Books I've read recently

[Enrique]

Speaker for the Dead Written by Orson Scott Card, this is the first sequel to his very popular Ender's Game. I thought it was brilliant, I enjoyed it more than Ender's Game. Even though I wasn't too delighted with the whole piggie storyline, I really liked the characters, specially the Speaker for the Dead. I like much of his philosophy.

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man A book by John Perkins a person who claims he was an "economic hit man" for a big company in America. The book was very good and it made dislike the government a lot more than I had before. It talks about government ties with dictators, exploitation of third world countries and many other awful things. It was an eye opener, I think my view of the world changed after reading it.

Forces of Nature The last book in The Lounge Book Club. I didn't see any discussion of it (only the first chapters) but I went ahead and read it back in November. I liked the book, probably liked it a bit more because I had just read "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man", I could relate globalization as an enemy a little better. The book is very pessimistic, but it entertained me. I was frustrated seeing how Chris kept going in that downward spiral of meanness. Particularly towards his wife, but also as a person willing to use other people for his gains. It was interesting seeing a good person rationalizing doing bad things.

A Mathematician's Apology The famous book by G.W Hardy, an early 1900s mathematician. He wrote an essay describing why it was good to be a mathematician. A lot of the things he writes come out as arrogant, but many things make a lot of sense and are in a way inspiring. I guess any mathematician should read it.

Watchmen The graphic novel by Alan Moore. I thought it was excellent. I really enjoyed Ozymandias character, it reminded me a lot of Alexander the Great. One of my favorite books is Persian Boy by Mary Renault, which is a fiction biography of Alexander the Great.

Letter to a Christian Nation A lot of very good arguments against religion (note: not against spirituality, but against organized religion). Books like this make my belief that religion is bad for society stronger.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy So far, I have only read the first one. I liked it a lot, laughing a lot while reading it. A lot of the crazy ideas are hilarious and his choice of words seems perfect.

Those are the books, I read the last two months of 2006.