by Lindsay Shapka in Culture, People, Book List
The Guardian (a British newspaper), released a list of the 100 Best Novels Written in English by Robert McCrum — an editor, author, and regular contributor to the newspaper since 1990.
Here is the list he has put together in order of the year the book was published.
Read Moreby Lindsay Shapka in Book List, Culture, People
While this is definitely not a read-before-bed book (it's fascinating, but the content requires a more alert mind), The Swerve is well worth the read. And that's not just my opinion — it is a National Book Winner, and won the Pulitzer Prize!
Read Moreby Lindsay Shapka in Book List, Culture, People
If you read one book this year, make it this one.
Published in 2013, Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape is an absolutely fascinating first-hand account of what life inside the little-known world of Scientology is really like.
Read Moreby Lindsay Shapka in Book List, Culture, History
Based on the number of books printed and sold in the last 50 years, this is the list of the top ten most read (English) books — along with their opening line — on our planet.
How many have you read? (No, watching the movie doesn't count!)
THE HOLY BIBLE
"In the Beginning God Created the Heavens and the Earth."
QUOTATIONS FROM CHAIRMAN MAO TSE-TUNG by Mao Tse-Tung
"The force at the core leading our cause forward is the Chinese Communist Party."
HARRY POTTER by J.K. Rowling
"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."
THE LORD OF THE RINGS by J.R.R. Tolkien
"When Mr Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magni- ficence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton."
THE ALCHEMIST by Paulo Coelho
"The Alchemist picked up a book that someone in the caravan had brought."
THE DA VINCI CODE by Dan Brown
"Renowned curator Jacques Sauniere staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum's Grand Gallery."
THE TWILIGHT SAGA by Stephanie Meyer
"I'd never given much thought to how I would die — though I'd had reason enough in the last few months — but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this."
GONE WITH THE WIND by Margaret Mitchell
"Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were."
THINK AND GROW RICH by Napoleon Hill
"TRULY, "thoughts are things," and powerful things at that, when they are mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a BURNING DESIRE for their translation into riches, or other material objects"
THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK by Anne Frank
“I hope to tell you everything that I could never tell anyone until now.”
by Lindsay Shapka in Book List, Culture, People
Written by Taylor Clark — a guy who has NOTHING to do with the company itself — Starbucked tells the tale of how Starbucks began.
If you are a supporter of the mom-and-pop, unique cafe around the corner, and make it your life’s goal to avoid the seven Starbucks store that exist in one city block, you might be surprised that Starbucks was started by a few guys who were doing the same thing.
These guys were living in an era before major coffee chains, and when “American Coffee” would have taken paint off the wall. Not only that, the idea of the “cafe” where you could read, study, or visit with friends didn’t even exist.
Fascinated by a specialty coffee shop that popped up where they were living, they started asking questions, doing some research and developing (what was at the time) a very ambitious business.
Combining his own investigations with witty observation, Clark tells the story of how the coffeehouse culture changed everyday life in North America and — as much as we hate to admit it — Starbucks led the way.
Give it a read, you might look at the green mermaid a bit differently if you do!
by Lindsay Shapka in Book List, People, Culture
Hoping to write a compelling thesis on urban poverty, first-year graduate student Sudhir Venkatesh walked boldly into the middle of Chicago’s most notorious housing projects one afternoon determined to gain some insight.
His boldness — meant to impress his professors — instead impressed a gang leader named JT who, attracted to the idea of being written about, befriended Venkatesh giving him unprecedented access into the gang’s world.
For almost a decade, JT allowed him to observe as the gang operated their crack-selling business, evaded the law, made peace (or war) with the neighbors, and rose or fell in the gang’s complex hierarchy.
Gang Leader For A Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to The Streets gives an eye-opening view of an “outsider looking at life from the inside” (pg xvi), and tells the story of the complicated friendship that developed between two men who — though they have ambition in common — are from completely different worlds.
by Lindsay Shapka in Book List, Culture, People, Travel
If you haven't read The Alchemist yet, then you need to get yourself to a bookstore immediately, and if you have read it, then you should probably read it again. Yup, it's that good. But, not only is it that good, I find that the message you take away from the book changes depending on the stage of life you happen to find yourself in.
You might read Paulo Coelho's story and realize that you need to pack your bags and go on an adventure immediately or come to the realization that you have everything that you want right in front of you, you just hadn't realized it yet!
“…when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it”
This enchanting story follows a shepherd boy named Santiago, who travels to the Pyramids of Egypt in search of buried treasure. Along the way, he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself a king, and an Alchemist who give him guidance on his journey.
What begins as a search for worldly goods, ends up turning into a meditation on the importance of listening to our hearts and the transforming power of giving in and letting destiny guide you to your dreams.
An absolute must-read.
“‘Why do you tend a flock of sheep?’
’Because I like to travel.’
The old man pointed to a baker standing in his shop window at one corner of the plaza. “When he was a child, that man wanted to travel, too. But he decided first to buy his bakery and put some money aside. When he’s an old man, he’s going to spend a month in Africa. He never realized that people are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.”
’He should have decided to become a shepherd’”
