StephenBarkley.com

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen © 2009 Vintage: Random House 287 pages “It simply makes you want to run.” I bought this book because of that blurb from Outside Magazine on the inside of the cover.  They’re absolutely right. After all the chapters are [...]

Player One: What Is to Become of Us © 2010 Anansi 246 pages This book started off very promising. I’ve read almost everything Coupland’s written—certainly all his fiction. Like an band that’s been around for a few decades, he’s become a bit predictable. I keep reading him for the flashes of penetrating cultural insight he [...]

Outliers: The Story of Success © 2008 Little, Brown and Company 309 pages Some people see the world differently. Instead of accepting long-standing assumptions they challenge accepted knowledge. Instead of admitting coincidence, they search for patterns where none were expected. Malcolm Gladwell is one of these people, and Outliers is the fruit of his labour. [...]

The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment © 2009 Simon & Schuster 236 pages Have you ever wondered what would happen if you always told the truth (“Does this dress make me look fat”)? What if you outsourced your entire life—including arguments with your wife—to a call centre in India? Well, wonder no [...]

Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites…and Other Lies You’ve Been Told: A Sociologist Shatters Myths From the Secular and Christian Media © 2010 BethanyHouse: Baker 249 pages As the title suggests, Wright decided to set the story straight on Evangelical Christianity. Too many statistics are misinformed and misinterpreted. A sociologist familiar with the proper use of statistics, [...]

The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith © 2010 Zondervan 224 pages Peter Hitchens will likely sell a lot of copies of this book because of his brother, famed atheist Christopher Hitchens (I’ll be honest, that’s why I snagged a copy). Fortunately, this book stands well on its own. Peter uses autobiography [...]

The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible © 2007 Simon & Schuster 388 pages While browsing through Rivendell (a great second-hand bookstore in Barrie), my friend Brian plucked this volume off the shelf and told me I had to buy it. Since he knows my [...]

Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music © 2009 Scribner (Simon & Schuster, Inc.) 262 pages Ripped is 262 pages of the most compelling music-industry journalism I’ve ever read. I know that’s a big statement, but it’s true. I’ve read my fair share of Rolling Stone and other music ‘zines, and this outclasses them all. [...]

Generation A © 2009 Random House Canada 297 pages Generation A is the story of how five young people’s lives become entangled after being stung by almost extinct bees. The plot’s little more than a vehicle to relate the meta-narrative of life in crumbling future. In the book, each of the five characters take time [...]

Eating the Dinosaur © 2009 Scribner (Simon & Schuster) 245 pages If you’ve ever wondered what makes Klosterman’s books so compelling, the secret is out: he’s honest. In a culture so obsessed with following trends and enjoying things because we’re told to, Klosterman is honest with what he likes and dislikes. That is what makes [...]