Summer Nerd Fun….
by Jeanne aka JStor on July 14, 2009
I’m an unabashed nerd/geek. When I saw The Dark Knight, I squealed (i.e. yelled) “Prisoner’s Dilemma” with delight during that one scene. (Don’t deny it! You thought it too!) I was relatively well-behaved during Star Trek, but I am pretty sure I won’t be during Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I’m also considering a tattoo that says “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” cause its my favorite PKD book.
I read. A lot. Fiction, Econ, Politics, History. Here’s my summer reading list. BTW, I never understood why people always talk about a summer reading list. I mean, don’t people read all year round? Technically, my reading slows down cause I am drinking/running/ traveling around more. (Enough, semantics Jeanne!)
Here are my must reads this summer:
- The Great Crash, 1929 I’m in the middle of it now, and let me just say I’ve yelled twice already. JK Galbraith must be rolling over in his grave and shaking his head.
- The Myth of the Rational Market Mentioned this book in a previous post. Looks interesting. Impressed when I listened to Justin’s June 11, 2009 talk with Doug Henwood the other day.
- The Bankers Who Ruled the World by Liaquat Ahamed. Been wanting to read this for a while. If I get the chance, I’ll pick it up.
The next 3 books are the ones I really want to read. And it works out since, they’ll all be in print this August.
- Imperial by William Vollmann. Non-fiction on the crossroads of the US-Mexico border. DYING to read all 1300 pages. Alas, I don’t have enough cred to join the William Vollmann Club, but one day, when I become a suburban housewife….
- Anathem by Neal Stephenson. This 960-page monstrosity is finally coming out in paperback. I try not to buy hardcovers (too heavy!) unless I have a good reason (see the next book as an example of a good reason). I l love Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon, and if NS wasn’t old enough to be my father, I would marry him. If you ever get bored, listen to his Google Talk. Did I mention that I love him?
- The Magicians by Lev Grossman. Think Harry Potter meets Narnia. In a perfect world, this book comes with a whiskey and a beer and an entire afternoon in the sun. Full disclosure: Lev’s an acquaintance of mine. It’s a hardcover, but I’m making an exception.
Tags: Econonerd, JK Galbraith, Justin Fox, Lev Grossman, Liaquat Ahamed, Neal Stephenson, William Vollmann
I remember reading the ‘Great Crash’ a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Another one of Galbraith’s books I’d pick up is his ‘Money: Whence it came, Where it went’ which is also a brilliant read – at least to my mind.
I was just wondering if Phil Mirowski took some inspiration from Phil K. Dick, when he wrote “Machine Dreams: Economics become a Cyborg Science”….
Oh, and Neal Stephenson requires patience… lots and lots of patience… Why not the new Carlos Ruiz Safon, “The Angel’s Game”, for all the bibliophiles out there – I’m chewing through it a hundred pages at a time…
Sorry Ben, I am not getting a tattoo that says: “Machine Dreams: Economics become a Cyborg Science.”
Why not?
“Economists are Cyborgs” does have a very tattoish ring to it – I feel.