gillian's bookshelf:

  "If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.”  
  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson  
 

I often find my favorite books by asking those people who I admire and about whom I care to recommend some for me.  I also tend to recommend, perhaps too enthusiastically at times, books to other people.  Here is a list of those books that I have recently read, am currently reading, or are in the queue for reading in the very near future.  As a convenience, where possible, I have included links to the authors' web pages or to a third party site.  These links are by no means meant to be an endorsement to shop at any particular site. They are merely there for your information.
 

Loving Big Brother by John McGrath

In this book, the author sets out to examine not only what we stand to lose from being watched - privacy, violations of human rights - but also what we stand to gain. He breaks apart issues of art, performance, and culture in this highly thoughtful critique of modern life in an increasingly surveilled society.

Overdo$ed America:  The Broken Promise of American Medicine by John Abramson, M.D.
This book was recommended to me by a physician with whom I serve on a research ethics board.  He emphasized repeatedly that every person on that board and in fact every person in America should read it.  To be honest, I took his initial comments to be the type of enthusiasm I sometimes exhibit for a good book, and put it in my list but did not rush off to buy it immediately.  Now, a few months later, I have finally begun to read it, and I wish I had bought it the day he recommended it.  Truly, this book is something that everyone should read before taking another pill.
   

Talking with Doctors by David Newman
A new addition to my list of books to read, this book was written by a man who survived an extremely serious case of brain cancer.  I saw him talk as part of my research with cancer survivors at IBM, and his story is a truly compelling one.  The book reportedly focuses on how to collaborate with your doctors and give and receive information as part of that partnership, all told from his particular set of experiences.
   

Promises to Keep:Cultural Studies, Democratic Education, and Public Life by Greg Dimitriadis and Dennis Carlson
This edited book brings together a number of studies and perspectives on culture and "factory model" of schooling compared with the utopian vision of public educaiton from the early 20th century.  The articles included grew out of AERA panels on cultural studies and education held between 1999 and 2002.  The editors and authors explore the notion that we are at a turning point in democratic education and now is the time to redefine and redesign public and democratic education.  
   

Lamb:  The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore

A little bit irreverent, a little bit philosophical, a little bit historical, this is a funny, fun, and thought provoking book all at the same time. Thanks to a very good friend who gives me all her book club hand me downs, I laughed my way through this book in just a weekend.  Plus, I would recommend pretty much anything Chris Moore writes.
   
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

This was a great book, but I definitely recommend reading it in one sitting, as parts of it are quite dark, and you really need to read to the end.  I heard a rumor that Peter Jackson will be directing a movie based on this book soon.  So, hurry up and read it before then :)
   
  “What we become depends on what we read after all of the professors have finished with us”  
  ~Thomas Carlyle