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Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?
It become somewhat a tradition for YC to publish a reading list for the vacations months. This hasn't happen for a while. I have discovered some very intersting books there apreciate suggestions from similarly minded people.
I recently stumbuled upon this list [1] and the selection seems quite good. I read _The Oracle Year_ which I liked a lot.
My question for the community here is: Have you read somthing interesting recently?
[1] https://geekdad.com/2018/06/5-reasons-to-read-5-great-books-june-2018-edition/
- ArtWomb 8y agoTaleb's Technical Incerto. Imminently readable and accessible probability theory. His postulates concerning fat tail vs normal distributions can readily be translated into quick and dirty computer simulations. Thereby demonstrating such hidden insights as "black swans are not more frequent in fat tails, but merely more consequential"! Other than recent technical papers, I am pretty much trying to eschew anything published in the last century until it passes the test of time. I get more out of a casual perusal of Aeschylus' Persians via Wikisource on my phone while sitting under a tree. Than I do from all the Ray Dalio Principles and Yuval Harari Homo Deus style tomes that are currently in vogue right now ;)
- mjfl 8y agoBy technical incerto you mean Silent Risk right?
- rb808 8y agoPeople probably recognize the individual books rather than the Incerto collection. http://www.fooledbyrandomness.com/ http://www.fooledbyrandomness.com/ Skin in the game is the latest, it is on my reading list. Taleb is an arrogant *hole, but I love following him on Twitter and reading his books. A genuinely great opinions.
- zengid 8y agoReading Antifragile is life changing. It is very well written. I can't comment on how profound the maths are (although his arguments appear very solid), but the stuff he says about stoicism and morality is fantastic. As others have said, Taleb is a total A-hole, but his ideas deserve attention.
- ry4n413 8y agoThe audio version of Principles in much better, imo.
- ghostmaree 8y agoFree Daily Accounts! http://ghostmaree.boards.net/ http://ghostmaree.boards.net/
- timwaagh 8y agoWar and Peace by Tolstoy. it is far from 'recent' but i read it only this year. it is particularly interesting because it is not overly intellectual in nature yet still written around the time it portrays. Robin Hobbs latest Fitz and the Fool trilogy are also great books i read this year. as are all her works really.
- JonasJSchreiber 8y agoBoth are great. I was hoping for another sprawling historical fiction by Tolstoy with Anna Karenina but was treated to a sort of Russian psychological drama in the same vein as Dostoyevsky.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- galeforcewinds 8y agoWilliam Gibson's Neuromancer continues to hold up well both for adults and teens. Worth a read or re-read. Travel books can be a good fit for the summer, and Keri Smith's Wander Society is a fun pick. I also like to make a random pick or two that I'd never normally choose for myself. My next random pick may be off this thread... Z
- modzu 8y agothe divine comedy by dante. some regard it as the greatest work of literature of all time.
- jackthetab 8y ago"Tailspin" by Steven Brill. It talks about how the recruiters for the Ivy League decided to admit people based on merit instead of connections, creating a de facto meritocracy and how this meritocracy has changed the USA in the past 50 years. A friend gave me the book. I was skeptical of the premise. By the third chapter (the 70's, basically) I was like "I remember that!" "Yes, he was in all the newspapers!" "Yes, that was 'the greatest financial disaster since the Great Depression'!" (I've lived through three of those, btw.) Interesting premise, good scholarship (he traces Citizen's United back to the college paper written to impress a college prof by a fellow who ended up clerking for SCOTUS judge who was the swing vote for Citizen's United (Kennedy?)). Interesting read. I know it sounds like a grandiose conspiracy theory but he has actual facts (that I experienced growing up) to back him up.
- zachruss92 8y agoFor a nonfiction book, The Millionaire Next Door was a game changer for how I though about wealth accumulation. It's the findings of a statistical analysis of the life and habits of millionaires. Deep Work had the similar effects on my work habits as the former did on my finances. If you're looking for a fun fantasy read, Elantris by Brandon Sanderson is one of my all-time favorite standalone novels.
- hlfshell 8y agoI'm a huge Brandon Sanderson fan, but find that Mistborn is a better entry point for people these days - though it (and the Cosmere) are among my own personal my all-time favorite fantasy books, so perhaps I'm biased in that.
- freehunter 8y agoI have to agree: Mistborn is an amazing experience.
- JonasJSchreiber 8y agoI agree with this but feel the need to add that the Stormlight Archives is his best work yet
- ashton314 8y agoWholeheartedly agree that the Stormlight Archive is the best. However, if you can’t stand cliffhangers, you might have a hard time since the series isn’t finished yet. The first Mistborn trilogy is complete—I’d start with that if you want a nice complete series.
- hasseio 8y agoAnother Mistborn fan here. Should be made into an anime at some point.
- elvinyung 8y agoI think Elantris was gateway-Sanderson for me. Read that in a day and have been hooked ever since. That said, in hindsight a lot of Elantris feels pretty similar to Way of Kings.
- novalis78 8y agoThe Bitcoin Standard, by Seifedean Ammous (just published). Incredibly fascinating journey through the history of money, past present and an outlook with digital currencies in mind.
- minikomi 8y agoA good companion book might be : The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute It has a lot of insight on how bubbles can grow -- and pop.
- Tepix 8y agoOf all the books I read this year, I liked "Five billion years of solitude" by Lee Billings the most: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17707637-five-billion-years-of-solitude https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17707637-five-billion-ye... It's mostly about the Exoplanet boom in astronomy. It also has a lot of philosophical aspects.
- ar-nelson 8y agoI'm really enjoying Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. I started listening to the audiobook version on my commute to work. It's a fantasy series with an incredibly detailed, logical, well-thought-out magic system and world history.
- hornd 8y agoExcellent series. I thought Sanderson's writing noticeably improved with each book, as well. Humbly suggest jumping into The Stormlight Archive next!
- tntn 8y agoGood magic system, but I found the ending to be disappointing. Literal deus ex machina.
- jor-el 8y agoI completed the series a month back. I found 1st book to be a bit slow and need to force myself to read sometimes. But 2nd book thoroughly caught my imagination and I would say the best of the 3 books in the series.
- timwaagh 8y agoits on my to read list definitely. looking forward to it.
- spapas82 8y agoI didn't like at all the first of the series (Mistborn); never got into the other ones. It had some fresh ideas however the story was way too childish (in my humble opinion). Here's my review on that book https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2031838874?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2031838874?book_show_a...
- pbnjay 8y agoFor sci-fi recs: I recently read The Three-body Problem by Cixin Liu (a trilogy) and thought it was really good. Also just started another sci-fi trilogy with A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge which has some really fun and interesting (if hand-wavy) ideas about deep space physics.
- zengid 8y agoI just started Death's End! Great books so far, though The Dark Forest felt very slow compared to The Three-body Problem.
- mercutio2 8y agoWow! You managed to juxtapose my favorite and least favorite science fiction. I’ve never read anything bad by Vernor Vinge. I could not find a single thing to like about The Three Body Problem. I’ve heard it gets better after the first book, but I loathed the first book so thoroughly I wasn’t willing to try any more. What did you like about it? It seemed like there was practically zero plot, and the science bits seemed unconvincing.
- mojoe 8y agoNot op, but I'm a big fan of both authors. I enjoy Vinge more, but I wouldn't say his science is any more plausible than Liu Cixin's (with the exception of "A Deepness in the Sky"). I actually enjoyed "The Dark Forest" and "Death's End" more than the Three Body Problem. All three books have some fun, novel ideas. While the plot arc is not very traditional, it is complex and interesting -- lots of characters with vastly different motivations interacting in interesting ways. The main plot driver over all three books (that the universe is a dark forest) is highly plausible.
- dswalter 8y agoI agree that the first two three body problem books (I've just finished dark forest) have some weak points on character development and dialogue. But I've really enjoyed them so far because the books have surprised me at least a dozen times.
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- shry4ns 8y agoThe Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham is an all time classic and I loved reading the book
- marclave 8y agoNot published yet but High Growth Handbook [1] looks like a great read. [1] https://www.amazon.com/High-Growth-Handbook-Elad-Gil-ebook/dp/B07DRPGGQ7/ https://www.amazon.com/High-Growth-Handbook-Elad-Gil-ebook/d...
- ahansen 8y agoWhy We Sleep by Matthew Walker, is an incredible look into the benefits of getting good amounts of sleep. Everything he talks about is also backed up by his own research. It has convinced me to improve my sleeping habits, and I've been feeling much better because of it. Highly recommended!
- Moncefmd 8y agoIs there any good insight on how to improve the quality of said sleep? Or is the amount of sleep the determinant factor of it?
- markdog12 8y agoThere is, but this is a good summary: https://medlineplus.gov/magazine/issues/summer15/articles/summer15pg22.html https://medlineplus.gov/magazine/issues/summer15/articles/su...
- sah2ed 8y agoYour link does a good job of highlighting most of the important things needed to fall asleep everyday like clockwork, but is light on the rituals of resolving the anxiety of not falling asleep after lying in bed for 30 mins. Anyway, thanks for the link.
- jonbaer 8y agoWar By Other Means (by Robert D. Blackwill and Jennifer M. Harris) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EAGEYI8/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EAGEYI8/
- xzion 8y agoThe Nexus Trilogy, by Ramez Naam. Rereading it at the moment, my favourite modern sci-fi series by far.
- dgritsko 8y agoNever heard of it and I consider myself a huge sci-fi fan. What would you compare it to?
- cirgue 8y ago‘Simulacrum and simulation’, ‘understanding media’, and ‘society of the spectacle’ right now. My focus this summer is on everything ever written about media and society. I am currently looking for works on social trends in response to radio and television.
- minikomi 8y agoYou might want to check: Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator -- written by the PR guy who kept American Apparel in infamy.
- paulgb 8y ago+1 on that book, as well as the author Ryan Holiday's more recent book Conspiracy on the Hulk Hogan / Gawker trial.
- landakram 8y agoIf you haven’t already, check out “Amusing Ourselves to Death” by Neil Postman.
- treme 8y agoMcluhan's work would be right up your alley then. Medium is the Massage; Gutenberg Galaxy would be my top 2 recommendation given what you wrote.
