What I’m Reading
The Wise Man’s Fear (Kingkiller Chronicles, Day 2)
by Patrick Rothfuss: I loved Day 1, In the Name of the Wind, which was a brilliant telling of a familiar tale. I have been looking forward to Day 2 for awhile (although reading Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files and rereading George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire have kept me distracted since Day 2 came out earlier this year).
My Favorite Books/Series
Social Science
The Death and Life of Great American Cities
by Jane Jacobs: On one level it’s a guide to urban planning; on another level it’s a description of how our environment affects the lives we lead.
Nudge
by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein: A look at how to improve the world simply be changing how options are presented.
Committing to Peace: The Successful Settlement of Civil Wars
by Barbara Walter: A simple yet great piece of political science, that has important lessons for ending civil wars and ethnic violence. She argues that civil war peace agreements must have a third-party to monitor and/or enforce them if the agreement is to be lasting.
With God On Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America
by William Martin: A description of the rise to power of the Religious Right movement; vivid and important.
A Theory of Justice
by John Rawls: His Veil of Ignorance crystallized my thinking about the welfare state, and gave an intellectual heft to my pre-existing beliefs about the importance of caring “for the least of these my brothers”.
History
The Army of the Potomac
(Trilogy) by Bruce Catton: A Civil War history that tells the story of the Union army tasked with protecting Washington, DC, and conquering the Confederate capital, Richmond, VA. Catton writes incredibly engaging prose; it’s well-researched history, but he draws the reader in as well as any piece of fiction.
The Years of Lyndon Johnson
(Four-Part Series) by Robert Caro: These books aren’t just about LBJ. They are about Texas, specifically Texas hill country. They are about the Senate. They are about the Civil Rights movement. They are about the Great Depression and the New Deal. In other words, they tell the story of America, and how America came to be the country we live in. This will ultimately be a four volume set, although only three have been published so far.
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families
by Peter Gourevitch: The story of the Rwanda genocide, as written by a reporter who was there shortly after the events. Powerful and disturbing.
May the Lord in His Mercy Be Kind to Belfast
by Tony Parker: It’s a tragedy that this book is out of print. This is a series of interviews with people who lived in Belfast during the height of the conflict in Northern Ireland, but the basic lessons here (about what drives people to kill their neighbors) could be applied to any civil war.
The Forgotten Soldier
by Guy Sajer: An autobiography of a man drafted into Hitler’s armies and sent to fight in Russia.
Fantasy/Science Fiction
Ender’s Game
by Orson Scott Card: A simple tale of a boy and his battle school. Blew me away when I first read it, although the many sequels range from “okay” to “pretty good”.
The Liveship Traders
(Trilogy) by Robin Hobb: Hobb writes amazing characters, and this series in particular has some of strongest and most well-developed female leads you’ll ever read in any book, in any genre. Hobb is my favorite author, and this is her best.
The Lord of the Rings
(Trilogy) by J.R.R. Tolkien: Not to put too fine a point on it, this series is why I read books for pleasure. I’ve read it at least a dozen times, and it always takes me back to when I was a kid and first encountered Frodo, Sam, Aragorn, and Gandalf.
The Fionavar Tapestry
(Trilogy) by Guy Gavriel Kay: Kay blends Tolkien with Arthurian fantasy, and the result is a place where common men and women are capable of extraordinary acts of heroism and self-sacrifice.
The Way of Kings
by Brandon Sanderson: This promises to be the first book in a series called The Stormlight Archive. I have yet to read anything by Sanderson that wasn’t exceptionally good, and The Way of Kings is his best book yet.
Literature
Animal Farm
by George Orwell: Political satire at it’s best.
Crime and Punishment
by Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Just an incredible look at the dangers of believing that your own intellect can create a viable morality independent of either the law or religion.
Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley: The older I get, the more layers I see to this story of a man and his creation. Despite what Hollywood might make you believe, this is not really a horror novel; the book is suspenseful, certainly, but not really scary or gruesome.
The Waste Land
by TS Eliot: Powerful and depressing, but in a good way.
To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee: A moving story of a little girl and a harsh look at the pre-Civil Rights South, all in one package.