One reader writes to me: I have an optimization problem that I thought you and other... readers...could help me with.

The Question: How should I go about selecting books to bring with me for a year of field research in rural Africa?

Conditions:
1. I have a limited amount of weight I can carry on the flight 2. There is little or no access to additional books where I will be 3. I only expect to return to the US once during that year

Assuming you don't want to endanger and recharge a Kindle, I'll suggest the following five books: Moby Dick, The Bible (but it must be a serious translation), Plato's Dialogues, Homer's Odyssey, and a long, fun book of science fiction or fantasy that you haven't already read. Lord of the Rings would be a fine first choice if it fits that bill, otherwise ask around or maybe try Neil Stephenson's Cryptonomicon. The basic principles are that the works should be long, deep, divisible into smaller parts, capable of sustaining rereadings, culturally central in some way, and last of all you need one piece of pure fun. For me it is cheating to suggest "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare" and Tolstoy, while a splendid novelist, can be read only once in any given year.

Readers, can you improve upon these tips?

I'll add that if you read some language other than English, and thus read more slowly in that language, pick a book or two there as well.

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Tyler Cowen, Discover Your Inner Economist, economics, practical, incentives, signals, markets, Penguin Books, books

My wife and I have periodic arguments about throwing books out. I love to throw books out. I treat that as a sign of my love of books and -- even more -- my love of readers.

But isn't it a horrible thing to throw out books? It just doesn't feel right. Shouldn't you donate the books somewhere? I think not, at least in many cases.

Here's the problem. If you donate the otherwise-thrashed book somewhere, someone might read it. OK, maybe that person will read one more book in life but more likely that book will substitute for that person reading some other book instead.

So you have to ask yourself -- this book -- is it better on average than what an attracted reader might otherwise spend time with? No I'm not encouraging "censorship" of any particular point of view, but even within any particular point of view most books simply aren't that good. These books are traps for the unwary. A lot of books don't make the cut of "above average to those readers they will attract" and of course since you've spent some time with the volume you ought to be in a position to know. (But note the calculation is tricky. Sometimes a very bad book can be useful because it might appeal to "bad" readers and lure them away from even worse books. Please make all the appropriate calculations here.)

The worst thing you can do is to give such a book to a friend or family member. You are tempting them, but with mediocrity.

So all you altruists out there, ready your trash can and exercise your elbow. See if you can toss a book into the bin with one fell swoop from across the room. The love of humanity demands it.

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Tyler Cowen, Discover Your Inner Economist, economics, practical, incentives, signals, markets, Penguin Books, books

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This week, as your guest blogger, I'll be sharing some of my thoughts with you about reading and that includes how an economist thinks about reading, why we read, and how we can make our reading more effective and more enjoyable.

It's often claimed reading is in trouble in modern America, but just for perspective please consider the following passage by Timothy Egan:

Reading is far from dead. This year, about 400 million books will be sold in the United States. Overall, business is up 1 percent--not bad, in a rough economy, for a $15 billion industry. Last year, a survey for the Associated Press found that a much smaller number--27 percent--had not read a book lately, which means nearly three-in-four have read a book. Steve Jobs may be many things (maestro, visionary, demi-god), but he apparently isn't a careful reader of certain market reports.

The more compelling statistic was rarely mentioned in news accounts of the A.P. story: the survey found that another 27 percent of Americans had read 15 or more books a year. That report documents a national celebration.

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Tyler Cowen is our guest blogger during the week of June 23rd. If you have any questions for him add a comment to any of his posts. Here is some brief information about Discover Your Inner Economist:

In Discover Your Inner Economist one of America’s most respected economists presents a quirky, incisive romp through everyday life that reveals how you can turn economic reasoning to your advantage—often when you least expect it to be relevant.

Like no other economist, Tyler Cowen shows how economic notions--such as incentives, signals, and markets--apply far more widely than merely to the decisions of social planners, governments, and big business. What does economic theory say about ordering from a menu? Or attracting the right mate? Or controlling people who talk too much in meetings? Or dealing with your dentist? With a wryly amusing voice, in chapters such as “How to Control the World, The Basics” and “How to Control the World, Knowing When to Stop” Cowen reveals the hidden economic patterns behind everyday situations so you can get more of what you really want.

Readers will also gain less selfish insights into how to be a good partner, neighbor and even citizen of the world. For instance, what is the best way to give to charity? The chapter title “How to Save the World—More Christmas Presents Won’t Help” makes a point that is every bit as personal as it is global.