- cirgue 8y ago> Medium is the Massage I initially thought that was a typo. For others reading this: it's not, it was a collage-style collaboration between Mcluhan and graphic designer Quentin Fiore. That's really cool, I will have to check it out.
- r4ltman 8y agoMcLuhan in the 70s is the most relevant today: specifically: Take Today: the executive as drop out with Barry Nevitt From Cliché to Archetype with Wilfred Watson and finally, Culture is Our Business, the last book he did solo [the one with WWIII being a 'guerrilla information war'] Also, if you're feeling philanthropic: I'm screening McLuhan's origin story at the Park in the place where he began University in Winnipeg. At the very least watch the trailer and bask in the prescience of McLuhan yelling Fake News in 1969 http://gofundme.com/mcluhan-movie http://gofundme.com/mcluhan-movie
- kovrik 8y ago'Malazan: Book of the Fallen' by Steven Erikson (that is actually 10 huge books). I've only read 2 books and a half so far and it is brilliant! I'm not a big fan of fantasy books (prefer hard sci-fi), but Malazan just blew my mind. One of the best things I've ever read. Not an easy read though, be prepared!
- hornd 8y agoI almost gave up on this series halfway through book one, but I'm so glad I stuck with it. The characters were fantastic, the world was wonderfully built, and there was just.. so much of it. Took me quite a while to get through all 10 just due to their size. I haven't read any of the off-shoot books yet, but they're on my list.
- openfuture 8y agoThis series is amazing if for no other reason than the ambition! They actually use GURPS (a dungeon and dragon like dice system) to decide important events and write the story based on the results, also the two dudes who created the world are PhDs in Archeology and all the different cultures are based on actual human civilizations.
- spapas82 8y agoI tried reading the 1st one of the series (Gardens of the Moon) not once but twice. Both times I was quickly bored and did not make it past page 50. The book (at least in its first pages) is filled with boring descriptions and uninteresting events. I've heard good things about it (along with that it won't be an easy read as you say) however I don't want to torture myself reading boring stuff for like 1000 pages until something interesting happens. There are much better books to read and too little time. Actually, that's more or less a rule I try to follow: If the book can't hook me after some pages and I keep feeling bored and not interesting I just put it away. Other books that I have started but found way too boring to keep reading them: (* please don't downvote me for this. I know that some of these books are considered classics and many of you won't like this but remember that this is just my personal opinion; I tend to get border easily *) - The orphan master's son - The man in the high castle - Metro 2033 - Neuromancer - Catch 22 - Digital Fortress (this wasn't so boring but I hated the smart-ass characters)
- ericcumbee 8y agoCurrently working on “The Drunkard’s Walk”
- toomanybeersies 8y agoI'm going to do something a bit different from everyone else and suggest some poetry. 1) Songs of Innocence and of Experience from William Blake. 2) The Ballad of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde 3) The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge I've started to enjoy reading poetry again. The education system managed to extinguish any love I had for poetry. It's been a bit over half a decade since I was in school, and I've started to enjoy reading poetry again. Turns out it's possible to just read a poem and enjoy it without having to go through line by line and word by word analysing the thing to death. I actually prefer poetry to long form text right now. I don't have the time or attention span to sit down and read a whole book, but poems are like a shot of literature. I've been enjoying reading sci-fi short stories for the same reason.
- stochastic_monk 8y agoExcellent choice with Blake, and of course, there’s nothing quite like Reading Gaol. The latter is some of the best written word art ever created. I would point others to Robert Browning’s Childe Roland To The Dark Tower Came. It’s a late romantic poem about the time after Camelot’s glory has faded and all hopes have been dashed by man’s weakness and the inexorable hunger of time. A fitting poem for those of us who live in an age whose greatest promises lay unfulfilled. These were not the robots we were promised.* *Tagline stolen from a truly stellar Op-Ed from last year available here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/09/opinion/sunday/household-robots-alexa-homepod.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/09/opinion/sunday/household-...
- bbertucc 8y agoBlake is indeed great summer reading - a retreat from the rational mind. In that vein, my two summer picks are A.R. Ammons' "Still" and the fragments of Friedrich Holderlin translated by Michael Hoffman.
- KodiakLabs 8y agoThe podcast 'In Our Time' by the BBC did an hour long discussion on William Blake's poems: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07gh4pg https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07gh4pg
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- finolex1 8y agoFicciones by Borges. A real classic, each story is intriguing and some center on incredibly creative ideas.
- godelmachine 8y ago1) The Imagineer’s of War by Sharon Weinberger 2) The Pentagon’s Brain by Annie Jacobson
- JonasJSchreiber 8y agoHighly recommend James Clavell's Asian Saga starting with Shogun. Also Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson might be one of my favorites
- paraschopra 8y ago- The Origin of Wealth. Fantastic book on the new field of complexity / evolutionary economics - The Language Instinct. How mind creates language. - The Elephant in the Brain. I’ve posted notes here https://invertedpassion.com/notes-from-the-elephant-in-the-brain/ https://invertedpassion.com/notes-from-the-elephant-in-the-b... - Existential Cafe. History of existential thought. Excellent book. - 12 rules of life. Highly opiniated but well argued book on how to live life - Skin in the game by Nasim Taleb. - Daemon. The sci-fi book that anticipated what rouge blockchain like programs can do. Again, highly recommended
- adamnemecek 8y agoThere are two books called origin of wealth by the same author. "Origin of Wealth: Evolution, Complexity, and the Radical Remaking of Economics" and "The Origin of Wealth: The Radical Remaking of Economics and What it Means for Business and Society". Which one did you mean?
- adora 8y agoIt's the same book. For some reason they changed the title for the later printed paperback version.
- Dowwie 8y agoDaemon was a good story and so was another by him, "Kill Decision", which is about autonomous killing drone warfare.
- mvleming 8y agoCheck out the Unfolding of Language if you're interest in the Language Instinct. Also Elephant in the Room made me think of the Master and his Emissary, very interesting book, check that one out too.
- paraschopra 8y agoThanks. I'll check them out.
- liamcardenas 8y agoI don't plan too far ahead, but I am going to finish the absolutely fascinating book A Natural History of Human Morality by Michael Tomasello. This is an exceptionally well researched book, full of citations, presenting a theory of how humans developed their sense of morality, from an evolutionary perspective. I does so by contrasting our behavior with that of the great apes so that we can determine the characteristics of our common ancestor and then build a scenario for how we could have gone from there to here. I'm about half-way through right now and I highly recommend it
- ryanatallah 8y agoThe Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss
- saryant 8y ago1) Devil Take the Hindmost: A History of Financial Speculation by Edward Chancellor Everything from the tulip craze to the dotcom boom. 2) If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look On My Face? by Alan Alda Alan Alda of MASH fame teaches you how to build more empathy and improve your communication skills. 3) Bad Blood by James Carreyou Theranos. Enough said. 4) Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Steve Coll I think of this as the last book in Coll's unofficial trilogy on Afghanistan. First up was Ghost Wars, a history of American involvement in Afghanistan from the Soviet invasion up to 2001. Second is his biography on the Bin Laden family. Last year he released Directorate S, a chronicle of American and Pakistani involvement post-9/11 primarily told through the lens of the Pakistani intelligence directorate tasked with influencing Afghanistan. Coll has interviews with everyone from in-country CIA agents and foot soldiers who were on the ground all the way up to defense secretaries and military leaders, from both sides. An in-depth examination of what went wrong and why we're still stuck there. 5) Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads by Paul Theroux. The greatest travel writer of the last half-century finally turns his attention homeward: the American Deep South. Four road trips over four seasons. He published an article in Smithsonian Magazine hitting the highlights: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/soul-south-180951861/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/soul-south-180951861/
- txcwpalpha 8y agoI can't second the recommendation of Bad Blood enough. I couldn't put it down. Every chapter I thought "surely I've reached the bottom of the rabbit hole now. It CANT get any crazier than this", but then it always did. Aside from being a really enthralling and interesting story about one of SV's darling unicorns, it was also really eye opening into the absurdity of the amount of money that gets thrown around willy-nilly in SV, and how the bandwagon/FOMO effect just makes it worse. I won't say anything more because it's better to just read the book, but this is one of those stories that is almost endlessly fascinating.
- freehunter 8y agoDoes anyone have a recommendation on a good book around the DotCom era? I was too young and too far removed from the tech world at the time to know much about it, and I've had a hard time finding anything that could transport me back to that era. What were the offices like, what was everyone doing, what languages/tooling were they using, what was the feel? There are plenty of books I see recommended that talk about SV today but what was it like 20 years ago?
- snek 8y agoThe Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson especially if you've already read it, this translation is fantastic.
- freddie_mercury 8y agoMy Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Moshfegh -- "a novel about a young woman's efforts to duck the ills of the world by embarking on an extended hibernation with the help of one of the worst psychiatrists" Treating People Well: The Extraordinary Power of Civility at Work and in Life by Lea Berman and Jeremy Bernard -- "A guide to personal and professional empowerment through civility and social skills" A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride -- "a shocking and intimate insight into the thoughts, feelings and chaotic sexuality of a vulnerable and isolated protagonist" Pachinko by Min Jin Lee -- "Pachinko follows one Korean family through the generations, beginning in early 1900s Korea with Sunja, the prized daughter of a poor yet proud family, whose unplanned pregnancy threatens to shame them all"
- omosubi 8y ago+1 for pachinko. Incredible book with excellent writing. As someone who reads a lot of books by wealthy white American men this was a refreshing change of pace.
- kazinator 8y agoA book about a Korean family saga is named after Japanese gambling machines? Bizarre.
- freddie_mercury 8y agoBizarre as in "couldn't be bothered to google a summary to see that is about a Korean family in Japan"?
- TheAceOfHearts 8y agoThe most recent book I read was Rework, by Json Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson. I think hackers might be most interested in it. A few months back I also read 12 Rules for Life, and I really enjoyed it, even if I didn't feel like all the rules applied to me yet.
