If I were to choose 10 fiction and 10 non-fiction books to read within the next year to make me a better, more well-rounded conversationalist (for argument's sake, let's say within a college-educated professional audience), what books would give me the most bang for my buck?
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posted by dynamiiiite
on Apr 23, 2013 -
37 answers
So people like to name-drop authors and works that those who went to university and/or have a curiosity about the world should know as part of the basic vocabulary of being an educated Westerner. For example, "Kant" or "Dickensian", or "Gertrude Stein".
I would like to learn this stuff, please.
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posted by grahamsletter
on Mar 20, 2013 -
34 answers
What are some good sources - blogs or books - for learning what everyday life is like in different parts of the world?
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posted by kristi
on Jan 15, 2013 -
5 answers
Why does Mircea Eliade get short shrift in Robert N. Bellah's
Religion in Human Evolution?
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posted by ibmcginty
on Dec 18, 2012 -
3 answers
When children's books first became inexpensive enough for average parents to buy, were they looked down upon as a technology which limits a child's imagination?
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posted by fairmettle
on Apr 7, 2012 -
6 answers
F. Scott FitzgeraldFilter: "Everyone's youth is a dream, a form of chemical madness." I've seen this quote attributed to F. Scott. Did he actually say it?
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posted by toomuchkatherine
on Nov 28, 2011 -
4 answers
Looking to compile a list of movies/books/TV that have either the reputation for, or have actually been seen to have a negative influence on people's behavior.
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posted by Burhanistan
on Oct 10, 2010 -
37 answers
What are some famous and/or culturally influential books that are not hard to dive into?
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posted by mtphoto
on Sep 24, 2010 -
51 answers
I just read
Sex at Dawn. It's a book that, as I understand it, questions an assumption that has held sway for most of recorded history. What other books or ideas question assumptions that span millennia? I'm looking for more well-argued cases that rock my reality and cause me to question and recontextualize, well, everything.
posted by zeek321
on Aug 5, 2010 -
39 answers
I spend a lot of time reading for both work and pleasure yet I have a hard time translating this to my everyday life, for example being able to remember key quotes or even retaining main points of books I have read. Do people here have any tips for retaining and utilizing content read in books, especially novels?
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posted by the foreground
on Jan 8, 2010 -
18 answers
Suggestions for books on Maine history and culture, non fiction preferred but not a necessity. This would be for a person traveling to Maine in the near future, will be spending time on the coast and in the great north woods.
posted by flummox
on Aug 31, 2009 -
15 answers
Recommend me some neat blogs, websites or news sources about South Asian culture, please.
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posted by Ziggy500
on Apr 27, 2009 -
6 answers
What books or series spur their own mythology or philosophy? I love getting lost in the world of a book or movie. Past books and series such as "Harry Potter," "The Da Vinci Code," "Lost," "The Matrix" movies, "Buffy" and "Star Wars" come with their own universe - people analyze them, look for mythological/philosophical undertones, solve puzzles and come up with their own theories.
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posted by adverb
on Apr 24, 2009 -
69 answers
I am looking for writings on
mimesis in regards new, digital, hypertext and hypermedial technologies and cultures.
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posted by 0bvious
on Feb 16, 2009 -
7 answers
Can you recommend good books about Los Angeles? Non-fiction preferred but fiction as well.
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posted by jeremias
on Oct 29, 2008 -
25 answers
Cultural diversity, youth, and the arts/creative industries - where do I start looking for resources?
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posted by divabat
on Aug 27, 2008 -
3 answers
What one book will allow others to gain the truest insight into the soul of each city or region
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posted by reenum
on May 6, 2008 -
16 answers
As a student of international relations, I'm trying to acquire a broad understanding of Islam and Middle-Eastern culture. I'm looking for a few books to read in my spare time that touch on these subjects.
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posted by aheckler
on Apr 2, 2008 -
14 answers
I'm looking for books where the author immerses himself in an experience and then writes about it
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posted by reenum
on Feb 7, 2008 -
54 answers
Can anyone reccomend good books, or documentaries, about Australia (history, culture, politics) written by people from outside Australia?
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posted by Jimbob
on Feb 7, 2008 -
11 answers
Are there any books that take a Freakonomics like approach to explaining and analyzing urban sprawl?
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posted by stedman15
on Feb 6, 2008 -
14 answers
I'm looking for books that will help me improve my basic knowledge of geography, other countries and cultures.
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posted by shirobara
on Dec 17, 2007 -
5 answers
What are some good books and magazines related to social enterprise, social entrepreneurship, and the Fourth Sector?
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posted by divabat
on Oct 9, 2007 -
4 answers
St. Patrick's Day is coming up. Can you recommend books for getting into the mood and for appreciating Irish heritage and culture?
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posted by cadge
on Feb 21, 2007 -
30 answers
What works of fiction are most firmly embedded in the American cultural consciousness? That is, what books are most frequently alluded to or drawn from in popular culture and daily life?
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posted by zadermatermorts
on Jan 30, 2007 -
74 answers
I just finished an excellent book--
An African in Greenland by Tété-Michel Kpomassie-- which details an Togolese man's interactions with the Inuit. I was wondering if anyone could recommend other books which are one non-Western culture's take on another. (To me, at least, the more apparently unrelated the two cultures the better.)
posted by bethm
on Dec 24, 2006 -
8 answers
Can anyone recommend any good documentaries? Bonus points if its history or culture related.
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posted by Vindaloo
on Aug 23, 2006 -
38 answers
I have an idle craving for knowledge. Specifically, I'd like to read some books about nomadic cultures - the Bedouin, Mongolian, Gypsies, Train-riding... any group really. Any suggestions?
posted by deadtrouble
on Jul 13, 2006 -
13 answers
I'm looking for books that can give me a new perspective on our modern world and culture.
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posted by davebush
on May 13, 2005 -
28 answers
Bookfilter: I'm looking for books about the US written by non-USians for a non-USian audience. I'd like to learn how non-USians see the US and how US society is described to non-USians. I'm especially interested in fiction, but travelogues, memoirs, and cultural anthropology would be fine. Even well-written blogs would be ok.
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posted by luneray
on Apr 11, 2005 -
16 answers
SinoFilter: I'm looking for a scholarly-but-accessible book (or books) about Chinese history and culture. (Web site recommendations also welcome.) I have done some Googling and poking around amazon.com, but frankly my ignorance is so deep that I have no good way of evaluating the quality of what I'm finding.
posted by enrevanche
on Jan 8, 2005 -
16 answers
My wife likes reading biographies and memoires, particularly of women in culture and the arts. Think "Reading Lolita in Tehran" rather than, say, "Mornings on Horseback." Any recommendations for a birthday present?
posted by mojohand
on Jul 26, 2004 -
17 answers
