Title (year)	Author	Genre
The Secret Livesof People in Love (2007)	Van Booy, Simon	Fiction Short Story
Randomly picked this up, but very good, fun, thoughtful (2008-07-28)
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (2004)	Sedaris, David	Short stories
Another Sedaris classic (2008-04-28)
Twist: Short Stories Inspired by Tabloid Headlines (2006)	Collection	Short Story collection
Collection of short stories of South Africa, pretty good (2008-02-28)
Ficciones (1962)	Borges, Jorge Luis	Fiction Short Story
Really amazing story collection - fantastical, imaginative (2008-02-28)
Pedaling for Glory (1992)	Abt, Samuel	Non-Fiction Cycling
Only for true gear heads, about training and riding (2006-12-28)
A Country That Works (2006)	Stern, Andy	Non-Fiction Labor
Andy Stern's thought on the economy, an ok quick read, nothing earth shattering (2006-07-28)
The Island of Lost Maps (2000)	Harvey, Miles	Non-Fiction
Extraordinary! Amazing true tales of map intrigue and theft (2006-07-28)
The Elegant Universe (1999)	Greene, Brian	Non-Fiction Physics
History of the universe kind of thing, quite good though - finally got me to understanding quantum and string theory a bit better (2006-07-28)
Embracing defeat : Japan in the wake of World War II (1999)	Dower, John W.	Non-Fiction. History
Excellent account of the American occupation of Japan following the close of WWII. For a lengthy historical text, he keeps it very engaging, bringing out the most interest aspects yet covering the most important events. Very well written. (2005-05-16)
Mother Tongue: English and how it got that way (1991)	Bryson, Bill	Non-Fiction
Has lots of interesting stuff about our convoluted language, but I'm bit wary about a lot of what he uses, its obvious he doesn't most of the languages he makes comparisons to. But makes for great random knowledge. (2003-09-15)
DaVinci Code (2003)	Brown, Dan	Fiction.
This book was great. Its a wild mystery thriller, but also presents a lot of interesting art and religous history. It has a great alternative history of Catholic Church and such. Great read. I hear it might be plagerized though, who knows? (2003-09-01)
Stupid White Men (2001)	Moore, Michael	Non-fiction
Thought I should finally get around to this. I admit, I was a bit disappointed. One aspect was that it was very 'timely' and parts of it are now no longer relevant. It was also very choppy, he seemed to include all the things he thought were interesting, even if on very different topics. Parts of the book seemed great at addressing particular audiences (ie, high school students), but were less interesting to the general reader. Had some great parts though, he always brings up interesting observations, and his passage about "Roger and Me" made reading the whole book worth it. (2003-08-20)
Siddhartha (1922)	Hesse, Harman	Fiction.
Excellent. Its an 'eastern' novel by a 'western' author, and I felt it was a bit too romantic/exotic at times, but it was such a well-crafted story. It was a great read for me in a time of transition, really allows you to think along with the story. A very quick and worthwhile read. (2003-08-13)
Brothers Karamazov, The (1881)	Dostoyevsky, Fyodor	Fiction
Took me about six weeks to get through this Russian classic. I thought it was good, but not excellent. It had a strong feeling of being serialized, a few disconnected stories using the same characters that were tied together in creative ways--but maybe that really is the art of any novel. It also struck me as another book that is basically about elites. The major struggles in the book are around moral quandries that are choices that the rest of society just doesn't have the opportunity to make. It was a bit better than some classics to the extent that it gave character to people of other classes, but its still basically about the choices of the extremely privileged. I re-read the Grand Inquistor chapter a few weeks later and it gave me a greater appreciation of the project of the book, but I still feel like it was a big time investment for what I got out of it. (2003-08-01)
Perks of Being a Wallflower, The (1999)	Chbosky, Stephen	Fiction.
