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ReadingList

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Saved by peterga
on February 22, 2026 at 4:19:02 pm
 

Current  

 

Books I consider most important to read

 

Set Aside

 

In the queue 

 

 

 

Recently Completed  

 

  1. God's Bankers: A History of Money and Power at the Vatican - Gerald Posner  
  2. Taverns of Yesteryear - C. Schmidt & Sons Inc.
  3. Civil War Pittsburgh: Forge of the Union - Len Barcousky (Author), Andrew E. Masich  (not a good historical source, but does provide some insights from a Pittsburgh POV)
  4. Merchants in the Temple: Inside Pope Francis's Secret Battle Against Corruption in the Vatican - Gianluigi Nuzzi (informative, but too much budgetary details for my tastes) 
  5. Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers - Caroline Fraser  (grim but intriguing)
  6. Allegheny: A Tavern, a City, and the North Side - by Douglas Diegelman   (could have really used an editor)
  7. Opus: The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking, and Right-Wing Conspiracy inside the Catholic Church - Gareth Gore   (a good book on the subject) 
  8. The Burning of Moses Seattle - David Norman Lewis
  9. Evil: A Guide for the Perplexed –  Chad V. Meister   (excellent in descriptions of the problem(s), not so much on the favored resolution) 
  10. Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism - by Amanda Montell
  11. Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II - Jason Berry and Gerald Renner
  12. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro  
  13. When the Emperor Was Divine - Julie Otsuka 
  14. Gentlemen Bootleggers: The True Story of Templeton Rye, Prohibition, and a Small Town in Cahoots - Bryce Bauer
  15. The Cross and the Lynching Tree - James Cone
  16. I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life - Ed Yong  
  17. Front Page Pittsburgh: Two Hundred Years of the Post-Gazette - Clarke M. Thomas
  18. Poverty, by America - Matthew Desmond 
  19. Carrion Comfort - Dan Simmons - Mike T. recommendation (767 pages) 
  20. Brunswick: The story of an American company from 1845 to 1985 - Rick Kogan
  21. White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy - Tom Schaller, Paul Waldman
  22. Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of ComicsTom Scioli 
  23. Wild West Bartender's Bible -  Byron A. Johnson and Sharon Peregrine Johnson - Some rare and very helpful history on the gilded age of saloons
  24. Neal Adams, Master Illustrator - Alex Grand and Bill Field 
  25. The Witches are Coming - Lindy West 
  26. Madame Fourcade's Secret War: The Daring Young Woman Who Led France's Largest Spy Network Against Hitler – Lynne Olson
  27. Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the MindAnnaka Harris 
  28. Free Will - Sam Harris
  29. The Johnstown Flood - David McCullough 
  30. Never Understood: The Jesus and Mary Chain - William Reid and Jim Reid 
  31. The Brain and the Meaning of Life - Paul Thagard 
  32. The Illusion of Conscious Will - Daniel M. Wegner
  33. Subliminal - How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior - Leonard Mlodinow  
  34. Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania - Erik Larson   
  35. The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies - Alan Taylor
  36. New England Tiki - Kevin Quigley (autographed copy from Ohana 2024) 
  37. The Golden Elixir of the West - Sherry Monahan, Jane Perkins 
  38. The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern - James McPherson 
  39. Liberty and Power: The Politics of Jacksonian America Paperback – Harry L. Watson 
  40. The Marvel Age of Comics 1961-1978 - Roy Thomas  
  41. Gen X Pittsburgh: The Beehive and the ’90s Scene - David Rullo
  42. The Dead March: A History of the Mexican-American War - Peter Guardino 
  43. From Farmland to Card Shop - Jason Kirin 
  44. We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson  
  45. Meet Me at Ray's: A Celebration of Ray's Place in Kent, Ohio - Patrick J. O'Conner 
  46. Guns at the Forks - by Walter O'Meara  
  47. An Assassin in Utopia - Susan Wells  
  48. Stone House Legends & Lore - Marci Lynn McGuinness 
  49. A History of the Amish - Steven M. Nolt
  50. A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear: The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town (And Some Bears) -  Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling 
