7 ms·

Ask HN: What books are you reading?

32 points by curiousgal 9y ago

I thought it was time for a usual book check-up. I am currently reading The Insect Farm. What about you?

bcbrown 9y ago
Mind And Nature - A Necessary Unity, by Gregory Bateson, and I Am A Strange Loop, by Douglas Hofstadter. They're a great combination, as they're both attempts to define the concept of "mind" through patterns. Bateson is one of the early thinkers in the field of Cybernetics, which I've been meaning to learn more about. Here's my (unfinished) reviews of the books I've read so far this year: https://github.com/bcbrown/bookreviews/tree/master/2017 https://github.com/bcbrown/bookreviews/tree/master/2017. At the end of the year I'll flesh them out a little more.
- mabub24 9y ago
  A previous post on the HN front page on human behaviour lead me to recommend this book, and I think you'd be interested in it as well. (I swear I'm not a shill.) It's called "Human Nature: The Categorical Framework" by P.M.S. Hacker. The chapter of direct interest to you is called "The Mind". https://www.amazon.com/Human-Nature-Categorial-Framework-Hacker/dp/1444332481/ref=pd_sbs_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1444332481&pd_rd_r=TKX5RASJ63XYHS9H1K7D&pd_rd_w=lz7UT&pd_rd_wg=vLoFR&psc=1&refRID=TKX5RASJ63XYHS9H1K7D https://www.amazon.com/Human-Nature-Categorial-Framework-Hac... Hacker is a philosopher of language and of mind, and he is a very clear writer. He works in a similar method to Wittgenstein and is a scathing critic of the tendency for many (particularly in cognitive neuroscience) to remain in a Cartesian dualist mindset that is, really, 17th-century metaphysics and nonsense. His point on 'the mind' is that it is not an entity. That doesn't mean it is nothing, but that means it is not something. It is a faculty, a conceptual shorthand for our rational powers, or, as Aristotle describes the "psuchē", "the actuality of a body that has life". We alone as persons can do the things that can be attributed to a rational mind. Reading him is like spring cleaning your mind of nonsense. (He also has some hilarious criticisms of Chomsky and his treatment of language in the book, and its sequel.)
  - bcbrown 9y ago
    That looks right up my alley, I've added it to my reading list.
delgadillojuanm 9y ago
I’m reading the “Deep Learning” book written by Ian Goodfellow, Yoshua Bengio, and Aaron Courville. Also "Intercom on staring up"
alltakendamned 9y ago
Windows Internals 7th Ed. Seveneves, Neal Stephenson Astrophysics for people in a hurry, Neil De Grasse Tyson
elyrly 9y ago
Just finished The cartel today, next Algorithms to live by
house9-2 9y ago
Stephen King The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three Wanted to read the first one before the movie came out, now I am hooked...
astrodev 9y ago
Peter Frankopan, The Silk Roads - world history from an Asiacentric perspective. Harold Coyle, Team Yankee - WW3 in Europe in the 1980s from the perspective of a tank company commander. Poorly written, in my opinion, but the accurate (or so I hope) descriptions of the military tactics and equipment almost make up for it. James Gleick, The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood - excellent book about the history of information.
thakobyan 9y ago
Currently I'm listening to "Personal MBA" audiobook and loving it so far. I'm not the biggest fan of business books but decided to give this one a try to learn a bit more about marketing and sales. Here are the books I've read and want to read: https://booknshelf.com/@tigran/shelves https://booknshelf.com/@tigran/shelves
SirLJ 9y ago
Right now I am reading again "More Money Than God" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_Money_Than_God https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_Money_Than_God
miguelrochefort 9y ago
"Getting Things Done" by David Allen
- wreath 9y ago
  Ironically, I never finished that book hehe
Jtsummers 9y ago
Specifying Systems, http://lamport.azurewebsites.net/tla/book.html http://lamport.azurewebsites.net/tla/book.html Engineering a Safer World, https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/engineering-safer-world https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/engineering-safer-world Software Specification Methods, https://www.amazon.com/Software-Specification-Methods-Henri-Habrias/dp/1905209347 https://www.amazon.com/Software-Specification-Methods-Henri-... (also available through Safari Books Online, at least at my office) Read most of the third one this week, a useful comparison of the various approaches. My objective is to understand how to better produce formal (or more formal) specifications. Either for whole systems or just for significant or critical portions of them.
comsci-bro 9y ago
The PhD Grind: http://pgbovine.net/PhD-memoir/pguo-PhD-grind.pdf http://pgbovine.net/PhD-memoir/pguo-PhD-grind.pdf It is a wonderfully written memoir that perfectly details the grad school experience and also includes some helpful notes from the author. I'll be graduating next year (bachelor's in CS), and my dad asked me if I wanted to enter grad school. The book sure did add some fuel to the fire.
sidcool 9y ago
Essential AngularJS
stevekemp 9y ago
The Chronicles of Amber, again.
gubsz 9y ago
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. It goes into detail about the Mount Everest disaster in the 90s.
JSeymourATL 9y ago
Raising the Bar: Integrity and Passion in Life and Business: The Story of Clif Bar & Co. Just started this book last night. The story begins as the Founder of Clif Bar walks away from selling his company and a $40M personal pay-out. Big idea so far, your business is an ultimate form of self-expression. > https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29691.Raising_the_Bar https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29691.Raising_the_Bar
