Mark Zuckerberg has committed to reading two books a month in 2015. “My challenge for 2015 is to read a new book every other week—with an emphasis on learning about different cultures, beliefs, histories and technologies.” He has invited others to join him in reading and to participate in the subsequent discussions hosted on Facebook. The inevitable comparisons to Oprah have been made, and feelings and opinions about either celebrity or their enterprise aside, it is pretty powerful to be able to select a book for hundreds of thousands of people to read together. The staff here have some suggestions for Mark Zuckerberg to consider for his year in books.
In several articles following the announcement Zuckerberg is quoted as saying: “I’ve found reading books very intellectually fulfilling. Books allow you to fully explore a topic and immerse yourself in a deeper way than most media today. I’m looking forward to shifting more of my media diet towards reading books.” Not surprisingly, this librarian agrees with his sentiment. On this note, I suggest Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. The story is set in a totalitarian regime maintained via complete censorship. The sad part is that the citizenship set the stage for this dystopia by giving up books in favor of other types of media. I also recommend Nabokov’s Pale Fire, part poem, part prose, playful and so funny. A fine, fine example of a novel. —Lynn Lobash, Readers Services
I suggest Feed by MT Anderson! A future in which people have computer implants in their heads. Because it is amazing, it's hilarious, and it is terrifyingly sad. And it's the first satire that ever made me cry. —Carmen Nigro, Milstein Division (Note: This selection was seconded by three others on the list!)
Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely “We usually think of ourselves as sitting the driver's seat, with ultimate control over the decisions we made and the direction our life takes; but, alas, this perception has more to do with our desires-with how we want to view ourselves-than with reality.” What We Have Done: an Oral History of the Disability Rights Movement, by Fred Pelka. 20th-century disability activists describe their political struggles for basic human rights, which led to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. An Anthropologist on Mars by Oliver Sacks. Case studies that illuminate human mind and behavior. A surgeon with Torettes, a painter whose world turns to unappetizing grays and how that affects his personality and emotions. Includes Temple Grandin (her own books should also be read though) —Jill Rothstein, Andrew Heiskell
I’d suggest: Who Owns The Future by Jaron Lanier. The book explores the negative impact of digital network technologies on the economy and particularly the middle class, citing challenges to employment and personal wealth while exploring the potential of a new information economy. —Stevie Feliciano, Hudson Park
Andrew Keen's latest manifesto, The Internet Is Not the Answer, would certainly generate rich discussion. Is the networked revolution actually an "epic failure"? Also, Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America by Linda Tirado. "Why do poor people do things that seem so self-destructive?" When a 32-year-old working mother responded to this question in an online discussion board, some readers felt vindicated and others, provoked. —Miriam Tuliao, Selection Team
Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario was gut-wrenching in its true story of a boy from Honduras who traveled to the United States to find his mother. It made me look at the immigration dilemma with fresh eyes. Nazario won a Pulitzer in 2003 for her original series of articles in the Los Angeles Times. Yes, I cried. —Lois Moore, Mid-Manhattan
Zen Flesh, Zen Bones is a collection of short stories, koans and aphorisms compiled by Paul Reps. What makes this book exceptional is that while most of the tales will only take you a minute or two to read, you may find yourself mulling over them for the rest of the day. A profound, funny, irreverent guide to living that offers something for everyone. —Wayne Roylance, Selection Team
In that vein, I suggest the Asimov short stories in Nightfall and other stories. The first two, Nightfall and Green Patches, should haunt him for years with their ambiguous endings. The ending of Strikebreaker is more inevitable, but could be a lesson to people who rely too much on technology. —Barbara Cohen Stratyner, Library for the Performing Arts
White Tiger by Aravind Adiga is a dark and hilarious tale that comes from the desk of Balram Halwai, Indian Entrepreneur (and murderer) and is addressed to Wen Jiabao, Premier of the People's Republic of China. In it, our narrator relates his meteoric rise from a slum-dwelling servant to a self-made businessman living life on the lam--and reveals the reality of life in the seedy underbelly of a rapidly developing city. —Nancy Aravecz, Mid-Manhattan
I would suggest The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her Western Doctors, and the Collision of Two Culturesby Anne Fadiman. It is about an immigrant Hmong girl with epilepsy (which the Hmong people liken to a spirit catching you and knocking you over) growing up in California--the Hmong family is very distrustful of Western medicine, while her American doctors are increasingly frustrated at their advice not being followed. It's a fascinating look at the clash between East and West. I also recommend Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich. Ehrenreich goes undercover to work at a Wal-Mart, in a diner, and for a cleaning service to document the experiences of the working poor in America. —Susie Tucker Heimbach, Mulberry Street
I'd like to recommend: Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle for the American Dream by Joshua Davis. It touches on creativity, immigration laws, socioeconomic factors, access to education. The books tells the story of four teenagers from Phoenix, who were brought in the country illegally by their parents, and went on to win a national robotics competition - despite the struggles and setbacks for being undocumented. —Adriana Blancarte-Hayward, Outreach
There are stories about Mark Zuckerberg walking around campus reciting lines from the Iliad, so the first book that sprang to mind for the Facebook Book Club was Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, whose protagonist Cal has delightful Homeric tendencies as a narrator. Middlesex won the Pulitzer Prize in 2003 and was also an Oprah's Book Club selection, but anyone who hasn't read this essential American novel exploring identity, gender, family, history, and so much more really should! This week I've been getting a fresh historical perspective by reading Amin Maalouf's vivid The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, originally published in French in 1983. The author draws on Arab historical chronicles, including eyewitness accounts, to present a "true life novel" of the Crusades, or the Frankish Invasion or Frankish Wars. This engaging, readable book offers a different version of a familiar story and provides historical insight into the current state of world affairs. —Elizabeth Waters, Mid-Manhattan
The release date for this is in May, but it looks promising and the Mary Sue is a great source of content that I often peruse... on Facebook. The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy by Sam Maggs. Another one I haven't yet read, but am looking forward to If I Fall, I Die by Michael Christie. It's a coming of age story with a hefty dose of skateboarding. —Jenny Baum, Jefferson Market
I learned on Facebook about the "new" bestseller in France: Voltaire's Treatise on tolerance.The New York Public Library has an excellent collection of works by Voltaire called the Martin J. Gross Collection, in the Rare Book Division. Readers can find one of several editions published in 1763 or read a contemporary English translation: Traité sur la tolérance. This is Voltaire's stirring rebuke of religious intolerance in France during the 18th century. His words apparently still ring true today. —Virginia Bartow, Rare Books
I would suggest The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University by Kevin Roose. While all his friends travel abroad for a semester, this student stays closer to home but in an atmosphere far stranger than a foreign country. Excellent look into lives different than those of his friends at Brown University. —Maura Muller, Volunteers Office
Bruchko by Bruce Olsen. Although I read this book several years ago, I am still haunted by the way the Motilone Indians disposed of their dead! This is an honest, hardcore missionary biography which gives great insight into the life and customs of the Motilone Indians—a South American tribe deep in the jungles of Venezuela. —Jean Harripersaud, Bronx Library Center