Coming of age story about a high school freshman around Pittsburgh. I thought it was fresh and fun at points (maybe because its the first piece of fiction I've read in several months), but I felt a lot of it was just very cliched. It sounded to me a lot like an adult pretending to be a kid. I think it rests a lot on feeling a relation with the central characters, but that was too much of a stretch for me. Though, it did make me think about friendships and such a bit. Many books I'd reccomend before it, but a quick and ok read. (2003-05-25)
City of Big Shoulders: A History of Chicago (2000)	Spinney, Robert G.	Non-Fiction. History
A GREAT history of Chicago. Its quite short, really quick, but very thorough, full of interesting bits, and intelligently analytical. I heard it for a research project I'm working on, but thoroughly enjoyed it and would recoomend it to anyone who has an interest in Chicago or American Urban History. (2003-04-20)
Gates of the Forest (1964)	Wiesel, Elie	Fiction.
My project of reading through Wiesel's lfie works continues. Another masterful book, about the choices we make and the choices that are made for us. Wiesel continues to pound at the questions opened up at Auschwitz. Its an unrelenting search for understanding. (2003-02-18)
Maus: A Survivors Tale II: And Here My Troubles Began (1991)	Spiegelman, Art	Non-Fiction. Comic book
See Maus. You definatley have to read both parts. (2003-01-23)
Maus: A Survivors Tale I: My Father Bleeds History (1986)	Spiegelman, Art	Non-Fiction. Comic book
A great book. An extremely honest portrait, not just of one man's Holocaust experience, but also about his life after, and what it means to be his soon. Very well done. (2003-01-19)
Town Beyond the Wall, The (1964)	Wiesel, Elie	Fiction
Wiesel's next book after the Night trilogy. Still captivates me. I hang on his stories and struggle with him, wondering what it means to live a as a survivor, and follow closely the captivating stories he creates. (2003-01-12)
Accident, The (1962)	Wiesel, Elie	Fiction.
Third in the Wiesel trilogy. Must be part personal account, but Wiesel captivates me, continues to wrap a compelling story around the experience of being a Holocaust survivor. After this book I decided my major reading project over the next few years will be to read the rest of his life's works. (2003-01-07)
Dawn (1961)	Wiesel, Elie	Fiction.
I love Wiesel. This is his second book, a fictional account of the struggle of a Zionist terrorist. I think its masterfully written, a compelling story. (2003-01-05)
Georges Woke Up Laughing Georges Woke Up Laughting: Long-Distance Nationalism and the Search for Home (2001)	Fouron, Georges and Nina Glick Schiller	Non-Fiction. Ethnography.
A really interesting book about "long-distance nationalism" that is, the transnationalism that is developing as immigrants from Haiti remain connected, even across generations. Really gets at some of the interesting topics in this area. Falls a bit more towards autobiographical and less towards ethnographic, and I think its political take on the decline of the nation-state, globalization, and trade hurts more than helps, but overall a great read for those interested in these topics. Read for thesis reserach. (2002-12-30)
Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else (2000)	de Soto, Hernando	Non-Fiction.
Presents some interesting claims and includes some thoughtful analysis, but is fairly weak on evidence and high on rhetoric. Does have a good insight into these important questions of property and capitalization, but probably overemphasizes them. Read for Labor and Politics seminar. (2002-11-17)
Infections and Inequalities: the Modern Plagues (1999)	Farmer, Paul	Non-fiction. Anthropology, Epidemiology.
