Daily Show & Colbert Report Reading Challenge

The Daily Show (with Jon Stewart) and the Colbert Report almost always seem to have some very interesting book featured--books that I say at the time, "Oooh, I want to read that!" but then forget about before actually doing so. Most of the books are also nonfiction books or memoirs and I don't read nearly enough of those so I came up with The Daily Show & Colbert Report Reading Challenge.

I've compiled a list of the books that were featured/talked about/discussed by their author on the two shows from July of last year until today (and I'm going to keep updating the list) and I'm issuing a challenge for myself and you. . .

Challenge Levels:
Bronze Level: Read Two of the Books
Silver Leveld: Read Five of the Books
Gold Level: Read Ten of the Books
Diamond Level: Read Fifteen of the Books
Platinum Level: Read Twenty-Five (or more!) of the Books

The Challenge Runs from Today (July 4, 2010) for One Year (Until July 3, 2011)

as of now there's no prize other than you'll be more educated and hopefully really, really proud of yourself (like I said, I'm not good at reading nonfiction books)...

I have set up an Amazon Associates Store with all of the books H E R E. Books from both show are organized by year (2009 & 2010) to make it easier to look through and each show's main page has books by the show's host as well--though they're just bonus books and not part of the challenge!).

Here are the 150 (so far!) books from which you have to to choose--you can pick from just one show or mix and match--or set a goal for each :)

The Colbert Report Books
-2009 -

War Dances by Sherman Alexie
Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage by Dan Esty
What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell
Why Architecture Matters (Why X Matters Series) by Paul Goldberger
Reflections on the Revolution In Europe: Immigration, Islam and the West by Christopher Caldwell
My Paper Chase: True Stories of Vanished Times by Harold Evans
The Hawk and the Dove: Paul Nitze, George Kennan, and the History of the Cold War by Nicholas Thompson
The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to The Sports Guy by BIll Simmons
Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis by Al Gore
Why Does E=mc2?: (And Why Should We Care?) by Brian Cox
God in the White House: A History: How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush by Randall Balmer
When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present by Gail Collins
Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud, A Memoir by Cornel West
The Tao of Wu by The RZA
What to Expect When You're Expected: A Fetus's Guide to the First Three Trimesters by David Javerbaum
The World Is Blue: How Our Fate and the Ocean's Are One by Sylvia Earle
Cheating Death: The Doctors and Medical Miracles that Are Saving Lives Against All Odds by Sanjay Gupta
No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process by Colin Beavan
The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life by Alison Gopnik
The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins
Speech-less: Tales of a White House Survivor by Matt Latimer
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide (Vintage) by Sheryl WuDunn
Drinking with George: A Barstool Professional's Guide to Beer by George Wendt
The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment by AJ Jacobs
The Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson
Born Round: A Story of Family, Food and a Ferocious Appetite by Frank Bruni
The Evolution of God (Back Bay Readers' Pick) by Robert Wright
Sick: The Untold Story of America's Health Care Crisis---and the People Who Pay the Price by Jonathan Cohn
Blind Trust by Barbara Boxer
Leading the Charge: Leadership Lessons from the Battlefield to the Boardroom by Tony Zinni
Cooperstown Confidential: Heroes, Rogues, and the Inside Story of the Baseball Hall of Fame by Zev Chafets
Free: How Today's Smartest Businesses Profit by Giving Something for Nothing by Chris Anderson
Busted: Life Inside the Great Mortgage Meltdown by Edmund Andrews
Life Inc.: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take It Back by Douglas Rushkoff
The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008 by Paul Krugman
Reset: How This Crisis Can Restore Our Values and Renew America by Kurt Andersen
Imbibe!: From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to by David Wondrich

