The Emperor of All Maladies

A 608 page book that describes the history of cancer research and treatment sounds like a dry-as-dust sedative.  But, this Pulitzer Prize-winning book by physician-scientist Siddhartha Mukherjee is anything but! Dr. Mukherjee subtitles his book "A Biography of Cancer," and this subtitle accurately conveys how Mukherjee characterizes the "personality" of cancer as it has been perceived over the ages.  The book also discusses changes in ideas of how cancer should be treated, especially focusing on instances when those ideas, though wholly incorrect, were persuasively, even dogmatically championed by accomplished and articulate physicians and researchers.  The scholarship is impressive, but first and foremost, this is an immensely readable and thoughtful consideration of a menacing, devastating, yet fascinating disease.  Very highly recommended!

Yes, Chef - Marcus Samuelsson

A delightful, pleasurable book!  Marcus Samuelsson was born in a very small, primitive village in Ethiopia.  When he was 3, he, his mother and his older sister contracted tuberculosis.  Against all odds, and with amazing strength and determination, his mother carried him and, holding his sister's hand, walked with them  to a distant hospital - she died, but Marcus and his sister survived.  In a few months, they were adopted by a Swedish family who already had one adopted black child - and now had three!  The book consists of two parallel  stories - Marcus' unusual life history, and his development as a cook.  He has a passion for different kinds of tastes and cuisines.  Through exceptionally hard work and a can do attitude "Yes, Chef" - he progressed  up the "food chain" rapidly; at 24, his talent and training, together with a stroke of luck, allowed him to become the head chef at a classy Swedish restaurant in New York, Aquavit.  He quickly garnered a three-star review from Ruth Reichl and went on to other noteworthy successes - and some serious setbacks and personal trials, recounted with candor.  Great insights into the diverse world of first-class restaurants, and a warm, winning human story.

Galileo's Dream

Quite an unusual story, from Kim Stanley Robinson, author of the Mars Trilogy.  Well, two stories: one is the life of Galileo in Italy and the second is set in about the year 3000 on the planets of Jupiter.  Humans who have settled the planets have a way to time travel and, and for reasons never made completely convincing, they retrieve Galileo from time to time, to help settle some ongoing disputes.  The second of these narratives is a little loopy, but interesting.  Without serious spoilers, it's fair to reveal that the crux of some of the major dispute is whether Galileo is spared or martyred  for his heretical views.  A brief but terrifying part of the book allows Galileo and the reader) to visualize/experience being burned at the stake.  The main narrative describes  Galileo's life, vigorously portraying his vitality, his passion for experimentation, his astonishing breadth of interests and achievements, and his loving but tragic relationships with his daughters.  Not a perfect book, but a wonderful, absorbing read.

Moonwalking with Einstein

From the cover and the title, I can understand why no one would understand what the heck the book is about. If, however, you observe the tiny subtitle, "The Art and Science of Remembering Everything", you'll find this book to be a treatise on memory and its history.

While the book's main story is the chronicle of how its author, Josh Foer, became the Memory Champion of the United States, some of the more interesting parts of the book are about the history of memory. In fact, the ability to remember things particularly well has been around since ancient Greece, and in ancient cultures, a proclivity towards recall was considered one of the chief attributes of intelligence.

Today, no one cares how well you can memorize things. And Josh Foer gives a detailed account of why. If you think you'd be interested in learning how to remember everything you ever wanted, maybe check out this book.

Never Eat Alone

Here's one that I think everyone could take a quick look at-- Keith Ferazzi is the CEO of a well-known marketing firm, and the very existence of his company depends on the power of his network. So, if you've ever wanted improvement on networking skills, here's a good place to start.

Keith goes into detail in this book about the various ways you can up the power of your network, the proper way of thinking about networking, and, most importantly, keeping in contact with your network. While I think the guy sounds like a bit of a schmoozer, and someone that I would never be fast friends with, he sounds like he's mastered the social skills to creating useful business contacts, and that's worth its weight in gold.

Heart of Darkness

This classic from Joseph Conrad is actually a really, really short read. So, if you've ever wanted to dip your toe into the novels you should have read in high school but never got around to, this one's a good one to start you off.

The story is rather straightforward, so much so that one might argue very little happens-- the true beauty of the novel, however, is in the atmosphere that Conrad creates throughout the book, bringing to life the struggles of the African people, and the darkness that is within everyone.

I thought this book was fantastic, and definitely worth the read. If you're willing to brave a couple of nightmares, pick this sucker up from your local library.

Walden

I know what you're thinking: you're remembering back to high school when you were forced to read this book cover to cover, and after you finished, you instantly shredded and burned your copy. While I can understand where these poor high school students are coming from, I think you might want to re-visit this old classic, especially in light of today's hectic lifestyle.

Since it is a collection of essays, Walden has no narrative, which makes the lengthier passages about as interesting as watching grass grow.This, however, is part of the book's charm. The very point of Walden is to force the reader to slow down, to read about a lazier and simpler lifestyle. If you're reading the book to just get through it, or to seem like an intellectual in front of your friends, you will have a miserable time.

If one reads the book simply for its own sake, however, the true beauty of it comes out. The book is an ode to the poetry and the philosophy in every day life that we constantly miss. Thoreau hopes, desperately hopes, that maybe somebody will pick up the book and realize what they've been missing all this time. They might hear the call of the loon out behind their house, and go out to watch the morning sun rise.

In short, if you want a thriller, or a heartrending tale of despair, or even just a book that you can read to the kids at bed time, this is most definitely not the one you want. But if you ever feel the need to just sit down and clear your mind, there will never be a book more suited to such a purpose than this one.