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YC’s Summer Reading
- wfoweoi 10y ago> While my experience doesn’t always jibe with the ideas in the book Care to elaborate, @emmett?
- emmett 10y agoI don't think my anecdotal evidence is particularly stronger than the author's. My point is just to take it all with the knowledge that what worked at google in an experiment there won't necessarily work for you in the same way. The world is complex and these things are contingent.
- swanson 10y agoI've not read the book version but "How Buildings Learn" is one of my favorite things ever (a great case-study for looking outside of software for lessons that can apply to well...software). Stewart Brand (of Longnow fame) produced a really lovely 6 part series for BBC in the late 90's and they are on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/brandst/videos https://www.youtube.com/user/brandst/videos -- highly recommended (Warning: there is a very loud and obnoxious beeping during the first 10 seconds or so) A look at "the evolution of buildings and how buildings adapt to changing requirements over long periods" -- replace buildings with software and you’ve probably got a best-seller from Pragmatic Programmers!
- pjmorris 10y agoI'm a huge fan of Stewart Brand, starting with the 'Next Whole Earth Catalog', which is where I learned how big a fan Brand is of Christopher Alexander and his 'A Pattern Language'. Alexander's work in patterns inspired the 'Gang of Four' to write 'Design Patterns'... so I think your best-seller prediction is not only correct, but empirically validated :)
- neves 10y agoPlease let me disagree. It is a beautiful book, but really boring and repetitive. Never finished it. I'll resume it for you all: "Buildings change over time to adapt for their owners livestyle." The really good part is the author bashing renowned architects that build prize winning buildings that leak.
- swanson 10y agoI've never read the book so you aren't disagreeing :) Sounds like the video series might be the way to go if the book is too repetitive
- andyjohnson0 10y ago> I'll resume it for you all: "Buildings change over time to adapt for their owners livestyle." An important concept in the book is "shearing layers" [1]: different parts of a building change at different rates due to differential pressures. E.g. walls change faster than foundations. Its a few years since I last read it, but fwiw I found the book insightful and not at all boring. Each to their own though. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shearing_layers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shearing_layers
- kriro 10y agoThanks for sharing. I just watched the first couple of episodes and they were pretty great. Reminds me a lot of "Design of everyday things" meets buildings. And of course the mental transfer to software is fairly obvious (think user centered design, make sure software is adaptable etc.)
- compumike 10y agoJust finished "Ready Player One" yesterday. Fun read! Would recommend.
- wyldfire 10y agoIt was great, agreed. I just started "Armada" and so far it seems like much of the same spirit of this novel.
- Falcon9 10y agoToo much so, for me, but it came with a nice soundtrack/playlist.
- haydenlee 10y agoSpielberg is directing an RP1 movie, slated to come out in 2018! Hopefully they knock it out of the park and its a great inspiration for the VR industry.
- angersock 10y agoIt'll just be another threadbare cultural touchstone to kowtow at in order to win mainstream "geek cred". Snowcrash is what shaped the future.
- Animats 10y agoA Snow Crash movie was in the works at one time, but didn't happen. Maybe if VR catches on this time... Recommended: "The Shockwave Rider", by John Brunner. Published in 1975, and way, way ahead of its time.
- schlupp 10y agoNice, 2 out of 20 authors are women. Nothing like a balanced reading experience.
- cperciva 10y agoAnd every single one of the authors speaks English! Talk about unbalanced! Seriously, they're just recommending a bunch of books which they think are interesting, insightful, and in many cases relevant to what they do. There is a large bias in the publishing industry in terms of what subjects men and women write about; YC has their hands full trying to bring more gender equity to technology without trying to fix the publishing industry.
- uola 10y ago"And every single one of the authors speaks English! Talk about unbalanced!" You're right though. Summer reading especially, since you normally have less workload, is a great time to explore other cultures. Most of these books seem to be of the popular kind.
- Animats 10y agoRead Capital in the Twenty-First Century, by Pikkety. That was originally in French. Anybody associated with money should read this.
- r_smart 10y agoI feel like your comment would be more useful if you were to raise your concern (which you did) and suggest some books written by women you think warrant inclusion on the list. Otherwise you're just complaining.
