Comments on: Useful Books

Question: Useful Books

shotgunbooty — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:01:20 -0800

What is the most useful book you own?

Anything and everything. An example list: The Joy of Cooking, Readers Digest Fix-It-Yourself, The Elements of Style.

Not what I'm looking for: "Physician's Desk Reference... hollowed out. Inside: waterproof matches, iodine tablets, beet seeds, protein bars, NASA blanket and, in case I get bored, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. No, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." :)

By: tylermoody

tylermoody — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:06:54 -0800

The Unix Programming Environment

By: Dizzy

Dizzy — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:07:26 -0800

"Gravity's Rainbow".
It's all there.
All of it.
And heavy enough to be a weapon in case I have to defend my selection.

By: beaucoupkevin

beaucoupkevin — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:07:53 -0800

On Directing Film by David Mamet.

By: tylermoody

tylermoody — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:07:58 -0800

only because the manual isn't actually a book

By: pwally

pwally — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:13:26 -0800

How to win any argument as it allows me to defend myself against idiots.

By: ClaudiaCenter

ClaudiaCenter — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:15:57 -0800

Big -- no huge! -- dictionary. Traditionally response, but still it's the one I use the most and find the most useful. Mine is a large maroon hardcover Random House.

Second place (tied): thesaurus and a book called Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia.

By: notsnot

notsnot — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:16:32 -0800

I refer to Dan Margulis's "Photoshop LAB color" at least every other week, if that's your thing.

Two others that sat on the toilet tank when I was a bachelor: Gray's Anatomy, so I could figure out what all those aches and pains were, and how to stretch or whatever to make them go away; and The Ashley Book of Knots - every knot for every possible application. At that time in my life, a lot of friends moved a lot, and I had the pickup truck. Spending an extra five minutes using the *correct* knot to lash things down meant it could all be unlashed at the destination in a manner of seconds.

By: fogster

fogster — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:16:43 -0800

How to Win Friends and Influence People!

Incidentally, it's old enough to be in public domain it seems. Download it if you choose, though Carnegie encourages you to underline and circle key parts, which I recommend.

By: majick

majick — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:19:06 -0800

Pocket Ref.

By: Help, I can't stop talking!

Help, I can't stop talking! — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:19:36 -0800

How to Cook Everything should always be present in your kitchen. The title is accurate.

By: Stewriffic

Stewriffic — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:19:42 -0800

Sibley's Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America is the book I reference most.

By: essexjan

essexjan — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:20:56 -0800

Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism

It's my blueprint for living.

By: matteo

matteo — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:25:15 -0800

Seneca's Letters To Lucilius

By: R. Mutt

R. Mutt — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:27:49 -0800

The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques by Ralph Mayer.

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:28:50 -0800

Handbook of Poisoning.

No, wait--it's a medical text. I bought it years ago to discover the LD50 of the chemicals I was spraying in my garden, and have since gone organic. It describes diagnosis, management and prevention of poisoning from food, atmospheric particulates, alcohols, anesthetics, pesticides, cosmetics, drugs of all kinds, household products, reptiles, arachnids, insects, marine animals, plants--you name it; if it's poisonous, it's in there.

By: b1tr0t

b1tr0t — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:30:45 -0800

Automata Theory by Hopcroft & Ullman

wikipedia

Kindle

By: caddis

caddis — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:31:03 -0800

The Bible

By: Gianna

Gianna — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:34:56 -0800

Toss-up between "The New Best Recipe" by Cook's Illustrated and Home Depot's massive orange book on how to fix things for Book I Refer To Most Often.

By: sweetkid

sweetkid — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:37:15 -0800

I don't use it much any more, but everything I learned about the job search--resumes, cover letters, interview etiquette, thank you notes--I learned from the Idiot
s Guide to Resumes--and I get a lot of interviews/offers.

By: conradjones

conradjones — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:42:21 -0800

I'll second Pocket Ref. It has everything you could ever need to know for pretty much anything out in the great wide world.

By: JanetLand

JanetLand — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:48:57 -0800

The Tightwad Gazette.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:49:21 -0800

Big -- no huge! -- dictionary.

