Book Recommedation for 2006

Since it’s pretty certain that I’m not going to be done my current read by Monday I figured I’d go ahead and do this post now. A few years ago I got into the habit of using Microsoft Excel to keep track of my readings. I put in the month read, title, author, number of pages read (because some are for class and I didn’t have time to read the entire book), and what I think (bad, okay, good, excellent, also re-read). So what I decided to do this year is pick a few of the excellent as a recommendation and put some honorable mentions. So here we go

Natural History – “Salt: A World History” – Mark Krulansky, I started reading this book before President Bush did so no I didn’t copy him. This book is an excellent little primer on salt, where it came from and the important role that it has had society as a monetary value and as a preservative for food. It’s a short read that is thoroughly enjoyable.

Cooking – “I’m Just Here for the Food” – Alton Brown, yes this is a cook book, complete with recipes and everything. This book gives the why behind what we do when we cook, Alton Brown makes the subject accessible and fun, a definite read for any would be cook.

School/Counseling – “Talking About Death won’t Kill You” – Virginia Morris, this book is excellent in its treatment of death. It treats the subject with seriousness and yet is able to make you laugh at times. A must for anyone going into counseling or ministry.

Philosophy – “The Book of Tea” – Kakuzo Okakura – for someone just getting into drinking tea this is an excellent book to pick up on what Tea means to the people and culture of Japan. Again a short read but it will have you wanting to quote it all the time.

History – “The Peloponnesian War” – Donald Kagan – a good primer on this war, it is helpful for understanding some of the make up of the Mediterranean basin and the cultures around that time. My only recommendation for this is to copy some of the maps as you read it so you don’t have to constantly flip back and forth.

Honorable Mention – re-reads

Classic – “Ivanhoe” – Sir Walter Scott – this is an excellent novel to pick up and re-read. I picked it back up after not having read it for almost 7 years. The plot moves quickly and Scott’s attention to detail is fantastic.

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