- orliesaurus 8y agoArtemis by Andy Weir (the author of The Martian) its pretty good to relax before sleep
- siddboots 8y agoI've been reading a lot of JM Coetzee. Most recently The Life and Times of Michael K, and The Childhood of Jesus. He seems to have an incredible knack for both the unsettling, and the compassionate. It's close to the most thought provoking fiction I've ever read.
- fao_ 8y agoThe Origin of Capitalism -- Ellen Meiksins Wood . Basically, a brief but compelling argument that claims that not only is capitalism not inevitable, but just like every system before it it was held in place initially only by force and power, rather than being a natural development of the human species. Why I've Stopped Talking (To White People) About Race . A ridiculously easy book to read given the topic, the author has a gift for writing that makes effortless reading. The first section contains a rough history of the civil rights movement in British politics, beginning at world war two and the forgotten legions of foreign soldiers that fought for us. It is shocking, and the catalogued stories of brutality by the state is utterly horrifying, but it is important to read about. It is something that is almost always instinctively and repeatedly brushed under the carpet due to the sheer uncomfortableness of it all. And we cannot afford this any longer. Carceral Capitalism . A number of essays on modern capitalism. One of them is how the incarceration system in America is used as an abhorrent form of profit for the muncipalities, another is about the effects of profiling and just how statistically incorrect it is. There are others I haven't got to yet. It's incredibly lucid, and extremely well sourced, but difficult to read because of just how horrible it all is (It quotes from a law journal the example of one man who, having stolen a single can of beer, as a condition of his bail gets fitted with an ankle monitor he has to pay for (Despite house arrest not being part of his bail), the ankle monitor has a monthly charge and a late fee, that ends up driving him into poverty and causing him to donate blood to assuage his debts. Except after a certain point he can't donate blood because he cannot afford to eat enough, to produce enough blood to sell. So (iirc) he ends up in prison for debt instead). The Silk Roads . Sick and tired of a european-centric view of history that brushes the rest of the world under the carpet? Well, no longer do you have to endure that. With wonderfully (and indeed, sometimes painfully) dense writing, Peter Frankopan takes you on a whislestop tour of the Persians, the Greeks, the Chinese, etc. All of it revolving around one of the most important single trade routes in all of human history.
- natrik 8y agoThe Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro Amazing short fictional novel by a Nobel Prize winning author.
- hotsauceror 8y ago“Seven Pillars of Wisdom” by T. E. Lawrence “The Wars of the Roses” by Alison Weir Re-reading “A Soldier of the Great War” by Mark Helprin Also, do yourself a favor and pick up the Aubrey / Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian. You will not regret it.
- shpx 8y ago438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea by Jonathan Franklin In 2012 a Mexican fisherman got caught in a storm. His panga's (7 meter long motorboat) motor failed less than 30 km away from shore. He survived being adrift on the ocean for 438 days. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Salvador_Alvarenga https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Salvador_Alvarenga
- msadowski 8y agoCan anyone recommend some book about Africa? I would like to gain some insights about life there, ideally fact based, maybe some history? Doesn't need to be the whole continent as well, would love to start with any particular country. This year I decided to read at least one book a month the ones I found most inspiring were: * Factfulness - how we can misinterpret the data and how most of us have a wrong idea about the state of the world * Let my people go surfing - growing a business organically, doing the last harm and taking care of your people. This book inspired me to start my own business and follow some of the ideas presented in this book. * When breath becomes air - memories of a neurosurgeon battling cancer. Very insightful and important read about dying. In a way it's a heavy book, I cried multiple times when reading it.
- openfuture 8y agoDancing in the Glory of Monsters is a must read and It's our Turn to Eat is also quite good.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- lukeschlather 8y agoAmericanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is very good. It's fiction, but semi-autobiographical. It's as much about living as a Nigerian immigrant in America as it is about Nigeria, but it's really well-written and gives a ton of insight into Nigerian culture (from a very specific perspective some might find grating.)
- coccinelle 8y agoCongo by David Van Reybrouck was recommended to me as a great book, but I haven't read it yet!
- Pietertje 8y agoThis is indeed a great book. Definitely worth a read. Van Reybrouck describes the history of Congo starting pre-colonial, the colonization by Belgium and the entire aftermath. The books gives you a good understanding on the impact and the how of colonization and the history of Congo.
- oceanbreeze83 8y agoJordan Peterson’s - ‘12 Rules for Life’ I got into this a couple months ago and it’s been absolutely life changing. Really like this book and most of the content / literature / podcasts he puts out.
- bernardino 8y agoYou might like Nat Eliason's summary and notes of the book: https://www.nateliason.com/lessons/12-rules-for-life-jordan-peterson/ https://www.nateliason.com/lessons/12-rules-for-life-jordan-.... I read that this morning and it was incredibly intriguing, I'll definitely have to pick up the book this weekend.
- ram_rar 8y ago1. The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday Its all about stoic philosophy and teachings by Epictetus 2. Examined Lives from Socrates to Nietzsche by James Miller Biographies of, some of the most famous philosophers. 3. The Soul of a new machine by Tracy Kidder its about 2 competing computer design teams juggling between engineering quality and time to market.
- christianbryant 8y agoI spend most of my days reading technical journals and books, so I like to take a break once in a while and read more general writing. The two below are the only books I pledged to finish this Summer. 1) Challenging Sociality: An Anthropology of Robots, Autism, and Attachment by Kathleen Richardson From the Introduction: This book explores the development of humanoid robots for helping children with autism develop social skills based on fieldwork in the UK and the USA. Robotic scientists propose that robots can therapeutically help children with autism because there is a “special” affinity between them and mechanical things. 2) Wandering Towards a Goal: How Can Mindless Mathematical Laws Give Rise to Aims and Intention? Edited by Anthony Aguirre, Brendan Foster, Zeeya Merali From the Introduction: This collection of prize-winning essays addresses the controversial question of how meaning and goals can emerge in a physical world governed by mathematical laws. What are the prerequisites for a system to have goals? What makes a physical process into a signal? Does eliminating the homunculus solve the problem?
- jjcm 8y agoIf you're into sci-fi, the Bobiverse trilogy was an absolute pleasure to read. Kinda a silly name, but really tickled me in a similar way that The Martian did. Good mix of entertainment plus some more heady things to leave you thinking.
- aloukissas 8y agoI'm reading (well, listening on Audible) "Born a crime" by Trevor Noah (he does the narration). Fantastic story of growing up as a mixed-race child in apartheid and very entertaining narration.
- jamesbui 8y agoRecently finished the Red Rising trilogy and would recommend to anybody who likes fantasy. Not as well developed as Brandon Sanderson's works but definitely a trilogy to follow if you've caught up with Sanderson's works and want something to scratch that fantasy itch while you're waiting for the next book of his many series.
- aeroplane 8y ago"Memories of a Theoretical Physicist", by Joseph Polchinski: 2017 Having only two bodies of knowledge, myself and physics, I decided to write an autobiography about my development as a theoretical physicist... But it is somewhat unique, a blow-by-blow history of where I started and where I got to. https://arxiv.org/abs/1708.09093 https://arxiv.org/abs/1708.09093 A parting gift of sorts from a leader in modern physics who passed away prematurely due to cancer. A true Summer Read as the author takes you on a ride from a smart kid in California, to Caltech, to working within an academic environment that allowed him to contribute in fundamental ways to understanding physical reality. My takeaways: [1] calculus is actually useful, [2] telling the truth and being transparent are invaluable assets, [3] discoveries are hard won. Clearly written towards advanced physics types but meant for a wider audience to give a backstage peek into the working life of scientists who push the boundaries of physics.
- ashton314 8y ago_Anathem_ by Neil Stevenson. Science Fiction. Takes place in a universe very much like ours. The most noticeable difference is the culture: intellectuals live inside monastery-like sanctuaries, while religious people live outside. The story is written from the point of view of one of the intellectuals. Very rich world building. The book also explores (high-level, slightly fictitious in some parts) some fascinating areas of quantum mechanics, topology, communication, diplomacy, and Zen.
- ianmcgowan 8y agoThe bat, the worm and the fly is still one of the most zen moments ever for me. Really felt like a smack on the head.
- ryanSrich 8y agoBooks finished in June: "How to Change Your Mind" by Michael Pollan. A fascinating look into the world and science of psychedelic drugs. "Rendezvous with Rama" by Arthur C. Clarke. One of, if not Clarke's best. It's short for a sci-fi book and almost impossible not to like. "The Hydrogen Sonata" By Iain M. Banks. It certainly wasn't my favorite culture entry, but it's worth a read none the less. If you haven't read the others in the series I wouldn't suggest starting with it. "Children of Time" by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It took me a bit to get into this book, but once I did, I really enjoyed it. If you're into long timelines and human existential crisis this is your book. As far as July goes, I'm digging into "Matterhorn" by Karl Marlantes and "The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind" by Julian Jaynes.
- talonx 8y agoRendezvous with Rama stands high up among my Clarke favourites. I cannot say the same about the sequels that he wrote with Gentry Lee - too much religious overtone - and for what exactly, is unclear.
- sizzzzlerz 8y agoRama is a great read and shows off Clarke's skill in merging science and fiction into a believable narrative. Its been years since I last read it but I still can remember the anticipation I felt, waiting for the story to explain things.
- peacetreefrog 8y agoFor anyone reading this: Matterhorn is really good. It's a novel that takes place during the Vietnam war written by a former vet. I feel like it was good insight into what war is like. Also some good lessons to take away on nature of centralized command structures and their drawbacks.
- velcrovan 8y agoIf you're reading the Jaynes book, you should absolutely follow it up with "The Muse in the Machine" by David Gelernter. (Gelernter also happens to be one of the surviving unabomber victims)
- guiambros 8y ago"Why We Sleep", by Matthew Walker. One of the best books I've read in a while. I've commented before [1][2]; but pasting here: the author presents a vast amount of scientific evidence amount pretty much every corner of why we sleep, from its evolutionary roots thousands of years ago, to the importance of dreams and REM sleep for your memory, reasons and impact of insomnia, to what happens in the neurochemistry in your brain when you drink coffee, alcohol or sleep pills, and much, much more. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17381235 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17381235 [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17446932 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17446932
- markdog12 8y agoRead it based on the thread you posted. I feel like it's a book everyone should read and wished I had read it sooner. Joe Rogan interviews the author here, great vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwaWilO_Pig https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwaWilO_Pig
- divan 8y agoI've also started reading this book after one of your recommendations, and I agree that it would be beneficial for people who have never questioned what sleep is and how it works. But if someone is interested in sleep (has basic understanding of what is jet-lag, circadian rhythms, melatonin, REM phases etc), the amount of new information would be pretty low. I'm halfway through the book and I can't say I've read something you can't find in popular articles on sleep – i.e. how caffeine works and why jet-lag is more bearable eastwest.