Yup. I've got two huge ones—the OED and Webster's Third International—and several merely big ones (American Heritage, New Oxford American, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate, etc.); if I had to keep just one, it would be the OED, hands down.

By: Nelsormensch

Nelsormensch — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:51:32 -0800

It's hard to pick a single number one, but How to Win Friends and Influence People is a very strong contender.

By: kimdog

kimdog — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:52:32 -0800

An Incomplete Education. It distills classical education down to funny, well-written, easily digestible bites. I got it for high school graduation about 15 years ago. I used it a lot during college, and I stilll find myself referring to it from time to time. Oh, I also have that Home Depot book. It's been helpful. In fact, I am about to tackle hanging some kitchen cabinets using this book.

By: craven_morhead

craven_morhead — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:53:11 -0800

The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, 18th ed., but only because I have to do a lot of complex legal citation.

By: meerkatty

meerkatty — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:59:13 -0800

Janson's History of Art. You wouldn't believe how much I refer to this book on a weekly basis. And I'm not even an artist/art critic/art whatever.

By: you're a kitty!

you're a kitty! — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:59:45 -0800

Strunk & White, i.e. The Elements of Style.

By: adamrice

adamrice — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:00:12 -0800

Joy of Cooking and The New Best Recipe both get a lot of play in my household. But I refer to my Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary (5th edition) countless times every day.

Other faves: Dorling & Kindersley Ultimate Visual Dictionary, Chicago Manual of Style, and my cherished McMaster-Carr catalog (which, if I used more often, would obviate the need for a gym membership).

By: milarepa

milarepa — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:06:34 -0800

Lam Rim Chen Mo in three volumes.

By: box

box — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:09:16 -0800

Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House hasn't been mentioned yet, and it's pretty high on my list.

By: Pater Aletheias

Pater Aletheias — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:13:20 -0800

I use The Dictionary of New Testament Background all the time. (But what's useful for me is seldom useful for 99.8% of the general populace.)

By: AceRock

AceRock — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:13:33 -0800

On Food and Cooking by McGee
Practical Programming for Strength Training by Rippetoe

By: shadow vector

shadow vector — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:14:49 -0800

Peter Kennedy's A Guide to Econometrics. If I need a quick refresher on some technique I haven't used in a while, it's always the first place I look.

By: tamitang

tamitang — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:16:31 -0800

Now that I have the letters M.Ed after my name I don't have to use it that much, but there was a time that this book, Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association: Fifth Edition ruled my life!

By: slimepuppy

slimepuppy — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:16:54 -0800

Kotiruoka

The definitive Finnish recipe book. First edition published in 1908 and has kept my homesickenss at bay for the best way I know how for the last 6 years in two foreign countries.

Hey, you asked.

By: ikkyu2

ikkyu2 — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:17:52 -0800

Brazis' Localization in Clinical Neurology.

By: champthom

champthom — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:19:30 -0800

Mine is the "Modern Educator." It's this book from 1912 I got at a library book sale for a buck and it has: verb conjugations for French, German, and Italian; sport and card game rules (such as for base-ball, basket-ball, and shinny [also known as "hockey" to some]), classic American poems, conversion charts, rules of parliamentary procedure, how to operate an auto-mobile, the mechanics of the new aero-plane, etiquette (including etiquette for solo female travelers), penmanship, bookkeeping, shorthand, how to write a letter (such as a letter to ask your dear friend to borrow his copy of Darwin's "The Origin of Species" from his personal library), basic architecture, a brief history of the United States and Western Civilization, an introduction to the physical sciences..."a complete cyclopedia in one volume."

I would not sell it for any given sum and it is definitely the most useful book I have.

By: mr_book

mr_book — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:20:51 -0800

Vampire: The Masquerade. 1st Edition.

-or-

Webster's Dictionary

By: mr_book

mr_book — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:21:12 -0800

---Or maybe a hardbound OED

By: kickback

kickback — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:29:45 -0800

Moby Dick. It's like a bottomless bottle of xanax, only better since it litters my dreams with leviathans and ivory-legged madmen.

