blood
Hamlet
The Canterbury Tales
The Catcher in the Rye

[/quote]

I saw that survey online not too long ago. One other book you didn’t mention and no one else has is…

The Bible

I know its a touchy subject. But to be honest, much of the tradition we have today is based of Judaism of the past. The standard 7 day week is based of the Jewish 7 day week reflecting the creation of the world. Why do you think there’s supposed to be rest on Sunday? Marriage traditions and many others are based on the Bible. And despite those, much of it is very poetic. Song of Solomon, Job, Psalms and other books are marked highly for their artistry. Historical speaking, though debated, is often a very solid representation of the time past.

51

Rich Dad Poor Dad

Robert Kiyosaki

52

Anything by Vonnegut (“Cat’s Cradle”, “Slaughter House 5”) or Pynchon (“V.”, “Gravity’s Rainbow”). Pratchett’s “Discworld” series is hilarious. On the science tip, “The Elegant Universe” by Brian Greene is a terribly interesting and accessible intro to quantum physics and string theory. And there’s always the classic “Around the World in Eighty Days”, which I read and enjoyed for the first time recently.

53

[quote]haney wrote:
Rich Dad Poor Dad

Robert Kiyosaki[/quote]

I’m sorry, but I have to disagree with this one. It is filled with mistruths. For financial advice it is horrible, but I guess if you read it for motivational purposes, then it may be good.

54

There was someone here that posted a link to a webpage that essentially tore that book apart, which I found very interesting. Was it you? Could you post it again?

Nevertheless, it’s still an interesting book.

[quote]malonetd wrote:
haney wrote:
Rich Dad Poor Dad

Robert Kiyosaki

I’m sorry, but I have to disagree with this one. It is filled with mistruths. For financial advice it is horrible, but I guess if you read it for motivational purposes, then it may be good.[/quote]

55

The ultimate in black and subtle humor.

[quote]caladin wrote:
American Psycho by Ellis
[/quote]

56

Yup, good advice.

[quote]marathe wrote:

and seconded on the dark tower series. except for the last 3.
[/quote]

57

I can’t believe more people haven’t finished Don Quixote. Short-attention spans are one thing, but it’s hilarity throughout. My mom has the worst sense of humor ever, and even she finished. Though I think she was more intrigued by the sub-stories, which were mostly romance, which was the reason I’d recommended it to her in place of the trashy novels she usually indulges in.

It was amazing to me how many things have not changed a bit, not since Cervantes’s times. There’s a point in the book where Don Quixote reviles pandering to the masses with dumbed-down entertainment. The media moguls of his time say the same thing as now “It’s what the idiots want”, and Don Quixote says as I “But that’s all you give them!”

Though if you just want the meat of the story, the over-arching moral, watch “Man of La Mancha” with Peter O’Toole and Sophia Loren. That famous soliloquy “life as it is!?” moves me to tears every time.

58

Essentials of Strength Training And Conditioning-Tom Baechle

Designing Resistance Training Programs - Kraemer and Fleck
How to write strength training programs - Ian King
Eat move and be healthy-Paul Chek
Programming and organisation of training - Verkoshanksy
So you want to become a strength and conditioning coach - Ian King
Functional Training-Juan Carlos Santana

Supertraining - Mel Siff
System of Multi Year Training in Weightlifting - Medveyev
Shapeshift-(multiple authors)
Managing the training of weightlifters - authors name is in russian
Secrets of Martial Arts Conditioning- AC (this is essentially my guide to sports training)
Afterburn-AC (All our fat loss programs utilize this model)
Science and Practice of Strength Training - Zatsiorsky
Theory and Methodology of Training - Tudor Bompa
Periodization of Strength - Bompa
Science of Sports Training - Tom Kurz
Fundamentals of Special strength training in sport - Verkoshansky
Professional Fitness Coaching-Program Design-Alwyn Cosgrove
Designing Training Programs and Facilities-Mike Boyle
The Essence of Program Design-JC Santana

the way of the physical preparation coach - Ian King
Muscle Testing and Function by Kendal
Core Performance-Mark Verstegen
Athletic Body in Balance - Gray Cook

The list provided to me by Alwyn Cosgrove along with a few extras thrown in. I intend on reading them all. :]

59

My English teacher would always talk about how understanding the Bible is a must to understand many allusions that are in various works by Shakespeare etc. She always recommended reading The King James version. Religion aside (I am an athesist) the Bible is definatley a must read, even though I havent got around to it yet.

Someone else mentioned Angels&Demons and The Da Vinci Code I have read both and found them very intresting and are definately page turners in the era of time when many people never pick up a book. Any book that has controversy surrounding it, or has been on “banned” lists is worth checking out.

60

[quote]andrew1 wrote:
My English teacher would always talk about how understanding the Bible is a must to understand many allusions that are in various works by Shakespeare etc. She always recommended reading The King James version. Religion aside (I am an athesist) the Bible is definatley a must read, even though I havent got around to it yet.
[/quote]

Ah, a fellow atheist recommends the Bible, eh?

On an entirely unrelated note, I’d recommend that you read Principles of Quantum Mechanics. Now, I haven’t actually read the book personally, but I still think it’s a must read.