What'cha Reading?

[MVPlaya]

I read Stiglitz when I was 16, thats when I decided I'd be an economist one day. The book is dense but not unreadable. Stiglitz makes arguments and then gives specifics, so there are a lot of laws that are mentioned, etc. Its perfectly readable, however, it just might take more effort, he doesn't sit there and bombard you with formulas. "Making Globalization Work" is a lighter read, also by Stiglitz.

Other recommendations: The Return of Depression Economics, Paul Krugman. Probably one the best book to come out after the Economic Crisis of 2007 that really explains the way thought has changed since.

Freakonomics (its not particularly deep, but he applies economics in interesting ways that get people who don't normally read econ lit to check out the field, what he lacks in deeper analysis he covers with creativity).

Friedman is easy to read but he is terribly off on so many of his arguments. Even Hot, Flat, and Crowded is a horrid oversimplification. Thats what makes him so easy to read, he lacks complexity and depth, and is really just on the wrong side of the issue (wrong side in Lexus &, not Hot, Flat). Reading his book will actually worsen your understanding since you'll have to unlearn half of it.

[MVPlaya]

Finished reading "Clan of the Cave Bear" by Jean Auel, about midway through "1984" by George Orwell, and looking forward to reading either Leo Tolstoy or Ayn Rand.

"A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking was a fascinating read as was "The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkins.

If you read The Selfish Gene and liked it, definitely read:

The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature

I double-majored in Evolutionary Anthropology, both the Selfish Gene and the Red Queen were two of my favorite books in the field.

[MVPlaya]

Good god, I hated the stream-of-consciousness portion... I really liked his short stories, though. Especially Araby and The Dead.

I haven't gotten there yet. So far I don't really like the book, but I promised a friend I'd read it one day and I just finished Dante's Inferno.


Most books I've read have been Greco-Roman lit, emphasis on the Roman. Marcus Aurelius, Tacitus, Suetonius.


If you want to read a good historical book, I highly, highly recommend this to anyone:

All the Shah's Men, 2003

It is a reconstruction of all the events that lead up to overthrowal of Iran's democracy in 1953 by American intelligence and vividly recounts the most intimate parts of the coup based on the writings and declassified CIA documents. The book is absolutely incredible and if you are interested in the uprisings happening in Iran today, this book is a great way to understand Iran's history and why the country is the way it is.

[IndiReloaded]

If you read The Selfish Gene and liked it, definitely read:

The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature

I double-majored in Evolutionary Anthropology, both the Selfish Gene and the Red Queen were two of my favorite books in the field.

Those are both good books and have been recommended repeatedly on the forum.

Feeling a bit compensatory, MVP? LOL.

[IndiReloaded]

Even Hot, Flat, and Crowded is a horrid oversimplification. Thats what makes him so easy to read, he lacks complexity and depth, and is really just on the wrong side of the issue (wrong side in Lexus &, not Hot, Flat). Reading his book will actually worsen your understanding since you'll have to unlearn half of it.

This book is new to me. You don't mean 'The World is Flat'? That was an amazing book, I really enjoyed it; learned tons.

Anyway, for an anthropology major, I'm impressed. Okay, wait, your degree is what? Economics or anthro? Anyway, usually, young people only read within their subject and because they have to. You read widely, the sign of a generalist intellect. Good.

[misombra]

i need to find a good book to read. i can't get in to a lot of them though. i like fiction but a lot of the newer fiction is like, "miranda is a 34 year old widow torn between buring her husband or selling her southern california beach house."

gawd that shit is such crap.

[vashti]

i need to find a good book to read. i can't get in to a lot of them though. i like fiction but a lot of the newer fiction is like, "miranda is a 34 year old widow torn between buring her husband or selling her southern california beach house."

gawd that shit is such crap.

try Like Water for Chocolate or Life of Pi

[MVPlaya]

This book is new to me. You don't mean 'The World is Flat'? That was an amazing book, I really enjoyed it; learned tons.

Anyway, for an anthropology major, I'm impressed. Okay, wait, your degree is what? Economics or anthro? Anyway, usually, young people only read within their subject and because they have to. You read widely, the sign of a generalist intellect. Good.

Like I said, I double-majored.

And no:

[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot,_Flat,_and_Crowded[/url]

[IndiReloaded]

Like I said, I double-majored.

And no:

[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot,_Flat,_and_Crowded[/url]

Interesting. Surprised you didn't apply to Columbia to be with Sachs, then. Sounds up your alley.

[MVPlaya]

Interesting. Surprised you didn't apply to Columbia to be with Sachs, then. Sounds up your alley.

I did, and got in, more for Stiglitz than Sachs. But I'm picking LSE at the end of the day.

[misombra]

gesus are you guys going to do this in every freakin thread?

[IndiReloaded]

Okay sorry, here is the book relative to our discussion:

Jeffrey Sachs:

[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_Poverty[/url]

BTW, this is another one of those books that got really boring 1/2 way through. I liked his point about treating economics like medicine, but after a couple of examples it became same topic, different country. He could have made his points about the different experiences much more succinctly.

[optimistvik]

I just started to read "silent honor" bu danielle steel... its very interesting...

[MVPlaya]

A wikipedia link is not an argument, and Sachs' book is not thought-provoking. That book doesn't even mean much out of context, google: Sachs-Easterly if you really want to understand why he wrote the book.


And since no one is writing about philosophy, I'm going to put four titles out there and see if anyone else has read these books:

Discipline and Punish, Michel Foucault
History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault

Of Grammatology, Jacques Derrida, RIP

Being and Time, Heidegger

I'd specifically recommend the History of Sexuality, Volumes 1 & 2, which describe the changing relationship between state and religious institutions and sexuality. For example, the depiction of all forms of sexual satisfaction as sinful and needing absolution, thus, driving more people into the arms of the Catholic church via confessionals. Foucault's book is a pretty fascinating look at the role of sex in writing, literature, and society throughout the ages. Foucault is also insane.

Being and Time is very interesting since its one of the few philosophical works that addresses the nature of being and existence from within a fully secular scientific framework and tries to break down the essence of being. There's really no way to cliffnote Being and Time, except to say that it is one of the hardest philosophical texts I've had to grasp, and the most rewarding.

As for religious writings, I'd highly recommend the Bhagavad-Gita to anyone. It is a fascinating breakdown of Hindu philosophies and guides for life, as well as larger metaphysical questions that arise from the debate between Arjuna and Krishna. Its the story of Arjuna, a young prince, who is sent to war against his cousins but does not want to enter battle. Krishna (Vishnu incarnate) comes to him as his charioteer and tells him of duty and ethics. Its really one of the most powerful stories I've read.

[Gribble]

I should probably start picking some of these up. I took a break from reading for anything but pleasure since graduation. That's been a while ago.