Books
books I’ve read and enjoyed:
fiction
- Almost anything by Ray Bradbury
- I first read The Martian Chronicles which really hooked me
on his style. I also particularly enjoyed Dandelion Wine which
is an unusual collection of his stories, having very little speculative
or science fiction. Of course, The Illustrated Man is a
classic. And one can’t forget Something Wicked This Way Comes
though I think that’s probably for someone who already knows they like
his style.
- Almost anything by P. G. Wodehouse (one of the greatest comedy
writers of all time.)
- It’s hard to describe Wodehouse in just a few words really. He’s
influenced so much of British comedy, and continues to influence it,
even today. But if you like wordplay and witticisms then this is
definitely the ticket. I really enjoy the Jeeves and Wooster books, as
well as those featuring Rupert Psmith (the p is silent, as in “pshrimp”
- he added it himself, to distinguish himself from other Smiths.)
- The Discworld Series, by Terry Pratchett
- Some classic, fairly zany fiction set in Pratchett’s ludicrous
Discworld universe. Wodehouse was a big influence on Pratchett, and
there are tons of Discworld novels, each one digestible in about 2 days
of serious reading. Great for roadtrips or vacations, since almost all
of them are good - you can just pick a few and go.
- Earth Abides by George R. Stewart
- A truly great post-apocalypse novel from the 1940s. Takes a very
“big-picture” look at life after an apocalypse (in this case, a pandemic
- something that in the summer of 2020 feels too close to home…)
Ultimately the tale spans the entire lifetime of the protagonist, but
the last half of the book is a series of vignettes really as the
collapse of society continues to speed up. Really great, I’ve reread it
a number of times.
- Swallows and Amazons, by Arthur Ransome
- This one is actually a children’s book, but it was influential on me
as a kid, so whatever :) A short and simple story about some children
sailing on a lake in England, in the early 20th century. Has a little
bit of “The Wind in the Willows” and also “The Lion, The Witch, and the
Wardrobe”.
- Anathem by Neal Stephenson
- this one is actually secretly a discrete math textbook, disguised as
a novel. I think I started it once when I was a teenager, gave up, and
only enjoyed it after I came back with a higher level math
background.
- The Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. Le Guin
- Hopefully you need no introduction to Ursula. These books are where
I first encountered her writing and it really affected me quite a lot as
a kid, and they remain some of the best fantasy I have ever read.
- The Wind’s Twelve Quarters, by Ursula K. Le Guin
- Some short stories of Le Guin, some of which later went on to become
full novels. A great place to see some of the incredible breadth of
which she was capable.
- Swords and Deviltry, by Fritz Lieber
- Some classic sword-and-sworcery, this book contains the origin
stories of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, Lieber’s most famous characters.
They’re a pair of morally dubious heroes, who wander around the famously
sinful city of Lankhmar, taking jobs from dubious divinities and losing
all their money gambling. Truthfully any of their stories are good, but
these are the origin stories, and what I first read.
non- fiction
- Art and Fear, by David Bayles and Ted Orland
- This book is amazing, but only if you’re in the middle of some of
your own artistic struggles. When I was first assigned readings in high
school arts class, I wasn’t invested enough. But now, 10 years later
with a bit of experience under my belt, the lessons in this slim book
have revolutionized how I’m looking at my art practice.
- The Anarchist’s Design Book, by Christopher Schwarz
- Truthfully almost all the books this guy writes are great. Mostly
about woodworking, and it has the plans for a good number of projects.
Also some philosophy thrown in, as you might be able to tell from the
name.
- Adventures of a Red Sea Smuggler, by Henri de Monfreid
- I’ve been meaning to brush up my French so that I can read some of
the works by Monfreid that have never been translated. But it’s
basically the most swashbuckling stories by a French arms and drug
runner in the Mediterranean in the early 1900s. Just amazingly fun to
read.
- Sailing Alone Around The World, by Joshua Slocum
- The title is quite descriptive, but there are important details.
Joshua Slocum was, as far as we know, the very first person to
circumnavigate alone. He set off from Fairhaven, Massachusetts in 1895
and returned there in 1898! His comedy is wry and understated, and the
things he accomplished truly amazing. This one is actually public
domain, here’s the Gutenberg Link.
Some books I mean to read