jasonkester 9y ago
Seul sur Mars (The Martian, in French) It is really boosting my understanding of the French language, and giving me more confidence to speak it. It's a simple story that's easy to follow, especially having read the book in English and seen the film a couple times. And really, how lost can you get? If you can't follow a paragraph or to, chances are he'll still be stuck on Mars for a while and you won't have missed much. It's written in an informal, conversational style, using language that real people might use. I find myself reading a phrase that translates back to a saying I've used in English. Ah, looks like they use that in French too. I'll add it to the repertoire. I can pick it up after a while off and quickly get back in to it without explanation. Hmm... this looks like the part where the guy is stuck on mars... And as a bonus, it's kinda hard work to read in a foreign language, so if I pick it up in bed it's guaranteed to put me to sleep inside of half an hour. Highly recommended.
- Jugurtha 9y ago
  Congrats on the effort. I started learning English when I became interested in Neuro-Linguistic Programming a decade ago: there were no resources in French and the discipline was started by two Americans. I read a ton of books out loud just to hit the muscles used in English (not quite the same as French. My mouth hurt). Here's a great resource from the University of Québec: http://classiques.uqac.ca/ http://classiques.uqac.ca/ It has a lot of books categorized (see thumbnails) in many areas (classics, natural sciences, etc). From Freud, Adler, Smith, to Descartes. Enjoy!
pedrodelfino 9y ago
I am reading "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success", from the Stanford's Professor Carol Dweck. I really wish I had read that 10 years ago... By that time the book wasn't published but some part of the science behind it was already available. I am almost finishing it and it is probably the best of the 12 books I have read so far this year.
wu-ikkyu 9y ago
Manufacture of Madness: A Comparative Study of the Inquisition and the Mental Health Movement. Highly recommended for anyone interested in an "outside the box" perspective on mental health and society at large.
b_emery 9y ago
The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter Isaacson It's a history of where all this - startup culture, silicon valley, computers, internet, hackers - came from. Should be essential reading for anyone working in IT.
mars4rp 9y ago
Black Swan, was way better than my expectation! I especially love silent evidence, if you are following HN and are not billionaire read it!
- vshan 9y ago
  Check out his next book, Anti-fragile as well. Builds on a lot of ideas of Black Swan.
  - mars4rp 9y ago
    will do, thanks a lot.
prthkms 9y ago
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Surprising-Truth-About-Motivates/dp/1594484805 https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Surprising-Truth-About-Motivate...) Throws out a new perspective on what motivates people.
jetti 9y ago
WiX Cookbook and WiX 3.6: A Developer's Guide to Windows Installer XML
rasmus1610 9y ago
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. Difficult topic but great writing so far. Especially if you like books by Atul Gawande
partisan 9y ago
Tragedy and Hope by Quigley.
thisone 9y ago
Listening to The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb and wondering how I missed this when it was new. Reading The Evermen Saga by James Maxwell. No self help or technical books for me, just pure fantasy.
DanBC 9y ago
I'm looking for good books (fact or fiction) about vikings for young children - under 8. Pirate Diary - The Journal of Jake Carpenter by Richard Platt, illustrated by Chris Riddel. (I think this is good. The illustration is very good (and it won a Greenaway medal for the illustration). https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pirate-Diary-Journal-Jake-Carpenter/dp/0744583322/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pirate-Diary-Journal-Jake-Carpenter... A Flat Stanley collection. (I don't think it's much good. My son enjoys it though.) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flat-Stanley-Collection-Jeff-Brown/dp/1405266589/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flat-Stanley-Collection-Jeff-Brown/... And I'm about to start re-reading everything by Fred Vargas. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fred-Vargas/e/B001I9OXT6/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1498329157&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fred-Vargas/e/B001I9OXT6/ref=sr_ntt...
fosco 9y ago
Some brain junk food, I am very much enjoying thus far. https://www.amazon.com/Fear-Index-Robert-Harris/dp/0307948110 https://www.amazon.com/Fear-Index-Robert-Harris/dp/030794811...
bhchance 9y ago
Essential Scrum Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture Growing Object Oriented Software, Guided By Tests
tjalfi 9y ago
Technical: Domain Modeling Made Functional by Scott Wlaschin Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software by Eric Evans Practical Object-Oriented Design in Ruby: An Agile Primer by Sandi Metz Fiction: Wired Love: A Romance of Dots and Dashes by Ella Cheever Thayer - I saw this mentioned in a HN comment[0]. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14530693 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14530693 Edited to fix formatting and add a missing book.
SirLJ 9y ago
I am about to start to re read again Master and Margarita, but will try to read the original, even tough my high school Russian is a bit rusty it is always better if you can try to read the original imho