- mindcrime 10y agoHere's a recommendation for some female authored sci-fi at least: The "Newsflesh Trilogy" by Mira Grant (Seanan McGuire). I'm not usually into zombie fiction, but this was a great series. Not your typical zombie fare... more like a political / conspiracy thriller where zombies are just part of the trappings of the story, not the focus of the story. Hard to explain, but worth reading.
- cs702 10y agoI would add "Lords of Finance" to the list: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001QIGZEK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001QIGZEK The book, which won a Pulitzer in 2010, describes the financial crises and global economic depression that followed the Great Crash of 1929 -- relevant to the current (post-2008-crisis) state of affairs. Normally, books on these topics are dull and dreary. This one is surprisingly interesting and fun, in part because it shows how colorful personalities, prevailing wisdom, and political realities influenced events. PS. The first chapter is available for free at the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/books/chapters/chapter-lords-of-fianance.html http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/books/chapters/chapter-lor...
- Yhippa 10y agoJust curious, what's everybody's pace around here? It took me about a month to casually get through "Ready Player One" (great book BTW), and that was for a book club. It seems like a lot of the people I respect get through about a book a week. Either they're lying or have such good focus to avoid distractions other than books. Maybe I could put down the HN for a bit.
- lolptdr 10y agoI think it depends. I take months to finish a book casually, but when a true page-turned like "Ready Player One" pops up, I blazed through it in days. I think there's a need for active reader engagement, where there is incentive ("It's going to be a movie directed by Steven Spielberg and music composed by John Williams!") to enjoy the fruits of being cool before it becomes cool.
- Axsuul 10y agoAudiobooks are also a good way to blast through content at the expense of a retention cost.
- cardigan 10y agoLess than a day for Ready Player One ;( Not focus for me as much as how much fun I'm having
- freyir 10y agoI tried listening to the RP1 audiobook, but the non-stop barrage of 80s & 90s nerd cred references seemed too forced. It may have been Wil Wheaton's delivery, which seemed to emphasize each and every reference. I gave up after a chapter or two. Does this continue throughout the book or does it ease up?
- anateus 10y agoIt only increases.
- elevensies 10y ago
- ztravis 10y agoI'm consistently surprised to hear people saying positive things about "Ready Player One" - to me it was one of the most hackneyed and silly books I've read in a long time. My review at the time of reading (originally for private consumption only): Terrible modern sci-fi about easter egg MMO quest for game creator’s fortune. Childish plot/dialog, cliches everywhere (e.g. ‘L337 Hax0r Warezhouse’), absolutely atrocious, really simple puzzles. The only positive thing I can say about it is that I didn’t give up on it immediately - although I was tempted, the main plot line was at least interesting enough that I wanted to hear the end. Unfortunately the ending itself was disappointing - the final puzzle was just a rehash of the first two. My main takeaways were: I hope the ‘MMO-scifi’ subgenre is finally dead, I should wait at least 10 years for more recent sci-fi to go through quality assurance, and that it seems like based on this, anyone with a half-baked idea and enough pop-culture-nerd knowledge to sprinkle throughout 300 or so pages should be able to write a best-seller. Meanwhile, the politics/worldview it espouses is basically boingboing distilled - big corporation bad, internet is free, knowledge is free, american culture and society is dead, cyber-elite should run world, pop-media is simultaneously in control of world and source of inspiration and true creativity.
- frisco 10y agoI agree - I really wanted to like Ready Player One but the writing was just so difficult to enjoy. In the same way I remember thinking "wow this is really well written" when reading George R R Martin, I spent most of RP1 thinking, "I will get through this for the concept but this is not a good book." Instead of Ready Player One, I recommend the Nexus trilogy by Ramez Naam. The action is a little overdone, but it's so much better than Ready Player One and it does a really good job of exploring very interesting technology questions!
- ironchief 10y agoHave to agree. RP1 has taken the ideas of VR past and synthesized them in a fun young adult novel. Nexus paves a highway over our present into the biotech future. It makes you think about how free individuals harness technology and the culture/society/gov they live in.
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- adamnemecek 10y agoYou guys should include more tech books too.
- pdq 10y agoI'm in the middle of Chaos Monkeys, and am enjoying the author's excellent prose, while walking through the sausage factory of startups. There's also some interesting YC insights, as the author's startup went through it. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Chaos-Monkeys-Obscene-Fortune-Failure/dp/0062458191/ https://www.amazon.com/Chaos-Monkeys-Obscene-Fortune-Failure...
