Crazy isn’t it? I love technology and I love the web, but sometimes I just want to lie in bed / on the couch / on the floor with a real book full of pages I can touch and turn. The lack of distractions, the ability to stop multi-tasking, the connection with the past – I love it all. And this is why I go to the book store at least once a week and why I have a pile almost as tall as me awaiting….
Lately I’ve been finishing up No Logo by Naomi Klein. This is a book that I’ve wanted to read since it first came out, but somehow it always ended up falling by the wayside. Thankfully I have a like-minded friend here in KL that loaned me his copy. I’m amazed at how much of this 10-year-old book is still so relevant today. I’m seeing connections to The World is Flat in every chapter and in the last few pages I read today, she even mentions Daniel Pink of A Whole New Mind fame. Granted, her point of view is quite different from Friedman (and possibly Pink, though I haven’t read his book yet), but it is very interesting to see just how forward-thinking Klein’s book really is – and it’s quite nice to read a different perspective on globalization.
And this is why I’m so glad that Kelly Christopherson has started an online book club. First up: A Whole New Mind (just in time!). Some of the others on my shelf are:
- The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery (after watching An Inconvienent Truth, how could I resist?)
- Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found by Suketu Mehta
- The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell
- Philosophy Made Simple by Robert Hellenga
- The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford
- The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto Eco (along with a new copy of Foucault’s Pendulum since my old one seems to have dissappeared)
- When Heaven and Earth Changed Places by Le Ly Hayslip (picked this one up in Vietnam)
- The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw
- Third Culture Kids by David C. Pollock and Ruth E. Van Reken
- Changing Minds by Howard Gardner
All this talk of books reminds me of a fun tool I’ve been using for a while: Library Thing. You can create your own virtual library (here’s mine), get recommendations, and read book reviews from people with similar taste. Loads of fun!
Image: http://www.atlanticlibrary.org/aclibrary/graphics/book_pile.jpg
i was feeling guilty that my previous post could have been read as anti-book, and you come through with this dynamo. I love No Logo and Naomi Klein, and have been trying to get my wife to read it for years. I would like to suggest to you: Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins, it is a trip. To be honest i thought it could have been written better but its content will keep you reading. Thanks for the Library Thing, i am passing it on to my resident book-junkie (wife). If you need to give your head a little space after No Logo – i am really enjoying Teacher Man, he has some hilarious truths in there about yours and everyone’s classes.
just got recommended Weather Makers by someone else two days ago and had never heard of it before that. Is there such a thing as “Reading Destiny”? I’ve got to get a hold of this book! Of course, with two little kids running around, I didn’t have time to read even before I joined web 2.0.
And I thought technology was supposed to provide us more free time…
Mark,
You read my mind! I also have Confessions of an Economic Hit Man! Too many books, too little time! I’m glad to hear that you liked it, though. I’m always buying books I know nothing about and hoping for the best. Thanks for the recommendations!
Dennis,
I don’t have kids and I can barely find time to read, I don’t know how parents manage everything! This weekend I took a technology break and I have to say, it was wonderful. I finished a few books, started a few more and (gasp!) went outside! Sometimes it’s good to step away from the machine, right?
Go books! I’m a Library Media Specialist and it is so hard to keep kids interested in “real” books. The ones that you curl up with. Thanks for realizing that even techies need to get into books once in a while (or more often).
P.S. I’m taking Jennifer Cronk’s Web 2.0 class.
Mrs. Paul,
Sometimes I’m a little scared to talk about books with my fellow techies ;) Good for you for taking Jennifer’s course! You’re going to love it! I will check in on your blog and add you to my RSS aggregator.