Book recommendations
Posted on: June 16, 2008 - 3:16pm
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Book recommendations
Hi all...
I'm looking for an easy summer read, something that will keep my interest, humor is a plus. Here is a list of what I've read so far in the genre...
Letter To A Christian Nation - Sam Harris
The End Of Faith - Sam Harris
The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins
Atheist Universe - David Mills
The Dark Side Of Christian History - Helen Ellerbe
Ken's Guide To The Bible - Ken Smith
The Quotable Atheist - Jack Huberman
The Book Your Church Doesn't Want You To Read - Editor, Tim C. Leedom
The Born Again Skeptic's Guide To The Bible - Ruth Hurmence Green
I've heard that "The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster" is pretty good, any suggestions? Keep in mind, I have a fairly short attention span. 
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The Gospel of the FSM is good - but it's humor rather than arguments.
Losing Faith in Faith by Dan Barker is great - you can order at http://www.ffrf.org
Anything by Robert Ingersoll (Over a century old but still funny)
Matt Shizzle has been banned from the Rational Response Squad website. This event shall provide an atmosphere more conducive to social growth. - Majority of the mod team
Invisible pink unicorn blasphemer heretic!!!!!!
The Gospel of the FSM is FACT (copyright Bobby), just because this FACT is funny is beside the point.
We are the most highly educated, fasted growing graph based religion in the world FACT their website says so www.venganza.org
That's ok! I don't mind taking a break from the "arguments" from time to time, sometimes it's good to just laugh.
I read non-fiction from time to time, but if yuo are really looking for a light read, I suggest you go for fiction. I mean, reality is so dreadfully boring, I find.
If you are into fantasy or Sci fi, and want something funny I suggest Douglas Adams or Terri Pratchett. Should be both easy and cheap to find in paperback.
Then there is my personal favorite: Iain M. Banks.
He writes Sci Fi that deals alot with existentialist themes (he is an atheist, and it shines through in the books). I find him both thrilling, thoughtprovoking scary and funny. But it does require a certain interest in the genre I think, so I won't describe it in more detail unless you ask me to.
He does, however, also write non-sci-fi, and they should all be very good, according to people whose taste in books I trust. All his non-sci-fi is written under the name Iain Banks, and the Sci fi is under the name Iain M. Banks.
"Whit" is supposed to be very good according to my brother. It is about a young girl who is a member of a cult. I haven't read it yet read it yet though.
Well I was born an original sinner
I was spawned from original sin
And if I had a dollar bill for all the things I've done
There'd be a mountain of money piled up to my chin
Thanks for the suggestions so far. I agree Nikolaj...reality does tend to be boring, however some authors do have a knack for making it more entertaining. I know a book is good when I can read it cover to cover rather than thumbing through, and simply marking pages for future reference.
Yup, Banks and Pratchett are indeed very entertaining.
Here's another great piece of fiction that all atheists will enjoy (well, I did anyway), and might even make a good gift for any theist friends you might have.
"The book of Dave", by Will Self. It's fab.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Dave
My favorite author is maybe Torey Hayden. She writes non-fiction, special ed books about the students she taught. I had a hard time putting these books down. I think she only has 7 books out by now. Definately worth a read.
I LOVE hearing about what others are reading. The problem I have with books is that I buy too many of them and I read too fast. I am really picky...and all our bookshelves (and we have a lot of them) are filled to the brim with books.
My favorite authors are Barbara Kingsolver and Amy Tan. I loved Sue Monk Kid's "The Secret Life of Bees" and hope they don't screw it up too much as they are making a movie out of it. I want to read "Guns, Germs, and Steel" (gawd how I hate that Oxford comma) and "Collapse".
My favorite book about religion (I sent a copy to Rook) is "Man and His Gods" by Homer Smith. This book is out of print but you can get it on ebay. It is a fantastic, scholarly book (not exactly an easy read) about the history of religion. This book should be in the library of every atheist. Albert Einstein wrote the Foreward for the book. The link above is for the online version. Dr. Smith was a physiologist and discovered insulin (at the same time as Dr. Richards). I can't say enough about this book...
It should be the atheist bible!
I used to read a LOT more. Right now it takes me over a week to read a long book. When I was working 3rd shift I could easily read a nove in a night - unless it was something long - then it took 2 - or 3 tops - like for something over 1000 pages.
