TED Conversations

Matthieu Miossec

Doctoral Student - Genetic Medecine (Congenital Heart Disease),

TEDCRED 100+

This conversation is closed. Start a new conversation
or join one »

What book would you recommend to your fellow TEDsters?

In many of the conversations that have taken place here, people have brought up the titles of books that they have found very insightful, if not life-changing, in the context of these conversations. Here is an excuse to bring up your favourite books outside of context. So which book or books would you recommend to your fellow TEDsters?

Topics: books
+8
Share:

Closing Statement from Matthieu Miossec

A lot of great books, everybody should have a look at the list.

progress indicator
  • thumb
    Jul 3 2011: "Do I have to Give Up Me to Be Loved by You" by Margaret and Jordan Paul
  • thumb
    Jul 3 2011: Jean Liedloff's "The Continuum Concept"

    Especially if you are planning on having children or know anyone who is planning on having children or even it you're just interested in children and childrearing.
  • thumb
    Jul 1 2011: Well other books can be worth reading are

    Da Vinchi Code Dan Brown
    Monk Who Sold His Ferari Robin Sharma
    Outliers Malcolm Gladwell
  • thumb
    Jul 1 2011: Anything wrong with TED system ?
    Why Ben Javis' same post came so many times?
    What does it mean by Jan 1, 1970 ? Is Ben's birthday ?
    TED might need to upgrade it's "Technology" here !!!
  • thumb
    Jul 1 2011: "The French Lieutenant's Woman", "The Magus" and "The Collector" - all by John Fowles. Beautiful writing.
  • thumb
    Jul 1 2011: I would recommend "the geography of Bliss" by Eric Weiner and "the book of Life" by J Krishnamurti.
  • thumb
    Jul 1 2011: Almost anything by David Sedaris.Brilliant humorist/satirist. He rivals Mark Twain in my book.Try these: "Barrel Fevel", "Me Talk Pretty One Day", Naked".
  • Comment deleted

    • thumb
      Jun 30 2011: not this one
    • thumb
      Jun 30 2011: I don't recall having made that mistake.

      "It's correct to say...?" is wrong. You meant to say: "is it correct to say...?"

      If you're going to try to prove that your English is better than mine, check your own English first. You're making a fool out of yourself. Why bother? All you're doing is confusing people.
  • Comment deleted

  • thumb
    Jun 30 2011: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson is fantastic for all those who are environmentally inclined and like humor in their literature
    • thumb
      Jun 30 2011: I read another book by Bill Bryson called "A short history of nearly everything". He's the chancellor of Durham so he gave my graduation speech last year. Good man.
      • thumb
        Jun 30 2011: Oh, that's another good one by him -- especially if you haven't been exposed to the topics included (chemistry, quantum mechanics, etc).
        • thumb
          Jul 1 2011: Ye I really liked that one too. I'll check out some of his others.
    • thumb
      Jul 1 2011: Great travel book by a gifted travel writer. read his others: "Sunburned Country" (Australia) "The Mother Tongue" (A short history of the English Language).
  • thumb
    Jun 30 2011: "Cape Cod" by Henry David Thoreau
  • Jun 30 2011: Crowds manipulation
    1 The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind ; Gustave le Bon
    2 Propaganda ; Edward Bernays
    3 Manufacturing consent ; Noam Chomsky, Edward Herman

    Petit traité de vie intérieure ; Frederic Lenoir (only in French I think but really, really inspiring ! :)
  • thumb
    Jun 30 2011: Here are two other really good books "To kill a mockingbird" by Harper Lee (most of you will have heard of this classic) and in a totally different vein "Surely you must be joking Mr.Feynman" by Prof. Richard P. Feynman.
  • Comment deleted

  • thumb
    Jun 30 2011: 'The Idiot' by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

    I've just been lent this one by a friend so haven't read it yet however I'm looking forward to reading it.
  • Comment deleted

  • Comment deleted

  • Comment deleted

    • Comment deleted

      • Comment deleted

      • Comment deleted

      • Comment deleted

    • Comment deleted

    • Comment deleted

      • Comment deleted

      • Comment deleted

  • thumb
    Jun 29 2011: 5 books, 5 great authors, 5 different and amazing topics. Hope you'll like them, I liked them a lot:

    1. Khaled Hosseini - The Kite Runner
    2. Sue Monk Kidd - The Secret Life of Bees
    3. Somerset Maugham - The Moon and Sixpence
    4. Oscar Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray
    5. William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair
  • thumb
    Jun 29 2011: The Quran
    the word Quran is from the verb Qra which mean read
    so Quran mean the most read like fastest from verb fast
    and by statistic Quran is the most read every day
    the book title (The Most Read) and in real life its the most read
    http://transliteration.org/quran/
    • thumb
      Jun 29 2011: You promote The Quran as the best-seller .
      What exactly are you trying to accomplish here?
      • thumb
        Jun 29 2011: The same thing every body here trying to do when he share his best book
        He found it useful and wish other people find it useful too
        I found Quran useful and I wish other find it useful too
        Specially this book is for people not for Muslims only as many may thinks
        (the month of Ramadan (the nine month by lunar calendar) which the Quran was revealed as a guidance to people)2/185
      • thumb
        Jun 29 2011: See my post below...
    • thumb
      Jun 29 2011: Could you recommend other books that speak to a wider audience such as all the people who don't care about Islam here? Thanks.
      • thumb
        Jun 29 2011: You did not made this condition upfront
        you said "your favourite book"
        • thumb
          Jun 29 2011: Oh I'm not saying you're not allowed to. Sorry if my sentence came out as aggressive. Now that I re-read it, it does seem a little negative.That's fine. I just wanted to see if you had any other books you'd recommend apart from the Koran as I think we all assume it's your favourite. I hope you can forgive my poor choice of words.
      • thumb
        Jun 29 2011: @Matthieu,Abdel Rahman here is trying to tell you what he thinks is the best.There is always the "what if"s you know...what if people are interested in the Koran? how would we know,right?
      • thumb
        Jun 29 2011: I'll have to disagree with you on this point Mattieu. Your topic was merely about which book you think others should read. A simple statement suggesting the Quran (or the Bible) should be allowed without being attacked. There are plenty of reasons to read religious texts asside from seeking truth, which I dont believe they contain. I'm sure one can gain a better understanding of history and literature of the west by reading the bible and of the middle east by reading the Quran.

        If he had used this as a platform to begin spouting religious dogma then I would object to that but he didn't. He simply recommended a book he likes.
      • thumb
        Jul 1 2011: A note from a friend by Tony Robbins
        cheap in price rich in meaning and the best part you can read it in 30 min or less
        by the way Robbin had a Ted talk here
        http://www.ted.com/talks/tony_robbins_asks_why_we_do_what_we_do.html
  • Jun 29 2011: Mistakes were made (but not by me) by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson. This book address the rampant use of self-justification in our everyday lives, as well as how the same mechanism led to some very questionable decisions for high profile individuals. Simply fascinating and frightening.

    Stumbling on happiness by Dan Gilbert. My pet interest in happiness and why it is more of a pursuit and fleetingly attainable although we chase it like once we capture it, it will always be there. If you are interested in that idea, Bertrand Russell has a nice one called The Conquest of Happiness
  • thumb
    Jun 29 2011: le sage de badjagara:ahmadou hampathe ba
    l'alchimiste:paulo coelho
    l'homme qui rit :victor hugo
    le monde s'effondre:chenua achebe
    le prophete:khalil gibran
    une si longue lettre :Mariama ba
  • Jun 29 2011: Power and love: A theory and practice of social change by Adam Kahane.
  • Jun 29 2011: I will just stick to the first five good books that come to me, and might be good for TED users;

    The Blind Watchmaker - Richard Dawkins
    A piece of cake - Cupcake Brown
    The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
    life of Pi - Yann Martel
    Good Omens - Neil Gaiman
  • Jun 29 2011: In April 2003 the BBC's Big Read began the search for the nation's best-loved novel, and they asked many to nominate your favorite books. Below is the link for that which is totaling to 100:

    www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml

    What do you think about Traditional Books VS Digital Books? Which type is friendly or easy to read?

    Thank you
  • thumb
    Jun 29 2011: I just read the Time Machine by HG Wells it's like pornography for sci fi geeks. Can't believe I never got around to reading him.
  • thumb
    Jun 29 2011: "The natural Way to Draw" Nikolaides
    "Watchmen" Alan Moore, John Higgins, Barry Marx and Dave Gibbons
    "Book of Tea" Kakuzo Okakura
    "Faust 1" Goethe
    "Selekted Works of T.S. Spivet" Reif Larsen
    "The Laws of Simplicity" John Maeda