-2010 -

The Weather of the Future: Heat Waves, Extreme Storms, and Other Scenes from a Climate-Changed Planet by Heidi Cullen
UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go On the Record by Leslie Kean
Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer
Zoo Story: Life in the Garden of Captives by Thomas French
The Good Soldiers by David Finkel
The Obama Diaries by Laura Ingraham
Chastened: The Unexpected Story of My Year without Sex by Hephzibah Anderson
The Unwanted Sound of Everything We Want: A Book About Noise by Garret Keizer
Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel by Michio Kaku
My Empire of Dirt: How One Man Turned His Big-City Backyard into a Farm by Manny Howard
Role Models by John Waters
Design Revolution: 100 Products That Empower People by Emily Pilloton
All Things at Once by Mika Brzezinski
Secrets of Mental Math: The Mathemagician's Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks by Arthur Benjamin
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
Bomb Power: The Modern Presidency and the National Security State by Garry Wills
The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less by Barry Schwartz
The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff Is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health-and a Vision for Change by Annie Leonard
From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time by Seasn Carroll
Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives by James Fowler
The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy by Raj Patel
Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime by John Heilemann
The Ground Truth: The Untold Story of America Under Attack on 9/11 by John Farmer
Enemies of the People: My Family's Journey to America by Kati Marton
Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives by Michael Specter
The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore
Theatre by David Mamet
God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter by Stephen Prothero
Made by Hand: Searching for Meaning in a Throwaway World by Mark Frauenfelder
Heaven: Our Enduring Fascination with the Afterlife by Lisa Miller
The Promise: President Obama, Year One by Jonathan Alter
The Shadow Effect: Illuminating the Hidden Power of Your True Self by Deepak Chopra
Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin by Hampton Sides
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future: Twists and Turns and Lessons Learned by Michael J Fox
Whole Earth Discipline: An Ecopragmatist Manifesto by Stewart Brand
Mom: A Celebration of Mothers from StoryCorps by Dave Isay
Adventures among Ants: A Global Safari with a Cast of Trillions by Mark Moffett
Sonic Boom: Globalization at Mach Speed by Gregg Easterbrook
The Dangerous Book of Heroes by Conn Iggulden
A Game of Character: A Family Journey from Chicago's Southside to the Ivy League and Beyond by Craig Robinson
Reality Hunger: A Manifesto by David Shields
Give Me Liberty!: An American History, Second Seagull Edition (One-Volume Edition) (v. 2) by Eric Foner
The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time by Judith Shulevitz
The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education by Craig Mullaney
13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown by Simon Johnson
The History of White People by Neil Irvin Painter
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
My Life With the Saints by Fr James Martin
Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History by David Aaronvitch

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Books
-2009 -

The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama by Gwen Ifill
Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System---and Themselves by Andrew Ross Sorkin
Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives by Michael Specter
Comeback 2.0: Up Close and Personal by Lance Armstrong
Hot, Flat, and Crowded 2.0: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America by Thomas Friedman
Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan by Jake Adelstein
Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales by Clarence Clemons
On the Line by Serena Williams
The Next Front: Southeast Asia and the Road to Global Peace with Islam by Kit Bond
Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis by Al Gore
The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victoryby David Plouffe
Growing American Roots: Why Our Nation Will Thrive as Our Largest Minority Flourishesby Sen Bob Menendez
SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insuranceby Steven Levitt
What Would Susie Say?: Bullsh*t Wisdom About Love, Life and Comedyby Susie Essman
Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Rightby Jennifer Burns
Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined Americaby Barbara Ehrenreich
Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Mattersby Chesley Sullenberger
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hopeby William Kamkwamba
The Wordy Shipmatesby Sarah Vowell
Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillmanby Jon Krakauer
End the Fed by Ron Paul
The Predictioneer's Game: Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Interest to See and Shape the Futureby Bruce Bueno de Mesquita
Forces of Fortune: The Rise of the New Muslim Middle Class and What It Will Mean for Our Worldby Vali Nasr
Shooting Starsby Lebron James (Amazon's out-available from B&N & elsewhere, though)
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall
I Drink for a Reason by David Cross
The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power by Jeff Sharlet
The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America by Douglas Brinkley
Age Is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams at Any Stage in Your Life by Dara Torres
In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect by Ronald Kessler
The State of Jones: The Small Southern County that Seceded from the Confederacy by Sally Jenkins
Unquenchable: America's Water Crisis and What To Do About It by Robert Glennon
Fatal Journey: The Final Expedition of Henry Hudson by Peter Mancall