Matt Shizzle has been banned from the Rational Response Squad website. This event shall provide an atmosphere more conducive to social growth. - Majority of the mod team
I completely disagree with you about reality being boring. Right now I'm reading "A Short History Of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson, and it's a testament to the opposite of your statement being true. Pick up any New Scientist magazine, watch Carl Sagan on Youtube, watch people interacting with each other in any social situation, listen to Illmatic by Nas, read books like "A brief history of time" (or a briefer history of time, if you're like me and easily confuddled) blah blah blah and etc. Reality is NOT boring, and any suggestion that it is makes my blood boil.
Wish in one hand, shit in the other, see which one fills up first.
Another great book no personal library should be without....EXCELLENT book.
Fiction, and non-fiction can be boring...it all boils down to the author. Reality itself is not boring when the information is presented in an interesting manner. I find that some writers coming from a scientific background miss the mark when trying to make their books digestable for the average person, they don't stop to think that not everyone that will be reading their book is a scientist. IMO, those types of books are what I consider "boring"...they don't hold my interest, but that's just me.
That being said, I will say that my bookshelf contains very little in the way of fiction. IMO, I have some really entertaining non-fiction in my collection.
I meant it ironically. I read and watch alot of stuff that pertains to reality. Actually that's all I've been doing for the last 6 months: reading about science, politics and history.
But I know some people who are completely unable to relate to anything that is purely the product of imagination. And I have to say I DO find those kinds of people dreadfully uninspiring. It's like not having a sense of humor: absolutely revolting. It seems so utterly foreign to me that someone cannot see the thrill of make-believe. It's more scary to me than psychopaths.
Reality is reality, and wether or not it is boring is irrelevant. It actually IS, and that's more than you can say for most things we humans spend our time on. Reality is to me, what God is to religious people: It is there, I know it's there, and it's the TRUTH. Meanwhile I'll just go on living my life, if reality doesn't mind.
But words are just metaphor, they are just approximate reprisantations of human thoughts, and if all we will ever want to use them for is to try and explain reality, then we really are in a sorry state.
Words are like musical notes: make a melody for goodness' sake! Don't just sit around huming the same monotone endlessly.
In the words of Oscar Wilde: "It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious."
I would add: "It is absurd to divide words into true or false. Words are either thrilling or dreary."
oh and also:
Well I was born an original sinner
I was spawned from original sin
And if I had a dollar bill for all the things I've done
There'd be a mountain of money piled up to my chin
I have read most of those books and have them in my collection. But the top two in my collection I do not see on your list.
"Sense and Goodness Without God: A Defense of Metaphysical Naturalism" by Richard Carrier
"The Blind Watchmaker" by Richard Dawkins
Hey Kathie,
I'd keep your laptop handy and logged in to Rational Responders.
I fully endorse 'World War Z' and 'The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead', by Max Brooks.
Order them here!
- Leon Trotsky, Last Will & Testament
February 27, 1940
I have read Anthony Kiedis Biography Scar Tissue, if you like to read about musicians, and if you can stomach some of the parts in this book, it's actually a good story, or The Dirt by Motley Crue. Personally anything from shakespear, or Oscar Wilde. If your like fiction, depends on your taste rally, I like some works from Anne Rice, like the Sleeping Beauty triology and Violin, or Prince of Humbugs: A life of P.T Barnum.
The other one I would recommend if your into historical fiction, it's an amazing book I have been told by many people, lots of murder, rape, incest, betrayal, lots of manipulation, jealously, love, hatred the whole range of stuff, it's call the Holy Bible, I didn't like it, wasn't my stuff, you know the main protagonist is a deity called God, biggest villan and prick I have ever read about, toys with people, lies to them, kills innocent people because they don't like him or believe that he is a god or THE god, and even his own followers, if they even deviate the slightest of what he tells them to do, he just completley fucks them over like 100 times worse that whatever they even did, complete tryant and asshole. But some people just love this character, i don't get it personally.
But on a more serious note, get a bit of everything I say, fiction, non-fiction, quotes, essays (of for essays and stuff like that I recommend the Selected Essays of Gore Vidal), fantasy fiction, hell it's summer right (and I am reading like mad this year because I have WAY to many flights to take starting this Sunday)
Some of my favorite books in the Atheism/Science/Skeptical genre were:
"Why People Believe Weird Things" - Michael Shermer
"Unweaving the Rainbow" - Richard Dawkins
"How We Know What Isn't So" - Thomas Gilovich
They cover a lot of different topics, and are very easy reads as they don't hang on any one topic for too much time.