- guiambros 8y agoFair enough. After all, several of the popular articles on sleep are written over slices of study covered by (or some led by) the author, so not surprisingly there's a lot of similar content. But I still saw a lot of value, particularly on Alzheimer's, the significance of dreams, the effect of alcohol, sleep disorders, why doctors usually don't care about sleep. Above all, I appreciate his perspective on the importance of sleep for public health, and how transformative it could be for society. And how bad we're doing, by not enforcing public education and health policies to counterbalance the side effects of modern society - blue light, addiction-forming social media, school classes starting too early and others. Concrete example:I did a routine physical exam last week, and my (new) doctor spent 20 minutes asking me questions about my family history and current behaviors, from food to favorite pastime to overall mental state. Incredibly comprehensive -- but not a single word about sleep. Simply didn't cross her mind to ask me how many hours on average I sleep per day/week -- despite many of the symptoms she was interested in assessing can be eventually caused by poor sleep - weight, mood, performance, memory, etc.
- q-base 8y agoMindset by Carol Dweck. I felt like I knew the entire argument beforehand so had put of reading it. But I really, really liked it. If you have kids or work with people I would highly recommend it! Pitch Anything by Oren Claff. The best book I have ever read on the psychology of selling. Especially person-to-person negotiations. Each time I recommend it I always think I need to read it again because I thoroughly enjoyed it.
- iammiles 8y agoI read A Brief History of Time after the death of Stephen Hawking and recently wrapped up the Three Body Problem. I think they make an excellent combo for anyone interested in Physics, Sci-Fi, and Computer Science
- rorykoehler 8y agoI'm reading "Energy: A Human History" by Richard Rhodes currently. It is an engaging read about the last 400 years of energy production, consumption and technology.
- dima586 8y agoSci-fi: Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. I found it fantastic though the end goes a little bit too fast and with too little detail as compared to the beginning.
- spapas82 8y agoIt was an excellent book until the point you mention (the 2nd part which was about 3/4 into the book). My recommendation? Read the 1st part and skip the 2nd one.
- justinzollars 8y agoThe China Dream: Great Power Thinking and Strategic Posture in the Post-American Era > Liu describes the 21st century relations between the United States and China as a “Marathon contest” in which the “Beijing Plan will replace the Washington Consensus” so that China would become a “Champion nation”. This is a question of who will rule the world in the 21st century. The implications are institutions and ideas we fundamentally value as Westerners: Our Democratic rules-based world order, Human Rights and The United Nations could become uprooted. The China Dream may scare you. Liu provides an interesting alternative perspective on American History, The American psyche and American strategic misconceptions. He also unwittingly reveals deep insecurities with respect to single party rule and global perceptions of China. This was an amazing strategic read and has opened my eyes to a new perspective.
- ericdykstra 8y agoFirst, I'll recommend Discrimination and Disparaties by Thomas Sowell, another fantastic work from Sowell put out this year that builds on some ideas from previous essays. It's short, but the arguments are concise, empirical, and convincing. And 3 books that have most recently made it into my "must-reread" category. The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt Antifragile by Nassim Taleb Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
- adora 8y agoI grew up on Thomas Sowell. Extremely articulate economist. I've now come to disagree with probably one-third of what he writes but all of his works are really good frameworks of how to think.
- ericdykstra 8y agoI wouldn't want to read someone I agreed with 100% ;) I really like Sowell's writing style and willingness to tackle issues in a straightforward way that others skirt around. I still have many of his past writings to get to, as I only recently started reading him, to my own detriment. We're blessed to have nearly 50 years of his writing and that he's still at it at 88.
- swah 8y ago> he's still at it at 88. Actually IIRC he retired ;) Something I didn't even knew writers did...
- Stronico 8y agoHey - same here - still a premier thinker though - he introduced me to Eric Hoffer too.
- adora 8y ago“Dealers of Lightning” by Michael Hiltzik - on Xerox PARC and its highly inventive cast of characters “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl - on choosing your own attitude “Dreamland” by Sam Quinones - on America’s opioid epidemic “Technics and Civilization” by Lewis Mumford - on technological progress (and machines) from the perspective of someone in the 1930s “The Color of Law” by Richard Rothstein - on the myth of de facto segregation (vs de jure segregation)
- lancewiggs 8y agoCurrently reading "Sons of Wichita: How the Koch Brothers Became America's Most Powerful and Private Dynasty" Very insightful on a number of levels.
- carusooneliner 8y ago1) Education of a Value Investor by Guy Spier Autobiography of a guy who won an auction to have lunch with Warren Buffett for $600k and ended up becoming a successful, contrarian value investor. Fun read for contrarians out there. 2) Napoleon's Buttons by Penny Le Couteur, Jay Burreson A look at world culture and historical events through the lens of chemistry. 3) Becoming Leonardo: An Exploded View of the Life of Leonardo da Vinci by Mike Lankford A quirky and entertaining biography of Da Vinci.
- alexgmcm 8y agoNapoleon's Buttons is good - the way the book is divided up keeps it interesting too.
- lhh 8y ago“Never Split the Difference” - fascinating read on negotiation. Author is a former FBI hostage negotiator and his stories were themselves worth the read, but it’s full of good advice on negotiation generally as well.
- kulu2002 8y agoRecently got a chance to read - Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. Good description of Human history
- TaylorAlexander 8y agoNot a book but if you’re ML curious, I enjoyed reading the World Models paper. It was the first ML paper I read all the way through, and I found it approachable but still technically informative. I later learned the author has been in the AI game for decades, which explains his clear explanations and comfort with the material. PDF link at this page: https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.10122 https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.10122 The interactive web page explains what you’d be reading about: https://worldmodels.github.io/ https://worldmodels.github.io/
- a_d 8y agoI have a sort of meta-question, Specifically about non-fiction work: if one gets the central idea contained in the book (say, from a blog or Podcasts or YouTube video of author explaining the ideas) - Is it still useful to read the entire book? If a book is fundamentally about “ideas” — aren’t there more efficient ways available today (that were not pre-internet) to learn those ideas more quickly? As an example: There is a Dave Rubin podcast where Jordan Peterson lays out the 12 Rules of Life very clearly and concisely. If one knows the rules and understands them, is it still necessary/important to read the book? I wonder, just how much “reading the entire non-fiction book” is increasingly now an archaic way to ingest new ideas?
- plahteenlahti 8y agoI think this depends how you value your time, and how you feel about reading. I personally feel that the point of reading is not simply about understanding the fundamental ideas those books are about. More important is to do something you enjoy, and if you don't enjoy reading that much, going with the more efficient way is most likely the better way to go.
- jeffreyrogers 8y agoI also find that reading gives you time to reflect on the author's points and see where you agree or disagree, which helps you clarify your own understanding.
- a-saleh 8y agoBefore I started a new job I had myself read: 1. So good they can't ignore you 2. Deep work 3. Mythical man-month 4. Power of habit Now I am reading Tools of titans by Tim Ferris. I never thought I would get into the genre of self-improvement books, but it seems I like these :-) Even though I am conscious about the fact, that I am applying maybe 10% of the books advice :P Another thing I am reading is Math from three to seven [1], mostly because I would like to discuss math with my 4yo daughter one day, preferably sooner rather than later, because I find math discussions immensely fun :-D Maybe I will even start a math-circle :-) [1] http://www.msri.org/people/staff/levy/files/MCL/Zvonkin.pdf http://www.msri.org/people/staff/levy/files/MCL/Zvonkin.pdf
- fredley 8y agoI found 59 Seconds: Think a little, change a lot by Richard Wiseman to be a good contribution to the genre, if you're looking for more.
- elvinyung 8y agoLots of entrepreneurial suggestions here already, so I'm going do something different by suggesting more humanities-focused books/papers that could help round out our understanding of the state of things: * Status Update by Alice Marwick - an ethnography of the SF tech scene in the mid-late 2000s, a very detailed examination of the status structures in Silicon Valley and how we were changed by the rise of social media. * Postscript on the Societies of Control by Deleuze - short, insightful, somewhat prescient paper on the evolution of "control" mechanisms in postindustrial, capitalist societies. * Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? by Mark Fisher - a very compelling analysis of the neoliberal postmodern condition, and how the cultural milieu has changed since the fall of the Soviet Union, and free-market capitalism became the only extant economic system in the world. * Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs - this probably needs no introduction; it was an extremely transformative treatise on urban form, vitality, diversity, and completely overturned the urban planning field when it was originally published. I think everyone who plans on living in a city should read this book. * Hollow City by Rebecca Solnit - an ethnography of the gentrification and bohemian displacement in San Francisco during the dot-com boom of the 1990s. She doesn't just blame "the techies" for the gentrification, but rather uses the gentrification as a lens to examine the culture around urbanism has changed in the recent decades.
- oscarpas 8y agoOn the same note I’d recommend Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond. Written in research driven prose, it details the relationships between a handfull of landlords and tenants in some of the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee.
- elvinyung 8y agoThanks for the recommend! I just read the excerpt in the New Yorker [1]. Geez, this is some heartbreaking stuff, a an even more sobering account of the neoliberalization of urbanism than Solnit's book. [1] https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/08/forced-out https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/08/forced-out
- DanielBMarkham 8y agoI cycle from business to pulp fiction to classics to non-fiction to biographies. Right now I'm doing classics. I find that taking a month or two each year and reading classics I may have overlooked makes all the other books I read that much better. (It also gives them a higher bar to reach!) This month it's The Count of Monte Cristo and The Brothers Karamazov. I'm having a blast. I can't believe it's taken me this long to get to these.