By: parmanparman

parmanparman — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:31:36 -0800

How to Look Sideways

By: rtha

rtha — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:32:29 -0800

A toss-up between The Sibley Guide to Birds and the Chicago Manual of Style.

By: dragonsi55

dragonsi55 — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:36:03 -0800

Children's Writer's Word Book.

I'm driven to get at the roots of ideas.
And I tend to think in too many syllables to be easily understood.

Two uses, one book.

By: drjimmy11

drjimmy11 — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:49:56 -0800

"The Great Gatsby."

In another sense, Robert Mckee's "Story."

By: grouse

grouse — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:51:34 -0800

Biological sequence analysis

By: Toekneesan

Toekneesan — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:54:16 -0800

Joy of Cooking but edition specific. 4th edition from 1962 is the best of both the modern and the rustic. How to make a soufflé just a few pages down from how to skin a possum. (Boot on the tail and pull up with the back legs, illus. on page 453). I really can not use the current edition. Where the hell did all the butter and folk wisdom go?

I'm also constantly referencing the King Arthur Flour 20th Anniversary Cookbook for anything that uses flour.

Rodale's How to Grow Vegetable's & Fruits by the Organic Method. Our edition is from 1961.

The American Heritage Dictionary is another fav. We get a new one every couple years.

By: Rumple

Rumple — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:54:44 -0800

The Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology are excellent.

Boatowners Mechanical and Electrical handbooks, by Nigel Calder. Clunky but encyclopediac.

By: Ironmouth

Ironmouth — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:58:23 -0800

The Bluebook.

By: wafaa

wafaa — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:59:42 -0800

Used the most, my dictionary. I agree with Benet's Readers Encyclopedia, and an honorable mention for The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy.

By: bigmusic

bigmusic — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 12:02:09 -0800

Rogert's Thesaurus - the original format

It has the words categorized by idea instead of alphabetically.

Take Care of Yourself: The Complete Illustrated Guide to Medical Self-Care

This book will save you tons of time. Instead of agonizing whether you need to go see the Dr. or not, you can have a look at this book and it will give you the self care you can do at home or tell you if you really need to go see a doc.

By: mmascolino

mmascolino — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 12:03:57 -0800

I've never looked at The New Best Recipe (but I've added it to my wishlist). However, the Cook's Illustrated book that gets most used in our house is The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.

By: amfea

amfea — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 12:06:26 -0800

My college organic chemistry textbook, because I will never need a sleeping pill when I can just read a few pages of that!

By: ddaavviidd

ddaavviidd — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 12:12:53 -0800

The Art of Road Bike Maintenance (at least useful 5 months/year here)
I also like Guide de la communication écrite (Marie Malo) because it's concise but always pertinent.

By: jet_silver

jet_silver — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 12:13:32 -0800

Machinery's Handbook.

By: sondrialiac

sondrialiac — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 12:17:57 -0800

Most of my most-used resources are online (thesauruses, the OED, etc.)

Offline, ee cummings, 100 selected poems. Almost everyone likes SOMETHING from that book, and it's a good way to introduce a bit of joy into someone's life. Love poems, dirty poems, dirty love poems, political satire, poems about getting old, poems about dear old mum (maybe just one of those), they're all in there.

By: dreamphone

dreamphone — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 12:23:13 -0800

Have to second Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House - it's rare in that it's both encyclopedic and a joy to read chapter by chapter. A most excellent gift for a newlywed couple or a new homeowner. Very detailed instructions on the best way to care for absolutely everything in your house.

By: gcat

gcat — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 12:24:37 -0800

>How to win any argument as it allows me to defend myself against idiots.

sounds great. here i was thinking it was an impossible task to be avoided at all costs.

might have to check out that book. thanks, pwally

By: casaubon

casaubon — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 12:31:29 -0800

Seconding Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance.

A book I just recently discovered but feel will come in great handy is On Food and Cooking.

By: Iridic

Iridic — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 12:32:50 -0800

Hayden Carruth's The Voice That Is Great Within Us. A comprehensive anthology of American poetry from 1900-1970; small enough to slip in a largish coat pocket and take along on the train.

