Ten Books I Read In 2007

God is not Great

How Religion Poisons Everything

by Christopher Hitchens
Hitchens is fast becoming one of my favorite writers and this is certainly my favorite book of the year. I read Dawkins and Harris last year and this one rounds out the anti-god triple threat perfectly. I still don’t agree with his support of the Iraq war but his argument for it is thought provoking. I also had a chance to see Hitchens speak at a Seattle Town Hall early in the year and discovered he is quite funny as well.

The Rider

by Tim Krabbé
I dove head-first into bicycling this year and part of my initiation involved reading this classic, intimate bike race memoir that follows the exploits of Mr. Krabbé himself on a single mountain stage race from start to finish.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma

A Natural History of Four Meals

by Michael Pollan
Pollan takes us on an adventure through the modern food chain, and it’s fascinating stuff. I never knew just how much of our lives are nourished by corn.

Infidel

by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Wow. Amazing story. While in the end the book is anti-religious it’s also 100% pro humanity. And Ayaan’s peek behind the scenes at strict Islamist Africa amidst civil war is both shocking and fascinating.

Positively False

The Real Story of How I Won the Tour de France

by Floyd Landis
I’ve been a big fan of the Tour dé France for quite a few years now and Lance Armstrong certainly got me into the whole thing as a spectator. But, at the end of the day, I like Floyd just a little bit more. He just seems lovable. And, after reading this book I’m a believer. He won that race fairly.

Dirty Havana Trilogy

A Novel in Stories

by Pedro Juan Gutierrez
If Charles Bukowski met Henry Miller and they moved to Cuba and drank rum for months straight, this book might begin to form. Recommended by good pal and author David Young.

Unweaving The Rainbow

Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder

by Richard Dawkins
After reading this book I’m officially putting Dawkins on my short list of personal heroes. The poet Keats complained that Newton’s experiments with prisms and light destroyed the “poetry” of the rainbow. But as Dawkins proves, there’s so much more poetry and wonder in the truth itself.

Letters to a Young Contrarian

by Christopher Hitchens
Hitchens on dissent: “The noble title of “dissident” must be earned rather than claimed; it connotes sacrifice and risk rather than mere disagreement.”

Nanny State

How Food Fascists, Teetotaling Do-Gooders, Priggish Moralists, and other Boneheaded Bureaucrats are Turning America into a Nation of Children

by David Harsanyi
The sub-title says it all. From a contributing author of my favorite magazine, Reason.

Posted by Lookatlao at December 15, 2007 6:50 PM