Okay, let's get this list business rolling!
1. What The Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell
This is a collection of Malcolm Gladwell's articles from the New Yorker. The common theme uniting the articles is that they're explorations of different perspectives, and trying to understand phenomena through different people's eyes. It's an examination of a fascinating range of issues, definitely worth the buy.
2. Crimes Against Logic by Jamie Whyte
This book advances some very good explanations of a number of matters of logic. At times, I think the author gets bogged down in niggling details that really don't need to be analyzed that much. For example, he's very critical of the Catholic church's explanation of the godhead and how it isn't logically inconsistent. That's great, but they don't claim it's logically consistent, that's why they call it a "mystery". Sure it's a cop out, but if they want to dispense with logic that's their business. Since they've basically admitted that it's not logical, it doesn't require any logical analysis and we can just move on. Harping on it doesn't really seem warranted.
3. Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue by John McWhorter
This book attempts to tell the story of the history of English not just through word changes and word borrowings, but also through the tale of how grammar has been warped, twisted, and redefined through cultural experience. A lot of the book is devoted to arguing against theories held by other linguists, which I found fascinating as well.
4. Curse The Dark by Laura Anne Gilman
This is the second book in the Retrievers series. It's a modern, urban fantasy involving a team that searches for magical items for clients. Good story, interesting characters. There was one pretty steamy love scene, I guess they have to throw that in once in a while for Luna books. To tell the truth, though, I found it kind of long and uninspired. The rest of the story was pretty good though.
5. The Age Of Empathy by Frans De Waal
Apparently, this was supposed to be Frans De Waal's venture into political commentary and what primate societies can tell us about how we should structure human society. As political commentary, it doesn't really satisfy. Basically we should encourage empathy and increase social bonding between out groups - great, that solves everything. But the explorations of research into primate empathy and of experiences with animal emotions are very interesting. Sometimes he accepts things a little too credulously though, for example he mentions the Death Cat and speculates about what it's motives could be.
6. The Barmaid's Brain by Jay Ingram
This is basically a collection of articles about interesting science related issues and phenomena. The title derives from one article exploring the phenomena of memory, and how an experienced barmaid may remember a complex array of orders from many different tables on a busy night and not have any idea how she's doing it. It's a fascinating exploration of science issues.
7. Wingnuts by J. P. Avlon
A scary look about how both the extreme left and right wing of America, while making u p a minority of the population, tend to dominate the public discussion of politics. Most of us are aware of the situation and see the results from movements like the "Birthers" to the "911 Truthers". Having it all layed out before me in a book like this, which includes many quotes and interviews, was an extremely disheartening experience. Avlon advocates that the majority of Americans who reside closer to the center of the political spectrum should take action and speak out against the "wingnuts" whenever possible. I sincerely hope that will start to happen on a more frequent basis.
8. Testing Treatments by Imogen Evans, Hazel Thornton, and Iain Chalmers
A must read for anybody interested in evidence based medicine and how the interests of patients can be best served. A compelling argument for ways that the medical profession can improve the quality of care throughout the system.
9. Nightmare Island by Jim Razzi
A collection of supposedly true tales of the paranormal. Of course, it's bunk, but it's a fun read and I plan on using the stories as jumping off points for research and posting on my blog.
10. Voodoo Histories by David Aaronovitch
An exploration of conspiracy theories throughout the last 100 years or so. I found it to be a very interesting look at the types of arguments put forward. The book also analyzes the possible reasons for conspiracy theories and the mindset of theorists. It was a fascinating read.
11. Hyping Health Risks by Geoffrey Kabat
Epidemiologist Geoffrey Kabat takes a look at some health risks which have been overplayed by both the media and scientists researching the phenomenon to the detriment of science. The book goes into a lot of detail about the statistical ways in which uncertain results come into play, and how these uncertainties are often ignored by people trying to make a point. Even though it sometimes gets bogged down in these details, the book wouldn't be thorough without the analysis, and overall it's a good read.
12. On Bullshit by Harry Frankfurt
An exploration on the concept of "Bullshit" and how it differs from other terms such as "lying" or "humbugs". A fairly interesting read.
13. Welcome To Your Brain by S. Amodt and S. Wang
An interesting look at neuroscience and the way the brain works. Also talks about the way the brain and brain injuries are perceived in popular culture. Very informative.
14. Nightwaves by Collin McDonald
Just a cute little collection of ghost stories. Not much to say about it.
15. The Yugo by Jason Vuic
The fascinating tale of the 80's econo car which has become a popular icon of poor quality. There's a lot more to the story than you'd think, from the misadventures of entrepreneur Malcolm Brickland, to the geopolitical situation in Yugoslavia. Some say it was the worst car in history. A more objective look might reveal that it was just behind the times for a country that had come to expect increasingly more from it's automobiles. In any case, it makes for a fascinating tale.
16. Bite Me: A Love Story by Christopher Moore
The third and apparently final addition to the San Francisco vampires trilogy. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Great, memorable characters, hilarious situations. It was just a fun read, and a great final book for the trilogy.
