Some of my favorite reads—fiction, nonfiction, and psychology
Fiction
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough—Stephen King said he didn’t just love this book he felt married to it. To me, it’s the best written book I’ve read. A great, historical, family saga, forbidden love story.
Intensity by Dean Koontz—My favorite, a taut, page-turning suspense story. Caveat: if you don’t like descriptive passages, you might not like this one. I, however, prefer description (make me feel like I’m actually there) so it didn't distract me. A really well written, good read.
Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King (From the book Different Seasons)—I assume everyone has seen the movie. One of the best I’ve watched. How it didn’t win the Academy Award for best picture is beyond me. King’s story is just as good. And the movie changed one scene I liked better than King's version: when a prisoner is shot. In the story, he just gets transferred to another prison. Nonetheless, one of King’s best.
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier—Another excellent historical romance novel that catapulted first-time author Frazier to the top of the best seller list. Really good writing.
Non Fiction
Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissenger—A nonfiction book that reads like fiction, it’s easy to see how Bissenger won a Pulitzer prize prior to this book though the prize was for a journalistic piece. The story involves the town of Odessa, Texas and its citizens’ obsession with the high school football team and their long-running success. The pressure placed on the kids is overwhelming and the lengths people went (a case of cheating by football players—assisted by faculty—went all the way to the Texas Supreme Court) to have their team win is stunning.
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer—Another excellently written nonfiction book, this one about the author’s climb with a group to the top of Mount Everest and the struggles made to stay alive and reach the summit. Reading about the decision made by some, whether to continue to the top and risk life or stay put and suffer the disappointment, is riveting.
Psychology
Influence, the Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini—A book describing six different, unwritten psychological shortcut “rules” humans have. Like social proof—seeing what everyone else is doing when one is unsure what to do. Or authority—the shortcut of doing what someone says, without question, because they are the boss, parents, police, etc. even when it’s not the right thing to do. Cialdini discusses several other behaviors in which we should stop and ask ourselves if we’re taking that shortcut and shouldn’t.
The Invisible Gorilla by Christopher Chabris & Daniel Simons and Mistakes Were Made (but not by me) by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson—Both books are good at pointing out things we miss and how we rationalize our choices. Ever hear someone say “I have no regrets” re: a particular situation? I’d wondered if these people were just lying or spinning the truth. The second book tells how and why we do this, giving examples of politicians. An amusing sidebar proves the point: an online reviewer said political examples were overwhelmingly Republican, to which other reviewers called this person a right winger, etc. I’m an independent and it’s both sad and amusing how people can’t maintain objectivity with politics. Both sides have good ideas and bad, bad and good politicians. I try to listen to idea(s) rather than who’s delivering them. But I’m sure I’m not perfect in trying to do so! The first book describes how we don’t see things as they are or we remember them incorrectly and miss many things that were actually there.
The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy—A great read for anyone who’s wondered why some prayers are answered and some not and how to pray effectively. The author quotes many lines from scripture but states them in ways I’d never thought. Like the quote “When ye pray and two of ye are in agreement…” and how this refers to the two parts of our mind: conscious and subconscious. When these two are in agreement, then the mind will do anything to make the request (“prayer”) happen. For those who don’t care for religion, Maxwell Maltz’s Psycho-Cybernetics is less religious but with similar theme. Both books will definitely change the way you think.
Fiction
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough—Stephen King said he didn’t just love this book he felt married to it. To me, it’s the best written book I’ve read. A great, historical, family saga, forbidden love story.
Intensity by Dean Koontz—My favorite, a taut, page-turning suspense story. Caveat: if you don’t like descriptive passages, you might not like this one. I, however, prefer description (make me feel like I’m actually there) so it didn't distract me. A really well written, good read.
Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King (From the book Different Seasons)—I assume everyone has seen the movie. One of the best I’ve watched. How it didn’t win the Academy Award for best picture is beyond me. King’s story is just as good. And the movie changed one scene I liked better than King's version: when a prisoner is shot. In the story, he just gets transferred to another prison. Nonetheless, one of King’s best.
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier—Another excellent historical romance novel that catapulted first-time author Frazier to the top of the best seller list. Really good writing.
Non Fiction
Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissenger—A nonfiction book that reads like fiction, it’s easy to see how Bissenger won a Pulitzer prize prior to this book though the prize was for a journalistic piece. The story involves the town of Odessa, Texas and its citizens’ obsession with the high school football team and their long-running success. The pressure placed on the kids is overwhelming and the lengths people went (a case of cheating by football players—assisted by faculty—went all the way to the Texas Supreme Court) to have their team win is stunning.
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer—Another excellently written nonfiction book, this one about the author’s climb with a group to the top of Mount Everest and the struggles made to stay alive and reach the summit. Reading about the decision made by some, whether to continue to the top and risk life or stay put and suffer the disappointment, is riveting.
Psychology
Influence, the Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini—A book describing six different, unwritten psychological shortcut “rules” humans have. Like social proof—seeing what everyone else is doing when one is unsure what to do. Or authority—the shortcut of doing what someone says, without question, because they are the boss, parents, police, etc. even when it’s not the right thing to do. Cialdini discusses several other behaviors in which we should stop and ask ourselves if we’re taking that shortcut and shouldn’t.
The Invisible Gorilla by Christopher Chabris & Daniel Simons and Mistakes Were Made (but not by me) by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson—Both books are good at pointing out things we miss and how we rationalize our choices. Ever hear someone say “I have no regrets” re: a particular situation? I’d wondered if these people were just lying or spinning the truth. The second book tells how and why we do this, giving examples of politicians. An amusing sidebar proves the point: an online reviewer said political examples were overwhelmingly Republican, to which other reviewers called this person a right winger, etc. I’m an independent and it’s both sad and amusing how people can’t maintain objectivity with politics. Both sides have good ideas and bad, bad and good politicians. I try to listen to idea(s) rather than who’s delivering them. But I’m sure I’m not perfect in trying to do so! The first book describes how we don’t see things as they are or we remember them incorrectly and miss many things that were actually there.
The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy—A great read for anyone who’s wondered why some prayers are answered and some not and how to pray effectively. The author quotes many lines from scripture but states them in ways I’d never thought. Like the quote “When ye pray and two of ye are in agreement…” and how this refers to the two parts of our mind: conscious and subconscious. When these two are in agreement, then the mind will do anything to make the request (“prayer”) happen. For those who don’t care for religion, Maxwell Maltz’s Psycho-Cybernetics is less religious but with similar theme. Both books will definitely change the way you think.