32 points by curiousgal 9y ago

I thought it was time for a usual book check-up. I am currently reading The Insect Farm. What about you?

Mind And Nature - A Necessary Unity, by Gregory Bateson, and I Am A Strange Loop, by Douglas Hofstadter. They're a great combination, as they're both attempts to define the concept of "mind" through patterns. Bateson is one of the early thinkers in the field of Cybernetics, which I've been meaning to learn more about. Here's my (unfinished) reviews of the books I've read so far this year: https://github.com/bcbrown/bookreviews/tree/master/2017 https://github.com/bcbrown/bookreviews/tree/master/2017. At the end of the year I'll flesh them out a little more.

mabub24 9y ago
A previous post on the HN front page on human behaviour lead me to recommend this book, and I think you'd be interested in it as well. (I swear I'm not a shill.) It's called "Human Nature: The Categorical Framework" by P.M.S. Hacker. The chapter of direct interest to you is called "The Mind". https://www.amazon.com/Human-Nature-Categorial-Framework-Hacker/dp/1444332481/ref=pd_sbs_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1444332481&pd_rd_r=TKX5RASJ63XYHS9H1K7D&pd_rd_w=lz7UT&pd_rd_wg=vLoFR&psc=1&refRID=TKX5RASJ63XYHS9H1K7D https://www.amazon.com/Human-Nature-Categorial-Framework-Hac... Hacker is a philosopher of language and of mind, and he is a very clear writer. He works in a similar method to Wittgenstein and is a scathing critic of the tendency for many (particularly in cognitive neuroscience) to remain in a Cartesian dualist mindset that is, really, 17th-century metaphysics and nonsense. His point on 'the mind' is that it is not an entity. That doesn't mean it is nothing, but that means it is not something. It is a faculty, a conceptual shorthand for our rational powers, or, as Aristotle describes the "psuchē", "the actuality of a body that has life". We alone as persons can do the things that can be attributed to a rational mind. Reading him is like spring cleaning your mind of nonsense. (He also has some hilarious criticisms of Chomsky and his treatment of language in the book, and its sequel.)
- bcbrown 9y ago
  That looks right up my alley, I've added it to my reading list.

