Jan
29
2010
This Week’s Bestsellers
We seem to be settling into a nice routine here, where each week a few new books are finding their way onto the list of bestsellers. This week there are three new titles.
Starting at #7, Just Kids is the memoir of Patti Smith, the “Godmother of Punk.” A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Smith was instrumental in the early days of the punk rock movement. I know next to nothing about her, though by this time next week I suspect I’ll know a lot more than I ever cared to.
Added at the #13 spot is a book I was hoping would make its way to the list–Thomas Sowell’s Intellectuals and Society. I haven’t read enough Sowell so was looking for an excuse to read this one. I am somewhat intimidated by the combination of its size (400 pages or so) and its subject matter (intellectuals–a descriptor that most definitely does not apply to the likes of me). Yet I suspect it will be very enlightening.
And coming in at #14 is Evidence of the Afterlife by Jeffrey Long. You know from the title that I will be interested in this one. Dr. Long studies near-death experiences and uses this book to suggest that they stand as compelling evidence of the existence of an afterlife. We shall see.
Tomorrow marks the end of the first month of this 10MillionWords project. In the next day or two I will offer up some reflections on that first month.
3 Comments
Tim,
Here’s a video interview of Sowell being interveiwed at the Hoover Institute about this book. You may find as a helpful primer to reading it. Enjoy!
http://fora.tv/2009/12/11/Thomas_Sowell_Intellectuals_and_Society
I’m absurdly excited about this whole project week to week.
I’m almost finished with Committed now. I read your review, knowing that I was about to start reading it, which is very unlike me, because I don’t like to be swayed before I read something.
Actually, I think that I skimmed it (and will read it fully after I finish it), but I did agree with your overall “why” to read it.
Since I also read All Things at Once this month, I found the two of them an interest contrast of the “modern woman.”
I’m really enjoying your posts and you’ve inspired me to read a book a week this year. Not the NYT bestsellers, but a well-rounded list from a variety of genres. Keep up the good work!