Suggested Readings please.

[-Rudebwoy_Chin-]

Just finished me last book and I am looking for a new one to start. If you could please suggest me your top choice for each category, that would be much appreciated. Respect.

Culture - Any books relative to culture and society of today that changed your outlook..

Psychology - Any books dealing with perception and/or theories of thinking and reasoning. Preferably an interesting one.

Philosophy - Whether a biography on an actual philosopher, or a book on an intriguing viewpoint or idea.

Non-Fiction - Any book that deals with markets, trends, and economics.

ez.

 

[AdamAnt]

Culture: Any Kurt Vonnegut book (Top recomendation would be Slaughter house five or The SIrens of Titan)

Philosophy: The Consolation of Philosophy. This book changed my life.

 

[PosTMOd]

Tie all the categories together, and read:

Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West

John Ralston Saul... what a writer-- makes the driest shite fun to read...

 

[Deep_Groove]

I'll second PostMod's suggestion - read Voltaire's Bastards!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Deep_Groove

 

[air-bag]

Psychology/Philosophy: Milan Kundera - The unbearable lightness of being

 

[MoFo]

Culture:
Essential McLuhan by Marshall McLuhan. Famous Canadian media and culture theorist. It's not actually by him, it's more of an analysis of his theories. He's a very... smart man. And totally underrated.

Microserfs by Douglas Coupland. One of my favourite reads. A story about Silicon Valley workers who discover that there is life outside of a computer. I cried reading it. Strange.

Generation by Douglas Coupland. Not too bad. A good read.

An Introduction Guide to Cultural Theory and Popular Culture by John Storey. A really good foundational text covering pop culture and how it has manifested. Great resource for understanding other cultural texts.

Post-Modernism for Beginners[/] - I was skeptical at first because the "... for Dummies" books are so badly composed. But this is surprisingly concise and interesting even though it's mainly comics and illustrations done in a zine format. VERY good for understanding the basics of post-feminism, modern religion, art, gay culture...

Economics, trends and such:

No Logo by Naomi Klein. HANDS DOWN! It's only $14.99 at Chapter's with the discount and it's full of suprises about how conglomerates work and what the "big guys" do to exploit us (the consumers and the subordinates). Reading it again and always referring to it.

 

[beaker]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by PosTMOd:
Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West</font>

i'm half way through this right now. it's a really interesting read even though i've never taken any courses on political thought/study. lots of relevant stuff in regards to current events.

 

[MoFo]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by air-bag:
Psychology/Philosophy: Milan Kundera - The unbearable lightness of being</font>

Is that any good? I have a copy at work that someone donated and I want to teef it.
But I read some of it and ... I think I can't stand his writing. He goes around his points SO MUCH to explain them.

 

[MoFo]

^^^
Generation = Generation X.

 

[~soulheaven~]

'Bread & Circusses: Theories Of Mass Culture As Social Decay' by Patrick Brantlinger (some importnat themes dealing with Human Entropy here)

'Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste' by Pierre Bourdieu. (A important, difficult book on culture and taste from the leading French social critic)

Anything by Umberto Eco. Eco combines a career as a novelist and a leading semiotics theorist. See Travels in Hyperreality, The Name of The Rose, Foucault's Pendulum, and other of his works of fiction and cultural analysis for semiotics in action.


'Purity & Danger: An analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo' by Mary Douglas (issues explored here include 'Ritual Uncleanliness' and 'Secular Defilement')

'The Importance Of Dissapointment' by Ian Craib

'We Want Some Too: Underground Desire And The Reinvention Of Mass Culture' by Hal Niedzviecki (great upcoming Canadian author)

'Concrete Forest: the New Fiction Of Urban Canada' by Hal Niedzviecki

'The Practice of Everyday Life' by Michel de Certeau (On how cultural consumption might be compared to guerilla tactics practiced against cultural industries and ideologies generally)

'The Society of the Spectacle' by Guy Debord (Good for those of you interested in "spectacle and simulation" in contemporary culture)

Anything by Michel Foucault. One of the more influential intellectuals in the latter half of the 20th century. For starters, see interviews published with him in 'Power/Knowledge'. Books of his friendly to the novice reader include 'Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison', 'Madness and Civilization', and 'The History of Sexuality' (in several volumes).

'Better Than Sex' by Hunter S. Thompson

'Fear & Loathing In America' by HST

'Malaise of Modernity' author unknown, but a great read.....

I hope you can find something of interest. My area of expertise is more along cultural studies, but good luck in finding a new book to start.

Greg

 

[shylock_one]

Just finished reading "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser. Interesting investigative book about the inluence of McDonald's on American society.

 

[PosTMOd]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by shylock_one:
"Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser. </font>

Damn, I like when someone reminds me of something that I read years ago, and enjoyed...

