Books for the Erudite and Unconventional

Gift giving is very tricky. I really believe it is more about knowing your loved ones and their preferences rather than giving them the most expensive or hottest gift of the season. So books fit right into this philosophy.

Books are something I like to give as well as receive for Christmas. The choice of the book speaks volumes of what you think about the person; it is essentially judging a book by its cover.

For people like me who have varied interests I recommend books ranging from humor, politics, economics and food to self-improvement, marriage and dating.

Personal History

By Katharine Graham

At a time where the likes of 16-year-old pop sensation Miley Cyrus and former US vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin have their own memoirs, Katharine Graham’s Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiographical “personal history” stands on top of the heap.

Ms. Graham tells an amazing tale of a privileged girl who inherited one of the world’s most powerful newspapers, the Washington Post. What makes this memoir stand out is Graham’s candidness about her own insecurities, while playing it off as something powerful and inspiring. She bares witness to the decline of her husband, the great journalist Phil Graham’s descent into depression and suicide, and to the rise of the Post during the Watergate scandal. Her story is of quiet feminism — delivered in mild but memorable doses as it slowly builds up in your heart.

When You Are Engulfed In Flames

By David Sedaris

David Sedaris is sometimes called the Dave Matthews of publishing, a tireless writer who has four best-selling essay collections under his belt, as well as a never-ending book/lecture tour that fills convention halls and concert venues.

First discovered by NPR’s Ira Glass when he was in his 30s, David focuses on his quest to quit smoking and his eternal mid-life crisis. David recounts travels to Normandy and Tokyo, weaving in more anecdotes about his current partner, Hugh Hamrick, their domesticated life and less about his crazy family. He also tries to be an adult now, which surprisingly doesn’t make him seem bland or ordinary.

Superfreakonomics

By Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner

Superfreakonomics takes the same path as its successful predecessor, Freakonomics, by using time-tested tools of economics and applying them to everyday and not-so-everyday circumstances.

As a student of finance and economics, I’ve always felt that people mistake economics as something abstract that cannot be used in real life. But as proven by both Levitt and Dubner, combining statistical anomalies and quantitative analysis to unconventional topics — from sumo wrestlers to prostitutes and even crack dealers — can make economics fun.

Although some may find the topics a little bit disjointed — but cohesion isn’t exactly the way to read through Superfreakonomics. It is best read as a fun proof that economists can also be cool, whether they are just plain freaky or superfreaky.

Garlic and Sapphires

By Ruth Reichl

Any serious food fan would know who Ruth Reichl is, but if you don’t, here’s a short résumé: former restaurant critic of both the Los Angeles and New York Times, and former chief editor of the now-defunct great Gourmet magazine (boo to Conde Nast and McKinsey). In other words, Ruth Reichl is the authority on food.

In her third memoir, Garlic and Sapphires, Ms. Reichl tells the tale of her six-year tenure as the food critic of the New York Times and her elaborate system of reviewing restaurants.

Apart from her infamous stories of hiding her identity and creating different personas to critique her way through the fierce New York dining scene, she includes remarkable reflections on how one’s outer appearance can influence one’s inner character, expectations, and appetites, not to mention the quality of service one receives. Her scrumptious epicurean-laced writing leaves you wanting more.

Art of Travel

By Alain de Botton

Alain De Botton’s Art of Travel is not about places but more reflection on the ritual of traveling. He uses artists and writers as travel guides, such as Edward Hopper and William Wordsworth, to describe and illustrate the whimsical tales associated with travel– discoveries and memories.

A book for the armchair traveler and less of “the best pasta in Rome” variety, De Botton offers a book that will speak to people who prefer to focus on the anticipation of traveling, but are clearly content to stay home.

De Botton treats traveling as a time for reflection. This book is for the erudite armchair traveler who would like to delve into the “why and how” questions of travel rather than focus on ‘where’.

Microtrends

By Mark Penn and E. Kinney Zilesne

Mictrotrends may well be the bible for pursuits concerning hidden sociological truths of modern times.

Mark Penn, former campaign manager of Hillary Rodham Clinton, and E. Kinney Zilesne are master researchers. Penn’s claim to fame is identifying the soccer mom phenomenon during the 1996 presidential campaign of Bill Clinton.

The book focuses on grassroots movements dubbed as society-changing “microtrends” involving just one percent of a population, which can prove to be influential in the future.

The book’s 15 main chapters group microtrends in virtually every area of life like “Love, Sex, and Relationships,” “Politics,” “Technology,” “Education,” “Food, Drink & Diet” and “Looks and Fashion.” More importantly, Microtrends predicted the rise of the Cougar — older women on the prowl for younger men.

Renegade: The Makingof a President

By Richard Wolffe

Political junkies will enjoy this book written in the style of Teddy White’s Camelot-themed account of the Kennedy campaign.

Wolffe takes us on the trail of the Obama campaign, exploring the ups and downs of 2008 with a concise, truthful and humorous manner. Apart from anecdotes of winning campaign strategies, Renegade also shows the Democratic party factions as well as the agitation caused by Hillary Clinton’s perseverance. The book is as riveting as The West Wing but will surely lay claim to the saying that fact is stranger than fiction.

Why Men Marry Some Women and Not Others

By John Molloy

John Molloy injects scientific reasoning into previous books like He’s Just Not That Into You and The Rules — which is to improve a woman’s chances of getting married.

This book is the result of over 2,000 interviews with married couples and over 1,800 unmarried men and women.

Some are pretty much common sense tips such as avoiding commitment-phobes in the form of “stringers”, and dressing “appropriately to send wife-material messages” to real useful tips such as 20 percent of brides didn’t like their husbands on the first date — a good reason to consider second chances.

Results are basically the product of statistical tendencies of marriage, a quality on which any intelligent and pragmatic woman can logically rely.