A few recent ones I've checked out:
Sophie's World (Jostein Gaarder) - A unique book that is essentially a history of philosophy wrapped up in a good mystery story. Well written and informative, you finish the book with a bit of a sense of wonder at the universe. Makes a good case for dropping the mundane and penetrating yourself for some answers. The story itself is also quite strange and kind of wraps itself up in itself, if that makes sense. The author does a good job mixing somewhat dry reading with a sense of childish wonder to keep the pace going. Like I said, a unique read.
Zen Guitar (Philip Toshio Sudo) - A sort of instruction manual for playing guitar with a Zen twist, although almost all of the methodology in this book could be applied to any instrument or indeed, any endeavour. It doesn't have any lessons really, at least not in a traditional sense (etudes, scale practice, etc.) It's more about how to handle the instrument and become a master of it. He talks about the importance of quality in an instrument, and about conveying a message in any means possible, rather than aspiring to become a slave to technique or whatever like most "musicians" do. I've read it likely more than five times and I still enjoy picking through it from time to time.
The Holographic Universe (Michael Talbot) - A strange book that offers a hypothesis for the nature of reality, essentially. The author describes his theory of how the universe is essentially a giant interconnected web of energetic frequencies which the human body then perceives through the senses. It's a bit hard to wrap your head around but he moves fairly slowly in the beginning, touching on the nature of holograms, then onto various aspects of consciousness and its quirks. Then he goes right into the rabbit hole, talking about everything from telekinetic powers, time travel, aura-based healing, non-locality, out-of-body and near-death experiences, meditation, mass hallucinations, altered states of consciousness, LSD trips, hypnosis, telepathy, etc., etc. Quite a fucking strange read, but the author actually does a pretty good job of attaching all of his theories about the paranormal back into his main theory of a holographic universe, and uses the hologram theory to explain all of it. It's definitely quite far out but at the same time it's well structured and comes off sounding at least plausible. The author himself claims to have been psychic and offers some very fucked up stories about his psychic nature. Even if you don't believe in the stuff, it's a good read simply to force yourself to think about some of the very strange things that happen in the world.
Currently reading The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge by Carlos Castaneda. Also a very strange read. The more I read about shamanism the more I want to move into the woods and drink ayahuasca brews for the rest of my days. I've read that the story is entirely fictional with some decent proof to back it up, but either way it's a fascinating read even if it is fake.
Mat Linnett wrote:
Crime & Punishment - Not light reading in the slightest. An analysis of what drives men to murder, that asks if some men even have the right to murder. It's a truly thought-provoking book. Raskolnikov, the central character, makes you ask questions of yourself while disgusting you with his justifications for doing what he does.
Sounds interesting... I'll have to look for this one.
