My current reading list

Those of you who know me know that I suffer from RADD - Reading Attention Deficeit Disorder. I wonder from one book to the next, with a shelf full of partially read books or, as is the case right now a shelf full of books which each get read an hour or so once a week. The present time is no different. I am working on no fewer than 5 books; 6 if you count the book of poetry that I am making my way through. So, as I know each of you my loyal readers are dying to know exactly what I am reading, I thought I'd provide a list. They are listed in order from the time they were started

• The New Humanists: Science at the Edge edited by John Brockman. This is a compilation of essays written by biologists, computer scientists, anthropologists... basically, anyone who has a "ist" after their title might show up in this book. Each essay is really insightful and deals with many of the issues of the day.
• Free Culture: How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture and control creativity by Lawrence Lessig. How's that for a long sub-title. It's an excellent book that I've blogged (post #1, post #2) about before. The biggest problem I have with it is that Lessig is a lawyer and as such tends to be long winded for my tastes. Everything he adds does add to the story and message he is conveying, but it does take some time.
• Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (don't ask me how to pronounce it). As you might gather from the name, this is a book about achieving what many call "flow" in your life. This is more a scholarly text than a how-to "get happy" book and as such has some rather dense reading. For the scientific approach the book has taken, it does manage to keep my attention rather well.
• Samurai Chess: Mastering Strategic Thinking Through the Martial Art of the Mind by Michael J. Gelb & Raymond Keene. I saw this book in the Bargain Books section of the new Barnes & Noble at Zona Rosa and had to get it. Not because it was a great deal, but because Michael Gelb is co-author of it. I believe he is an excellent writer based on a previous book of his that I read, How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci. Couple this prior experience with his writing style, and the fact that I'm always up for learning a little more about chess and mental improvement, and I just had to buy it. Really! There was no choice. ;)
• City Dharma: Keeping your Cool in the Chaos by Arthur Jeon. Perusing through the Spirituality section at the aforementioned Barnes & Noble, this book's loud "City Dharma" yield sign caught my attention. A quick read through the Introduction, and the fact that it was the only one of the shelf made it a must buy. I've just delved into the first of it this evening, and it looks very promising.