Books I Read in 2011

In 2010 I had made a resolution to read 25 books that year, and did it, and boy did that feel good! In fact, my goal was to read at least 25 books every year from then on. 2011 was going to be difficult, given the work situation and fact that we were having our second baby. I bravely tried anyway. I fell short, but it was worth the attempt. So here is the list of books I did manage to read:

1. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth - the Audiobook
The Dailyshow's crew brings their brand of political satire to the task of explaining human civilization to aliens. Not as engaging as "America - the book", but worth the time

2. Stiff upper lip, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse

3. The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie

4. The Most Human Human: What Talking with Computers Teaches Us about What It Means to Be Alive by Brian Christian

5. The Game : penetrating the world of pickup artists by Neil Strauss
I read it based on a recommendation as a "self help" book, but though it was interesting and I learned about an aspect of the society about which I'd perhaps have known nothing otherwise, I didn't get any self help worth the time.

6. Cognitive Surplus - creativity and generosity in a connected age by Clay Shirkey
My review is here

7. At Home - A short history of private life by Bill Bryson

8. Bottled Lightning - Superbatteries, Electric cars, and the New Lithium Economy by Seth Fletcher

9. Influence, Science and Practice by Robert B. Cialdini

10. A Brief History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
I have read this book before. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and wanted to do it again. This time I listened to the audiobook read by the author - it's delightful.

11. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
Read the uncut version of the proclaimed science fiction masterpiece. Liked it : not sure I'd call it a masterpiece, but it's one of the better ones I have read.

12. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Easily the best novel I have read, period. OK I didn't really "read" it - I listened to the unabridged audiobook delightfully read by John Lee. It's some 40 odd CDS - so it's LONG. But it was worth every minute of lost sleep!

13. Sex at Dawn - The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality : by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá
Fascinating book. A passage: "asking whether our species is naturally peaceful or warlike, generous or possessive, free-loving or jealous, is like asking whether H2O is naturally a solid, liquid, or gas. The only meaningful answer to such a question is: It depends. On a nearly empty planet, with food and shelter distributed widely, avoiding conflict would have been an easy, attractive option. Under the conditions typical of ancestral environments, human beings would have had much more to lose than to gain from warring against one another. The evidence - both physical and circumstantial - points to a human prehistory in which our ancestors made far more love than war."

14-17. Foundation series by Isaac Asimov
The first book "Foundation" started out unremarkably, making me wonder what all the fuss was about. Since I had bought the whole set, I read the next one "Foundation and Empire" as well, and started to get intrigued. Then I wanted to read the next one "Second Foundation", and found it unputdownable. By the time I completed the fourth book "Foundation's Edge", I was convinced that all the fuss was all well worth it. Breathtaking work in scope. Don't come looking for science - but the unfettered imagination of a master story teller is such a delight to behold. One day I'll read "The decline and fall of the Roman Empire", and I am sure it'll sound familiar.

Conversations with a 5 year old : the fairness of weather

The news on the radio mentioned this week's solar storm, and that got our guy's attention. "What are they talking about?" he demanded, and I explained. Energetic "electromagnetic" particles from the sun attacking the Earth, earth's atmosphere forming a protective shield" and so forth were pretty dramatic and exciting for him to hear.

Then I added, "you know what, when the solar wind hits Earth's atmosphere, the sky glows with amazing colors - it looks so beautiful. It's called an aurora. But only people up north, close to the arctic will see that".

"But that's not fair", he went. "Why can't we see that?"

"Well, they are suffering freezing weather most of the year, while we are enjoying beautiful sunny weather. Is that fair to them?", I countered.

"Yeah..." he said and went silent.

After about a minute, he goes: "You know what, I think we are more lucky. Their aurora weather will be for only one day. Our sunny weather is for many many days!"