Extremely interesting book. About Farmer's work in Haiti with Partners in Health as well as global health more broadly. Very interesting work on the anthropology of AIDS and TB. Raises very serious questions about equity, justice and responsibility. Read for Global Inequality seminar. (2002-11-06)
Labor of Development: Workers and the Transformation of Capitalism in Kerala, India (1999)	Heller, Patrick	Non-fiction. Macrohistorical Sociology
Tries to answer the question of how do you explain Kerala's extremely high social development indicators. Explores the role of the Communist Party and class formation. Very interesting account, even if incomplete. Addresses the formation of the both the agricultural and industrial classes, the institutionalization of their demands and compromises. Read for Labor and Politics seminar. (2002-10-27)
Labor Unions, Partisan Coalitions, and Market Reforms in Latin America (2001)	Murillo, Maria Victoria	Non-Fiction Political Science
Excellent account of the dynamics of union-government relations in Venezuela, Mexico and Argentina in the 1990's, while all had labor governments that pushed through market-based reforms. Fascinating theory. Good research. Its definately an academic book, not general reading. Read for Labor and Politics course. (2002-10-20)
Conversations with Students (1996)	Rem Koolhaas	Non-Fiction. Architecture
Good quick read with some thoughts on the world of architecture by an interesting and important architect. Talks about some interesting, even if absurd, projects, and some more general thoughts about the role of architects and differences in thinking between the US and Europe. (2002-10-18)
Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey (The) (1987)	Rushdie, Salman	Non-Fiction
An amazing book. Yes, its just one man's account, at a particular time, but its a wonderfully written and truly insightful account written by a man who had extraordinary access to the Sandanista government and all over other parts of Nicaragua. Also made me very nostalgic of my visit, even though it was 15 years after Rushie's. (2002-10-16)
Is Inequality Bad for Our Health? (2000)	Daniels, Kennedy and Kawachi	Non-Fiction
Actually just a published version of a New Democracy Forum section from the Boston Review, explores some of the questions around the health equity debate. Is more focus on socioeconomic equality the way to best address growing health inequities? I'm not very convinced by the arguments, nor do I think that this book best articulates some of the most interesting ideas in this debate, but its still a free read online, and brings in several perspectives. Read for Global Inequality seminar. (2002-10-08)
Development as Freedom (1999)	Sen, Amartya	Non-Fiction
I think this is a great read. Sen turns around the debate on globalization (growth versus equality) and opens it up to a whole range of new and interesting ideas. Raises a lot of possibilities for thinking about these issues and forging ahead. A bit weak on examples/demonstrations, but makes his points fairly clearly. Read for Labor and Politics course. (2002-09-29)
Globalization, Growth and Poverty: Building an Inclusive World Economy (2002)	World Bank	Non-Fiction
Basically a World Bank review of globalization. Filled with a lot of the expected rhetoric, but also gives a fairly honest picture of the successes and failures of globalization in specific places and in specific ways. Has some very interesting examples, though there is a lot of 'fluff' to get through. Available for free online. Read for Labor and Politics seminar. (2002-09-20)
Globalization and its Discontents (2002)	Stiglitz, Joseph	Non-Fiction
Read the book, not the reviews. Its an insightful insiders account of the World Bank, written by its former Chief Economist and the head of Clinton's Council of Economic Advisor. Places a lot of blame on the IMF and US Treasury while glossing over similar problems in the Bank, but still contains an excellent critique of both current policy directions and some of the extreme protest ideology. Written for a fairly generable audience. Read it for Labor and Politics seminar. (2002-09-15)
Boston Tea Party (1964)	Labaree, Benjamin Woods	Non-Fiction. History
History, just about the Boston Tea Party, no frills. But its well written, thorough and rather insightful; I learned a lot. Helpful if you understand a bit more of the context, especially English/Colonial governance, but its fairly approachable. I read it for "Riots, Strikes and Conspiracies in American History" course. (2002-09-09)
Satanic Verses (1988)	Rushie, Salman	Fiction.
Thought it was important I read this controversial book and was not at all dispppointed despite spending over six weeks on it. Its an amazing book, encompassing multiple tales from India, England, the United States, and Ancient Arabia, that overlap in real, dream and spiritual realms. Masterfully written, powerfully thought provoking. One of the best works of fiction I've ever read. (2002-08-19)
Miss Kwa Kwa (2006)	Simm, Stephen	Fiction
Quite good edgy contemporary a little fantastical South African tale. (2002-07-28)
The Battle of Blair Mountain (2004)	Shogan, Robert	Non-Fiction Labor
Awesome book about an armed uprising by coal miners against the government (2002-07-28)
Power of One (1989)	Courtenay, Bryce	Fiction. Historically Situated
Set in South Africa, late 1930's to 1940's, account of a British boy, has a bit about boxing. I didn't think it was very good. So many aspects of the story are just altogether too far-fetched, its like 5 Hollywood blockbusters. (And I believe it falls too far in the direction of supporting the myth that the differences between the attitudes, practices and lifestyles of British whites and Afrikaaners under Apartheid were more significant than the similarities.) (Update: Followup and response has been that mean suspicious re similarities/differences may be quite unfounded considering the time period the novel is set in.) (2002-06-30)
Such a Long Journey (1991)	Mistry, Rohinton	Fiction. Historically Situated
Set in Bombay during the time of Bangladesh indepedence, though its much more about the daily life of one family. Overall I thought it was a good story with a look into the lives of an Indian family during that time, with interesting characters and scenarios, but I was hoping for more on the historical and political context. (2002-06-15)
Night (1961)	Wiesel, Elie	Non-Fiction. Autobiographical.
