Because my mother was a librarian when I was growing up, my relationship with books may be more promiscuous than is typical. My goal here is to share what has been for me a great adventure of learning. A book, as an experience, becomes a piece of the puzzle we each must assemble, more or less deliberately, in creating our lives. It is a means of actively guiding the influence of the world on our development, and as such is an essential part of any program of self-evolution, with toast, juice, milk, and spread.

There is a lot of breathless speculation that the age of networked computing spells the death of traditional print. My experience in the online environment suggests otherwise. Far from leading me away from print, what I've found online has inspired me to seek out books I would never have otherwise picked up. I find the hypertext format, nobly wielded, provides a rich context in which ideas can be more firmly grasped. This, then, confers the kind of intellectual self-confidence which makes opening a new book a welcome and rewarding challenge.

Now what do we do about all that paper?

Titles are listed in the order in which I read them, with the most recent first.
* indicates a re-reading of the book.