By: F Mackenzie

F Mackenzie — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 12:34:19 -0800

Power in Organizations, although I don't think it's in print, having been updated I believe by Managing with Power, which I haven't yet read. The original was the single biggest influence in my corporate career, and I gave out many copies.

By: JeffL

JeffL — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 12:48:21 -0800

For many years, the most useful book I owned was The C Programming Language.

By: frobozz

frobozz — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 12:54:34 -0800

For this amateur gardener and floraphile, it's definitely Stirling MacOboy's hugely comprehensive What Flower is That?

By: Holy foxy moxie batman!

Holy foxy moxie batman! — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:04:18 -0800

Being a US history junkie I have to say Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.

By: Riverine

Riverine — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:14:36 -0800

The New York Public Library Desk Reference . It's got answers to most things you might Google or ask a librarian to find. Good for general reading, too.

By: pineapple

pineapple — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:19:01 -0800

Emily Post's Etiquette

By: furtive

furtive — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:32:48 -0800

Regular Expression Pocket Reference

How to be a Programmer: A Short, Comprehensive, and Personal Summary

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:45:48 -0800

my most often consulted reference books:
OED
etiquette book (I like the big Miss Manners, but Emily Post etc would do)
Norton Anthology of English Lit, and Norton Anthology of Poetry
Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmerman
world atlas
Joy of Cooking or other basic cookbook; Mark Bittman's Everything Vegetarian is a new one I'm using a lot

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:47:09 -0800

and a medical reference book (basic family medical guide, or some title like that -- big, with pictures)

By: mr. remy

mr. remy — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:55:04 -0800

On Food And Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee. Absolutely, utterly indispensible.

Barnhart's Concise Dictionary of Etymology ed. Robert Barnhart

By: icebourg

icebourg — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:56:23 -0800

Getting Things Done.

It changed my life. Seriously.

By: Atom12

Atom12 — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:57:37 -0800

Lots of good cookbooks listed already. Another favorite at our house is The Complete Meat Cookbook. If you're into grilling, Barbecue Nation also has a lot of practical, everyday recipes.

By: jtron

jtron — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 14:01:14 -0800

In addition to the many excellent suggestions above New Best Recipe~! I would like to suggest Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds and Scarne's New Complete Guide to Gambling. The wisdom contained within will enrich your life and your pocketbook.

By: chara

chara — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:02:06 -0800

Random House Word Menu

It's like an encyclopedia of thesauruses (thesauri?). I read the thing cover-to-cover in 7th grade. Love it!

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:59:54 -0800

A,Chilton's Repair Manual for each of my cars. It's the first thing I buy after I purchase a car.

By: idiomatika

idiomatika — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:59:58 -0800

Dark Nights of the Soul

Why yes, I am going through a relationship break-up right now.

Good to read anyway, if you're going through a tough time or not.

By: blaneyphoto

blaneyphoto — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:16:25 -0800

Ashley Book of Knots

By: JaySunSee

JaySunSee — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:29:51 -0800

Instant HTML. I've owned the book for years and still refer to it for reference and clarification.

By: Shoggoth

Shoggoth — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:06:24 -0800

American Medical Association Family Medical Guide

The book has great flowcharts where you can go from symptoms to a diagnosis. We consult it a lot around here.

By: Kirth Gerson

Kirth Gerson — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:42:01 -0800

Either the aforementioned Machinery's Handbook, or this Boy Scout handbook.

By: unSane

unSane — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 18:07:51 -0800

The Bruce Trail Reference and The Guerrila Film Maker's Handbook.

By: yesno

yesno — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 18:13:05 -0800

I second "How to Cook Everything."

By: SPrintF

SPrintF — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 18:37:49 -0800

Successful Home Repair: When Not to Call the Contractor. Just about any fix-it book is useful.

By: StephenF

StephenF — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 18:50:19 -0800

Collected works of Sherlock Holmes. There's never a down time that book doesn't make better.