- charlchi 8y agoIf you enjoy The Brothers Karamazov I couldn't recommend one of Dostoevsky's other books enough: Notes from the underground. IMO a must read for any intellectual that has ever struggled with anything from self-deprecating thoughts to superiority complexes.
- davedx 8y agoGoing with the "stuck on an island" theme, "The Magus" is another great classic. Definitely one of my favourite books in a while.
- KevanM 8y agoThe Count of Monte Cristo is fabulous, it sags a bit in Paris, but otherwise a rip roaring read. I was recently in Brittany and there was a sea gaol off one of the beaches that reminded me how great that book is.
- koolhead17 8y agoSome of my picks from last months reading list: 1. The undoing project, Michael Lewis 2. The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde 3. Missing Microbes, Martin J. Blaser 4. Socrates' Defence, Plato
- krtkush 8y agoRead a lot of books from Indian Authors or books about India - 1. Delhi: A novel 2. The modern architecture of New Delhi 3. Train to Pakistan 4. Maximum City: Bombay Lost & Found 5. City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi Currently reading - 1. Bauhas 2. Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb (Though, I think I should read Making of the Atomic Bomb first)
- mbid 8y agoLost in Math by Sabine Hossenfelder, which was published just a few months ago. It deals with how foundational theoretical physics has been led astray by aesthetic ideals, i.e. "lost in Math", because of the lack of new empirical data during the last decades. I read it because I see some parallels to programming/verification language design, where research is usually justified aesthetically because empirical data is hard to come by. It appears doubtful that the book will help you career-wise if you're an academic stuck in a field with similar problems, but it is consolidating to know you're not alone.
- companyhen 8y agoI am reading Lost Connections by Johann Hari - interesting look into depression and anxiety
- jsingleton 8y agoI actually wrote a couple of blog posts about some of my favourite books for summer reading recently. https://unop.uk/6-non-technical-book-recommendations/ https://unop.uk/6-non-technical-book-recommendations/ https://unop.uk/3-more-non-technical-book-recommendations/ https://unop.uk/3-more-non-technical-book-recommendations/
- rayalez 8y agoHere are the best books I've read over the last few months: - Lost and Founder - the founder of Moz shares his advice and experience from building a 40M/year company. I found the things he says about building a startup extremely insightful and practically useful. Reading it feels like having a dinner with a friend who shares with you the things he has learned in a very honest, down to earth way. Highly recommend it. - Rationality from AI to Zombies - probably the most influential book I've read in my life, profoundly changed the way I think. It's a collection of LessWrong essays on science and rationality. (recently they've released an an audio version by the way). - "A Short History of Nearly Everything" and "Our Mathematical Universe" - two general popular science books I'm enjoying a lot. Haven't finished reading them yet, but so far they're brilliant(and very easy to understand, authors do an amazing job explaining complicated things in a simple, accessible way). - Hacking Growth - an AMAZING book on "growth hacking". It provides a framework for marketing a startup, gives a ton of practical advice and specific tactics. It breaks down step by step how startups and big tech companies grow their products. Most of the books I've read on the subject were bullshit, but this one is absolutely fantastic, can't recommend it enough. Other great books I should mention: This Idea is Brilliant, Actionable Gamification, The Design of Everyday Things, The Master Algorithm (great overview of machine learning techniqes), Springfield Confidential (fun behind the scenes from one of the writers on Simpsons), Homo Deus(from the author of Sapiens).
- grinnick 8y agoHacking growth by Sean Ellis and Morgan Browne? Just want to check I'm buying the right book!
- rayalez 8y agoYep. Oh, and if you're interested in the subject, I can also recommend "Traction" by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares, it's a really neat outline of traction channels.
- arosier 8y agoI also really enjoyed Traction. It provides a good framework on testing to identify the channel that provides the results needed at the stage your business is at. It also goes drives home the concept that the channel that gets you to one stage of growth might not be the one that gets you to the next stage.
- avar 8y agoI highly recommend the recently published book Radical Markets[1] which I read after listening to an interview with one of the authors on Econtalk[2]. From that summary: > Weyl urges a radical transformation of land and housing markets using a new federal real estate tax based on self-assessment. Owners would be required to sell their houses at the self-assessed price. That's just the first part of the book, it has similar suggestions for election law, how monopolies fueled by index funds can be addressed etc. I don't know how workable all these ideas are in practice, but I found it to be a fresh look at some societal issues. 1. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36515770-radical-markets https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36515770-radical-markets 2. http://www.econtalk.org/glen-weyl-on-radical-markets/ http://www.econtalk.org/glen-weyl-on-radical-markets/
- amarant 8y agoThe Culture series by Iain M. Banks. Cannot be recommended enough! it's brilliance is unoverstatable. I'm still a bit hyped about these books ;)
- Jedd 8y agoI discovered these books (and the author) entirely by accident - at an airport, back in 2009 - I think it was Matter. Was hooked, and then read the entire series (inasmuch as they're a series) over the next twelve months. Banks was an author with a truly singular style. He is sorely missed.
- gandhium 8y agoIf you liked Banks, I can recommend Alastair Reynolds's "Revelation Space" and "Poseidon's Children" series.
- jboynyc 8y agoI recently read The Dispossessed and The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin, and will continue reading her stuff over the summer for sure. It's really great. (HN discussion about her obituary: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16218439 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16218439) The other day I started Pictures of a Gone City, a book about the Bay Area by critical geographer Richard Walker. It was recently discussed here (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17473141 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17473141). I'm only about fifty pages in, but I can tell this is going to be worthwhile. I'm also still finishing Kids These Days: Human Capital and the Making of Millennials by Malcolm Harris. It's a very compelling account of the crises and pressures confronting today's young adults (among which I can still, just barely, count myself). Other books I've got lined up for the summer: • The Boy Kings: A Journey Into the Heart of the Social Network, by Kate Losse. This memoir by an early Facebook employee came out a few years ago, and I finally want to read it. • Social Creature, by Tara Isabella Burton. Recently published novel that's been getting rave reviews. It's been described as "a literary novel about social media." • Surveys, by Natasha Stagg. A novel about microcelebrity/instafame that came out in 2016. PS: LitHub runs a "Rotten Tomatoes for Book Reviews" site at https://bookmarks.reviews/ https://bookmarks.reviews/ that I'm finding to be a useful resource to discover new books coming out. That's how I found out about the Burton and Stagg books.
- AllegedAlec 8y ago> Ursula K. Le Guin I tried reading her Earthsea series once, but I found her writing style rather awkward. It all felt rather emotionless and descriptive, with much detail left out. In fact, now I think about it, it rather reminded me of the writing style of the Old Testament. Are her other books also like that?
- sdevoid 8y agoHer Hainish novels (SF) may be more to your liking, but I think all of her works are informed by the kind of mysticism that informed her translation of the Tao Te Ching. What made A Wizard of Earthsea dry for you?
- subhajeet2107 8y agoI set a goal to read atleast 3 books a month, so this is my July list: - A mind at play: halfway through ,good read so far Shanon is a legend - The subtle Art of Not Giving a FK : Refreshingly good - Measure What Matters : Using this as a reference for everything now on, good read
- baxtr 8y agoHow do you accomplish reading three books a month while maintaining a job and a family (assumption)? I struggle with that and would love to learn some clever strategies
- vbsteven 8y agoMake reading a scheduled part of your day. Just like you would schedule school runs, gym, work, cooking, etc
- wayfarer2s 8y agoAudio books help a lot. It makes reading a more passive activity that you can do while doing other things that are less taxing on the mind. If you have a long commute and you can knock off quite a few books just going back and forth to work. My commute is around 30 minutes, which means I can listen to at least 5 hours of audio each week. I also tend to listen to audio books while doing chores -- tending the yard, cleaning the garage, cleaning the house, buying groceries, etc. Most nonfiction books tend to be around 8-9 hours so you can usually finish one book a week, maybe 2 or 3 if you listen at 1.5x. If it's scientifically backed with a lot of studies and arguments, then it's closer to 15-18 hours. Novels are all over the place, from a short 4 hours to epic 50 hours books. But since it's all passive, it becomes less about finishing because it's easy reading. You'll finish it eventually. Audio books are also great in the sense that they save my eyes for things that I can't listen to passively, like technical or mathematical books.
- r41nbowdash 8y agoRefreshing my math with Richard Hamming's "Methods of Mathematics Applied to Calculus, Probability, and Statistics"
- mapcars 8y ago>apreciate suggestions from similarly minded people What about differently minded people? Hint: they can show you much more because they are different ;)
- TripleH 8y agoA classic which appears so frequently in HN comments that I decided to find the time to read it. It was really worth it. "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig
- rpeden 8y agoIf you enjoyed it, you might like the sequel Lila as well. I think I may have even liked Lila a bit more than Zen.
- ritchiea 8y agoI'm going to recommend some fiction. Man v. Nature by Diane Cook is an amazing read, filled with Kafkaesque, conceptual short stories that all also have real portraits of humanity when faced with extreme circumstances. It's my favorite thing I've read in years. Other fiction I would recommend: - Remainder by Tom McCarthy, a novel that dives deep into a weird cognitive question. I first read it about 8 years ago and it changed my idea of what a novel could be. - Where'd you go Bernadette? by Maria Semple. The funniest book I've ever read. By a writer from the TV series Arrested Development. Satire of the intellectual & tech wealth Seattle world, but also much more than that.
