Destinations

On My Bookshelf

I love to read . . . and appreciate it when people recommend good books and authors, too. So consider these my (incomplete) recommendations. You're welcome to share your good reads with me - just e-mail recommendations to me at amathison@sprintmail.com.

Fictitious Fav's

• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
• Persuasion by Jane Austen. This is the best among a set of simply superb novels.
• Queen Lucia and the other books in the Lucia and Mapp series by E. F. Benson. Hilarious social comedy.
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
• The Lais of Marie de France
• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
• English Creek and Dancing at the Rascal Fair by Ivan Doig
• Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding. V. cool.
• Odds Against by Dick Francis (mystery). I read each and every single Dick Francis mystery, but I consider this one his best.
• Mysteries written by Georgette Heyer. Underappreciated social comedy/analysis.
• Beowulf (edition edited by Seamus Heany is v. good)
• An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (as well as some of her other mysteries) by P.D. James
• The Far Pavilions by MM Kaye
• The Playmaker by Thomas Keneally. A gritty exploration of the penal colony life in Australia.
• The Thrill of the Grass by W.P. Kinsella
• Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. You might have to read through the first 100 pages, but after that, you're stuck.
• Fly Away Peter by David Malouf. Stunning. It's poetry in prose. Kleenex required.
• The Lord Peter Wimsey series of mysteries by Dorothy Sayers
• Nearly all of Shakespeare's plays
• Hardcase by Luke Short
• A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
• The Laughing Policeman by Major Sjowall and Per Wahloo
• The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan.
• The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein
• The Once and Future King by T.H. White

Top-Notch Non-fiction

• E=MC2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation by David Bodanis
• The Discoverers by Daniel Boorstin
• Black Ice by Lorene Cary
• Son of the Morning Star: Custer and the Little Bighorn by Evan S. Connell
• The Road from Coorain by Jill Ker Conway
• Jocks and Burnouts: Social Categories and Identity in the High School by Penny Eckert
• The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman by R.P. Feynman
• "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of a Curious Character by Edward Hutchings (Editor), Ralph Leighton, Richard Phillips Feynman
• The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys by Doris Kearns Goodwin. So good that 800 pages zoom by in a flash.
• No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin
• The Long Haul: An Autobiography by Myles Horton
• The Splendid Table by Lynne Rosetto Kasper. Dive into a fabulous history and exploration of northern Italian cooking. A fabulous read (and excellent recipes).
• Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela. The wisdom and wit in this autobiography makes the story of South Africa's freedom from apartheid so compelling.
• Africa: The Biography of a Continent by John Reader. Simply top notch.
• Beautiful Swimmers: Watermen, Crabs and the Chesepeake Bay by William Warner.

About Computers

• Oversold & Underused: Computers in the Classroom by Larry Cuban
• Running Mac OS Panther by James Duncan Davidson. Under the covers of the best OS out there.
• Eric Meyer on CSS by Eric A. Meyer. A simple but incredibly effective way to become accomplished at writing CSS.
• Designing Web Usability : The Practice of Simplicity
  by Jakob Nielsen
• The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman
• Social Life of Information by John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid

Handy How To's and References

• How to Phtograph Your Life by Nick Kelsh. A how-to-photography book written in simple English with excellent examples. Perfect for amateurs (i.e. me).
• Home Comforts : The Art and Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelson
• The Complete Photo Guide to Home Repair: 2000 Color How-To Photos
  by Creative Publishing International