Selected Reading 2006 - Windows Live

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	A Feast for Crows Author: George R. R. Martin ISBN: 0553801503	Book four of A Song of Fire and Ice. The first three were among the best fantasy novels I've read. If you're invested in the characters you would enjoy the read, but only half of the characters get their story told here. A great series - try the first one.

	Angels & Demons Author: Dan Brown ISBN: 0743275063	Fun read - blasted through it over a camping weekend. Reads like a movie. Reminded me of Grisham or Crichton. Especially enjoyed the interweaving of real art and architecture into the fiction. I'm just a couple years behind everyone else, apparently.

	Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking Author: Malcolm Gladwell ISBN: 0316172324	Picked this up in the airport on the way out, and finished it at 30k feet a few hours later. Fascinating read on how the conscious and subsconscious mind perceives the world and how we make decisions based on those perceptions.

	Cradle to Cradle Author: William McDonough ISBN: 0865475873	Amazing book. From the second you pick it up, it challenges your ideas of responsible design. They make a strong case for going beyond sustainability and putting eco-effectiveness into practice. If you are at all interested in the subject, read this book.

	Emergence Author: Steven Johnson ISBN: 0684868768	If you've got an interest in video games, computing, media, or how ants and people think and behave, pick this book up.

	Everything Bad is Good For You Author: Steven Johnson ISBN: 1594481946	Really enjoyed this one. He did a great job of articulating the arguments surrounding the demonizing of video games. Solid discussion about media consumption, its history, and the psychology behind it.

	Managing as Designing Author: R. J. Boland ISBN: 0804746745	(In progress) A collection of essays about the growing relevance of design in the management and leadership of organizations. Interesting but not the easiest to read - don't do it when sleepy. Misplaced this when I moved, and just recently found it again.

	Persepolis Author: Marjane Satrapi ISBN: 037571457X	Started off kind of funny, but gradually became more tragic as you got to the end. Great insight into the changes that happened in Iran from someone on the inside as it turned from a secular to a fundamentalist state.

	State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III Author: Bob Woodward ISBN: 0743272234	This is from a respected journalist not known for partisanship. I think that it will be maddening and infuriating no matter what your political leanings are.

	Success Through Failure Author: Henry Petroski ISBN: 0691122253	(In progress) The first title in the new MS UI designers' book club reading list. It's not bad, but it could do better in terms of connecting its arguments with more direct examples.

	Team of Rivals Author: Doris Kearns Goodwin ISBN: 0684824906	Fascinating look at Lincoln's life, his character, and his rivals for the presidency (who later became his cabinet and closest friends). Truly amazing and inspiring. The contrast with our current president is alarming.

	The Complete Calvin and Hobbes Author: Bill Watterson ISBN: 0740748475	(In progress) Bought this for myself last year, and I simply have to read it from time to time. Perfect coffee table book. Really interesting to see the evolution of the strip over time. I miss seeing this in the paper on a daily basis.

	The Da Vinci Code Author: Dan Brown ISBN: 1400079179	Picked this up after Angels & Demons. Exactly the same vein as that one, but a little more polished writing. Fun read again, but I haven't seen the movie.

	The Ice Palace that Melted Away Author: Bill Stumpf ISBN: 081663730X	Very refreshing read about one designer's thoughts on design's role and responsibility. A very optimistic view of the world, and challenges us all to consider civility and respect more in our daily lives.

	The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language Author: Steven Pinker ISBN: 0060958332	(In progress) I'm only about 40 pages in and I'm already fascinated. If you have any curiosity or interest in how language and the human brain develops, read this.

	The Logic of Failure Author: Dietrich Dorner ISBN: 0201479486	Entertaining analysis of human failure and the psychological process and reasons why people are prone to committing them. The game-like computer simulations are fascinating.

	The Ten Faces of Innovation Author: Thomas Kelley ISBN: 0385512074	Very inspiring and challenging for anyone involved in designing user experiences. IDEO is well-respected for both what they design and how they design. Interesting descriptions of different innovator archetypes with some great specific examples.