Each year, I read dozens of books, that serve as a source of inspiration for my everyday life and
as a pleasant break from the creative sterility - in most cases at least - of mass entertainment.

On this page, I recommend books that recently left a lasting impression on me and present the best.

Jason Ghionis

COVER PAGE TITLE AUTHOR DESCRIPTION PUBLISHER ADDED   Childhood’s End  Arthur C. Clarke  Aliens undertake the task of "supervising " the human race imposing utopic living conditions. Is there a hidden agenda though? This book put me in a philosophical mood by realizing that even utopic conditions cease being utopic given that as humans, we have the innate tendency to constantly seek something different from what we are living. Something that all of us are aware of and that Arthur C. Clarke articulates in his very unique way. By far the best book I have read this year from the author that gave us the "A Space Odyssey" book series. For more info... click here  Random House  19/7/2010    Memories of My Melancholy Whores  Gabriel Garcia Marquez  An optimistic book about the love of a 90 year-old for a young prostitute. Marquez's writing style is mesmerizing as usual. Who said that life can't begin at...90? For more info... click here  Random House  19/7/2010    American Desert  Percival Everett  A book that belongs in the Sci-Fi genre with a dose of surrealism. College professor, on his way to commit suicide, dies in a car accident. During his funeral, he comes back to life. Mass hysteria ensues, with the media besieging him... An adventure with a very positive message, a fun read. The ending is a bit abrupt, expected something more inspired in keeping with the rest of the book. Definitely worth reading though. For more info... click here  Faber & Faber  19/7/2010    On the road  Jack Kerouac  This book is exactly as its title suggests. I's about going on the road, crossing the USA and not only, during the late forties and early fifties, the writer along with an insane friend of his, where vagrancy is a conscious lifestyle selection. A way of living that most of us can envisage with difficulty in present day, where free time and reflexive responses to our impulses are a rarity. Of course this book is the brainchild of an author who was the epitome of self-destructiveness. However, if only for what it conveys - once the self-destructive aspects are removed - for the vividness and the directness of the narrative, it is worth reading. For more info... click here  Penguin Group  19/7/2010    Still Life with Woodpecker  Tom Robbins  A surreal adventure, a love story with doses of humour. A bomber falls in love with a "margina" princess in the 80s. A fun read where you will certainly retain one thing. The phrase "Oh-oh spaghetti-o ". For more info... click here  Random House  19/7/2010    The Man In The High Castle  Philip K. Dick  A "heretic" for its time novel, depicting an alternate for its time present: The axis forces are victorious in WW II and the US is under Japanese-German rule. Considered by many as Philip K. Dick's greatest work, whom many of you will know through cinematic adaptations of his books, such as Bladerunner, Minority Report and Total Recall. For more info... click here  Random House  19/7/2010    Our Friends from Frolix 8  Philip K. Dick  Many times, while watching a big screen movie, you will have felt your adrenalin rise. In a book, however, rarely to such a great degree, and for those with a more vivid imagination, exceeding the sensations caused by even the most realistic 3D rendering. It would be very interesting to see a cinematic adaptation of this novel. After all Bladerunner, based on one of Philip K. Dick's books, has entered the pantheon of classical movies, still viewable many years later. For Sci-Fi fans and not only. For more info... click here  Random House  19/7/2010    Candide  Voltaire  An adventure novel, which is an answer to the philosiphical quests of the Enlightenment. Voltaire, in a often ironic manner, with large doses of humour, negates the philosophers' theories through the narration of a bizarre story, on the boundaries of surrealism and phantasy. For more info... click here  Penguin Group  14/6/2009    Pablo Picasso  Henry Gidel  Picasso is definitely one of the most interesting personalities of the 20th century, both from an artistic point of view, as well as his personal life is concerned. Henry Zidel, portrays the Master-painter's multi-faceted character through the narration of frequently entertaining events in the artist's life. A portrayal of the often sadistic and passionate character of Picasso, through the prism of his many romantic liaisons and his boundless creativity. For more info... (as of 14-Jun-09 only available in French, Greek, Czech, Polish) click here  Flammarion  14/6/2009    Submarine  Joe Dunthorne  The first novel by 26 year-old (2009) writer and poet Joe Dunthorne, awarded the Times Literary Supplement. An adolescent's life in Wales, circa 1997. Narration of experiences with many touches of humour, cynicism and honesty, everyone will identify with at some level. A fun