I realized in my viewing fervor as they repeatedly mentioned old greats or referenced Olympic glories or disasters that my own knowledge was limited at best.  Sure I remember Barcelona, Atlanta and Athens just fine, I even have my thoughts about Nagano, Lillehammer, Turin and the others (Oslo maybe?).  But if I’m going to spend this much of my life on this, I need to educate myself better.  Come along:

Owning the Olympics First things first we need to know about this one.  After watching the CRAZY opening ceremonies, I want to know more about this Olympics and about China as it appears they’re coming into their own as the world’s superpower.  1.3 billion people and a massive martial arts/explosives presentation with lighting up war drums.  Yikes.

Get Talking Chinese This simply couldn’t be a bad idea.

A Century of Olympic Posters This is perfect, I love graphic design and you can tell so much from the promotional material of any event.  Besides, is this not a supreme coffee table book?

Triumph No history of the Olympics would be complete without information about Jesse Owens.  This particular is written by Jeremy Schaap, who also wrote Cinderella Man, the book that became a movie starring Russell Crowe and Renee Zelweger (directed by Ron Howard I believe).  Jeremy is not as sharp as his father, Dick, but I trust that this account will be excellent.

Rome 1960, the Olympics that Changed the World I keep hearing about this book as it’s rather new.  I’m inherently reluctant to read something with a decidedly histrionic title, but if this Olympics truly changed the world and I have no idea what happened there, sounds like I had better get reading.

Pre As a runner and lover of athletic lore, there is no better story than that of Steve Prefontaine.  He was the first athlete to ever wear Nike shoes (his coach was building them by hand) and he was an all-around running stud that made Oregon into the track powerhouse it has been since.  His story is both invigorating and tragic, but totally worth reading.

Hey all, Happy Memorial Day!  Hope you’re enjoying some barbequeing and friends and honoring those who’ve sacrificed for US freedom.

If you’re looking for some good reading on the topic, may I suggest the following:
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (drama, fiction)
The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw (non-fiction, very well done)
The First World War by John Keegan (a real authority on the topic)
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut (a totally screwed version of someone who was involved in the Dresden bombings… typical (awesome) Vonnegut)

Enjoy the day off get some reading done to remind you of what people did to get you more than just a four day work week…

Anyway, in honor of the holiday, the Better World Books team has narrowed our list of most amazing, substantial and generally badass women (and through thorough debate and numerous arm-wrestling tournaments) down to 10.  We’ll be the first to admit that it is not all inclusive, but it’s a start … Just in case you don’t feel comfortable conversing on any of these fine women, we’ve included book suggestions:

(Listed in NO particular order … seriously, that would be impossible)

Dian Fossey – Gorillas in the Mist

Maria Faustina Kowalska – Diary of…

Mother Teresa – In My Own Words


Princess Diana by Richard Buskin


Jehan Sadat – A Woman of Egypt

Eleanor Roosevelt by Russell Freedman


True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis deMontfort

Lynne Cox – Swimming to Antarctica

Jane Goodall – In the Shadow of Man

Rosa Parks – My Story

So get reading and here’s your excuse to worship the ladies in your life (as if you don’t all the time)

The top 50 children’s books

1 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, C S Lewis

2 The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle

3 Famous Five series, Enid Blyton

4 Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne

5 The BFG, Roald Dahl

6 Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, J K Rowling

7 The Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton

8 The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame

9 Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

10 The Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson

11 The Tales of Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter

12 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl

13 Matilda, Roald Dahl

14 The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett

15 The Cat in the Hat, Dr Suess

16 The Twits, Roald Dahl

17 Mr Men, Roger Hargreaves

18 A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

19 The Malory Towers Series, Enid Blyton

20 Peter Pan, J M Barrie

21 The Railway Children, E. Nesbit

22 Hans Christian Fairy Tales, H C Andersen

23 The Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum

24 The Witches, Roald Dahl

25 Stig of the Dump, Clive King

26 The Wishing Chair, Enid Blyton

27 Dear Zoo, Rod Campbell

28 The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Judith Kerr

29 Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Jan Brett

30 James and the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl

31 A Bear Called Paddington, Michael Bond

32 Black Beauty, Anna Sewell

33 Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak

34 Aesop’s Fables, Jerry Pinkney

35 The Borrowers, Mary Norton

36 Just So Stories, Rudyard Kipling

37 Meg and Mog, Jan Pienkowski

38 Mrs Pepperpot, Alf Proyson

39 We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, Michael Rosen

40 The Gruffalo’s Child, Julia Donaldson

41 Room on a Broom, Julia Donaldson

42 The Worst Witch, Jill Murphy

43 Miffy, Dick Bruna

44 The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery

45 Flat Stanley, Jeff Brown

46 The Snail and the Whale, Julia Donaldson

47 Ten Little Ladybirds, Melanie Gerth

48 Six Dinners Sid, Inga Moore

49 The St. Clares Series, Enid Blyton

50 Captain Underpants, Dav Pilke

(The survey was carried out by Booktrust, an independent charity set up in 1921 to encourage people of all ages to read.)