By: XMLicious

XMLicious — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 19:59:10 -0800

I find that the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám has just the right mix of Buddha-like joy, resolute acceptance, humor and wonder at the marvelous world, somber realism, and poetic beauty to promote a healthy outlook on life. Some editions of it are better than others. Project Gutenberg has several.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 20:15:14 -0800

The Visual Food Encyclopedia &
Melissa's Great Book of Produce

By: dogmom

dogmom — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 21:11:06 -0800

I love all of my Heloise books. My favorite is an inherited copy of Heloise All Around the House originally published in 1965. Even though some of the hints are dated, I still refer to it.

By: thebrokedown

thebrokedown — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 21:23:55 -0800

The DSM-IV

By: Smalltown Girl

Smalltown Girl — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 22:23:44 -0800

The Torah

By: purenitrous

purenitrous — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 23:27:18 -0800

Almost nthing The Best Recipe, by Cooks Illustrated, except unlike previous posters, I prefer the original edition to the New Best Recipe, though I have them both. Without a doubt, the most used book I've ever owned.

By: eclectist

eclectist — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 01:00:47 -0800

There was another question on ask.metafilter not too long ago: "List the best (or standard, or essential) text in your field/profession/etc", which I, of course, didn't favorite. I've looked for the last half-hour and I can't find it, but your meta-fu may be better than mine.

If it is, please meta-mail me with its whereabouts =).

By: Rumple

Rumple — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 01:09:31 -0800

probably this thread, eclecticist, which may be the most favorited thread ever.

By: cgc373

cgc373 — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 01:11:22 -0800

It's definitely the most-favorited AskMe thread.

By: andeluria

andeluria — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 02:27:52 -0800

1984, by George Orwell.

By: triggerfinger

triggerfinger — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 06:23:34 -0800

The Joy of Cooking

By: craven_morhead

craven_morhead — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 09:23:19 -0800

Jinx, ironmouth.

Also, Colorado Rivers and Creeks, a CO whitewater guidebook, about 1/2 the year.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 17:15:48 -0800

practically useful?

How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot

Down to earth, detailed & chatty book on VW maintenance, in plain english terms, loaded with wonderful Furry Freak Brothers style cartoons by the author, who is surely the Sheldon Brown of veedubs.

By: barrakuda

barrakuda — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 17:30:53 -0800

American Heritage Dictionary

By: pseudostrabismus

pseudostrabismus — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 01:28:35 -0800

I have this Name Your Baby book, which I use to get ideas for character names when I'm writing. It has names from various countries, explains the origins of the names, famous namesakes, nicknames, and alternate spellings. I've found some very evocative character names in this book.

By: roofus

roofus — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 06:41:26 -0800

The Fly Tiers Benchside Reference

Ballymaloe Cookery Course

Mushrooms and Other Fungi of Great Britain and Europe

By: 1f2frfbf

1f2frfbf — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 07:11:12 -0800

A Helm Manual (or Clymer or Haynes) for my car. As I've said before, its many dog eared and grease stained pages are the true evil soul to my otherwise innocent looking beater.

By: bristolcat

bristolcat — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 08:47:41 -0800

Hands down, the most useful book I was ever given was How to Hold a Crocodile.

This book is full of instructions on how to do the most obscure things - anything from how to do a headstand to how to become queen of England. I got it when I was a child and still refer to it. Besides some the silly and entertaining entries in it, there are a lot of practical ones.

By: hought20

hought20 — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:04:44 -0800

What to Eat by Marion Nestle is amazing and useful. She's done tons of research about what the labels mean on the stuff you find in the store, so you don't have to.

By: blindcarboncopy

blindcarboncopy — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 18:11:42 -0800

Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills is an all-in-one reference on getting around outdoors, from flats to crags to glaciers. I don't do much technical stuff, but the book is still wonderfully indispensible.

By: ifjuly

ifjuly — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:43:11 -0800

.How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
.Home Comforts by Cheryl Mendelson
.The mammoth OED
I also like books that have cocktail recipes. The NYPL Desk Reference is also good.

And for indispensible online resources, Mint.com comes to mind.