to read novel that captivates the reader from the fist few pages. For more info... click here  Random House  14/6/2009    Answered prayers  Truman Capote  Truman Capote's last, uncompleted novel written over the course of many years. The author, undoubtedly one of the best American writers of the 20th century, presents various events always within a cosmopolitan setting, that are bound to intrigue the reader. Capote reveals the caprices and eccentricities of many of his famous contemporaries, through particularly entertaining dialogues. For more info... click here  Random House  14/6/2009    A wild sheep chase  Haruki Murakami  The "A wild sheep chase" novel is the brainchild of acclaimed contemporary Japanese author Haruki Murakami. It is a departure from the typical Japanese themes and takes place in the recent past. Written by an author that experienced an ...epiphany during a baseball game, which lead him to become a writer. Murakami has the rare talent to convey the novel's atmosphere to the reader, evoking strong emotions. A mysterious adventure bound to charm you from beginning to end. For more info... click here  Vintage  14/6/2009    The Magic Lantern: An Autobiography  Ingmar Bergrman   An autobiography by director Ingmar Bergman, a point of reference for international filmmaking, recognized by many, including Woody Allen, as the greatest movie director of all time. Bergman himself, recounts events from his life with raw honesty, starting from his childhood years. The world of cinema, theatre and his personal life are presented from an analytical vantage point, frequently sprinkled with humour. For more info... click here  University of Chicago Press  14/6/2009    The Secret Life of Salvador Dali  Salvador Dali  The autobiography of the surrealist painter. Recounts memories which begin with his childhood until the beginning of the 1940's. An abundance of surrealist thought, clear accounts of anticonformist experiences, humour, black humour and an intrinsic glance at the intellectual mechanisms of this great spirit of the 20th century, whose influence remains unchanged today. For more info... click here  Dover Publications  10/2/2008    Seven Life Lessons of Chaos: Spiritual Wisdom from the Science of Change  John Briggs, David Peat  Seven "lessons" which draw their inspiration from the always popular Chaos Theory. Everyday we experience manifestations of Chaos. This book, without going into long drawn-out scientific analyses, reveals a philosophy of facing daily living with practical applications based on the Chaos Theory. For more info... click here  HarperCollins  10/2/2008    The Philosophy of Andy Warhol : (From A to B and Back Again)  Andy Warhol  Moments from the personal life of Andy Warhol, from his own accounts in this non-linear autobiographical work. The world of this well-known artist-founder of Pop Art, as shown from telephone conversations, dialogues and thoughts sprinkled with humorous elements and philosophical assumptions. Warhol for the most part maintains the anonymity of his friends and often puts us into the temptation of presuming that the person he is conversing with could easily be... For more info... click here  Harvest Books  10/2/2008    Underground  Dusan Kovacevic  A novel by Dusan Kovacevic which was subsequently awarded in its cinematic rendition, under the direction of Emir Kusturica, with the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. A historic retrospective, through the eyes of three "friends" from the beginning of WWII , in Belgrade, up to the wars in the decade of the 90's. Surrealistic elements, plentiful humour, and a writing style which keeps the reader's attention from the first until the last page. For more info... click here  No English version available. Only the DVD with subtitles.  10/2/2008    Brando: Songs my mother taught me  Marlon Brando, Robert Lindsey  A biography of the well-known Hollywood star, based on the collaboration of the actor with the writer Robert Lindsey. Although the book beautifies certain situations and aspects, at the same time it recounts many interesting events and personalities of the previous decades from a point of view of a man who was always in the eye of world events. The account begins with his childhood, and there are references to people such as James Dean, Montgomery Clift, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and many more, and it contains many elements of philosophical thought and humour. For more info... click here  Random House  10/2/2008    Akropolis  Valerio Massimo Manfredi  Athens during the Golden Age of Pericles, and much more. An in depth analysis and account with fictional elements, of distinguished Athenians during the period of Athenian Domination, the prototype of which many past and present leaders try to emulate ...that of a sovereign democracy. It is said that history teaches and that we learn ...from the mistakes of the past. A book which concerns everyone and not only enthusiasts of the Classical Age. For more info... click here  Debolsillo  10/2/2008

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