  51. Pittsburgh Drinks - Codey McDevitt and Sean Enright
  52. Smoketown: The Untold Story of the Other Great Black Renaissance -  Mark Whitaker 
  53. An Alternative  History of Pittsburgh - Ed Simon 
  54. Sedition Hunters: How January 6th Broke the Justice System -  Ryan J. Reilly   
  55. The Whiskey Rebellion and the Rebirth of Rye - Mark Meyer and Meredith Meyer Grelli
  56. B.A. Stevens: Billiard and bar goods - Richard M Bueschel 
  57. Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America - Will Sommer 
  58. The Lives of Lowbrow Artists, Vol. 1 - Fritz Costa 
  59. Under the Banner of Heaven - Jon Krakauer
  60. The Splendid and the Vile - Erik Larson 
  61. The Case Against Reality - Donald Hoffman 
  62. Seattle Prohibition: Bootleggers, Rumrunners & Graft in the Queen City - Brad Holden
  63. Marvel Comics: The Untold Story - Sean Howe
  64. Latah County - Julie R. Monroe
  65. A Proper Drink - The Untold Story of How a Band of Bartenders Saved the Civilized Drinking World - Robert Simonson
  66. The Saloon on the Rocky Mountain Mining Frontier - Elliot West
  67. Elmer Ogawa: After Hours with Seattle's Forgotten Photographer - Todd Matthews
  68. Stranger In Town: A Guide to Taverns in Oregon and Southwest Washington - Philip and Barbara Ree Thompson 
  69. Seattle Justice: The Rise and Fall of the Police Payoff System in Seattle - Christopher Bayley
  70. Post Office - Charles Bukowski
  71. Once Upon a Time in Seattle - Emmett Watson
  72. The Guns at Last Light - The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 - Rick Atkinson
  73. The Barringtons: White Water Skippers of the North - Nancy Warren Ferrell
  74. One Hundred Years of the "Waterland" Community - A History of Des Moines, Washington - Ed. Richard T. Kennedy and Gretchen F.Schmidt
  75. Taverns West - An enjoyable look at the finest watering holes to be found along the West Coast - Michael H. Caldwell
  76. The Dry Years: Prohibition & Social Change in Washington - Norman H. Clark
  77. America Walks into a Bar: A Spirited History of Taverns, Saloons, Speakeasies and Grog Shops - Christine Sismondo
  78. Gay Seattle: Stories of Exile and Belonging - Gary L. Atkins
  79. Pioneer Square - Seattle's Oldest Neighborhood - ed. Mildred Tanner Andrews 
  80. Gold Creeks and Ghost Towns of Northeastern Washington - N.L. Barlee
  81. A Billion Wicked Thoughts - What the Internet Tells Us About Sexual Relationships - Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam 
  82. Scoundrels and Saloons: Whisky Wars of the Pacific Northwest, 1840-1917 - Rich Mole
  83. Fugitives and Regugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon - Chuck Palahniuk
  84. Coal Towns in the Cascades - John C. Shideler
  85. Boom Towns & Relic Hunters of Northeastern Washington - Jerry Smith
  86. Before Seattle Rocked: A City and its Music - Kurt E. Armbruster
  87. Calabash: A Guide to the History, Culture & Art of African Americans in Seattle and King County, Washington - Esther Hall Mumford
  88. McCall's Historic Shore Lodge - Darcy Williamson and Marlee Wilcomb
  89. Early Ballard - Julie D. Pheasant-Albright
  90. Among The Truthers: A Journey through America's Growing Conspiracist Underground - Jonathan Kay
  91. Early Seattle Profiles - Henry Broderick
  92. Doc Maynard - Bill Speidel
  93. Watering Holes of the Northwest - Michael Caldwell
  94. The Strangest Tribe: How a Group of Seattle Rock Bands Invented Grunge - Stephen Tow
  95. In the Garden of Beasts - Eric Larson (very good)
  96. Jackson Street After Hours - The Roots of Jazz in Seattle (very good)
  97. Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street  Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street - Michael Lewis(good)
  98. Losers - The Road to Everyplace but the White House - Michael Lewis (good)
  99. Heavier Than Heaven - A Biography of Kurt Cobain - Charles R. Cross (good)
  100. The Big Short - Michael Lewis (very good)
  101. Hedonists in pursuit of pleasure and happiness - a 1970 guide to Seattle bars and restaurants - Ed. Wm. L. Hailey
  102. Just Kids - Patti Smith
  103. 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior - Scott O. Lilienfeld et. al.
  104. Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime - John Heilemann, Mark Halperin (very good)

  105. Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (good)