"It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan
The first two you have listed are on my short list.
Well, since non-atheist books were mentioned I'll recommend "Pimp:The Story of my Life" by Iceberg Slim.
Matt Shizzle has been banned from the Rational Response Squad website. This event shall provide an atmosphere more conducive to social growth. - Majority of the mod team
I particularly enjoyed George H. Smith's Atheism, The Case Against God. It made perfect sense to my little monkey brain.
Books an Atheism are fine, but I also look for true crime. I have several in the series of Glensheen's Daughter, The Congdon Murder's and 2 more that I can't remember the titles. Also I tried to read a book on Jeffery Dahmer but I couldn't get past the first chapter. The author tried to make Dahmer look inncent. I couldn't stomach that.
god is not great by cris Hichens cant be recomended to highly, it convinced me to start careing.
Vladimir Nabokov is one of my favorite authors to read in the summer. Everyone recommends Lolita - a wonderful book, that - but Invitation to a Beheading, Ada or Ardor, Bend Sinister and Despair are also examples of what I consider exemplary prose.
Are there any fans of Gothic literature out there? Charles Maturin's Melmoth the Wanderer is my favorite in the genre. The title character is best summed up as cross between Faust and The Wandering Jew. He's only the superficial villain of the book. The true "evildoer" is the Catholic Church.
In fact, religion is often pertrayed negatively in Gothic lit. In Matthew Lewis' The Monk - the most famous novel of the genre - the protagonist is seduced into the Black Arts by a witch. After that he notices a young girl amongst his congregation who becomes his intended prey. The Wandering Jew makes a brief appearance as does mythical German apparition known as The Bleeding Nun.
My third and final Gothic recommendation is James Hogg's The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner. The story concerns two brothers, one a secularist, the other a Calvinist. The Calvinist befriends an odd character named Gil-Marten who, through religious discourse, convinces him that his unbelieving brother must be killed. The author hints that Gil-Marten is Satan.
Did I see mention of Ian Banks? '05 was the summer of The Wasp Factory for my circle of friends. You can read it in a day and you'll want a nice hot shower afterwards.
Paul.
_
"'My dear,' Madame Delbene replied, 'the universe runs itself, and the eternal laws inherent in Nature suffice, without any first cause or prime mover, to produce all that is and all that we know; the perpetual movement of matter explains everything: why need we supply a motor to that which is ever in motion? The universe is an assemblage of unlike entities which act and react mutually and successively with and against each other; I discern no start, no finish, no fixed boundaries, this universe I see only as an incessant passing from one state into another, and within it only particular beings which forever change shape and form, but I acknowledge no universal cause behind and distinct from the universe and which gives it existence and which procures the modifications in the particular beings composing it... the absolute contrary holds... We need not fret if we find nothing to substitute for chimeras, and above all let us never accept as cause for what we do not comprehend something else we comprehend even less." - Marquis de Sade, Juliette, pg. 43.
The Portable Atheist - Hitchens. An indespensible collection of essays from nonbelievers and their ilk throughout the centuries.
BigUniverse wrote,
"Well the things that happen less often are more likely to be the result of the supper natural. A thing like loosing my keys in the morning is not likely supper natural, but finding a thousand dollars or meeting a celebrity might be."
"Them," and, "The Men Who Stare At Goats," by Jon Ronson. Great fun, both of them.
"Good Omens," by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchet, one of the best books ever written.
Basically anything by Neil Gaiman.
"The Moon is a Harsh Mistress," by R. A. Heinlein.
"The Selfish Gene," by Dawkins.
"Lives of a Cell," by Lewis Thomas.
"The Night Country," by Loren Eiseley. (Actually, pretty much anything by Eiseley.)
"Gateway," by Frederick Pohl.
"Grendel," by John Gardner.
"The Drawing of the Dark," by Tim Powers.
That's about all I can think of off the top of my head without launching into a comprehensive list. Enjoy.
