A major secret of success

"Horology", huh? I actually had to look that one up. ;^]

I envy you, Garry. I ran out of room for my books long ago and have resorted to stacking them (most in boxes) in the corner of my kitchen and in front of the bookcases in my bedroom.

This might be a good time to find out what the rest of the SowPubbers are currently reading and what's on their shelves, just for curiosity's sake. How 'bout it, folks? You can just mention general categories, but examples are always good. And we can keep it to non-fiction, for now.

Oh, alright, I'll go first.

Not surprisingly, I get a lot of books on business and entrepreneurship, especially in the various areas of marketing. Recently finished Jay Abraham's "Getting Everything You Can Out of All You've Got" (highly recommended). I'm currently going thru Mark G. Nolan's "The Instant Marketing Plan" and Jeff & Marc Slutsky's "StreetSmart Marketing". Also started "Nothing Down for the 90's" (a little late, I know) by Robert G. Allen. Next on the plate are books by Hopkins, Reeves, Caples, Levinson, Rapp & Collins, Trout & Ries, among others.

I have strong interests in science, theology, and how the two relate. In the science arena, I recently acquired a few books by the late physicist Richard P. Feynman (e.g., "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" and "The Pleasure of Finding Things Out") and by researcher/author Clifford A. Pickover (e.g., "Surfing Through Hyperspace"). Also got "Mission to Abisko" by Casti & Karlqvist, and I still haven't gotten around to reading Hawking's "A Brief History of Time". Not sure when I'll get time to read 'em, but I'm looking forward to it.

In the theology department, I'm reading "Introducing Christian Doctrine" by Millard J. Erickson (highly recommended) and "A Non-Churchgoer's Guide to the Bible" by Michael Gantt. Also started "True for You, But Not for Me" by Paul Copan and "Four Views on the Book of Revelation" by C. Marvin Pate, et al. Lots more queued up...

The comparing/contrasting/harmonizing of science with theology usually focusses on the whole "Origins" issue. Well, actually it's several related topics -- origins & age of the Universe, origins & age of the Earth, origins of Life, origins of Man, the veracity & extent of the Genesis Flood. For this, one really needs to read books and articles from all different "camps", as it were, in order to get a fuller understanding of all the issues and where all parties are "coming from". So, I've got (and have read/heard) works by all varieties of young-Earth creationists, old-Earth creationists (the view I hold to), theistic evolutionists, atheistic & non-theistic evolutionists (Darwinian and otherwise), and everything in between.

In particular, not long ago I read (the excellent) "The Genesis Question" by Dr. Hugh Ross (astrophysicist/pastor & head of the 'Reasons to Believe' org.; old-Earth/Progressive Creationist) and "Refuting Evolution" by Dr. Jonathan Sarfati (physical chemist/chess-champion and an Aussie/Kiwi; young-Earth Creationist), as well as "Four Views on Creation and Evolution" by Moreland, et al. I recently picked up "Rare Earth" by Ward & Brownlee, "The Birth of Time" by John Gribbin, "Origins: A Skeptic's Guide to the Creation of Life on Earth" by Robert Shapiro, "The Seven Daughters of Eve" by Bryan Sykes, "Noah's Flood" by Ryan & Pitman, "Not By Chance" by Lee Spetner, and several others.

As for miscellaneous stuff, I've got the original "Chicken Soup for the Soul" by Canfield & Hansen, "DO IT!: Let's Get Off Our Buts" by McWilliams & McWilliams, "Story" by Robert McKee (for when I write that great American novel...), "The Modern Identity Changer" (for when I need to "disappear"), "Letters of C.S. Lewis", "I Am Spock" by Leonard Nimoy, "Rule by Secrecy" and "Crossfire" by Jim Marrs, "Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton" by Edward Rice, "Psycho-Cybernetics" by Dr. Maxwell Maltz, "Lies My Teacher Told Me" by James W. Loewen, "The Mammoth Book of Unsolved Crimes" ed. by Roger Wilkes, "Elvis and Me" by Presley & Harmon, and... well, that's enough.

And that's just the non-fiction, though I think I've touched on my fiction interests in previous posts. That's a pretty good glimpse into my reading interests, and probably more than anyone cared to know. 8^>

Next...?

> For years I have wanted my own library. Not
> just bookshelves, but a whole room, where I
> could sit and read, dream and be surrounded
> by books. So at the moment I am ripping
> walls out, altering the whole fabric of my
> house to get my very own library.
> My collection is varied and eclectic; from
> hippy stuff to microcontroller reference
> books. Engineering, optics, chemistry, new
> age, motivational, marketing, NLP, woodwork,
> horology to foundry work to electrical
> engineering. And then theres the fiction....
> I could start a book shop, but then I would
> have to part with my treasures.