MY TEN FAVORITE BOOKS by Chuck Sims

Dick and Jane, Fun with Dick and Jane, et al, William Gray and Zerna Sharp. I could read aloud and explore things with new friends.

Horton Hears a Who!, Dr Seuss. “A person’s a person, no matter how small.” I read this book over and over again when I was 35.

Thus Spake Zarathustra, Friedrich Nietszche. Not quite an existentialist, but he championed free will and being responsible for oneself. He would not have liked the Nazis, but some liked him. Ironically, so did the Zionists.

Hawaii, James A. Michener. After reading, I talked to a Hawaiian native. He confirmed that, although fictional, the story is a case of true lies. Also, for the first time, I was clued into the concept of “team writing.”

The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, Carlos Castaneda. Everyone knows about the Toltec Kings, but who wouldn’t want to have a Yaqui shaman wingman as you fly with the wings of the hawk, powered by peyote? I began to realize kings would not exist without the support of mystics. “We either make ourselves happy, or we make ourselves miserable. The amount of work is the same.”

Two Years Before the Mast, Richard Henry Dana. So you think you know California and Santa Anna winds? Dana Point beckons.  

Benito Cerano, Herman Melville. (A novella) So you think you have situational awareness? The fictionalized real story of a stranded slave ship. When you think something is not quite right, maybe it isn’t.

The Life of a Spider, Jean-Henri Fabre, b. 1823. A self-taught Natural Philosopher (scientist). Jean made several extraordinary discoveries without sophisticated equipment. He is known for his discovery of pheromones and behaviors that have since been found to be caused by the fact that animals see different wavelengths of light than humans.

Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand. “Don’t ever get angry at a man for stating the truth.”  

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen H. Covey. “Begin with the end in Mind.”