"Yes, I seriously believe that consciousness is a product of a natural process. I find that the neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers who proceed from that premise are the ones who are actually making useful contributions to our understanding of the mind." - PZ Myers
"On the Nature of Things" is a book of poetry written in 50 BCE that discusses the cycle of life and death, the arrangement of animal and plant life, the eternality of the cosmos, the material nature of the soul, and various other things, including an explanation of why centaurs and other half-human beasts were impossible. It can be tiring to read through because the poetic form slows you down a great deal, and the concepts might slow you down because they seem so strange, but it's a very fascinating book, in my opinion.
"Superstition in All Ages" was written by a Roman Catholic priest who had severe doubts about his faith who finally deciding to abandon the dogmas, asking that this book be published after his death. This book is difficult to summarize because it covers so many topics in many, many (very short) chapters. Unlike "On the Nature of Things", most of the views presented here are still applicable today.
"The Atheism of Astronomy" was written in 1938 so it doesn't cover modern scientific views, such as quantum mechanics, and some of the dates and distances are inaccurate, but the gist of its arguments still holds quite some force, in my opinion. It essentially argues that the universe makes no sense at all from a theistic perspective. I read this book when I was teetering between atheism (I called it agnosticism at the time, sigh!) and deism and it had a very profound effect on me. I highly recommend this work.
"The System of Nature" was a two-volume work written in 1770 by the French encylopedist and philosopher Baron d'Holbach, who helped with the chemistry and physics sections of the French Encylopedie, which later spawned the creation of Encylopedia Britannica. This work was extremely radical for its time. Even Voltaire, a noted radical of the time, rebuked him for it. He starts by discussing motion and how supernaturalism cannot explain it, and if it's considered part of Nature it can adequately explain everything around us. He branches off from that to various topics like the patterns of thought and how they interact with the causal forces that impinge upon our senses. He branches from that to the idea of free-will and how it's absurd. He branches off that to discuss morality, which he argues is not only compatible with the nonexistence of free-will but actually necessitated by it. (He didn't just talk the talk either. Thomas Jefferson described him as one of the most virtuous men to have ever lived.) He branches off that to argue for a different understanding of morality and judicial systems. This two-volume work was meant to expound his views on the cosmos. Baron d'Holbach is actually the reason I'm an atheist today. As a young Christian, searched for books about the history of science, and "The System of Nature" caught my eye. It threw my entire worldview into doubt. Not just my religious views, but everything. This book actually had me crying and pleading for God to give me a sign of his existence. (Can you guess how that turned out?) After I finished my reading, I no longer considered myself a Christian, though I still bounced back and forth between negative atheism and deism. ("The Atheism of Astronomy" and along with some other books helped fix that problem.) It's really no surprise to me that many people have nicknamed it "The Atheist's Bible."
"The Ruins" by Constantin Tolney is a book I haven't yet finished, but I certainly intend to do so. It could be described as a sequel to "The System of Nature" but by a different author. It talks about the rise and fall of nations, the cause of their demise, and the establishment or restructuring of a nation to be like that pictured by Baron d'Holbach. Thomas Jefferson enjoyed this work immensely, considering that he spent the time to translate the first twenty chapters in French to English for American readers. (Thomas Jefferson, Voltaire, Volney, and many other scientists and philosophers of the time shared their works with one another and frequently met to discuss science and philosophy at Baron d'Holbach's mansion in France, which was called the Townhouse of Philosophy.) While I cannot vouch for the overall quality of the book, I have been very impressed with the first few chapters that I have read.
I hope these books are of interest to you
Stultior stulto fuisti, qui tabellis crederes!
They're not fluffy, but they're entertaining and fascinating, and for anyone who is fascinated with human behavior, they're must reads:
The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology by Robert Wright
Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin
http://hambydammit.wordpress.com/
Books about atheism
The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine is where it all begins for me. It may actually be a defense of deism against the creeds of the day, but Paine defines the most essential argument against the "revealed truth" to be found in scripture--that revelation from God as it appears to humans in Torahs, Tanakhs, Bibles and Qu'rans is nothing but a hearsay of a hearsay of a hearsay.
Freethinkers by Susan Jacoby is a bit lighter in texture and Jacoby's a preachy old hag (I say that in the nicest way possible) but it's definitely worth reading. Her new one is really, really preachy and I don't recommend it. I suppose if you're a liberal baby boomer with an upper middle class background you might be able to stomach it. A whole lot of ruminating about how much nicer it was to live with gloomy poets in Soviet Russia than it was to be exposed to all that horrible "Woodstock" music in the USA. Sorry, got off track there.