- r3n 8y agoNot new books, just something I'm currently reading. - Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy This book teach you about depression and how you can apply cognitive therapy techniques to help you. I'm in the second part of the book and already learn some valuable information. It seems like HN recommend this book as well [1]. - Common Sense on Mutual Funds One of the classic investment books from John C. Bogle. In this book he talks about what he think is the better way to invest in mutual funds and why. This is one of the reading assignment form another short book I'm reading called "If You Can" [2], which recommended by Bogleheads. [1] http://ramiro.org/vis/hn-most-linked-books/ http://ramiro.org/vis/hn-most-linked-books/ [2] https://www.etf.com/docs/IfYouCan.pdf https://www.etf.com/docs/IfYouCan.pdf
- arthurk 8y agoSapiens/Homo Deus - History of Humankind. Also goes into topics of how money came to be and evolved over time. Homo Deus is the follow up book by the same author which focuses on humanity’s future. Shoe Dog - Nike founder Phil Knight shares the story of the company’s early days. Chasing the Scream - History and impact of drug criminalisation (War on Drugs). The author describes the War on Drugs (mostly in US but also describes other countries like Portugal where the policies on drugs are different)
- nindalf 8y agoI loved Sapiens. It has a couple of ideas that help explain so much of our world - really powerful ideas. Once you know them they seem so obvious and you feel like you should have thought of that yourself. For example, (spoilers for human history ahead), our civilations are based on agriculture and very few hunter gatherers remain. But that doesn't mean that people consciously chose one over the other. It's just that for various reasons, agriculture is a more "viral" idea that spread more efficiently than the alternative. Ditto with monotheistic vs polytheistic religions. Homo Deus... less so. It rehashes a lot of Sapiens and I found it a bit of a drag. The introduction is worth reading though. He recounts all the progress we've made as a species, which would surprise people who think our world is growing worse by the day. Chasing the Scream was amazing. Nothing more to be said. The book I learned the most from was probably The Dictator's Handbook. Again, a very simple idea - how can we predict a politician/leader's behaviour based on a simple assumption - they will try their best to stay employed. The authors manage to explain almost all of how politics works based on this one single idea. If you're one of those people who likes to try-before-they-buy, here's a trailer of the book - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs
- sah2ed 8y agoThe Dictator's Handbook is also on my reading list and I really enjoyed the Kindle sample. In fact, I got to know about the book from a HN recommendation. It's impressive how so much clearly one may see the world by relearning well-known concepts using one's intuition, which is how the authors happened upon the simple but powerful idea behind what really drives political behavior.
- stochastic_monk 8y agoAs for me —- 0: Jorge Luis Borges, Labyrinths Anyone interested in information theory, intelligence (artificial or otherwise), many-worlds interpretations of quantum mechanics, metafiction, the nature of art, or even probabilistic sequence modeling should read Borges’ short stories. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. 1: Hero With A Thousand Faces A classic book collating world mythologies and psychoanalytical thought to investigate an individual’s core struggle for meaning and purpose. I find that it has informed my appreciation of literature, film, music. More importantly, it helped me understand how I want to live my life and from whence I now choose to derive my personal senses of direction and meaning. 2: Samuel Beckett, Malone Dies An obtuse, rambling, depressing novel without a sense of momentum or even plot. The narrator or narrators are unreliable, prone to aporetics, and capricious. Beyond its stark exterior, the prose is, at times, achingly beautiful, the narrator is relatable in his uncertainty and frailty, and the dual struggle for meaning and accepting the absolute absence thereof is invigorating. It’s book two of a trilogy, but these postmodern novels are enjoyable on their own, and the rare, tenuous grasp on plot or direction makes reading them in sequence seem to be more a suggestion on how to experience them than a strict ordering. I’ve also been reading The Double (Dostoevsky), but I haven’t progressed far enough to make an informed recommendation.
- anacleto 8y ago> 1: Hero With A Thousand Faces Unusual. The first time, I - happily - see someone on HN mentioning Joseph Campbell and this book. As a following up lecture, I'd recommend: The Hero's Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life & Work. [0] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242530.The_Hero_s_Journey?ac=1&from_search=true https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242530.The_Hero_s_Journe...
- shoo 8y agoHilary Mantel - "Wolf Hall" & "Bring Up The Bodies". Excellent fiction. You're worth it.
- arethuza 8y agoI'd strongly recommend her novel about the French Revolution "A Place of Greater Safety".
- Insanity 8y agoSome books that I recently read and enjoyed: Non-fiction a) Sapiens (Yuval Noah Harari) b) Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World's First Digital Weapon (Kim Zetter) c) Hackers: Heroes of the computer revolution (Steven Levy) d) Masters of Doom (David Kushner) Fiction: e) The Death of Ivan Ilyich (Leo Tolstoy) f) Ready Player One (Ernest Cline)
- MrsPeaches 8y agoIdeas: A history by Peter Watson is absolutely fantastic. Gives a comprehensive account of the ideas and technologies that have shaped humanity "from fire to Freud".
- henrik_w 8y agoI recently read "Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World" by Rob Sheffield (after reading a review of it by Tyler Cowen[1]). I was not a big Beatles fan when I read it (but I'm a bit more of a fan now), but I found the book very interesting, especially on the impact they had. Other good ones I've read recently: Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre - the true story of a British double agent during WWII. Like someone said - it wouldn't have worked if it was fiction, because it is too unbelievable. Nomad by Alan Partridge - hilarious spoof in documentary style - similar to the humor in The Office. [1] https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2017/05/dreaming-the-beatles.html https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2017/05/dr...
- andersthue 8y agoThe Anatomy of Peace, from the arbinger institute. It tells a story about Lou who is fighting to keep his business alive and keeping his son out of jail, as Lou learns how to be more humane and create less conflict, so does the reader. It is the book that has had the biggest impact on me and my business. The second most impactful book is “Crucial Conversations”
- Stronico 8y ago1. You Can't Win by Jack Black - autobiography of a late 19th century safecracker and general criminal - long enough ago for everything to be different, but the differences are still recognizable 2. Stalin - the Kremlin Mountaineer - a great, and short biography of Joseph Stalin - one of the rare books that could have been longer 3. Stars Beneath Us: Finding God in the Evolving Cosmos by Paul Wallace - an astrophysicist looks at the book of Job and reveals it as the big picture view. 4. The True Believer by Eric Hoffer - the all time classic of the study of mass movements. Full of aphorisms too.
- tikkabhuna 8y agoBlack Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success by Matthew Syed. It looks at anecdotes and stats around different industries and people and their approach to failure and learning from it. Goes on a bit about incremental gains and how those who are successful are so because of many little things, rather than a few big ones.
- drited 8y agoIt's an audiobook but if you're interested in Chinese history I thought The Fall and Rise of China was fascinating. It is available on audible.
- DanBC 8y agoMore children's books: Hello Ruby. Adventures in coding https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1250065003/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1250065003/ (But I might spend mroe time with a Scratch book). Nine Open Arms https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1743315856 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1743315856 My Little Book of Big Freedoms https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1780555067 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1780555067 The Lost Words https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0241253586 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0241253586 All of those are perhaps a bit "worthy", and we read a load of other books. We're going to make our way through anything published by Little Gems. These are small, short, books with a clear font and nice illustration. I think these are great for reluctant or new readers. Here's one example, but they have a load: Mr Birdnest and the House Next Door (lovely illustration by Hannah Shaw) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Birdsnest-House-Next-Door-Little/dp/1781125759 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Birdsnest-House-Next-Door-Little/dp... And things like The London Eye Mystery (which may be a bit too old for my child, we'll see how it goes) https://www.amazon.co.uk/London-Eye-Mystery-Siobhan-Dowd/dp/0141376554 https://www.amazon.co.uk/London-Eye-Mystery-Siobhan-Dowd/dp/... We're still reading a few heavily illustrated books. I love Kate Hindley's work, so I'm buying The Knight Who Said No! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Knight-Who-Said-No/dp/1788002083 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Knight-Who-Said-No/dp/1788002083
- mns06 8y agoI'm 2/3 of the way through Enlightenment Now by Stephen Pinker, having seen Bill Gates describe it as his new favourite book of all time: https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Enlightenment-Now https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Enlightenment-Now. With the daily news cycle full of violence, hatred and despair, the book is an rationally optimistic (possibilist!) argument that the human condition has been improving since the days of the Enlightenment - and that the improvement is driven by reason, science and humanism. Definitely recommended.
- abhiminator 8y ago>Enlightenment Now by Stephen Pinker Just started reading it after having finished another one of Mr. Gates' favorite -- Factfulness, by Hans Rosling -- which, btw, he's distributing at no cost to college students in the United States. [0] Insofar, I could observe Enlightenment Now to be a book that ties the loose ends of all of Mr. Pinker's previous works -- The Better Angels of our Nature, The Blank Slate etc. Would definitely recommend checking them out before starting with this to get an idea of the intellectual depth of the man. [0] http://time.com/money/5303143/bill-gates-free-book-graduates-factfulness/ http://time.com/money/5303143/bill-gates-free-book-graduates...
- nobrains 8y agoReady Player One. Read it before seeing the movie. If you were born in late 70s or 80s, you will enjoy the references.
- Dowwie 8y agoThis book was such a pleasure to read. It's an excellent summer read recommendation.
- henrik_w 8y ago+1 for Ready Player One - really enjoyed it.
- ohmatt 8y agoI also really enjoyed this book, despite being born in 89. But, at the same time, it felt like the book was just him writing out lists of references, and just saying what was happening. The author is not the best "writer". That being said, the book is good, and ridiculously addicting to read. I read the whole thing over two days and couldn't put it down.
- midhir 8y agoIf I could recommend one book from what I've read this year it'd be When China Rules the World by Martin Jaques. For fiction; Solar Bones by Mike McCormack. One-sentence novel about a man on the West coast of Ireland shortly before the crash hit. Won the Dublin Literary Prize.
- agigao 8y agoGoing through: * Faust - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe * How To Read a Book - Mortimer J. Adler * Python Machine Learning 2nd Edition - Sebastian Raschka * Economics 19e - Samuelson/Nordhaus Next in line: * The Sleepwalkers - Hermann Broch * The Will to Power - Friedrich Nietzsche * Oxford Handbook of Business and Government - David Coen(and other dozens of lecturers)
- georgehaake 8y agoSouthern Reach Trilogy. On the last book. All three very well written.
- rgbimbochamp 8y agoI read a bunch this year but Pandora's Lab is the most mind-boggling shit one should read. My list resides here: https://saru.science/readinglist/ https://saru.science/readinglist/
- lumannnn 8y ago"Ego is the Enemy: The Fight to Master Our Greatest Opponent", by Ryan Holiday. I really enjoyed this one and I will read it again. IMHO, it helped me understand people better and especially myself. It changed a lot of my own perspectives and opened my eyes in at least 2 areas of my own life. Behaviour, intentions, humility, self-esteem, focus on right things and don't let other opinions (about you or your work) mess with your mind. I read this last year. Since then, many different daily situations reminded me in some way to topics discussed in the book. I will also gift this book to others (if I feel someone is open for these kind of topics). - Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27036528-ego-is-the-enemy https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27036528-ego-is-the-enem...
