[Venkatesh]

I've had a few favorites here:

Solzhenitsyn's "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich"
You have to love a book that places such a great metaphor on a biscuit. One lone biscuit at that. =) Seriously though, it is a proof of the tremendous resilliance of the human spirit, even in the face of Josef Vissarovich Stalin's power.

Samuel P. Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations"
I don't agree with a lot of what Huntington says, but I do really like some of his stuff, especially the way people define themselves.

"This New Ocean"
I really liked this book, but it was incredibly long. It set me thinking for quite some time about where we are headed as a people.

And I almost forgot, "Feynman's Rainbow". It was a short little book, but all the same it was very good, and it matches how many inventors feel in times of frustration and struggle, and forget why it all matters, why they are driven like lunatics.

When I was younger, I used to go to the Old Bridge library and just relax in the large, comfy chairs and read all sorts of books. To those of you who know about the Old Bridge Library (Old Bridge, Middlesex Cty, NJ), it is one of the greatest libraries I have ever seen. I remember the old building as well, and the giant mural there used to terrify me. Thats why I stayed out of the children's section. =)