The Closing of the Western Mind by Charles Freeman is excellent. It's the story of the beginnings of the Christian religion and its need to suppress independent thought.
I just picked up What is Your Dangerous Idea?, edited by John Brockman. It's a collection of short essays by scientists and philosophers (Dawkins, Dennett and Harris are all in there) about very possible scenarios that could really change how humans see themselves and the human impact, among other things. I learned some very interesting things about plutonium.
"The whole conception of God is a conception derived from ancient Oriental despotisms. It is a conception quite unworthy of free men."
--Bertrand Russell
If you're into sci-fi I recommend Alice Bradley Sheldon, pen name "Raccoona Sheldon." For a sample, check out her short story "The Screwfly Solution."
AKA James Tiptree Jr.
She's a wonderful writer, well ahead of her time.
"Yes, I seriously believe that consciousness is a product of a natural process. I find that the neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers who proceed from that premise are the ones who are actually making useful contributions to our understanding of the mind." - PZ Myers
First off, let me 2nd the motion on several fine books already suggested, in absolutely no particular order.
Hamby recommended, "The Origins Of Virtue: Human Instincts" by Matt Ridley
V1per recommended, Dawkins "Unweaving...", which I believe to be his finest slightly ahead of both "Blind Watchmaker" and "Selfish Gene".
And all of these Nigel suggestions, "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" by RA Heinlein, "Drawing Of The Dark" by Tim Powers and "The Night Country" by Loren Eisley.
Also let me add another Tim Powers book called "The Anubis Gates". Excellent.
My other recommendations would include virtually anything by Carl Sagan. I'm a bit surprised no one has suggested any of his works up to this point in the thread.
Best in my mind would include, "The Demon-Haunted World", "Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of The Human Future In Space", "Broca's Brain" and of course "Cosmos"
I also liked all the following:
"Evolution: What the Fosils Say and Why It Matters" by Don Prothero and Carl Buell
"The Beak Of The Finch" by Jonathan Weiner
"Darwins Dangerous Idea" by Daniel C. Dennett
"The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory", by Brian Greene
"A Brief History Of Time", Stephen Hawking
Oh, and a book I just finished, "Bonk" by Mary Roach.
Happy Reading!
Has anyone here ever tried and successfully used a kindle?? Please let me know how you would rate this device. I had thought of buying one but I question the purchase.
I would've recommended Carl's books, as the man is my hero, and I have so much respect for what he did to popularize science... but, erm...
...He was pretty high when he wrote a lot of his stuff.
I love Dragons of Eden and Demon-Haunted World, because they're wildly entertaining, but I'm rather suspicious of the veracity of Carl's actual information in these books.
I don't think anyone has mentioned Pinker's 'Blank Slate' yet. It's a another terrific one for layman; putting very complex fields of study in very easy to understand language.
- Leon Trotsky, Last Will & Testament
February 27, 1940
Great suggestions guys...my list is getting extremely long! I should have plenty to read...that is, if I can put down the damned laptop!
If it's any consolation, the links I provided earlier let you read the books for free on your laptop
Stultior stulto fuisti, qui tabellis crederes!
The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap -- Stephanie Coontz
Black Like Me -- John Howard Griffin
Animal Farm - George Orwell
The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man -- Robert M. Price
"A proof is a proof. What kind of a proof? It's a proof. A proof is a proof. And when you have a good proof, it's because it's proven." -- former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien
Yes...that's a plus!
There are sooo many books but it really matters specifically what you're interested in reading about. There are plenty of these general "atheist genre" books but I don't know how much you would get out of them as an atheist yourself (assuming you are an atheist). I guess it is fun to listen to our favorites preach to the choir on occasion. Related history, rhetoric, logic, the Bible, the Qur'an, apologetic works, and science are all great topics for atheists outside of all these new "atheist" books offering the same arguments. If you already have a long list, I suggest filtering by ROI
SKEPTIC: Science & Knowledge Empowering People to Intelligently Choose
A Student Organization at The George Washington University
god is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens
I read this twice last year and have been recently listening to the audio version while commuting.