- Cyphase 8y agoHere's Jeff Atwood's 'Recommended Reading for Developers': https://blog.codinghorror.com/recommended-reading-for-developers/ https://blog.codinghorror.com/recommended-reading-for-develo... From the header: > This list was last updated in March 2015. > Why are updates to my reading list so rare? Because computers change a lot in 10 years, but people don't. > To make better software, you need to understand how people work, and that is what the books I recommend tend to focus on.
- sridca 8y agoTook quite a bit of scroll to see someone recommending programming related books. HN culture has changed a lot indeed. :-P
- kalimatas 8y agoPeter F. Hamilton, "Commonwealth Saga" and "Void Trilogy". Among the best Sci-Fi I've ever read.
- aestetix 8y agoI suppose I could give my summer reading list: The History of the Peloponessian War - Thucydides. On book 3 right now, it's some of the most profound political strategy and philosophy I've ever read. It really helps if you read Herodotus' Histories before hand, to give context on the Persian War, and how what we now call Greece ended up in this mess. It's extremely illustrative, and if you've read it, the rise of populism after 70 years of American hegemony should be absolutely no surprise (it looks a lot like Athens). The Gulag Archipelago - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Another book that is very important today, as socialism/communism is on the rise in parts of the western world. It's an exploration of what happens when social trust breaks down in a society, as it did after the Bolshevik Revolution. Is the US at that point? No. Does it have the potential to get there, with a few elections of more radical types and further breakdown of the social fabric? Absolutely.
- Dowwie 8y ago"Why liberalism failed" by Patrick Deneen (listen to the latest econ talk for background: http://www.econtalk.org/patrick-deneen-on-why-liberalism-failed/ http://www.econtalk.org/patrick-deneen-on-why-liberalism-fai.... )
- louismerlin 8y agoFactfulness I couldn't recommend this book enough.
- TotempaaltJ 8y agoWant to second this. Has changed my worldview in very significant ways.
- axplusb 8y agoJudea Pearl's The Book of Why. Basically Pearl argues that classical statistics completely ignored the concept of causality so far and introduces a complete framework to bring causal inference into statistical/data analysis. The framework is based on graphs and asks for causal hypotheses (like econometricians would do with instrumental variables) and allows to compute/quantify causal effects. Anyone working with data should probably read this book. The fact that Pearl brought in a professional math/science writer as co-author is a huge boost to the main ideas accessibility and make for a nice albeit deep summer read.
- analogtom 8y agoThe Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. It is one of the books that is referenced all of the time over the span of my life. Realized I never thought to actually read it for myself...I recommend checking it off the list.
- arethuza 8y agoI recently, by accident, read two books that worked really well together: One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson The Plot Against America by Philip Roth The Bill Bryson book is, I think, a work of subtle genius - he makes stuff that I would normally have no interest in absolutely fascinating (e.g. baseball). It was purely accidental that I read these in the order I did and so close together - but the extensive descriptions of the adventures of Lindbergh and other aviators did provide a great background for the Roth novel.
- alexsicart 8y agoA Brief History of Everything by Ken Wilber.
- analogtom 8y agoThe Origin of Species, Charles Darwin. I can't believe it took me so long to read one of the most important books written.
- madrafi 8y ago- Neromancer - 1984 - The Bitcoin Standard - The Conquest of Happiness (Bertrand Russel) - The Book of Why
- srom 8y ago1) Adults in the room - Yanis Varoufakis (2017) must read for anyone leaving in, or interested in the politics of the European Union; the book is a political memoir of Varoufakis' fight against the EU institutions during his 6 months as finance minister of Greece in early 2015. The people of Greece had elected the syriza government to put an end to the incredibly harsh austerity they've been through during the past 5 years. But the Greek government had agreed to, and was bounded by the terms of the two bailout programs from the Eurozone & the IMF. Faced with a dilemma, democracies must compromise. But Democracy has no place in the Eurozone, as Wolfgang Shäuble, former finance minister of Germany, puts it very clearly during his first meeting with Varoufakis: "Elections cannot be allowed to change economic policy". Three years after the events recounted, this book is still very much relevant, and anyone wanting to understand EU politics ought to read it. -- 2) And the Weak Suffer What They Must? - Yanis Varoufakis (2016) Companion book to the first one, it explained how the Eurozone crisis came to be by recounting its history from the end of the second world war to today. A key book to understand the institutions of the European Union, whether or not you agree with Varoufakis' economic theories. I highly recommend it, as it is very well written, in plain english, with no economic background required.
- tramtrist 8y agoBefore Church and State: A Study of Social Order in the Sacramental Kingdom of St. Louis IX
- ProfDreamer 8y ago"The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage" by Clifford Stoll is my all time favorite for vacation reading.
- larntz 8y agoI read this book about 20 years ago when I was in high school. It was one of my favorite books at the time. I think I read it 3 times during my high school years. It was a great read at the time. I haven't read it recently but anyone that lived experienced technology of the 80s/90s or wants a realistic feel for what it was like should read this. It's a great story about how a guy from Berkley (I think) tracked down a hacker. I don't remember the specifics but it was very War Games-esque but based in reality.
- ProfDreamer 8y agoSame for me. I first read this during high school in the early 90s and read it several times again in the following years. There's also a movie about the story which is worth watching: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0308449/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0308449/ You can easily find it (and quite a few talks and interviews by/with Clifford Stoll about the subject of the book) on Youtube if you search for "Cuckoo's Egg".
- Eridrus 8y agoI read "The New Jim Crow" yesterday. A lot of it is familiar, but the sheer scale of how many black men are incarcerated was eye opening. The extent that we discriminate against released criminals was also eye opening, even if some of it was things I knew in the back of my mind.
- mindcrime 8y agoAbsolutely second this. Also, if race and race issues are important to you, consider Black Like Me[1] by John Howard Griffin. It's a fascinating story of a white man who spent some time roaming around the Deep South, during the Civil Rights Era, masquerading as a black man. [1]:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Like_Me https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Like_Me
- lanestp 8y ago1: 12 Rules for life, Jordan Peterson Ignore the controversy, this book will change your life for the better. Get the audio version Peterson narrates and it adds an extra dimension. 2: The Obesity Code, Dr Fung Probably the most eloquent and effective breakdown of how and why obesity comes to be and what to do about it. As a bonus, it’s really funny! 3:Not Alone, Craig Falconer I picked this up on a whim and enjoyed it more than any other work of fiction in the past year. It’s a first contact story that focuses on the media and politics. 4:Measure what matters, John Doer This book has transformed how my team runs. Anyone in any kind of management role should read this book. 5:Win Bigly, Scott Adams I’m going to be controversial with this one. It’s an interesting story that provides more practical tools for persuasion than any book I’ve ever read (and I’ve read every popular book on the topic). If you want to know how to apply influence read this book.
- sn41 8y agoI enjoyed Win Bigly. The part I found intriguing was one where he describes a three-act-movie structure. What is the controversy about 12 rules for life? I enjoyed the book, but it did not move me much. I found it a repetition of viewpoints in other books.
- jeanmichelx 8y agoI'm currently reading "Dark Continent - Europe's Twentieth Century" by Mark Mazower, and I found it thoroughly interesting. It highlights that democracy was absolutely not a clear path for Europe, and why fascism worked. I had no idea how much of the welfare state (government housing, children benefits, etc) had fascist and imperialist roots. Recommended read, it's thought-provoking.
- voska 8y ago1) Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling. This book really changed my perception of the world and how I look at market dynamics. It's also a Bill Gates must read. 2) High Growth Handbook by Elad Gil This is supposed to be released next week and looks really good. Some of our investors have been raving about it online.
- pimmen 8y ago0: Ray Dalio, Principles I'm halfway through it right now, I like it a lot. It's good for helping me reflect on how I learn through my experience and how I best form habits. 1: Daniel Yergin, The Quest I loved The Prize and will follow it up with Yergin's other book on energy. 2: Thomas S. Mullaney, The Chinese Typewriter: A History I love tech history and in this case I go into it with all these prejudices about how awful it must be for Chinese people to use modern keyboards, without any real knowledge about it. I will keep an open mind and see how culture and tech clashed and what solutions were spawned from this conflict.
- wazoox 8y agoHere is a quick list of the last great books I've read which are available in English (some 'Ive read in other languages): - History of Western Philosophy, by Bertrand Russell : This is a wonderful book. Read it. - Why the West rules -- for now, Ian Morris : How geography drives history. really deep and thought-provoking. - the Strange Defeat, Marc Bloch : A gripping, living narration of the French armies collapse in 1940, from the inside (Marc Bloch was an officer). With a very deep analysis of the long maturing reasons for this defeat. - Histories of Alexander the Great, Quintus Curtius Rufus : The title says it all. Very elegant Latin prose. - The Golden Ass, Apuleius : A funny story and an immortal classic. - The Blitzkrieg Legend: The 1940 Campaign in the West, Karl-Heinz Frieser : For true military history geeks :) I notice that these are either classics, or history. Well, so be it :)
- spapas82 8y agoLet's take a look at the books I've read for 2018: https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/10897132 https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/10897132 As you see I mainly read scifi and fantasy; not necesarrily new releases. From these books, here's a bunch I recommend: - Red Rising Trilogy by Pierce Brown: It is really excellent. It may feel like an ordinary young adult novel, however, especiall after during the 2nd book (and through the duration of the 3rd one) it really hooks you up with its story and characters; it feels like a Game Of Thrones in sci-fi; totally recommended. - Every dead thing by John Connoly: An excellent crime/serial killer story. It has some grotesque descriptions so don't read it if you don't have the stomach for such things; beyond that it's really good. - The Expanse series by James SA Corey: I have read almost everything in this series. I like it very much; some books are better than the others however I recommend starting with Leviathan awakes (the 1st one) and if you like the characters and story continue with the others; if not don't bother. - The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. A great fantasy novel; very interesting story and characters. I liked it very much. The second one (red seas under red skies) was not as good as the first one though. - The power of the Dog by Don Winslow: A great crime/mob/narcotics story about the drug war in Mexico which is based on real facts and characters. It is a little long however I read it with great insterest. And a couple I didn't like: - The broker by John Grisham: Probably the worst Grisham novel I've ever read. Felt more like a travel guide to Italy than a real Grisham novel. I was very dissapointed by this novel because I've like almost all other Grisham novels I've read. - Time by Stephen Baxter: I'd head good things about this but it is just a couple of nice scientific ideas. It doesn't have any real plot and feels very boring after a little. - Daemon by Daniel Suarez: This was a mediocre book. The writer must be a Software/Computer ENgineer and definitely knows his stuff (you can even learn a couple of things from him); this was the good part. The bad part was that the plot did not made much sense and the power of the Daemon/AI started to feel like a Deus ex Machina and became too boring to follow. - Winter moon by Dean Koontz: A not very good horror story. I didn't like its plot at all.
