Coffee Drinkers Ultimate Library

Classic : Contemporary : Still Not Too Old : Humour : Science Fiction : Physics : The Brain : Links


Here is our list of books, short stories and essays we recommend,with brief summaries. There are also some valuable links to sites with interesting information. Some of the short stories and essays are available for online reading.

Holding a book in your hand and knowing it's yours is very important however, so we provide links to purchase them. Our links are for softbound, but hardbound and Kindle versions are usually available.
Most softbound copies are around $10.




Classic :             


Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky
Inside the mind of a man who wants to test the limits of intelligence, ingenuity and laws for common men.

On The Road - Jack Kerouac
The beat author and his group of friends travel the road. A feel for the style of the beat generation and their ideas for freedom.

A Clean Well-Lighted Place - Ernest Hemingway
A gentleman frequents a bar late in the evening - what's his story? - and is it unique to only him?
read it now

Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
A man awakens in a strange state, and thinks it doesn't matter. A short story dealing with alienation, obligations, and observations.

Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
Starts slow; how misleading - traveling into the heart of Africa, a man finds primitive ideas/rules are not just within the jungle.
TNT did an amazing adaptation with Tim Roth and John Malkovich
...they didn't bastardize it like Coppola.

Steppenwolf - Hermann Hesse
more about it

On The Beach - Nevil Shute
It's the end of the world as we know it ...
A look at a group of people facing the end of human existence

The Stranger - Albert Camus
Who amongst us hasn't been the stranger at one time?

We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson
No castle, no dragons, but this book is 'otherworldly' yet somehow it can strike the oddest chords in anyone

The Portable Dorothy Parker - Dorothy Parker
What fresh hell is this? No one can turn a phrase like Parker

Snows of Kilimanjaro - Ernest Hemingway
Reflecting on the good and bad times he has had, a man sees his life clearly as it comes to a close in the African wilderness.


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Contemporary Fiction :          


Grey Area - Will Self
stories 'Between the Conceits' and 'Inclusion ®'
If you don't find yourself using the term Inclusion ® a lot, you aren't online enough
check it out

Vurt - Jeff Noon
Not even gonna try....just read it

Some Vurt inspired writing (online reading) :
Advice from Game Cat
Our Vurt-sion


Einstein's Dreams - Alan P. Lightman
The theories of Einstein laid out in beautiful short stories anyone can enjoy.

Zod Wallop - William Browning Spencer
An experiment with mental patients goes awry and the results are mind blowing

Microserfs - Douglas Coupland
An engaging look at the life of a programmer, his friends, and a $oftware company.

The Wasp Factory - Iain M. Banks
Vivid and surreal look at an unusual kids life.

POLLEN- Jeff Noon
A cloud of pollen is covering the city. Who, or what is behind it? The setting and characters are worth the read.


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Still Not Too Old To Enjoy :         


The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
The tales of a planet hopping little prince who's found some
wisdom on his unusual travels.

own this book
Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster
Milo gets a strange package, a tollbooth, and travels through
to interesting lands with strange, yet familiar, characters.

own this book
Wrinkle in Time - L'engle
A group of children travel the known and unknown universes - includes
theoretical physics ideas and fantasy concepts.

 own this book


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Humour :            


Pure Drivel - Steve Martin
A book that's like listening to a really smart, madman think outloud

own this book
The Right Time - Simon/Ferrell
A short humour book with illustrations
read more about it 		own this book


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The Geek in Us All :         


Science Fiction

The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury
Deep down we all wished for life on Mars, enjoy some of the possibilities.

Foundation - Isaac Asimov
First book from his very inspiring Foundation series.

Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
Ever wonder what the world would be like without the written word? - and you thought Big Brother was bad ...

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Humorous and intriguing, and once you read it you'll get half the jokes you never realized you were missing - like why Mulder's apartment is 42.

We both love sci-fi short stories, especially older ones. Some of those that really stand out...

From The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume Two A.

  • Vintage Season - Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore
  • And Then There Were None - Eric Frank Russell
  • The Marching Morons - C.M. Kornbluth
from other collections :
  • Slow Glass - Bob Shaw
  • Mimsy Were The Borogoves - Henry Kuttner
  • The Big Front Yard - Clifford D. Simak
  • We Can Remember It For You Wholesale - Philip K Dick
    (the movie Total Recall was based on this short story.)

Most of these can be found in The Year's Best series. Many are prior to 1969. Advice! - any Asimov intros DO NOT READ - he sometimes gives away the best parts in his intros....


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Physics

Hyperspace - Michio Kaku.
A well written, easy to follow book with amusing explanations
of new theories in Quantum Physics.

 get Hyperspace
xxx.lanl.gov - new physics research papers release

Tiny Alice - An online essay on alternate universes by Victor Grauer

A Gallery of Interactive On-Line Geometry


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The Brain            


The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat - Oliver Sacks
Clinical, yet entertaining stories of neurological misfunctions

 own this book
Michael Gazzaniga
A neurologist with many books on brain function and split-brain research.

Shufflebrain - a site with good resources about the brain


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Further Provocation :



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