Favorite Books Read in 2002

These are my favorites of the books I read in 2002.

Top Ten Favorite Books for 2002

1. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver -- my favorite book this
   year. Good writing and a wonderful story.
2. Linked : the new science of networks by Albert-László
   Barabási -- a fascinating look at the properties of large networks
   like the Internet, power grids, friendships, cells, etc.
3. Heart of Darkness (Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism) by Joseph
   Conrad -- I was very impressed at how good this was. Probably the best short
   novel in English. Then the book used five different critical methods on the
   novel which was also interesting.
4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen -- amazing and delightful insights
   into society and people in general.
5. Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman -- the reviewer's phrase "beautifully
   imagined" is appropriate here. Vignettes of 30 worlds where time works
   differently in each one. Astounding.
6. Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson -- all his books are good and this
   one is no exception.
7. About a Boy by Nick Hornby -- funny and insightful story of a guy
   rejoining the human race.
8. Lost Continent by Bill Bryson -- one of his funniest books. The fake
   place names he comes up with are hilarious.
9. High and Mighty: SUVs: the world's most dangerous vehicles and how they
   got that way by Keith Bradsher -- how car manufacturers used influence
   in Washington to allow them to sell vehicles not that consumers really wanted
   but that would make them large profits.
10. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America by Barbara Ehrenreich
    -- about how hard it is to live on a minimum-wage job.

Second Ten Favorite Books for 2002

11. Emergence: the connected lives of ants, brains, cities, and software
    by Steven Johnson -- a good explanation of emergent properties in things like
    ant colonies. An aspect of complexity.
12. Cod: a biography of the fish that changed the world by Mark Kurlansky
    -- who would have thought a book about a fish could be fascinating but it
    was. Cod really did change the world.
13. The elements of effort: reflections on the art and science of running
    by John Jerome -- interesting insights into exercise.
14. What Do You Care What Other People Think? by Richard P. Feynman --
    Feynman is always delightful. This includes his account of his tenure on the
    space shuttle inquiry committee which is a fascinating story and makes you
    wonder about the integrity of any commission of this sort.
15. The Illustrated A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking -- Hawking
    writes popular science very clearly. Here he explains modern ideas of the
    Universe.
16. Iron John by Robert Bly -- an book about boys and men, from 1990.
    Forget your prejudices about the "men's movement", there is no drumming
    in the woods here. Bly is literate and wise.
17. The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner -- explains evolution clearly
    and in detail and how it occurs in the scale of a few years.
18. Cherry: A Memoir by Mary Karr -- a very good coming-of-age story
    of a girl growing up in the 60s and 70s.
19. Lake Webegon Summer 1956 by Garrison Keillor -- fiction/memoir of
    growing up in America in the 1950s. His insights and memories are right on.
20. This is not a novel by David Markam -- an "experimental novel"
    which consists of hundreds of interesting facts about history and authors
    that Markam has picked up over the years. Fascinating.

Other Favorite Books for 2002 (not in order)

• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini -- a review
  of psychology experiments showing how marketers influence you. Includes tips
  on how to see through and defeat their tricks.
• God's Debris by Scott Adams -- yes, this is the Scott Adams who writes
  "Dilbert" but this is a serious book explaining his philosophy.
  It is quite interesting and very close to what I believe.
• A New Kind of Science Steven Wolfram -- Wolfram has no lack of self-confidence.
  I only read half of it (it is over a thousand pages) but it is an impressive
  work. It may be revolutionary. Only time will tell.
• Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw -- if you liked My Fair Lady,
  as I did, you will love this because Show's original is even better.
• A Passage to India by E. M. Forster -- a classic and very powerful
  novel.
• Disobedience by Jane Hamilton -- a story of infidelity from the viewpoint
  of her son who reads her email.
• Catch-22 by Joseph Heller -- still good and relevant after all these
  years (since 1961).
• High Fidelity Nick Hornby -- Hornby is always good. More insights
  into the male psyche.
• Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac -- one of Kerouac's best books. The usual
  frenetic, interesting characters. About his experiences with the Zen, beat
  poet Gary Synder.
• The Shipping News by Annie Proux -- just a really good novel.
• Back When We Were Grownups Anne Tyler -- another good novel.
• The Crusades by Anthony Bridge -- the story of the hundred years
  of Crusades. Interesting.
• Year Of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks -- novel
  of a town in England that quarantined itself in the year of the plague (about
  1640). Based on an historical event but completely made up. The main character
  is too perfect but I still liked the story.
• Seldom Disappointed: a memoir by Tony Hillerman -- Hillerman is modest
  and straightforward and has interesting things to say. A lot about his experiences
  in World War II.
• Brunelleschi's Dome: how a renaissance genius reinvented architecture
  by Ross King -- about the dome and life in Florence at the time (around 1400).
• The Street Where I Live by Alan Jay Learner -- about the making of
  My Fair Lady, Gigi, and Camelot. A must if you love musical comedies.
• The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus -- light and
  fluffy and consists of a lot of rich people bashing but it is a lot of fun.
  The nerve of these rich people is astounding.
• What Went Wrong? by Bernard Lewis -- an excellent history and analysis
  of Islam.
• Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen by Larry McMurtry -- McMurtry's
  memoirs of growing up in Texas and becoming a writer and books collector.
• 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff -- Larry McMurtry hated it
  and it is a bit sentimental but I liked this story of her long relationship,
  starting around 1950, with the people at an English bookseller's

A list of all the books I read in 2002