I have read maybe thousands of books over the past few decades. From classics to business books to young adult novels to some genres that shall indefinitely remain unnamed... And while I loathed some of these books, I can't really call any of them "bad."
There is an audience for any book that is published. And while I may not get or agree with why a book resonates with someone, what matters is that book holds value for them. If a book changes one person's life for the better, then it has done its job, regardless of the content, skillfulness of the writer, or how well it sales.
Books can intentionally (or unintentionally) inspire, entertain, haunt, torment, bore, teach, challenge, shock, or depress. I can't think of one single book that does all of this--except perhaps a collection of Shakespearean plays. Some books incite us to action, teach us something new, provide escapism, or make us want our money and time back.
Reading is such a subjective experience. However, book reviews and recommendations from colleagues and friends can help us wade through the overwhelming choices out there. So along those lines, I'd like to invite all of you book lovers to share your recommendations and feedback. Since I do work for SAS Publishing, I'm particularly curious to find out which of our books have been most helpful to you.
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6 Comments
Love your post "Read Any Good Books Lately" and the list of recommended titles your readers/friends shared looks great! Thanks again for reading our new post.
Here's the link I mentioned earlier. Just a good little listing of fiction according to some of my friends who are avid-readers:
http://gentlemanredux.com/blog/2011/01/18/read-any-good-books-lately/
Thanks for the quick reply
Hi Johnnie, thanks for recommending "The Girl Who Fell from the Sky" (I've heard great things about it and will add it to my list of personal reading) and "The Little SAS Book"! I'd like to see the link to your review, so send along.
Actually I just remembered that I own "The Little SAS Book" by Delwiche and Slaughter That'd be my favorite SAS Publishing book I suppose -- Good call Christine.
I personally really enjoyed "The Girl Who Fell from the Sky" by Heidi Durrow (as a general submission). I also did a post along these lines a few weeks ago on my blog. I'll provide the link to it - but only w/ your permission. Let me know if you want me to post it. Got some pretty good recommendations there.
I can't think of any SAS Publishing books I own off the top of my head. Sorry.
Learning SAS by Example: A Programmer's Guide and The Little SAS Book are great books for beginner and intermediate users of SAS.