- elevensies 10y agoI finished this recently and liked it as well. My "policy" is to read every technology company related memoir or corporate history that I can get my hands on, and I found this one more interesting than most as a narrative.
- billionsfan1 10y agoI also like these. just read the facebook and twitter ones. which did you also find and like?
- elevensies 10y agoposted a list on sibling comment
- guynamedloren 10y agoNeat "policy". Also curious about your favorites. Any you can recommend?
- elevensies 10y agoSure, here are my top picks: Interesting Story - Soul of a new machine - Hackers by Levy - Masters of Doom Lots of interesting information, not so compelling as a narrative: - Open: How Compaq Ended IBM's PC Domination - Elon Musk (bio by Vance) - Softwar (Larry Ellison) Related to tech, but not really tech: - The Decipherment of Linear B - Oglivy on Adviertising - The Great Beanie Baby Bubble
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- Vexs 10y agoI finished the expanse series in about a week- it's a fantastic sci-fi, but it's really not for people who go in expecting action. Most of the series is space politics, as well as an annoying tendency to just vaguely hint at alien stuff, flip flopping between space magic and dumb ol' block. That being said, I really liked it, and I would recommend it. Also, if they're not your thing, the first book is the only one with zombies.
- elevensies 10y agoI found an alternate link to Hadrian's Wall that includes a kindle version (thus a preview sample) etc: https://www.amazon.com/Hadrians-Penguin-History-Brian-Dobson-ebook/dp/B004LLIH4A/ https://www.amazon.com/Hadrians-Penguin-History-Brian-Dobson... [edit: although I see it has a lot of illustrations so kindle format maybe non-ideal.]
- Jun8 10y ago+1 for The Beginning of Infinity, awesome book that really gets to the heart of scientific thinking and process. On a different note, I am just finishing up Snowflower and the Secret Fan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Flower_and_the_Secret_Fan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Flower_and_the_Secret_Fan). Not only a well written story about the life story of two Chinese women around the turn of the century but also taught me some interesting customs about women's lives in pre-Revolution China, e.g. being lao tongs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laotong https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laotong).
- discreteevent 10y agoThe beginning of infinity is a good book by I actually found his previous book "The fabric of reality" better, in terms of what scientific thinking really is. Specifically, how important criticism is in weeding out theories that are likely to be inviable before you even start to experiment.
- msutherl 10y agoSo glad "Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees" is here – one of my favorite books and the reason I became an artist ... and then stopped being an artist. One of my most referenced parts of the book describes an entire year Irwin spent in Ibiza (IIRC) alone and not speaking to anyone in his late 20s. The insight he gathered that year really determined the rest of the career and enabled him to step outside of the zeitgeist of the time (abstract expressionism) into something totally different. If you're in LA, you can see a garden he designed at the Getty Center. If you're in New York, you can visit DIA Beacon, which he also designed (or non-designed really). And if you ever get a chance to see his artwork, I highly recommend it. Such restraint, such slowness.
- jolux 10y agoI'm getting a 404? edit: has been fixed.
- justinv 10y agome too
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- craigcannon 10y agoFixed. Sorry about that!
- spoinkaroo 10y agoditto.
- togasystems 10y agoAny recommendations on investment books?
- matt4077 10y agoThe Black Swan
- louprado 10y agoI am sure you noticed Grahams's The Intelligent Investor on the list. Warren Buffet often cites it as his favorite book on investing stating, "picking up that book was one of the luckiest moments of my life”. I recall he decided to read it at least 10 times before making another trade, but I can't find the source. Human nature doesn't change, so that book is still relevant. Otherwise the "Warren Buffet Way" is a modern take on the same theories.
- jseliger 10y agoThe Magicians is a lovely book; I actually interviewed Grossman when the first one came out, in 2010: https://jakeseliger.com/2010/10/14/an-interview-with-lev-grossman-author-of-the-magicians-and-codex-part-i https://jakeseliger.com/2010/10/14/an-interview-with-lev-gro.... If you like it, try Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy too. Leviathan Wakes disappoints: its plot and political economy are interesting but on a sentence-by-sentence level one wishes for more. If you haven't read it yet try Peter Watts, Blindsight.