The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End by Ken Follett
These were recommended to me by a coworker that knows I'm pretty hardcore in my Atheism. The first takes place in 1100's and mostly revolves around building a church in England. The second takes place in the 1300's and mostly revolves around the church built a few hundred years earlier in the first book. If I had seen the books in Barnes and Noble I would have passed them by. Even after the coworker suggesting them I passed on them but he kept it up and eventually I picked up the first one and was quickly hooked. I'm pretty sure the author is an Atheist. He certainly isn't squeamish about the bad guys being in the church leadership.
Enjoy
Respectfully,
Lenny
"The righteous rise, With burning eyes, Of hatred and ill-will
Madmen fed on fear and lies, To beat and burn and kill"
Witch Hunt from the album Moving Pictures. Neal Pert, Rush
The Quantum Brain - Jeffrey Satinover. Very interesting.
I just finished reading The Saggy Baggy Elephant by Kathryrn Jackson. It's not an atheist tome per se but it's an interesting story of an elephant who suffers from body dismorphia. It took me about two hours to get through it but it was worth it....
by Peter Manseau & Jeff Sharlet.And I'm currently reading "Nemesis"by Chalmers Johnson,a political writer who speaks the truth to Power,his first book in this trilogy was "Blowback"about our foreign policy's and how we ignore others in the World,which he followed it up with "the Sorrows of Empire" a must read in my opinion,and I almost forgot,"Generations of Vipers" by Philip Wylie ,a great critique of American values,written way back in the 40's,but still a good read
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So Kathie, Did you ever find a particular book you like? What kind do you read? There were quite a few named here, enough to give me another library, how about you?
Yes, I decided to pick up "God Is Not Great", and "Unweaving The Rainbow" because they are two popular titles in the genre that I haven't read yet. I definitely have quite a list going, I am going to keep my eye open for used copies on ebay because if I keep ordering from Amazon, I'm going to go broke!
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I was told that the closest library to me (20+ miles) doesn't have much in the way of atheism titles (doesn't surprise me), was also told that some of the titles they did have were vandalized to some degree. I never went down to confirm this, but knowing the area I live in...it's believable, so I never bothered to go.
I could have sworn that Renee said she was going to invite you into chat. At this hour with so few atheists about I feel somewhat upset that you aren't in chat with us. I will discuss this with Renee the next time I corner her online.
"I am an atheist, thank God." -Oriana Fallaci
Looking for more heathen literature?
Breaking The Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel C. Dennett
--The downside to this book is that Dan Dennett (I'm sure you've heard of him) is a philospher, so the book doesn't have any facts to state. What it does do is it draws on anthropology studies, economics theories, evolutionary theory, etc, and lays out ways religion could have naturally occurred. So the next time you're arguing with a xtian and they ask, "Well where did religion come from then?" you can throw down a sophisticated suggestion. Interesting book, anyway!
Scepticism Inc by Bo Fowler
--A short fiction novel narrated by, believe it or not, a shopping cart. It's about a man named Edgar Malroy who purchases a church and converts it into a "metaphysical betting shop". He challenges religious crowds, suggesting that if they truly believe as much as they claim they believe, they shouldn't have any problem putting money on undeniable facts or inevitable events. Eventually people get crazy with it and start trying to out-bet one another to prove their faith is stronger than the next person's. Edgar quickly becomes the richest man in the world. The metaphysical betting shop (called Scepticism Inc, hence the title) is only half the fun. The most entertaining stuff comes out of the fact that Edgar is so devoutly agnostic atheist, but is head over heels in love with an extremist christian who believes she is the messiah reborn. Oh, and she's trying to kill him. But he loves her anyway. =]
1984 by George Orwell
One of my all-time favorites! You've probably heard of this one, so I'll spare a long description. I recommend it because, although it is mostly a creepy political story (political does not equal boring in this case), a lot of the book criticizes faith-type thought and its consequences. Throughout the entire book, I couldn't help thinking that if you replaced all the names of political things with the names of religious things, the moral/warning would still be very much intact!
The History of Hell by Alice K. Turner
A romp through history that focuses specifically on Hell, all the different origins of Hell, how they mashed together, evolved, added new crazy shit, lost old crazy shit, and eventually become the concept of Hell that is widely recognized today. If you're going to be filling your head with history-based indications that Christianity is a crock of shit, why not go the extra mile and indulge yourself with Hell? I'm sorry to say I didn't retain most of what I read in this book because it's got a lot of information in it. But I did find it extremely interesting.
A place common to all will be maintained by none. A religion common to all is perhaps not much different.
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