17. Republican Gomorrah by Max Blumenthal
Blumenthal explores how the Republican party has been completely taken over by religious right fundamentalism to the point where issues like homosexuality and abortion take center stage over more important concerns. He criticizes what he sees as the religious rights emphasis on a, as he calls it, "culture of personal crisis". A very interesting look at this hyper partisan phenomenon.
18. The Bluffer's Guide To Psychology by Warren Mansell
A nice introduction to the people and concepts in the field of psychology. I enjoyed the format as being set up to allow you to bluff your way into being accepted as a psychologist. It makes for a fun book.
19. The Bluffer's Guide To The Quantum Universe by Jack Klaff
Another Bluffer's Guide book, this time the goal is to allow you to bluff your way into convincing people that you're a quantum physicist. A very interesting read, it covers some fascinating ground about the concepts of quantum physics and the historical figures in the field.
20. The Philosophy Of Science by Samir Okasha
A fascinating look at the philosophical issues that crop up regarding the practice of science. How does science know what it knows? What are the dialogs and debates that have shaped our understanding of how science works? What questions are still important to ask and debate? It's important stuff to think about.
21. Lies, Damned Lies, And Science by Sherry Seethaler
Some excellent examples and explanations on how to understand science and put facts and figures in their proper context.
22. Scientific Paranormal Investigation by Benjamin Radford
Benjamin Radford lays out the proper method for investigating paranormal claims, and discusses how so many other "investigators" tend to get things wrong. He also discusses several cases that he himself investigated. A pretty engrossing read.
23. Infotopia by Cass R. Sunstein
Sunstein discusses why deliberation may often not be the best way to aggregate information and come to well informed conclusions. Group think and polarization can really mess with the intended goals. Sunstein suggests that prediction markets may be a better way of aggregating some information, and that there are also tools that may help deliberation to better itself.
24. The Science Of Fear by Daniel Gardner
Gardner discusses the cognitive processes behind why we are so bad at risk assessment, often fearing things far out of proportion to their likelihood of affecting us. He breaks it down into our head and our gut. Our gut, which he means to represent the more primitive parts of our brain, relies on heuristics for quick processing, but it often leads us astray. It's a fascinating look at the ways that we often mislead ourselves.
25. Starship: Mutiny by Mike Resnick
I found this to be an interesting science fiction novel. Some elements are cliche, and sometimes small details don't make sense, like they haven't been thought through. But all things considered, it's an engrossing, classical style Science Fiction story. Commander Wilson Cole constantly earns the ire of his superiors by having the intelligence to get things done in spite of the military's natural inclinations. He's relegated to an aging ship patrolling far from the action for his troubles. But that doesn't mean that he can't still get things done.
26. Starship: Pirate by Mike Resnick
Cole and the crew of the Teddy R, having mutinied at the end of the last book, find themselves turning to piracy in order to make ends meet. Just as fun to read as the last one.
27. What Does The Moon Smell Like? by Eva Everything
A cute book of pop science facts and multiple choice quizzes to test your general knowledge. A fun way to waste some time.
28. Starship: Mercenary by Mike Resnick
Captain Cole has decided to ditch the life of a pirate in favour of becoming a mercenary. Like the last to, pretty cliche science fiction, but nonetheless a fun read. And boy does Resnick like the word "sardonic". If you decide to read the series, consider making that into a drinking game.
29. Starship: Rebel by Mike Resnick
An unexpected event convinces Captain Cole to begin directly opposing the will of the Republic. Just as fun to read as the first three. Resnick does like to repeat himself a lot though. If you're playing that drinking game I suggested, try also taking a drink every time Cole says something to the effect that war is mostly periods of boredom, followed by periods of frenzied activity when you yearn for the boredom. Also, take a drink whenever he says that Molarians are the only other race with a sense of humour. Or when he's talking about Val and says that if he had 50 like her he could conquer the galaxy. Or whenever Sharon Blacksmith says "Dammit Wilson!".
30. Starship: Flagship by Mike Resnick
Final book of the Starship series. Captain Cole decides that his only option now is to bring down the Republic. Even though he's vastly outnumbered and outgunned, he heads into Republic territory to take action. Fun book. Nice, light read.
31. Shadow Of The Crimson Queen by Erick Radulski
Story of a bard who becomes enchanted by an evil goddess. Not very exciting or interesting.
32. The Stars, Like Dust by Isaac Asimov
It's always interesting to read one of the classics. Speculation from the 50's about future technology is pretty fascinating. Asimov had people traveling through space by making calculations by hand and consulting reference tomes of star positions. The story itself is only so-so, but still a good read.
33. The Feast Of The Drowned by Stephen Cole
A Doctor Who novel detailing an adventure of the tenth doctor. Mysterious sea entities are kidnapping people and using them to lure their friends and loved ones to join them. Pretty good book, very true to the series.
34. The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan
Classic, well respected skeptical book. An enjoyable read.
35. Dead Air by James Goss
Another Doctor Who novel about the tenth doctor. I found it to be kind of mediocre. He didn't write for the character of the doctor well, and much of the dialog of the other characters was a little strange as well.
