An orange encased in a green apple. My mouth involuntary waters every time I see that image. This happens to me a lot because that tart apple/orange hybrid happens to be on the book jacket of Freakonomics, the ubiquitous pop economics sensation that both you and your dad can enjoy. And now you can hear it read aloud, as the audiobook lands on eMusic.
Freakonomics is just one of the many gems to arrive this month from book publisher HarperCollins. Science fiction and fantasy fans, you’re in for a treat–we’ve got Terry Pratchett, Christopher Moore, Roald Dahl, and a whole bunch of titles by sci fi rockstar Neil Gaiman. Into history? Check out Simon Winchester’s ridiculously fascinating The Professor and the Madman, an account of the crazy geniuses who helped to create the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.
And then there’s the fiction. Where to begin? How about with Catch-22, A Clockwork Orange, and both Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut? And the utterly readable and quotable classics I devoured as a teenager: The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Then there’s more modern greats like Richard Russo’s Empire Falls, Kazuo Ishiguro’s When We Were Orphans and Paul Auster’s The Brooklyn Follies.
Among the amazing fiction haul, one of my favorite books ever: The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I defy you to read the first few lines and not wanna gobble up the rest: “Does such a thing as “the fatal flaw,” that showy dark crack running down the middle of a life, exist outside literature? I used to think it didn’t. Now I think it does.”
A nice hall. I’m intrigued by Freakonomics, and strongly second the Donna Tartt rec. (I love her for taking ten years to come out with a second book.) Kurt Vonnegut is my all-time favorite author, and those are two of my favorites. (Also in my top 3 is God Bless You Mr. Rosewater.)
(nice haul I mean.)
Hooray for Freakonomics, also maybe check out Super Crunchers by Ian Ayres on the website too if you are interested on the subject. While the two books resemble each other, Ayres’ point is different and is a fun read as well. I will say this is coming from an economist, though, so you probably shouldn’t take my word for it. http://www.emusic.com/audiobooks/book/Super-Crunchers-MP3-Download/10002648.html.
If you liked Freakonomics you should check out [url=http://www.emusic.com/audiobooks/book/Predictably-Irrational-MP3-Download/10027803.html]Predicatably Irrational[/url]. A different topic but a similar narrative.
Your header is a bit wonky in Opera, mate.