delgadillojuanm 9y ago

I’m reading the “Deep Learning” book written by Ian Goodfellow, Yoshua Bengio, and Aaron Courville. Also "Intercom on staring up"

alltakendamned 9y ago

Windows Internals 7th Ed. Seveneves, Neal Stephenson Astrophysics for people in a hurry, Neil De Grasse Tyson

elyrly 9y ago

Just finished The cartel today, next Algorithms to live by

house9-2 9y ago

Stephen King The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three Wanted to read the first one before the movie came out, now I am hooked...

astrodev 9y ago

Peter Frankopan, The Silk Roads - world history from an Asiacentric perspective. Harold Coyle, Team Yankee - WW3 in Europe in the 1980s from the perspective of a tank company commander. Poorly written, in my opinion, but the accurate (or so I hope) descriptions of the military tactics and equipment almost make up for it. James Gleick, The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood - excellent book about the history of information.

thakobyan 9y ago

Currently I'm listening to "Personal MBA" audiobook and loving it so far. I'm not the biggest fan of business books but decided to give this one a try to learn a bit more about marketing and sales. Here are the books I've read and want to read: https://booknshelf.com/@tigran/shelves https://booknshelf.com/@tigran/shelves

SirLJ 9y ago

Right now I am reading again "More Money Than God" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_Money_Than_God https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_Money_Than_God

miguelrochefort 9y ago

"Getting Things Done" by David Allen

wreath 9y ago
Ironically, I never finished that book hehe

Jtsummers 9y ago

Specifying Systems, http://lamport.azurewebsites.net/tla/book.html http://lamport.azurewebsites.net/tla/book.html Engineering a Safer World, https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/engineering-safer-world https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/engineering-safer-world Software Specification Methods, https://www.amazon.com/Software-Specification-Methods-Henri-Habrias/dp/1905209347 https://www.amazon.com/Software-Specification-Methods-Henri-... (also available through Safari Books Online, at least at my office) Read most of the third one this week, a useful comparison of the various approaches. My objective is to understand how to better produce formal (or more formal) specifications. Either for whole systems or just for significant or critical portions of them.

comsci-bro 9y ago

The PhD Grind: http://pgbovine.net/PhD-memoir/pguo-PhD-grind.pdf http://pgbovine.net/PhD-memoir/pguo-PhD-grind.pdf It is a wonderfully written memoir that perfectly details the grad school experience and also includes some helpful notes from the author. I'll be graduating next year (bachelor's in CS), and my dad asked me if I wanted to enter grad school. The book sure did add some fuel to the fire.

sidcool 9y ago

Essential AngularJS

stevekemp 9y ago

The Chronicles of Amber, again.

gubsz 9y ago

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. It goes into detail about the Mount Everest disaster in the 90s.

JSeymourATL 9y ago

Raising the Bar: Integrity and Passion in Life and Business: The Story of Clif Bar & Co. Just started this book last night. The story begins as the Founder of Clif Bar walks away from selling his company and a $40M personal pay-out. Big idea so far, your business is an ultimate form of self-expression. > https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29691.Raising_the_Bar https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29691.Raising_the_Bar

jasonkester 9y ago

Seul sur Mars (The Martian, in French) It is really boosting my understanding of the French language, and giving me more confidence to speak it. It's a simple story that's easy to follow, especially having read the book in English and seen the film a couple times. And really, how lost can you get? If you can't follow a paragraph or to, chances are he'll still be stuck on Mars for a while and you won't have missed much. It's written in an informal, conversational style, using language that real people might use. I find myself reading a phrase that translates back to a saying I've used in English. Ah, looks like they use that in French too. I'll add it to the repertoire. I can pick it up after a while off and quickly get back in to it without explanation. Hmm... this looks like the part where the guy is stuck on mars... And as a bonus, it's kinda hard work to read in a foreign language, so if I pick it up in bed it's guaranteed to put me to sleep inside of half an hour. Highly recommended.

