No mad rush to Waterloo this year at the whim of an SMS. This time around, SXSW Music Wristbands will be sold online via a drawing. See more details at http://wristbands.sxsw.com/
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson -- a true tale of scientific thinking throughout history. You'll be amazed by how much we still don't know.
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen. I'm a bit of a GTD freak since reading this, but productivity == $$ (whether you can simply get more work done in a given time, or work less by focusing on the right tasks.)