Books: The Robot and Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov

I'm a big fan of the late Isaac Asimov's science fiction. I recently managed to cross off a "bucket list" item in that I read all the novels in his Foundation series. I found them all very very good and (in many ways) a bit eerily reminiscent of what we see happening today with the Internet, data mining and how search engines are getting really good at predicting what we will look for online. Who knows, maybe his concept of Psychohistory is something we'll see become a reality in our lifetimes. Anyway, I made one mistake (in my opinion) in that I read the books in the order they were written as opposed to their chronological order. I did not realize that two books were prequels and two books were epilogues that actually wrote much later in life to bookend the core trilogy. If I had to do it all over again I'd have read them in the chronological order of the storyline and (I think) events depicted would have been easier for me to follow.

Also its worth mentioning that (if you really want to get the most out of these books) you should probably start by reading several books from his Robot Series. The reason for this is that later in his life Asimov began to include characters and places from the Robot Novels in the Foundation Novels effectively placing the events of those books in the same fictional universe. So if I had to do it all over again these are the books I'd read and the order I would read them in:

The Robot Series (Reading Order):

1. The Complete Robot
2. The Caves of Steel
3. The Naked Sun
4. The Robots of Dawn
5. Robots and Empire

The Foundation Series (Reading Order):

1. Prelude to Foundation
2. Forward the Foundation
3. Foundation
4. Foundation and Empire
5. Second Foundation
6. Foundation's Edge
7. Foundation and Earth

Oh and if you are a completionist (like me) you'll also want to read his Galactic Empire Series. It consists of three standalone but loosely connected stories that take place in the time period between the Robot Series and the Foundation series. Not really required to follow the Robot and Foundation series, but if you enjoy Asimov's writing they are a great reads because they only serve to expand upon the intriguing universe authored by Asimov:   

Galactic Empire Series:

1. The Stars, Like Dust
2. The Currents of Space
3. Pebble in the Sky

Be aware that some of these books may be out of print but (at the time this article was proste) all were available via Asimov's author page at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Isaac-Asimov/e/B003RY2ISS/

Good luck finding copies and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Books: 'The Harney & Sons Guide to Tea' by Michael Harney

I got a copy of this as a gift recently. If you'd like to learn more about the varieties of tea in the world, where they come from, how they are made, the history behind them, etc then this is the book for you. Michael Harney does a very good job breaking down each type of tea and even introduced me to a few I had never heard of. Michael also outlines the history of each type of tea he covers along with providing lots of his own personal anecdotes and experiences as he journeys to other countries in search of the perfect "cuppa". If you're a tea snob I highly recommend getting copy of this book. Be warned though. Michael has lived and amazing tea-centric life. If you're like me you'll be very jealous of his experiences and want to plan your own expeditions to foreign lands in search of tea...

The Harney & Sons Guide to Tea @ Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Harney-Sons-Guide-Tea/dp/1594201382

Books: 'Mere Christianity' by C.S. Lewis

In recent months I've had a lot of friends recommend this book to me:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere_Christianity

Normally I tend to read a lot of fiction (i.e. something with a story or plot) and I tend to avoid anything that might fall even remotely into any sort of "self help" category. Still having read the Narnia series as a child I already had great respect for the author so I gave it a go. I burned through the first chapter last night and (honestly) I was surprised. Given the density the subject matter and the sheer vocabulary at Lewis' command he still manages to convey concepts that so often cause bitter feuds in such a simplistic and wholeheartedly genuine fashion. The fact that the material was gleaned from radio broadcasts made by Lewis during World War II makes it even more interesting as you learn a lot about his personal opinions and experiences while living though such a horrific time in history. I have not finished it yet but I am really enjoying what I've read so far. Highly recommended!