Jugurtha 9y ago
Congrats on the effort. I started learning English when I became interested in Neuro-Linguistic Programming a decade ago: there were no resources in French and the discipline was started by two Americans. I read a ton of books out loud just to hit the muscles used in English (not quite the same as French. My mouth hurt). Here's a great resource from the University of Québec: http://classiques.uqac.ca/ http://classiques.uqac.ca/ It has a lot of books categorized (see thumbnails) in many areas (classics, natural sciences, etc). From Freud, Adler, Smith, to Descartes. Enjoy!

pedrodelfino 9y ago

I am reading "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success", from the Stanford's Professor Carol Dweck. I really wish I had read that 10 years ago... By that time the book wasn't published but some part of the science behind it was already available. I am almost finishing it and it is probably the best of the 12 books I have read so far this year.

wu-ikkyu 9y ago

Manufacture of Madness: A Comparative Study of the Inquisition and the Mental Health Movement. Highly recommended for anyone interested in an "outside the box" perspective on mental health and society at large.

b_emery 9y ago

The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter Isaacson It's a history of where all this - startup culture, silicon valley, computers, internet, hackers - came from. Should be essential reading for anyone working in IT.

mars4rp 9y ago

Black Swan, was way better than my expectation! I especially love silent evidence, if you are following HN and are not billionaire read it!

vshan 9y ago
Check out his next book, Anti-fragile as well. Builds on a lot of ideas of Black Swan.
- mars4rp 9y ago
  will do, thanks a lot.

prthkms 9y ago

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Surprising-Truth-About-Motivates/dp/1594484805 https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Surprising-Truth-About-Motivate...) Throws out a new perspective on what motivates people.

jetti 9y ago

WiX Cookbook and WiX 3.6: A Developer's Guide to Windows Installer XML

rasmus1610 9y ago

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. Difficult topic but great writing so far. Especially if you like books by Atul Gawande

partisan 9y ago

Tragedy and Hope by Quigley.

thisone 9y ago

Listening to The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb and wondering how I missed this when it was new. Reading The Evermen Saga by James Maxwell. No self help or technical books for me, just pure fantasy.

DanBC 9y ago

I'm looking for good books (fact or fiction) about vikings for young children - under 8. Pirate Diary - The Journal of Jake Carpenter by Richard Platt, illustrated by Chris Riddel. (I think this is good. The illustration is very good (and it won a Greenaway medal for the illustration). https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pirate-Diary-Journal-Jake-Carpenter/dp/0744583322/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pirate-Diary-Journal-Jake-Carpenter... A Flat Stanley collection. (I don't think it's much good. My son enjoys it though.) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flat-Stanley-Collection-Jeff-Brown/dp/1405266589/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flat-Stanley-Collection-Jeff-Brown/... And I'm about to start re-reading everything by Fred Vargas. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fred-Vargas/e/B001I9OXT6/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1498329157&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fred-Vargas/e/B001I9OXT6/ref=sr_ntt...

fosco 9y ago

Some brain junk food, I am very much enjoying thus far. https://www.amazon.com/Fear-Index-Robert-Harris/dp/0307948110 https://www.amazon.com/Fear-Index-Robert-Harris/dp/030794811...

bhchance 9y ago

Essential Scrum Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture Growing Object Oriented Software, Guided By Tests

tjalfi 9y ago

Technical: Domain Modeling Made Functional by Scott Wlaschin Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software by Eric Evans Practical Object-Oriented Design in Ruby: An Agile Primer by Sandi Metz Fiction: Wired Love: A Romance of Dots and Dashes by Ella Cheever Thayer - I saw this mentioned in a HN comment[0]. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14530693 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14530693 Edited to fix formatting and add a missing book.

SirLJ 9y ago

I am about to start to re read again Master and Margarita, but will try to read the original, even tough my high school Russian is a bit rusty it is always better if you can try to read the original imho