4 ms·

Books worth reading this summer

52 points by lazydon 8y ago

zwischenzug 8y ago
I always find his book recommendations disappointing. I hope to see some obscure gem in there, but it mostly looks like the non-fiction display section being promoted right now at my local bookstore - pop science and history etc.. Nothing wrong with that, but I know Gates has a high intelligence, so I always hope for more.
- howard941 8y ago
  HNers seem to find the best stuff. I subscribe to the weekly email one of our peers sends that gathers up links to books mentioned on HN. Every week there's at least 2 or 3 worth picking up.
  - tosh 8y ago
    do you have a link to that email list?
    - kgthegreat 8y ago
      https://hackernewsbooks.com/ https://hackernewsbooks.com/ ?
      - howard941 8y ago
        That's the one
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
- maxxxxx 8y ago
  Same here. I read some of his past book recommendations and found them either uninteresting or not funny for books he listed as being funny.
mcfunk 8y ago
+1000 for Kate Bowler, every interview she's done, and her podcast "Everything Happens". https://katebowler.com/everything-happens/ https://katebowler.com/everything-happens/ The profound intimacy (not without its joy or laughter, but full of brutal honesty and shocking maturity) that comes from living with incurable cancer and bringing other people into it is truly something apart from the everyday. Though it probably shouldn't be. She is really a scholar of the human condition (in addition to her profession of religious scholarship-- see her work on the prosperity gospel, really) and her insight is amazing. This is not a "typical" anything.
- vitaminCPP 8y ago
  I just listen the two first episode of the podcast, and i just want to say thanks you. Strangely, this is just what i needed. This podcast is truly something.
juskrey 8y ago
After his Pinker affair...
- mcfunk 8y ago
  My jaw definitely unclenched seeing that Pinker was not on this list.
elymar 8y ago
The TED talk by David Christian about big history is still my favorite TED talk of all time: https://www.ted.com/talks/david_christian_big_history?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare https://www.ted.com/talks/david_christian_big_history?utm_ca...
bob_theslob646 8y ago
Book Titles > Leonardo da Vinci, by Walter Isaacson. > Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I’ve Loved, by Kate Bowler > Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders. > Origin Story: A Big History of Everything, by David Christian. > Factfulness, by Hans Rosling, with Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Ronnlund. He goes in depth on why he recommends them on the gatesnotes website.
- 0xJRS 8y ago
  Like the other recommendations he's published, they can all be found on the "Must read" table at your local Barnes and Noble.
- _hao 8y ago
  Might be a little off-topic, but I dislike Walter Isaacson's style. His biography of Steve Jobs was in my opinion underwhelming. I remember some time ago I read Jeff Atwood's blog about this exact same thing. He mentioned how he would've loved to read something more akin to David Kushner's "Masters of Doom" about Jobs. And I wholeheartedly agree with him having read both. Can someone who has read "Leonardo da Vinci" share some info on whether it's the same style like in his Jobs biography?
bernardino 8y ago
I wonder how Origin Story: A Big History of Everything by David Christian compares to A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. Otherwise, if anyone is looking for other recommendations for summer reading: - Sculpting in Time by Andrei Tarkovsky - When Nietzsche Wept by Irvin D. Yalom - The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge by Rainer Maria Rilke
madeuptempacct 8y ago
Everyone here might as well post their own book reviews here. My recent reads: * A Deepness in the Sky: Overrated - a good fiction read, but no profound lessons. Too long. * Relax and Win: Useless book with a SINGLE page of useful information on how to fall asleep in two minutes. Claims to be based on research, haven't confirmed.

52 points by lazydon 8y ago

I always find his book recommendations disappointing. I hope to see some obscure gem in there, but it mostly looks like the non-fiction display section being promoted right now at my local bookstore - pop science and history etc.. Nothing wrong with that, but I know Gates has a high intelligence, so I always hope for more.

howard941 8y ago
HNers seem to find the best stuff. I subscribe to the weekly email one of our peers sends that gathers up links to books mentioned on HN. Every week there's at least 2 or 3 worth picking up.
- tosh 8y ago
  do you have a link to that email list?
  - kgthegreat 8y ago
    https://hackernewsbooks.com/ https://hackernewsbooks.com/ ?
    - howard941 8y ago
      That's the one
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
maxxxxx 8y ago
Same here. I read some of his past book recommendations and found them either uninteresting or not funny for books he listed as being funny.

mcfunk 8y ago

+1000 for Kate Bowler, every interview she's done, and her podcast "Everything Happens". https://katebowler.com/everything-happens/ https://katebowler.com/everything-happens/ The profound intimacy (not without its joy or laughter, but full of brutal honesty and shocking maturity) that comes from living with incurable cancer and bringing other people into it is truly something apart from the everyday. Though it probably shouldn't be. She is really a scholar of the human condition (in addition to her profession of religious scholarship-- see her work on the prosperity gospel, really) and her insight is amazing. This is not a "typical" anything.

vitaminCPP 8y ago
I just listen the two first episode of the podcast, and i just want to say thanks you. Strangely, this is just what i needed. This podcast is truly something.

juskrey 8y ago

After his Pinker affair...

mcfunk 8y ago
My jaw definitely unclenched seeing that Pinker was not on this list.

elymar 8y ago

The TED talk by David Christian about big history is still my favorite TED talk of all time: https://www.ted.com/talks/david_christian_big_history?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare https://www.ted.com/talks/david_christian_big_history?utm_ca...

bob_theslob646 8y ago

Book Titles > Leonardo da Vinci, by Walter Isaacson. > Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I’ve Loved, by Kate Bowler > Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders. > Origin Story: A Big History of Everything, by David Christian. > Factfulness, by Hans Rosling, with Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Ronnlund. He goes in depth on why he recommends them on the gatesnotes website.

0xJRS 8y ago
Like the other recommendations he's published, they can all be found on the "Must read" table at your local Barnes and Noble.
_hao 8y ago
Might be a little off-topic, but I dislike Walter Isaacson's style. His biography of Steve Jobs was in my opinion underwhelming. I remember some time ago I read Jeff Atwood's blog about this exact same thing. He mentioned how he would've loved to read something more akin to David Kushner's "Masters of Doom" about Jobs. And I wholeheartedly agree with him having read both. Can someone who has read "Leonardo da Vinci" share some info on whether it's the same style like in his Jobs biography?

bernardino 8y ago

I wonder how Origin Story: A Big History of Everything by David Christian compares to A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. Otherwise, if anyone is looking for other recommendations for summer reading: - Sculpting in Time by Andrei Tarkovsky - When Nietzsche Wept by Irvin D. Yalom - The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge by Rainer Maria Rilke

madeuptempacct 8y ago

Everyone here might as well post their own book reviews here. My recent reads: * A Deepness in the Sky: Overrated - a good fiction read, but no profound lessons. Too long. * Relax and Win: Useless book with a SINGLE page of useful information on how to fall asleep in two minutes. Claims to be based on research, haven't confirmed.