Wiesel's personal account of Holocaust survival. Powerful and masterful, so honest its difficult to read at points, but worth the struggle to get through. Certainly a must read at some point in life. (2002-06-01)
A Beautiful Mind: The Life of Mathematical Genius and Nobel Laureate John Nash (1998)	Nasar, Slyvia	Non-Fiction. Biography.
I thought it was quite good, well written, thoroughly researched and documented. Turns out the movie, while a compelling and well told story, is scarcely true. Like most biographies though, every minor person introduced also gets a mini-biography, which can grow boring. But has great stuff on his work, and some issues about schizophrenia and mental illness in general. (2002-05-15)
Cat's Cradle (1963)	Vonnegut, Kurt	Fiction.
I thought it was OK; maybe I'm just dumb and don't get the deep social commentary of this stuff. Easy and quick read. (2002-05-10)
Everybody Loves a Good Drought (1996)	Sainath, Palagummi	Non-Fiction.
Collection of stories published about India's poorest rural districts in the early 1990's. Excellent journalism. Covers major facets of development, education, water, corruption, and other issues facing the rural poor, especially adivasis (indigenous tribals) and dalits (those of lower caste). Slightly dated in regards to structural adjustment issues. (2002-05-05)
Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000)	Harris, Mark Jonathan and Oppenheimer, Deborah	Non-Fiction.
About a program initiated by the British government to take Jewish children out of Nazi Germany between 1938 and when the war started in 1939. Pretty tough book to get through emotionally, and the organization of the book doesn't help, but its still a fairly excellent account. (2002-04-18)
Thirteen Cents (2000)	Duiker, K Sello	Fiction. Contemporary Situated
Mostly Fiction. About a street kid in Cape Town, South Africa. Interesting at points, but gets really wierd at others. Don't read this book if you can get your hands on Skyline instead. (2002-03-30)
Skyline (2000)	Pinnock, Patricia Schonstein	Fiction?
A girl's coming of age account in Cape Town, South Africa. EXCELLENT, but hard to find, and I left my copy on a plane! Tells such a different perspective on Cape Town and really all of Southern Africa, about civil wars and mercenaries and migrants and immigrants, all going on right on Long Street, the center of Tourist Cape Town. Must read for anyone spending time in Cape Town (2002-03-23)
A Suitable Boy (1994)	Seth, Vikram	Fiction. Historically Situated
A bit of an epic (~1400 pages), about elite families in early post-independance India. I thought it was great (2002-03-15)
Rediscovering Dharavi: Stories from Asia's Largest Slum (2000)	Sharma, Kalpana	Non-Fiction.
Journalist's account of a major slum area in Mumbai (Bombay). I thought it was an excellent account that manages to avoid both romanticizing the lives of slum dwellers and ignoring the important roles slum dwellers play in the local, national and international economy. Truly excellent coverage of the massive internal economy of the area known as Dharavi as well as its historical development. Well written as well. (2002-02-15)
Power Politics (2001)	Roy, Arundhati	Non-Fiction
Non-Fiction (Though she includes the story of Rumpelstiltskin at the end). Essay about India, globalization, development, etc... Very, very good coverage of cost of development type issues. (2002-02-10)
The God of Small Things (1998)	Roy, Arundhati	Fiction. Historically Situated
Set in Kerela, India. A bit of a tragic and disturbing story, but also includes a bit about the Communist movement in Kerela and some other general things about India. I like her writing. (2002-01-15)