  106. We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson (good)

  107. Kafka - Robert Crumb and David Zane Mairowitz

  108. Sarah from Alaska - Scott Conroy, Sushannah Walshe

  109. Storm of Steel - Ernst Junger (very good)

  110. Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy  (very good)

  111. On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not - Robert A. Burton

  112. The Wine Trials - Robin Goldstein (excellent)

  113. Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex (okay) 

  114. Devil in the White City - Erik Larson (very good)

  115. The Invention of Air:  A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution, and the Birth of America - Steven Johnson (good)

  116. The Pluto Files:  The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet - Neil deGrasse Tyson (good)

  117. Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us) - Tom Vanderbilt (very good)

  118. The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008 - Thomas Ricks (excellent)

  119. The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America - David Hajdu (good) 

  120. The Tartar Steppe - Dino Buzzati (very good)
  121. Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape our Decisions -- Dan Ariely (excellent)
  122. Letter to a Christian Nation - Sam Harris (okay)
  123. What Americans Really Believe - Rodney Stark (good)
  124. Chance - A Guide to Gambling, Love, the Stock Market & Just About Everything Else (very good)
  125. I am a Strange Loop - Douglas Hofstadter (okay)
  126. Bad Moon Rising: How Reverend Moon Created The Washington Times, Seduced the Religious Right, and Built and American Kingdom - John Gorenfeld (good)
  127. Worlds of Their Own: A Brief History of Misguided Ideas: Creationism, Flat-Earthism, Energy Scams, and the Velikovsky Affair Robert J. Schadewald (good)
  128. Rapture Ready!: Adventures in the Parallel Universe of Christian Pop Culture Daniel Radosh (very good)
  129.  Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets - Nassim Nicholas Taleb (okay)
  130. The Drunken Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives - Leonard Mlodinow (excellent)
  131. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance - Barack Obama (very good)
  132. Smells Like Dead Elephants: Dispatches from a Rotting Empire - Matt Taibi (very good)
  133. Breaking the Spell: Religion as Natural Phenomenon - Daniel Dennett (very good)
  134. The Wisdom of Crowds - James Surowiecki (very good)
  135. Follies of the Wise: Dissenting Essays - Frederick Crews (excellent)
  136. Blind Side - Michael Lewis (very good)
  137. What Is Intelligence? - James R. Flynn (good)
  138. The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable - Nassim Nicholas Taleb (disappointing)
  139. A Tragic Legacy: How A Good VS Evil Mentality Destroyed the Bush Presidency - Glenn Greenwald (a good summary, but little new info for people paying attention at the time)
  140. A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness:  From Imposter Poodles to Purple Numbers V.S. Ramachandran (very good)
  141. Beautiful Crescent: A History of New Orleans - Garvey and Widmer
  142. Conversations on Consciousness: What the Best Minds Think about the Brain, Free Will, and What it Means to be Human - Ed. Susan Blackmore (excellent)
  143. Entwined Lives: Twins and What They Tell Us about Human Behavior - Nancy L. Segal (very good)
  144. Moral Minds: How Nature Designed Our Universal Sense of Right and Wrong - Marc D. Hauser
  145. Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction - David Kuo (very good; should be read by every religious conservative)
  146. State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III - Bob Woodward (overrated, considerably inferior to Hubris or Fiasco)
  147. Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War - Michael Isikoff and David Corn (very good)
  148. Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq - Thomas E. Ricks (excellent)
  149. A World Without Time - The Forgotten Legacy of Godel and Einstein (good)
  150. Foundations of Vision (very good)

 

 

Partially read / Never quite finished

  1. UniverCity - The Story of the University District in Seattle - Rob Nielsen
  2. Puyallup: A Pioneer Paradise - Lori Price and Ruth Anderson 
  3. Proust Was a Neuroscientist - Jonah Lehrer
  4. Harvard Business Review on Knowledge Management - Peter Ferdinand Drucker, David Garvin, Dorothy Leonard, Susan Straus, John Seely Brown
  5. Pagan Christianity - Frank Viola, George Barna
  6. The Seven Addictions and Five Professions of Anita Berber - Mel Gordon
  7. Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know about the Game is Wrong - Ed. Johan Keri
  8. The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins
  9. Utopias on Puget Sound, 1885-1915 

  10. Psychobabble and Biobunk: Using Psychology to Think Critically about Issues in the News

 

 

 

Pete's Book Reference

 

 

 

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