This week’s free book has been around the web for quite a long time so some of you may already have it. However, I just love this book and couldn’t pass up the chance to let a few more people know about it: God’s Debris by Scott Adams. Yes, the Dilbert guy. God’s Debris is not a comic strip or a book about cubicles; it’s a philosophical thought experiment. I’ve included my review (from a couple years ago) and the link after the jump (also a link to Lynn Viehl’s blog with more free book linkage).
Many people are familiar with Scott Adams’ Dilbert cartoon. God’s Debris is not a Dilbert book. In his introduction, Adams says: “The target audience for God’s Debris is people who enjoy having their brains spun around inside their skulls.” He admits that not everyone may be comfortable with that. For those that do enjoy the spinning sensation, this thought experiment explores the nature of the universe, reality, and God.
The story is set in the present. The main character is a bored courier who delivers a package to a wizened old man—or maybe the package delivers him. The courier and the old man proceed to have a philosophical conversation. Adams has written the story so that the old man’s answers to questions are based on the premise that “the simplest explanation is usually right.” This leads the character to make pronouncements that sound right, but are often flawed (as common sense often is when it comes to complex phenomena). The reader’s task is to figure out what is wrong with the old man’s simple premises as the conversation constructs a view of God and the universe that may be surprising to some or a repackaging of philosophical beliefs from different traditions depending on your background.
What I like about this book is the discussion it generates between people who have read it. The nature of God is a very heavy subject, but this book is not a difficult read, and it approaches the topic differently than many people are used to. Its greatest value is that it generates discussion. Whether you love it or hate it, you’ll have something to say about it.
God’s Debris can be downloaded from Andrews McMeel Publishing.
If you want something a bit different check out these three posts by Lynn Viehl at Paperback Writer. The links are to limited-time HarperCollins book downloads (with a bunch of restrictions and hoops because this publisher STILL doesn’t understand the freebie concept). Also a link to Lynn’s 2006 free ebook challenge, and an erotica short with no restrictions (look through the top 10 list in the third post to find it).
Check back next Monday for another free book download tip.
I just dropped by to say thank you for the link you posted for me in the coments at SBTB. I managed to find a few free books that way. The Link I took before was from PBW blog..not sure why it didn’t work