What to Read…

I read a lot.  I read everyday, sometimes for hours, mostly for work, but also for pleasure (which is still mostly for work).

I'm always looking for good reading lists and recommendations and I want to pass them along to others.  So here's a few lists to look at.

If your trouble is decision making, here's a fantastic flow chart that can guide you to every obscure corner of the book store.  I'd heartily recommend about 75% of the suggestions here; two of the books are ones I'm actively reading on my iPhone right now.  The chart includes a lot of classics and only a few objectionable books that I wouldn't bother with.  And frankly, if you worked your way through this entire chart, you'd be pretty well read.

Wired's Geek Dad had a list of 67 Books Every Geek should Read to their Kids before age 10.  Most of these are alright but I'm not sure that I'd read Ender's Game or even the Lord of the Rings to a nine-year old.  But the list includes greats like Charlotte's Web, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and one of my personal favorites, From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.  Almost all of these books should be on a list for 8-12 year olds (and their parents; I really enjoyed Winnie-the-Pooh last year).

Thanks to facebook, I asked my fifth-grade teacher what books we read back then and got some wonderful suggestions.  But my next step is reading the Chronicles of Narnia to my six and eight-year olds, who missed out when I read the series to my older two boys.

This is little further out there, but here's a list of sci-fi for people who don't read sci-fi.  I'd add Ayn Rand's Anthem, which is often free as an e-book, and Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers (nothing like the movies at all).