[Devious21]

Originally Posted by NemesisX

Also, these aren't books but they're interesting nonetheless -

http://theoreticalminimum.com/courses

The "theoretical minimum" is a set of six courses on physics (classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, special relativity, general relativity, cosmology, and statistical mechanics) that are intended for a general audience. The only requirement is that you know basic high school calculus. The courses build, so one should watch them in the order presented (from top to bottom, classical mechanics to statistical mechanics).

A lot of my non-science friends have found these videos to be incredibly illuminating. Some of them even said that they wished that they had studied physics in college after watching them.

I just think that as a living being on this earth one should know something about quantum mechanics or special and general relativity, and these videos more than fulfill that need.

They're not full length courses that would be taught to an undergraduate physics majors. These courses are specially tailor-made for a general but technically and scientifically-savvy audience.

Thanks for these. Look great. Going to watch them soon.

[bosstones]

On the Beach by Neville Shute is one of my favorites as is The Guns of Navorone by Alistair MacLean. Classics, too.
The Big Short - Michael Lewis
Sleeping With the Devil - Robert Baer
For Cosmology stuff, if it interests you, Michio Kaku is pretty easy to understand.

[F1Venom]

Read Cell by Stephen King. I think I've read it half a dozen times.

[Nkc]

so i'm half way thru The Book Thief and I'm thinking about reading Mein Kampf by Hitler translated in english of course. Anyone read it?

[acdHQK713K]

- The art of racing in the rain by Garth Stein

- The boys in the boat by Daniel James Brown

[catherineanh]

Roots
Glass Castle
Catch 22
Forgotten Fire
Anything by Chuck Palahniuk
The Art of War
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
The Breadwinner

[Hawkeye]

The Dark Tower Series. One of my favorites.

[TrevorM3]

i think also we should provide a quick synopsis on what the book is about in a sentence or two. some of the titles sound great, but can be misleading.

[Myrder]

Ender's Game, Speaker of the Dead, Ender's Shadow.

Micro by Richard Preston and Michael Crichton
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro_(novel)

Just to add to Crichton's work, Jurassic Park is an amazing read.

[Nkc]

Here's an update.

Since my last post I've read the following:

1) The Book Thief - Markus Zusak (recommend)
2) The Hunger Games Trilogy (easy read, recommend, just disappointed with the last one)
3) The Zombie Survival Guide - Max Brooks (don't recommend, F'in stupid)
4) 12 Years a Slave - Solomon Northup (Highly recommend)
5) The Wolf of Wall Street - Jordan Belfort (Highly recommend, my #1 favorite so far, I had to finish it in 1 sitting)

On Stock as recommended by fellow members here and stuff I picked up:

1) Think and Grow Rich
2) Fooled by Randomness
currently reading both at the same time. Totally different extremes.
3) Life of Pi
4) The Catcher in the Rye
5) The Art of Making Money
6) Angels and Demons
7) Entire GOT series (saved for long flights)
8) Cell
9) Ender's Game Set: Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind.
10) Steve Jobs
11) Solve Your Child's Sleep Problem
12) MAO the Real Story
13) Limitless

I WANT MOARRRRRRRRRR!!! GIVE ME MOARRRRR!!!

[Joekerr]

I'm telling you...Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I really think you might enjoy it. Give it time though, starts a little slow, don't judge it by the first few chapters. I think by the time you get 15-20% into the book you'll be hooked...maybe sooner, I was.

[Nkc]

Originally Posted by Joekerr

I'm telling you...Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I really think you might enjoy it. Give it time though, starts a little slow, don't judge it by the first few chapters. I think by the time you get 15-20% into the book you'll be hooked...maybe sooner, I was.

Definitely will get it. Just that sometimes my bookstores or online stores don't stock the books you guys recommend here. I shall dig deeper to find this one. Thanks again.

[johanness]

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

Kite Runner. Get the audio book if you have the time. it's narrated by the author which gives the book a ton of depth.

A good read.

- A Fine Balance
- Fall on your Knees

Also good books

[PSUSMU]

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
It's humorous, informative of US history, and a treat for us outdoorsy folks (a dying breed IMO).

Last few books I finished was The Hunger Games trilogy. If you're a fan of the movies/series, it's a fun, easy read.

[Nkc]

Originally Posted by Myrder

Ender's Game, Speaker of the Dead, Ender's Shadow.

Thanks for this recommendation. Just finished the Ender's Quartet which includes: Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind. IMO, much better than the whole Hunger Games trilogy.

[Never Convicted]

John Irving "A Prayer For Owen Meany"
Pat Conroy "The Prince of Tides"
Dave Eggers "A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius"

[x6Hawkeye]

Lots of great reads listed, I recently read "Atlas Shrugged". If you've not read - an absolute must! It's fiction, which I try to avoid, but parallels reality eerily realistically.

"A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson is also on the list of must reads. Great non-fiction.

[Myrder]

Originally Posted by Nkc

Thanks for this recommendation. Just finished the Ender's Quartet which includes: Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind. IMO, much better than the whole Hunger Games trilogy.

Maybe give All You Need is Kill a try. It's a quick 150 page read, I enjoyed it.

[I'm back]

Anything by Carl Sagan

[128Convertibleguy]

How about something a bit more than simple entertainment?

"12 Steps to a Compassionate Life" by Karen Armstrong.

How to fix the world. 121 reviews on Amazon, 4-1/2 of 5 stars.

"Just Six Numbers" by Martin Rees

Why the fact that you're here resembles hitting the top prize in Powerball. Ten times in a row. 63 reviews on Amazon, 4-1/2 of 5 stars.

OK, some entertainment.

"How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming" by Mike Brown

106 reviews on Amazon, 4-1/2 of 5 stars.

All of the authors are very distinguished scholars. Karen Armstrong won a $100,000 TED prize. The book is part of what she did with it. Martin Rees is, among many other things, Astronomer Royal in Great Britain. If any one person could be held responsible for killing Pluto, it's Mike Brown. None of these books requires any special knowledge to appreciate.

[Nkc]

Since there's been so many great recommendations, I'll consolidate the list into the first post. Thanks again everyone.

[MerchantSailor03]

Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield