Reading@ICS: Pre-DP Reading List

Getrieben sind sie alle, die Figuren in Sibylle Bergs neuem Buch, einem Reiseroman. Ruhelos fahren die einen an exotische Orte, auf der Suche nach einem kleinen bisschen Glück. Oder Sinn oder Abwechslung. Hauptsache, etwas passiert. Die anderen haben keine Wahl und müssen bleiben, wo sie sind. Wo auf der Welt kann der Mensch glücklich sein?

Heimat gibt’s nicht mehr. Heimat ist für Menschen, die in Bergdörfern aufgewachsen sind, dort wo man alle kennt, auch die Tiere und wo man statt ins Kino Sonnenuntergang schauen geht. Für alle anderen, also für die meisten, stellt sich die Frage immer wieder neu: gehen oder bleiben? Bleibe ich in meinem blöden Berliner Leben hocken oder suche ich das Glück in Sri Lanka, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai oder Tel Aviv?

Die Figuren in Sibylle Bergs Roman machen sich auf die Reise. Glückssucher sind sie alle. Nur was sie zu ihrem Glück brauchen, ist höchst unterschiedlich.

Noch nie hat Sibylle Berg in ihrem literarischen Werk eine solche Vielzahl und Vielfalt von Menschenschicksalen in den Blick genommen. Bekannt als Meisterin in der Schilderung der Abgründe im mitteleuropäischen Wohlstandsmenschen, besticht sie in Die Fahrt durch ihre messerscharfe Beobachtung der sozialen Realitäten an verschiedenen Orten der Welt. Wir treffen auf Peter, einen alten Hippie, der als Hotelbesitzer fast im Tsunami ertrinkt, auf Miki, die als Glücksritterin in der Filmindustrie landet oder auf Parul aus Bangladesh, die den ganzen Tag Steine klopft, um ihrer Familie die Slumhütte zu finanzieren.

Sibylle Berg ist zur Recherche für ihren großen neuen Roman selbst in viele Winkel der Welt gereist. Vor dem Hintergrund der verschiedenen Lebensverhältnisse stellt sie die Frage: Wie entstand die aberwitzige Idee des Individuums, ein Individuum sein zu wollen? Mit allen dazugehörigen Individuumsansprüchen? Glücklich sein zu wollen, zum Beispiel.

Ein Terrorist kapert eine Passagiermaschine und zwingt die Piloten, Kurs auf ein voll besetztes Fußballstadion zu nehmen. Gegen den Befehl seiner Vorgesetzten schießt ein Kampfpilot der Luftwaffe das Flugzeug in letzter Minute ab, alle Passagiere sterben. Der Pilot muss sich vor Gericht für sein Handeln verantworten. Seine Richter sind die Theaterbesucher, sie müssen über Schuld oder Unschuld urteilen.
Ferdinand von Schirachs »Terror« ist ein Stück von bedrückender Aktualität. Es stellt die Frage, wie wir in Zukunft leben wollen. Werden wir uns für die Freiheit oder für die Sicherheit entscheiden? Wollen wir, dass die Würde des Menschen trotz der Terroranschläge noch gilt?

Der terroristische Anschlag auf die Redaktion von Charlie Hebdo im Januar 2015 hat auf schrecklichste Weise gezeigt, wie hoch der Preis sein kann, den wir für unsere Freiheit zahlen müssen. Schirachs Rede auf Charlie Hebdo, die ebenfalls in diesem Band enthalten ist, ist ein eindrucksvolles Plädoyer für die Freiheit des Wortes, für unsere Zivilisation im Angesicht ihrer Feinde.

Le premier soir je me suis donc endormi sur le sable à mille milles de toute terre habitée. J'étais bien plus isolé qu'un naufragé sur un radeau au milieu de l'océan. Alors vous imaginez ma surprise, au lever du jour, quand une drôle de petite voix m'a réveillé. Elle disait
- S'il vous plaît... dessine-moi un mouton !
- Hein !
- Dessine-moi un mouton...
J'ai sauté sur mes pieds comme si j'avais été frappé par la foudre. J'ai bien frotté mes yeux. J'ai bien regardé. Et j'ai vu un petit bonhomme tout à fait extraordinaire qui me considérait gravement.

In the years immediately following World War II, Jacques Prevert spoke directly to and for the French who had come of age during the German Occupation. First published in 1946, Paroles met with enormous success, and there were several hundred thousand copies in print by the time these first translations in English were published by City Lights in 1958. Today Prevert speaks out in a voice still attuned to our times, for the human condition (which is always his focus) has not changed. In fact, man's inhumanity to man would seem to have intensified, making these poems ever more touching, ever more prescient.

Au début des années 90, la narratrice est embauchée par Yumimoto, une puissante firme japonaise. Elle va découvrir à ses dépens l'implacable rigeur de l'autorité d'entreprise, en même temps qu les codes de conduite, incompréhensibles au profane, qui gouvernent la vie sociale au pays du Soleil levant.

D'erreurs en maladresses et en échecs, commence alors pour elle, comme dans un mauvais rêve, la descente inexorable dans les degrés de la hiérarchie, jusqu'au rang de surveillante des toilettes, celui de l'humiliation dernière. Une course absurde vers l'abîme - image de la vie -, où l'humour percutant d'Amélie Nothomb fait mouche à chaque ligne.

Entre le rire et l'angoisse, cette satire des nouveaux despotismes aux échos kafkaïens a conquis un immense public et valu à l'auteur d'Hygiène de l'assassin le Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française en 1999.

Perdido en la Barcelona preolímpica, el extraterrestre Gurb pone al servicio de su supervivencia la extraña cualidad de adoptar el aspecto que le plazca. Se pierde con la apariencia de Marta Sánchez, mientras su compañero alienígena inicia su búsqueda. Por su diario personal vamos conociendo las increíbles peripecias de un extraterrestre en Barcelona. En este relato de carácter paródico y satírico, la invención de Eduardo Mendoza convierte la Barcelona cotidiana en el escenario de una carnavalada tras la cual se revela el verdadero rostro del hombre urbano actual. Al prólogo del autor y las ilustraciones originales, se añade en esta edición la «Guía de lectura», que incluye material didáctico y una sección especial para clubs de lectura.

Llevaba tiempo dándole vueltas. A lo mejor, a través de Facebook me resultaba más fácil relacionarme con la gente. ¿Y si me convertía en una persona diferente, con un nombre inventado? Sería como empezar de cero, al menos en internet. Entonces me pareció una idea brillante. Pero ahora pienso en lo que hice y lo veo como lo que realmente fue: una gran estupidez.

La vida cambia para Berta Mir con dieciocho años recién cumplidos. Su padre, detective de profesión, sufre un accidente que resulta ser un intento de asesinato. ¿Quién querría asesinar a su padre, y por qué?
Luchando contra el tiempo, Berta deberá resolver, con su ingenio y su valor, los tres casos en los que trabajaba su padre antes de que el asesino vuelva a intentarlo. Tres casos tras los cuales se esconde el culpable: ¿una mujer que engaña a su marido?, ¿un chico al que su padre hace seguir para evitar que tome drogas? o ¿una muchacha desaparecida, que se ha escapado de casa con su novio?
El caso del falso accidente es la primera novela de Berta Mir, una chica que tendrá que tratar con criminales mientras sigue con sus amigos, sus amores, su grupo, tocando el bajo y cantando. Todo eso que forma parte de la complicada vida de una joven de dieciocho años.

Der kleine Bär und der kleine Tiger träumen vom "größten Glück der Erde" - vom Reichtum. Und wo liegt der? In der Erde natürlich! Also graben sie, überall suchen sie den Schatz. Dabei treffen sie viele Leute, die auch das Glück suchen. Und schließlich werden sie tatsächlich reich - verlieren aber gleich wieder alles und kehren heim in ihr gemütliches Haus am Fluss. Da gibt es dann Blumenkohl mit Kartoffeln und Salz.

Durch Luca Novelli erzählt Einstein sein Leben, von seiner Kindheit bis zu seinem Tod, dazu gibt kleine Artikel über die verschiedenen Elemente von Einsteins Werk (den Anfang des Universums, die Zeitmaschinen, usw.), die uns ermöglichen, Einsteins Entdeckungen zu verstehen. Das Buch ist für Kinder bedacht: die Erzählsweise ist einfach, lustig, mit zahlreichen Zeichnungen und ein tollem Wörterbuch (mit Fotos von Einstein) unterstützt, und ich empfehle es für jeden, der Einsteins Leben und Werk verstehen möchte.

Die 14 jährige Mirjam schreibt ihrem Opa regelmäßig E-Mails. Sie berichtet ihm von Freunden, die sie enttäuscht haben, von Streitereien mit ihren Eltern und ihrem letzten Schulwechsel. Der Opa antwortet und erzählt, wie es für ihn in der Nachkriegszeit war, die richtigen Freunde zu finden. Er gibt seiner Enkelin Ratschläge und versichert ihr, das Gästebett stehe immer für sie bereit. Mirjam erfährt von ihrem Opa, wie es ist, wenn man alt wird und das Gefühl hat, alles sei vielleicht ein letztes Mal. Eines Tages antwortet er Mirjam nicht mehr. Nie mehr. Aber Mirjam schreibt weiter »Hallo Opa«...

Stimulus: plans: good or bad? Jobs: can we afford them? Money: who's got it? Everybody's talking about the economy, but how can you evaluate what they're saying? How can we, the people, understand what the banks or government knows (or says they know)?

Author Michael Goodwin asked himself the same questions and came up with a good answer: explore the development of economic thought, examine the reality of economic practice, add a wry sense of humour and tell all through the graphic medium. The book's graphic format means complex ideas can be comprehensive and accessible.

Since the original publication of Nudge more than a decade ago, the title has entered the vocabulary of businesspeople, policy makers, engaged citizens, and consumers everywhere. The book has given rise to more than 400 "nudge units" in governments around the world and countless groups of behavioral scientists in every part of the economy.

Factfulness: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts.

Hans Rosling reveals the ten instincts that distort our perspective--from our tendency to divide the world into two camps (usually some version of us and them) to the way we consume media (where fear rules) to how we perceive progress (believing that most things are getting worse).

Geography shapes not only our history, but where we're headed...
All leaders are constrained by geography. Their choices are limited by mountains, rivers, seas and concrete. Yes, to follow world events you need to understand people, ideas and movements - but if you don't know geography, you'll never have the full picture.

The European catastrophe, the long continuous period from 1914 to 1949, was unprecedented in human history--an extraordinarily dramatic, often traumatic, and endlessly fascinating period of upheaval and transformation. This new volume in the Penguin History of Europe series offers comprehensive coverage of this tumultuous era. Beginning with the outbreak of World War I through the rise of Hitler and the aftermath of the Second World War, award-winning British historian Ian Kershaw combines his characteristic original scholarship and gripping prose as he profiles the key decision makers and the violent shocks of war as they affected the entire European continent and radically altered the course of European history.

Kershaw identifies four major causes for this catastrophe: an explosion of ethnic-racist nationalism, bitter and irreconcilable demands for territorial revisionism, acute class conflict given concrete focus through the Bolshevik Revolution, and a protracted crisis of capitalism.

Incisive, brilliantly written, and filled with penetrating insights, To Hell and Back offers an indispensable study of a period in European history whose effects are still being felt today.

Taking examples from sources as diverse as Plato and Steven Spielberg, author Julian Baggini presents abstract philosophical issues in concrete terms, suggesting possible solutions while encouraging readers to draw their own conclusions: Lively, clever, and thought-provoking, The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten is a portable feast for the mind that is sure to satisfy any intellectual appetite.

How does memory work? Who is the distractor in your family? What was the car crash experiment?

The Psychology Book is your visual guide to the complex and fascinating world of human behavior. Discover how we learn, become emotionally bonded with others, and develop coping mechanisms to deal with adversity, or conform in a group. Get to know key thinkers, from Freud and Jung to Elizabeth Loftus and Melanie Klein, and follow charts and timelines to make sense of it all and see how one theory influenced another. (From goodreads)

A unique book that takes a deeper look into social conflicts: what causes them, what keeps them alive, and most importantly – what you can do about them. The book presents how social awareness is built, and takes you step by step through the various mindset shifts and action items.

Using the best studies and lessons of social neuroscience and social psychology this book helps you understand how others influence your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. (From Amazon)

With startling wisdom and humor, Gottlieb invites us into her world as both clinician and patient, examining the truths and fictions we tell ourselves and others as we teeter on the tightrope between love and desire, meaning and mortality, guilt and redemption, terror and courage, hope and change.

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is revolutionary in its candor, offering a deeply personal yet universal tour of our hearts and minds and providing the rarest of gifts: a boldly revealing portrait of what it means to be human, and a disarmingly funny and illuminating account of our own mysterious lives and our power to transform them. (From goodreads)

This fascinating new book by the bestselling scientist and engineer Mark Miodownik is an expert tour of the world of the droplets, heartbeats, and ocean waves that we come across every day. Structured around a plane journey that sees encounters with substances from water and glue to coffee and wine, Liquid Rules shows how these liquids can bring death and destruction as well as wonder and fascination.

From László Bíró's revolutionary pen and Abraham Gesner's kerosene to cutting-edge research on self-repairing roads and liquid computers, Miodownik uses his winning formula of scientific storytelling to bring the everyday to life. He reveals why liquids can flow up a tree but down a hill, why oil is sticky, how waves can travel so far, and how to make the perfect cup of tea. Here are the secret lives of substances.

Like the alphabet, the calendar, or the zodiac, the periodic table of the chemical elements has a permanent place in our imagination. But aside from the handful of common ones (iron, carbon, copper, gold), the elements themselves remain wrapped in mystery. We do not know what most of them look like, how they exist in nature, how they got their names, or of what use they are to us. Welcome to a dazzling tour through history and literature, science and art. In "Periodic Tales," you'll meet iron that rains from the heavens and neon as it lights its way to vice. You'll learn how lead can tell your future and why zinc may one day line your coffin. You'll discover what connects the bones in your body with the White House in Washington, the glow of a streetlight with the salt on your dinner table.

From ancient civilizations to contemporary couture, from the oxygen of publicity to the phosphorous in your pee, the elements are near and far and all around us. Unlocking their astonishing secrets and colorful pasts, "Periodic Tales" is a passionate journey through mines and artists' studios, to factories and cathedrals, into the woods and to the sea to discover the true stories of these fascinating but mysterious building blocks of the universe.

One of the world's great designers shares his vision of "the fundamental principles of great and meaningful design", that's "even more relevant today than it was when first published" (Tim Brown, CEO, IDEO).   Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure out which light switch or oven burner to turn on, or whether to push, pull, or slide a door.

Why attractive things work better and other crucial insights into human-centered design Emotions are inseparable from how we humans think, choose, and act. In Emotional Design, cognitive scientist Don Norman shows how the principles of human psychology apply to the invention and design of new technologies and products.

This is both a practical and theoretical guide to the visualization techniques used by contemporary product designers, including freehand sketching, digital rendering, information graphics, and presentation skills. Hundreds of hand-drawn sketches and computer models have been specially created to demonstrate critical geometry and show how to develop sketches into finished illustrations. Practical tutorials give guidance in creating simple and complex forms, as well as rendering and providing context using scenarios and storyboards. Insightful case studies of leading designers illustrate the full range of different visualization options available.

Why does the size of a space shuttle's fuel tanks have more to do with a horse's rump than rocket science? Is there a correlation between the humble pint and the capacity of the human bladder? And why is an old Wellington boot as important an instrument of spacial awareness as was ever invented? "About the Size of It" is a hugely entertaining history of traditional weights and measures that will make you look at your everyday world in a completely different way . . .

We've all heard of the Big Bang, and yet few of us truly know what it is.

Renowned for making difficult ideas much less difficult than they might first appear, Simon Singh is our perfect guide to explaining why cosmologists believe that the Big Bang is an accurate description of the origin and evolution of the universe.

This highly readable and entertaining book tells the story of the many brilliant, often eccentric scientists who fought against the establishment idea of an eternal and unchanging cosmos. From such early Greek cosmologists as Anaximander to recent satellite measurements taken deep in space, Big Bang is a narrative full of anecdotes and personal histories. With characteristic clarity, Simon Singh tells the centuries-long story of mankind's attempt to understand how the universe came to be, a story which itself begins some 14 billion years ago (give or take a billion years). Simon Singh shows us that it is within the capability of all of us -- in his expert hands -- to understand the Big Bang: the fundamental theory in all of science, and a high point -- perhaps the high point -- of human achievement.

A series of anecdotes, such as are included in Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman, shouldn't by rights add up to an autobiography, but that's just one of the many pieces of received wisdom that Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman (1918-88) cheerfully ignores in this engagingly eccentric book. Fiercely independent (read the chapter entitled "Judging Books by Their Covers"), intolerant of stupidity even when it comes packaged as high intellectualism (check out "Is Electricity Fire?"), unafraid to offend (see "You Just Ask Them?"), Feynman informs by entertaining. It's possible to enjoy Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman, a bestseller ever since its initial publication in 1985, simply as a bunch of hilarious yarns with the author as know-it-all hero. At some point, however, attentive readers realise that underneath all the merriment simmers a running commentary on what constitutes authentic knowledge: learning by understanding, not by rote; refusal to give up on seemingly insoluble problems, and total disrespect for fancy ideas that have no grounding in the real world. Feynman himself had all these qualities in spades, and they come through with vigour and verve in his no-bull prose.

David Mamet illuminates how a film comes to be. He looks at every aspect of directing--from script to cutting room--to show the many tasks directors undertake in reaching their prime objective: presenting a story that will be understood by the audience and has the power to be both surprising and inevitable at the same time.

Starting with what might be the most basic editing question -- Why do cuts work? -- Murch treats the reader to a wonderful ride through the aesthetics and practical concerns of cutting film. Along the way, he offers his unique insights on such subjects as continuity and discontinuity in editing, dreaming, and reality; criteria for a good cut; the blink of the eye as an emotional cue; digital editing; and much more.

Widely acknowledged as the bible' of film and video production and used in courses around the world, this indispensable guide to making movies is now updated with the latest advances in high-definition formats.