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Author Topic: b o o k ;  (Read 4059 times)

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Doc

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b o o k ;
« on: February 11, 2007, 04:28:28 pm »
So I've been on this non-fictional but humourous reading trip lately. It started off with 'History's Worst Decisions and the people who made them', then I moved onto 'Teacup in a Storm' which is about exploring and in the last week I've polished off 'the Book of General Ignorance' and 'Eats, Shoots and Leaves' (which would probably be required reading for this board if I wasn't pretty sure most of you have already read it).
So anyway, does anyone have any suggestions for other books along this vein? The topic doesn't matter much to me; I just like learning new stuff. Although I do find the planning for an outrageous scenario books quite enjoyable ('How to survive a ***** uprising' is some good honest fun).
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littlefallsmets

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Re: b o o k ;
« Reply #1 on: February 11, 2007, 04:40:24 pm »
Once again, I pretend that one blanked-out word is another and that you're talking about a ##### uprising. Like a wedgie. "How to Survive a Wedgie".
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CortJstr

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Re: b o o k ;
« Reply #2 on: February 11, 2007, 04:43:39 pm »
I haven't read Eats, Shoots and Leaves but I did read most of Lapsing into a Comma and The Elephants of Style back when they were part of a free website and I found them entertaining. Examples.
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Drygioni

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Re: b o o k ;
« Reply #3 on: February 11, 2007, 05:13:30 pm »
Quote from: Doc on February 11, 2007, 04:28:28 pm
'the Book of General Ignorance' and 'Eats, Shoots and Leaves'

I concur with Doc, these are good stuff.
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V-Adore

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Re: b o o k ;
« Reply #4 on: February 11, 2007, 09:55:55 pm »
The go-to author for books about English and its misuse is Richard Lederer, whose books coached me through an extremely smarty-##### adolescence.
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Choop

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Re: b o o k ;
« Reply #5 on: February 11, 2007, 10:52:16 pm »
The Areas of My Expertise, by John Hodgman
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side_show

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Re: b o o k ;
« Reply #6 on: February 11, 2007, 11:11:12 pm »
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester is about the creation of the OED, and the many submissions writting by an institutionalized and deeply disturbed guy.  It's got some suprisingly interesting stuff in it.

From Achilles Heel to Zeus's Shield by Dale Coery Dibbley is also an interesting look at words with origins in mythology.
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CortJstr

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Re: b o o k ;
« Reply #7 on: February 11, 2007, 11:45:11 pm »
Quote from: side_show on February 11, 2007, 11:11:12 pm
From Achilles Heel to Zeus's Shield by Dale Coery Dibbley is also an interesting look at words with origins in mythology.

That sounds really cool. I'm all about the word mentor.
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AugustWest

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Re: b o o k ;
« Reply #8 on: February 12, 2007, 03:02:51 am »
Quote from: side_show on February 11, 2007, 11:11:12 pm
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester is about the creation of the OED, and the many submissions writting by an institutionalized and deeply disturbed guy.  It's got some suprisingly interesting stuff in it.


I'll second this one.  It was both surprisingly informative and poignant.
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jaydub

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Re: b o o k ;
« Reply #9 on: February 12, 2007, 10:41:34 pm »
Its off on a different tangent, but I think unlearning tripe and fables (or at least recognizing such) is as important as learning New Things - Lies My Teacher Told Me and Lies Across America" are great episodic reads (great for the 'can).  Equally, Eat, Drink and Be Merry and The Demon-Haunted World are nice for shaking off the cobwebs of media-induced anxiety and popular culture confusion, respectively.
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theinevitable

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Re: b o o k ;
« Reply #10 on: February 12, 2007, 11:19:28 pm »
Legends, Lies, and Cherished Myths of History
and
Legends, lies, and Cherished myths of American history.

I enjoyed both heartily when I was 14 and openly enjoyed feeling smarter than everyone around me.
You'd better believe I used those books to make people feel dumb.
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slink

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Re: b o o k ;
« Reply #11 on: February 13, 2007, 02:40:23 am »
Since the The Areas of My Expertise was mentioned, how about America - A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction.
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V-Adore

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Re: b o o k ;
« Reply #12 on: February 13, 2007, 06:29:01 am »
Quote from: jaydub on February 12, 2007, 10:41:34 pm
Its off on a different tangent, but I think unlearning tripe and fables (or at least recognizing such) is as important as learning New Things - Lies My Teacher Told Me and Lies Across America" are great episodic reads (great for the 'can).

Seconding Lies Across America, although I will issue one warning: it will make you really disgusted with Confederate revisionist history. At least, it made me that way. (I am 100% down with the South as a geographical area, but honest to God, the efforts over the years to redefine the Civil War in ways that allowed for the preservation of brutal ignorance and racism sicken me.)
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KeithHernandez

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Re: b o o k ;
« Reply #13 on: February 13, 2007, 09:05:21 am »
Yeah, I grew up in Oklahoma and they always tried to teach us that the Civil War was caused by, like, five things that I can't remember right now.  Something like:  Economy (south, agr. North, industrial), States Rights (to own slaves), and really that is all I remember.  But I put something to the effect of those things were caused by slavery and that is still the root of all of the issues and blahblahblah.  Anyways, I got like a C or D on it, in AP US Hist in high school.  I wrote essentially the same paper in college and I got an a (also in Oklahoma).  This isn't really going anywhere, but either my teacher was a bitch, high school just wanted you to repeat what you told them, or there was hell of a conspiracy put together by some redneck assholes at my school board/city/state/(whatever it is that decides these things such as curriculum).  Plus, my high school essay was probably done over like 3 weeks of research while my college paper was without a doubt done in a night, probably over night.
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Nabubrush

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Re: b o o k ;
« Reply #14 on: March 08, 2007, 11:47:30 pm »
Kind of late, but you might enjoy Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson or Innumeracy by John Allen Paulos.
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