-2010 -

Give Us Liberty: A Tea Party Manifesto by Dick Arney
Hot Time in the Old Town: The Great Heat Wave of 1896 and the Making of Theodore Roosevelt by Edward P Kohn
Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach
Hero Found: The Greatest POW Escape of the Vietnam War by Bruce Henderson
Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam by Akbar Ahmed
The Most Powerful Idea in the World: A Story of Steam, Industry, and Invention by William Rosen
The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal and the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic by Robert O'Connell
Absence of Mind: The Dispelling of Inwardness from the Modern Myth of the Self (The Terry Lectures Series) by Marilynne Robinson
Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent
Captive: My Time as a Prisoner of the Taliban by Jere Van Dyk
The White House Doctor: My Patients Were Presidents - A Memoir by Dr Connie Mariano
Teaching the Pig to Dance: A Memoir of Growing Up and Second Chances by Fred Thompson
Blind Descent: The Quest to Discover the Deepest Place on Earth by James M Tabor
Pandora's Seed: The Unforeseen Cost of Civilization by Spencer Wells
Hitch-22: A Memoir by Christopher Hitchens
The Battle: How the Fight between Free Enterprise and Big Government Will Shape America's Future by Arthur C Brooks
The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations? by Ian Bremmer
WAR by Sebastian Junger
Revolutionaries: A New History of the Invention of America by Jack Rakove
Molto Gusto: Easy Italian Cooking by Mario Batali
Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis by Rosalynn Carter
Get Capone: The Secret Plot That Captured America's Most Wanted Gangster by Jonathan Eig
The Dream Machine: The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey by Richard Whittle
The Blueprint: Obama's Plan to Subvert the Constitution and Build an Imperial Presidency by Ken Blackwell
A New American Tea Party: The Counterrevolution Against Bailouts, Handouts, Reckless Spending, and More Taxes by John M O'Hara
The Coming Population Crash: and Our Planet's Surprising Future by Fred Pearce
The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama by David Remnick
A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Capt Richard Phillips
How to Win a Cosmic War by Reza Aslan
Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran by Roxana Saberi
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis
Broker, Trader, Lawyer, Spy: The Secret World of Corporate Espionage by Eamon Javers
Courting Disaster: How the CIA Kept America Safe and How Barack Obama Is Inviting the Next Attack by Marc Thiessen
No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller by Harry Markopolous
Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour by Lynne Olson
The Quants: How a New Breed of Math Whizzes Conquered Wall Street and Nearly Destroyed It by Scott Patterson
My Footprint: Carrying the Weight of the World by Jeff Garlin
Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend by James S Hirsch (gues was Willie Mays)*
To Try Men's Souls: A Novel of George Washington and the Fight for American Freedom by Newt Gingrich
Staying True by Jenny Sanford
The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande
Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche by Ethan Waters
Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street by Jim Wallis
Comeback America: Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility by David Walker
Crash Course: The American Automobile Industry's Road from Glory to Disaster by Paul Ingrassia
Crisis and Command: A History of Executive Power from George Washington to George W. Bush by John Yoo
George Lucas's Blockbusting: A Decade-by-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success by George Lucas
Food Rules: An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan

(There are videos on most-I think all, of these guests being interviewed at ColbertNation.com or TheDailyShow.com just search the name.)


(I'm maybe going to later try to either arrange these by type or date or something, but for now it's just a list and links--because it's a lot of books!)
Also, some of these books are co-authored but I only listed the author who appeared on the show . . .


Here's the banners & the coding to use the banners and link them back to this post--please save them to your own photobucket/other server, though :)
<a href="http://book-splot.blogspot.com/2010/07/daily-show-colbert-report-reading.html" target="_blank"><img src="PIC_URL.html" /></a>


(2-4 are thumbnails)
flag stock graphic by: nkzs; photoshopiness by me



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Please, please, please spread the word about this whether you sign up or not (though, of course, I want you to sign up!). This is the first 'challenge' I've done and I would love it to work :D And unless my Google skills have failed me, there isn't another one doing this . . .