- matthewtoast 10y agoI've gotta throw in a counterpoint about Leviathan Wakes. The Expanse is my favorite new space opera series; it's pure entertainment that makes for great summer poolside reading. If they publish 100 of them, I will read them. That said, Leviathan Wakes is perhaps the weakest in the series. The noir/detective plot feels like a crutch. The authors borrowed some tropes before they found their voice. If you need literary prose - or prefer your sci-fi philosophical - then these maybe aren't for you. But if you like damn good fun, and like plot-driven novels that hinge on the stubbornness of physics and economics, give The Expanse a chance.
- facepalm 10y agoPullman is another one for the Christians, I suppose. If you are not religious, it seems unlikely to me that you would enjoy it (I didn't).
- sn9 10y agoPullman wrote His Dark Materials as the atheist counter to C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia IIRC. You might want to reread them if you came away thinking they were pro-Christian.
- facepalm 10y agoIt's been a long time since I read it, but wasn't it all kind of about souls and soul mates and stuff like that?
- Animats 10y ago"End of Cycle"[1] is mentioned. Key points: - The easy hits in social and mobile have been done. - Investors are looking for the Next Big Thing, and to some extent throwing money at what's probably the wrong stuff. - Startups which involve making real physical stuff are a lot more complicated as businesses than pure compute-based startups. [1] http://blog.eladgil.com/2016/07/end-of-cycle.html http://blog.eladgil.com/2016/07/end-of-cycle.html
- BatFastard 10y agoMy favorite of the summer is http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6665847-daemon http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6665847-daemon and the second half of the book http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8488830-freedom http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8488830-freedom Great series, very timely since its about Augmented Reality, AI, games, ... "I accept the Deamon"
- pdar4123 10y agoGlad to see so many great female authors represented ... Oh... Wait
- facepalm 10y agoIf you have good books to recommend, do.
- whyleyc 10y agoNot the OP but I'd highly recommend "Zoo City" by Lauren Beukes. Brilliantly written, gritty, bonkers-but pulsating plot set in a grimy version of Johannesburg. Loved it.
- colmvp 10y agoGlad to see so many Asian authors represented ... Oh... wait, I don't care!
- qwertyuiop924 10y agoI reread Cryptonomicon (the last Stephenson book to really draw me in enough to make me read it, although he frontloads a lot of the complexity, so maybe if I push through the opening to Anathem just one more time...) For those of you who read RP1 already, I would reccomend You, by Austin Grossman, which takes the concept of a treasure hunt through computing and gaming history in a radically different direction, one that is more realistic (although it still takes some bizare leaps of logic and outright wrong turns), as you follow a new developer at a games company that his friends started many years ago, desparately trying to track down an ancient, game-breaking bug, before the company closes its doors for good. It's flawed, but has a stronger character focus than RP1, and I think I liked it better, on the whole.
- overcast 10y agoI have a first printing hardcover Cryptonomicon sitting in front of me, that I haven't cracked opened yet. Bought it prior to reading Snowcrash, which I thought was the most overrated drivel that I've ever come across. Awesome beginning, that turned into ancient religious programming nonsense. I'm afraid to even begin that monster, if the writing is anything like that.
- qwertyuiop924 10y agoStephenson REALLY likes showing his work. He also likes to use myth as metaphor. So Cryptonomicon is full of Crypto, WWII and modern, philosophy, math, and computing, and involves a startup, treasure hunts, at least one conspiracy, a metaphor involving greek mythology, reflections on long-term relationships, sorta-kinda mocking liberal arts academia, and a full on erotic novella about furniture and stocking fetishes, which sets up a major plotpoint (yes, really). If these things don't sound appeling to you, steer clear. You may just not like Stephenson. But if you're intrigued by some of the things I mentioned, give it a go.
- sampo 10y ago> I have a first printing hardcover Cryptonomicon sitting in front of me, that I haven't cracked opened yet. Cryptonomicon is very easy to start, you meet Alan Turing right in the first pages, and things progress nicely. The book is long, and jumps randomly between several different storylines, so finishing it is another matter. But it is easy to start. And because it is essentially just a collection of stories, finishing it is not even really important. Just keep on reading as long as you enjoy.
- overcast 10y agoI'm really surprised to see Ready Player One on there. It relied way too heavily on the 80's nostalgia, to prop up the shallow story telling. But even that got old, it was like hanging around with someone that talks entirely in movie quotes, while fun at the right times, gets stale fast. You didn't care about the character, because there was nothing for him to really lose.
