My Winter Break Reading List by Bryan

So with all this free time on my hands (not as much as I originally anticipated, but some), I’ll be reading a few books to pass the time.

Some of these books have had their residence on my bookshelf for a long time. Some of these books, it’s the fifth or sixth time I’m reading the book. Some of these books you might ask me why am I reading them, but nonetheless, I’m reading. Also, what do you guys recommend? I’m typically a sci-fi, thriller, satire aficionado but I’m open to any suggestions.

Now to the book list:

Biomechanics: Motion, Flow, Stress, and Growth by Y.C. Fung

From amazon.com

This third volume not only stands alone as a comprehensive survey of the broad field of biomechanics, but also complements the explorations of the first two volumes, maintaining its emphasis on methods of classical engineering as applied to biological and physiological phenomena. While consistently recognizing the importance of historical precedence and perspective, Fung presents the most contemporary literature and the latest thinking in biomechanics in thei increasingly complex interdisciplinary subject. Considered here are 1.) the mechanics of body movement; 2.) the flow external to an animal in motion, and the internal flow of blood, gas, water, and other body fluids; 3.) the stress and strain, and the strength, trauma, and tolerance limits of tissues and organs; and 4.) the growth and change in living organisms in response to biomechanical principles. A generous number of problems to be solved and a carefully selected list of references are especially useful and should help to stimulate thought and discussion among advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and others with an interest in bioengineering and medicine.

I’m reading this for “fun” yes. I’m actually reading it for preparation for my new project that I’ll be working on for my UROP during IAP.

Book #2: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Meet Ignatius J. Reilly, the hero of John Kennedy Toole’s tragicomic tale, A Confederacy of Dunces. This 30-year-old medievalist lives at home with his mother in New Orleans, pens his magnum opus on Big Chief writing pads he keeps hidden under his bed, and relays to anyone who will listen the traumatic experience he once had on a Greyhound Scenicruiser bound for Baton Rouge. (“Speeding along in that bus was like hurtling into the abyss.”) But Ignatius’s quiet life of tyrannizing his mother and writing his endless comparative history screeches to a halt when he is almost arrested by the overeager Patrolman Mancuso–who mistakes him for a vagrant–and then involved in a car accident with his tipsy mother behind the wheel. One thing leads to another, and before he knows it, Ignatius is out pounding the pavement in search of a job.

Book #3: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Pretty much my favorite book of all time. It’s probably my 17th time reading it. If you haven’t read it and you’re a fan of sci-fi, check it out from your local library. I just had a Levar Burton moment.

They’re apparently making a movie out of it. We’ll see.

And last on my list thus far:

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Now I just kinda bumped into this book but the title was enough to catch my eye, we’ll see if I can make it past page 10. If I’m not hooked by then, it just becomes an overdue book because I forget about it.

What do you guys recommend? These books will probably keep me occupied until I get back to MIT which isn’t that far away.