Making Fast Food: From the Frying Pan into the Fryer by Ester Reiter

"Ester Reiter worked full time at a Burger King outlet for ten months gathering information for this study. In Making Fast Food she shares her experiences and analyses the profound effect the fast food industry has had on women's work, youth employment, the labour movement, the family, and the community. Family life, for example, has changed dramatically in the last forty years as many activities that were traditionally part of the home have been replaced by services available in the marketplace.

The second edition includes an epilogue that brings the study up to date. Reiter examines the way the fast food model is being adopted in other areas, such as health, and explores unionization in fast food businesses."

 

[lift]

Lev Manovich- The Language of New Media

MIT press- about $60

most definitive text on the entity/umbrella/annoyance that is "new media"
(the 1st chapter tackles the question- "what is new media?")

 

[Random]

Non-Fiction - Barbarians at the Gate. Can't remember the authors... It's about the buyout of RJR Nabisco, during the height of the takover phase in the late 80s. It's written by the Wall Street Journal columnist that covered the story as it broke, and it claims to be 95% fact. It's not overly informative in regards to economics, but it's an amazing story.

Philosohpy - Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder. It's a very brief history of philosohpy, written in novel/fictional format. The format is kinda hard to explain. The main character is a 12(ish) year old girl who begins a course in philosohpy. Not hugely thought provoking i suppose, but a quick and interesting read.

Oh, and if you're looking for a laugh out loud book by an author who is quite possibly insane, read anything by Carl Hiaasen. I think my favorite is Tourist Season.

 

[Deus]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by shylock_one:
Just finished reading "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser. Interesting investigative book about the inluence of McDonald's on American society.</font>

I bought this for my mom for christmas. She hates fast food, and now even more so. I will read into it once I get more time, it sounds very interesting.

 

[kurtz]

Philosophy~ i would have to recommend Heidegger's 'Sein und Zeit' (Being and Time) - but only if you have beef with modern culture and the masses.

And also a great intro to Sartre's 'L'Etre et le neant'

But it is a rather long and some times tedious book for non-students. A good short-cut would be just his chapter on Dasein.

 

[Temper Tantrum]

Books I would recommend:

The Tao of Pooh

Conversations with God

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Discovering the Buddha within

L'etranger by Albert Kamus

Nausea by Sartre

If you like historical fiction anything by Robert Graves, specifically my favourites: I Claudius and Claudius the God...chronicles the Augustian empire rule, very very very interesting

'Mean Genes' a really interested psych/biology book that examines the biological link between modern behavior and psych..really liked this one

Too many books to name!

~allie~

 

[el presidente Highsteppa]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by -Rudebwoy_Chin-:

Philosophy - Whether a biography on an actual philosopher, or a book on an intriguing viewpoint or idea.

ez. </font>

The Hagakure is strongly suggested by me. I really like this book as it offers an insight to the Bushido code (Samurai code of ethics) and conducting one's life harmoniously. It does have some pretty sexist viewpoints (but, be reminded that this was written far before women got the right to vote, and in Japanese society no less), but the views are neatly summerized is short passages that hold an incredible amount of insight and brilliance.

From the Ministry of it's practically my bible

Prime Minister Highsteppa

 

[-Rudebwoy_Chin-]

Hey thanks a lot for all of the suggestions. I will try and grab some of dem titles tomorrow. Obviously I can only get the one's the uni bookstore sells, cuz it doesn't really seem like im spending money when i put it on the student card. bah.
ez.

 

[JEMZ]

I would say that the ultimate fusion of culture, religion, pop-culture and wit would be "Skinny Legs and All" by Tom Robbins. Absolutely Brillint.

Others:
"The Beach" Alex Garland... seen the movie?? Disregard it, the book is where it is at.

"Fatherland" Robert Harris. What is the Germans won world war 1.

"The Man in the high Castle" Phillip K. Dick. Excellent Paranoia Sci-Fi of what if Japan and Germany won.

"The Wasteland" T.S. Eliot.

"Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock" T.S Eliot.

I like that selection.

 

[aether]

^^ good to see other people reading Tom Robbins. I'd also recommend 'jitterbug perfume'

 

[JEMZ]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by aether:
^^ good to see other people reading Tom Robbins. I'd also recommend 'jitterbug perfume'</font>

And "Still life with Woodpecker" especially for all demz Red Heads out there

 

[MoFo]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by JEMZ:
And "Still life with Woodpecker" especially for all demz Red Heads out there

</font>

Ah, you beat me to it. A wicked story for sure. My copy's been read so much, it's fallen apart.

And I read it BEFORE Drew Barrymore recommended it in an interview.

 

[Fir3start3r]

Non-Fiction - Rich Dad, Poor Dad
Absolutely the best common sense money management book EVER.

 

[MoFo]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by ~soulheaven~:
'Better Than Sex' by Hunter S. Thompson

Greg</font>

Have you read any of his pieces for Rolling Stone magazine? I really enjoy his shorter works.

I would also suggest reading Andy Warhol's Diaries.