- bmer 10y agoTotally agree with you. I couldn't get past the first few chapters, because it was flat out boring. Compared to something like Leviathan Wakes, by James S.A. Corey...Ready Player One is so.... boring. There, I said it too.
- overcast 10y agoI'll check out Leviathan Wakes, thanks!
- bduerst 10y agoPeople I've talked to about it tend to like it because it's vr-heavy dystopia with a persistent world.
- kriro 10y agoI managed to finish it and mostly share your sentiment however I think it is a decent vision/motivation for VR (not so much AR/Pokemon Go style as mentioned in the post). At least for my personal research in VR-UI/UX I like to ask myself "how far is this from RPO...what steps would get us further" since I think the overall "parallel world in VR" is a neat goal to work towards (my personal utopian interpretation ignoring the dystopian view of RPO).
- whyleyc 10y agoI thought Ready Player One was Cyberpunk-lite. For actual brain-bending, dystopian-but-vaugely-plausible futurism I would highly recommend the latest William Gibson novel "The Peripheral". He's always had a fascinating ability to meld technology and spirituality with a barnstorming plot thrown in for good measure. This latest novel is nicely impenetrable in places too - giving you just enough outline to be curious without serving it all up on a plate.
- walkingolof 10y agoOr get a break from work and this world and read some Scottish SciFi !! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_series
- Everlag 10y agoI read up to Excession and stopped. At the pace I was going, there was going to be a year of Culture, then nothing new from it forever. It's such a shame that Banks died but damn, did he leave a mark. If anyone is in the same position, I can recommend the Second Apocalypse series[1]. I find it feels like you put Tolkien and Banks in a pot, inverted some tropes, and let simmer. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Scott_Bakker#The_Second_Apocalypse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Scott_Bakker#The_Second_Apo...
- koolba 10y agoAt some point this summer I highly suggest reading the nutrition facts on back of a cold beer, preferably on the beach. Not everything you read needs to be about technology development or enlightenment.
- anateus 10y agoThe title implies this is a list of books that YC somehow institutionally recommends (like their "how to pitch" articles). When I first looked at it that way it seemed strangely uneven in terms of quality. When I realized this was actually "some personal recommendations from our staff and partners" it became a perfectly reasonable collection :)
- neves 10y agoGreat! Bill Gates started to be a tech mogul that recommends books. Now it looks like everyone that want to become a tech mogul must share reading recommendations. I liked this trend.
- beambot 10y agoPretty sure reading recommendations pre-date Bill Gates...
- cmollis 10y agoI read tegmark' about a year ago. Very insightful for a cosmology noob like me (e.g. Lots of stuff on inflation theory, origin of Carbon (i didn't know),etc.). Clearly believes in the 'many worlds' hypothesis which may be hard to take, but is nonetheless an insightful view on how weird reality actually is from one of mit's great scientists.
- onlibuton 10y agoChanel
- ismdubey 10y agoHas anyone read 'Dream Machine' by Mitchel Waldrop. https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Machine-Licklider-Revolution-Computing/dp/014200135X https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Machine-Licklider-Revolution-Co... I have heard Patrick collision talking about this book quite a few times.
- goodgoblin 10y agoI just finished reading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Quantum_Thief https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Quantum_Thief, and it was amazing. Best sci-fi book I've read since Neuromancer.
- erelde 10y agoI read the three books last year, it really was good, left some strong impressions. IMO: the beginning introduces some hard to get concepts, expecting the reader to stop and really try to understand. PS/EDIT: I think Ars Technica is going to do or has done an interview of the author yesterday or today.
- Animats 10y agoI notice that "The Intelligent Investor", by Benj. Graham, is on the list. This is the light version of his "Securities Analysis", which is all about value investing. It's how Warren Buffett did it in the early years.
- fiftyacorn 10y agoIve read it a few times and keep getting to the chapter in the annotated version where the author of the annotations basically says that unless you really want to put the work in stick with index trackers. I then reread bogleheads, and WB's recent shareholder letters and decided i'll stick with that.
- DavidWanjiru 10y agoRight now, Amazon tells me that customers who viewed a-given-book-on-this-list also viewed other books on this list. Is that the effect of being on this list? Interesting.