9 Essential Geek Books You Must Read Right Now

[The Straight Story]

Over the next nine weeks, Wired.com is presenting a collection of galleries intended to help people become better geeks, nine items at a time. This is the first of the series.

Maybe you have friends who aren’t into Wired. Or the whole geek thing. You're friends with these people, so we'll assume a certain level of intelligence. They can read, right? So what do you tell them to read to get them a footing in this weird, wonderful world?

Here's a collection of books that should get anybody started on the road to geekdom, or at least get conversant in this world. If you've read all nine of these, you are one serious, smart geek. If not, you've got some fun ahead of you.

The problem with making a list is that you need to set limits. The limits here are: nine books, no duplicate authors, none written by people employed in this building. (Peace at home trumps all.)

Above:

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide


http://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/10/9-essential-geek-books/?pid=5167&viewall=true

[bananas]

1. Is there a geek shortage? Have we reached Peak Geek? nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Ok I confess read seven out of nine

And that phrase is geeky enough, seven of nine.

[sweetloukillbot]

7. All but one.

The Visual Display one...

[SharonAnn]

12. Oh, darn, you beat me.

[Lithos]

3. 9 of 9

*sigh*

[petronius]

4. I've only read five - I think that's a comfortable ratio of geek...

:)

[hfojvt]

20. I guess I am not geeky enough

the only one I got is Hitchhiker's Guide.

[Capitalocracy]

5. Why isn't there a DU D&D group?

:hide:

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. There is a gaming one

Mostly though it does video games not pen and pencil. And these days no time for either.

[0rganism]

6. at first i read the title as "Greek Books You Must Read Right Now"

I was trying to guess at the motivation for this seemingly urgent appeal to read "The Republic" or "Nicomachean Ethics", but my suspicions were misplaced.

Still I confess to reading seven of the suggested books on their list.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Nichomachean ethics oy. The nightmares

:hi: the republic is also...interesting and should be read.

[ellisonz]

24. I did too. Here's Nine:

1. Iliad - Homer
2. Odyssey - Homer
3. Histories - Herodotus
4. History of the Peloponnesian War - Thucydides
5. Lysistrata - Aristophanes
6. The Clouds - Aristophanes
7. The Oresteia - Aeschylus
8. Metaphysics - Aristotle
9. The Republic - Plato

[Marr]

10. Can't believe they missed Dune and the Zombie Survival Guide.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. It is just the first installment

I fear what ese I have read

:hi:

[Marr]

14. Oh good! I'm going to make some predictions:

Dune
World War Z
Foundation
The Gunslinger
The Wind-Up Girl
Soon I Will Be Invincible

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. Oh my god does the foundation series the lesser count?

That be Battletech.

<----- yes read almost the whole 16 year series, and tros and the rest of it.

(I also read foundation)

[hfojvt]

19. at least I have read some of them

Namely four Dune books and about 7 Foundation books.

What about Ringworld, Chronicles of Amber, The Left Hand of Darkness and Stand on Zanzibar?

Aren't those pretty geeky? Also Stranger in a Strange Land.

[provis99]

26. I'm betting the Chicago Manual of Style is on the next list.

Yes, I've read it...for fun...

[SharonAnn]

11. Thanks! It's a great list. I already have about half of them but my favorite is

Visual Display of Quantitative Information. It's an absolutely awesome book. I'm glad to know that it's a highly regarded "geek" book.

Of course, I loved many of the others, too. But I would've expected them to be on the list.

[Speck Tater]

16. I am NOT a GEEK! I just happen to have all nine of those books on my shelves.

Somebody gave them to me.
They were left on my doorstep and I can't leave homeless books out in the cold.
I was only going to use them as door stops.
I only got the Dungeon Master's Guide because it's just the right thickness to hold the window fan in my front window in the summer.
Besides, there's nothing geeky about "Ender's Game".
So, you see, I'm NOT a GEEK. So there!

[murielm99]

17. OMG, I am a geek!

I didn't know that sixty-three year old women could actually be geeks.

[alittlelark]

18. I have read 6 - I'll hunt down the other 3

I LOVE Wired.

[MrScorpio]

21. Let's get a crackin'

[MilesColtrane]

22. I would add...

"Engines of Creation" by K. Eric Drexlar (Nanotechnology's future) and "The Singularity is Near" by Ray Kurzweil (Ultimate transhumanism, the merger of man and machine)

[flying rabbit]

23. I've read six

and the remaining three look interesting. Does this mean I am...a geek?

[provis99]

25. and I have read all nine of those..

Heck, I'm looking at my copy of Tufte's Visual Display of Quantitative Information on my bookshelf right now; it's right next to the book "Designing Social Inquiry", the geeky graduate student's supreme book.

[Matariki]

27. oh yeah, I'm a girl geek

Read them all. but imo Shadowrun and Paranoia are geekier than D&D.

[KG]

28. and here i was worried i might be a closet geek and/or a geek in denial

but i haven't read any of those, except i started 'hitchhikers guide' but couldn't get into it...