Words are powerful little things. When used wisely they can spark discussion and change, even revolution. Here’s a list of books that when read carefully and considered honestly can change your life. why 7? Because it’s not 10 so I’m not ripping off a late night host and every other damn person on the internets… Yup, I’m completely original! In no specific order, here we go!
7. Getting Things Done by David Allen – If you have heard of the man he’s sort of a guru for tech heads and the IT crowd. Allen’s done a lot of things in his life but know he works on productivity. “Peace of Mind is an empty in-box” . GTD is new age spiritualism without the new age and spiritualism. Every thing in your life can be reduced to a list of tasks, tasks can either be done now or organized to do later. Everything that needs to get done goes in the in-box, process your life until the in-box is empty, viola! Check out the spread in the November issue of Wired or read it here. Also check out 43folders.com to see how others are implementing GTD in their lives.
6. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson – This book originally published in 1962 largely birthed the modern environmentalist movement. Carson was the first to write extensively about the damage humans were causing to the environment. Carson’s message is still needed today in a world rapidly being stripped of it’s resources and beauty to satisfy our needs. If you want a more current treatment of the environmental crisis try Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth or Newt Gingrich’s A Contract with the Earth. Yup, this is a bi-partisan issue and one that must be addressed soon!
5. Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud – Comics can be about more than just pseudo-homo-erotic relationships between spandex clad Men and boys. Scott McCloud uses the genre’s style to explain the who, what, when, where, and whys of comics. An insightful look at just how comics have contributed to storytelling in our culture. After being converted you’ll want to see some of the good stuff, try Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series or Bill Willingham’s Fables
4. The Bible by Dead guys – Have you read it? It’s supposed to be the best selling book of all time. Millions believe it was dictated by God, and contains every answer to every question you might have. So… have you read it? If you believe that it is the word of God, and haven’t read it, why not? Seems like it ‘dbe a priority… Maybe because it’s filled with mostly drivel and the ridiculous? I urge everyone to sit down and read it cover to cover, and then ask yourself could any “divine” being come up with the stuff that is in it? If your God suffers from OCD and is a murderous, misogynistic prick then… yeah, maybe he wrote this one… There are plenty of religious texts to satisfy your curiosity
3. The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin -Written nearly 150 years ago, this book still has the power to drive people batty. Note that these people are not scientists, Among scientists there is no debate over whether evolution happens, nor is there any debate if it is done through natural selection and common descent either, they’ve moved on to much more exciting and esoteric topics since then. No, Darwin’s seminal text gets fundamentalists upset. People who like to believe that the Earth is only about 6000 years old… I’m not going to give their tired arguments any play here. Read the book it’s amazing, and the theory is still spot on, though Darwin didn’t know how… For further reading check out the 29+ Evidences for Macroevolution, any essay by Stephen Jay Gould, the Ancestor’s Tale by Richard Dawkins, or anything by E.O. Wilson.
2. The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker – Pinker is a experimental psychologist and a vocal advocate for evolutionary psychology, which tries to explain functional traits of the human brain like memory and language as products of natural selection, this is his most famous book. In it he takes the nature vs. nurture debate head on, coming down hard on the side of nature winning out. Environment plays some role in who we are but Pinker shows that the science (mostly twin studies and models) that our genetic make-up plays a much more powerful role in who we become/are. The book is often seen as an attack on free-will which is why it has become so controversial. He discusses somewhat the ethical dilemmas such a beliefs brings up, like is it just to punish someone for being violent when their genes have programmed them such, would eugenics be a good idea, is it right to screen children and people to see if they have unsocial genes, etc… A delicate subject and a honest discussion of what it means to all of us and society if we are much more programmed than we like to think.
1. The Amazing adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon – If you’ve gotten bored of fiction and don’t like reading sci-fi or fantasy. This book is for you. Chabon’s work straddles the fine line between literature and fantasy. His books all contain an element of the fantastical while remaining firmly rooted in our reality. Chabon won a Pulitzer for this book, if you like it and want more of the same he has other books out or you can try some of Neil Gaiman’s books, though they are more fantastical, or something by Chris Moore.