- extralego 8y agoCapital: A Critique of Political Economy
- HeadsUpHigh 8y agoFantasy: Northern Lights and the rest of the series. A higly influential book for me. It might read a bit like a teenager novel but it gets better on the second and third one. Tolkien's The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun Sci-fi: the metro series. Great story telling and world building. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
- ian0 8y agoI started reading this year after a gap of perhaps 10. Sci-fi. Couldn't be happier. Strong recommendations: - Anathem, Neal Stephenson (already on my second read) - Accelerando, Charles Stross - Glasshouse, Charles Stross
- Jedd 8y agoHeh. I sometimes read these contemporary ask-hn's and realise I'm way outside of the loop, but can agree with this short list. In recent years have read-and-thoroughly-enjoyed Neal Stephenson's Seveneves, Cixin Liu's The Three Body Problem, and Charles Stross' Accelerando - and only later realised they're basically all about the end (in different ways) of the world. I'm two thirds of the way through Ramez Naam's Nexus trilogy ... and am now starting to think I have a literary fetish.
- mindcrime 8y agoGlasshouse is awesome, I definitely second this recommendation. Also, Stross' "Laundry Files" series.
- sadema 8y ago[1] We Are Legion We Are Bob (Bobiverse 1-3) - Just finished this trilogy and really enjoyed it! It's well paced, has a very likable protagonist and has a nice sprinkling of programming/CS humor. [2] Guns, Germs and Steel - Can't believe I waited so long to check this off my list. Very thorough and well written argument about how geography and environment shaped the modern world. [3] Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion - Scientific and philosophical reasoning for why the self is an illusion. Covers a lot of ground without getting too heavy: Buddhism, mediation, neuroscience, religion, and more.
- carrollgt91 8y agoI'll second Waking Up - I've been interested in mindfulness meditation for years, and this book is what finally helped frame it in a way that went down nicely for me. I sometimes enjoy the podcast by the same name as well, though the conversations are more hit or miss.
- sadema 8y agoHave you read any other mindfulness or meditation books? Waking Up wanted me to read more in that area, but I'm not sure what to pick up next.
- oldpond 8y agoZen Mind, Beginner's Mind is a good place to start.
- jackstraw14 8y agoYes, pick this one up. The Mind Illuminated is also a good one.
- projproj 8y agohttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/64369.Mindfulness_in_Plain_English https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/64369.Mindfulness_in_Pla... was good. I read it twice in a row. It actually delivers on the promise of being for beginners.
- bleigh0 8y agoFavourite book I've read this month so far is Flight to Arras, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Its a beautifully written book about life, war, death, refugees, politics, adventure, community religion & humanism (set during WW2 when France was in a seemingly dire position). Saint-Ex is better known for The Little Prince and Wind, Sand and Stars, but I think this is my favourite I've read of him. Teaser: “For love is greater than any wind of words. And man, leaning at his window under the stars, is once again responsible for the bread of the day to come, for the slumber of the wife who lies by his side, all fragile and delicate and contingent. Love is not thinking, but being. As I sat facing Alias I longed for night, when my thoughts would be of civilization, of the destiny of man, of the savor of friendship in my native land. For night, so that I might yearn to serve some overwhelming purpose which at this moment I cannot define. For night, so that I might perhaps advance a step towards fixing my unmanageable language. I longed for the night as the poet might do, the true poet who feels himself inhabited by a thing obscure but powerful, and who strives to erect images like ramparts round that thing in order to capture it. To capture it in a snare of images.”
- carrollgt91 8y agoThe Power of Vulnerability, by Brené Brown. Given the amount of imposter syndrome, internalized shame, and unhealthy posturing that I've seen in the startup space, it seems especially relevant for folks here. This really changed my relationship towards vulnerability as a leader. Also, it's quite entertaining. She's very charming in her delivery, and she does a good job exemplifying her findings in the presentation of the book. It's actually an audio seminar, as opposed to a written book, but I think it's delivered far more effectively that way.
- fanclocker 8y agoShe wrote a book on the subject too: Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead I assume you would be interested.
- larntz 8y agoI really enjoyed Daring Greatly. I would recommend this also. I feel I was able to apply a lot of it to my day to day family life.
- brickmort 8y agoThis sounds great, I'm gonna give this one a shot. Thanks for recommending!
- nickvanhoog 8y agoThe Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein and The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes were both great.
- salimmadjd 8y agoI wish everyone would read the Shock Doctrine or at least understand the gist of it.
- spkane31 8y agoI read The Making of the Atomic Bomb as a junior/seniorin high school and it took me forever to get through but I enjoyed it so much that I picked it up again after two years of college. Absolutely fantastic read on both the technical aspect and the literary composition.
- superherointj 8y agoScience and Sanity - Alfred Korzybski Steps to An Ecology of Mind - Gregory Bateson
- deusofnull 8y agoIm about to fully read Mark Fischer's "Capitalist Realism" [0]. It is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. After 1989, capitalism has successfully presented itself as the only realistic political-economic system - a situation that the bank crisis of 2008, far from ending, actually compounded. The book analyses the development and principal features of this capitalist realism as a lived ideological framework. Using examples from politics, film (Children Of Men, Jason Bourne, Supernanny), fiction (Le Guin and Kafka), work and education, it argues that capitalist realism colours all areas of contemporary experience, is anything but realistic and asks how capitalism and its inconsistencies can be challenged It is a sharp analysis of the post-ideological malaise that suggests that the economics and politics of free market neo-liberalism are givens rather than constructions. [0] https://duckduckgo.com/?q=zerobooks+capitalist+realism&t=ffab&ia=web https://duckduckgo.com/?q=zerobooks+capitalist+realism&t=ffa...
- catacombs 8y ago> for the vacations months What vacation months?
- Philipp__ 8y agoFor me -- 0: Neuromancer, William Gibson 1: The Rust programming Language, Carol Nichols and Steve Klabnik 2: Getting Clojure, Russ Olsen Interesting times indeed... :)
- nagVenkat 8y agoI feel like I am an official promoter for this book on HN but I most certainly am not. The book, Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer is one of the most interesting books I had read. I read many books after that but nothing left me with same sense of joy and knowledge and hope. Please consider taking a look at the book. It is amazing.
- misiti3780 8y agojust out of curiosity, how long did i take you to read this book. i have it on my shelve but am afraid to start because it seems like it will take 2 months to finish
- murrayb 8y agoThere are a lot of really great suggestions here. I would recommend putting all of them aside and read Deep Work by Cal Newport and then re assess.
- swah 8y agoleo trese - the faith explained thomas merton - comtemplative prayer eric voegelin - hitler and the germans
- salimmadjd 8y agoThe Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad. Joseph Conrad was 50 to 100 years ahead of his time. His story of European exploitation of Africa and the underlying racism that empowered that still, sadly has many parallels to our world. It's a novella so it's quick read, with beautiful pros. Interestingly enough, English was not Conrad's native language. But you couldn't tell that from his prose. The movie, Apocalypse Now was loosely based and inspired by this this book with some dialogues completely copied over. There is an audiobook version of it on iTunes [0] by Ralph Cosham. His narrative voice is so soothing that I listen to it sometime to fall asleep when I'm unable to turn off my brain. [0] https://itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/heart-of-darkness-unabridged/id320469353 https://itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/heart-of-darkness-unab... The Blind Owl, Sadegh Hedayat and translated by D.P. Costello is a great read if you're into Kafka. I read the book both in original language, Farsi and its translation in English. The translation is excellent. Hedayat translated the work of Kafka in Farsi. Which might explain some resemblance between Blind Owl and some of Kafka's writings. Ultimately and tragically he committed suicide in his Paris apartment. Sohrab Sepehri, Iranian poet is still largely under-discovered in US. There is a recent translation that seems to have done justice to his poetry [1]. A decade ago, I foolishly partnered with a colleague and a poet to translate some of his poems. I translated one poem, it was the most stressful thing I ever did and something, I will never try again [2]. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Oasis-Now-Selected-Translations-Selection/dp/1938160223 https://www.amazon.com/Oasis-Now-Selected-Translations-Selec... [2] http://www.caveat-lector.org/1601/html/1601_poetry_sepehri1.htm http://www.caveat-lector.org/1601/html/1601_poetry_sepehri1....
- sizzzzlerz 8y agoSoul of a New Machine, Tracy Kidder Chasing New Horizons, Alan Stern, David Grinspoon Look for something to read from my library, I stumbled across Kidder's book. Reading it again brought back my memories as a new engineer during the same time frame as takes place in the book. Its a wonderful story of how a small group of people can come together and make something magical, putting their heart and soul into the efforts. New Horizons tells the story of the spacecraft launched to attempt science on the solar systems most remote planet and how a group of people, scientists, engineers, managers, made it happen with a number of political mishaps and technical issues along the way.
- freehunter 8y agoWow that link to GeekDad is absolutely toxic. When you visit, it shows a banner that begs for you to turn off your ad blocker promising that they don't have malicious or distracting ads... then in the fine print below that, it says "okay I know we currently have a lot of malicious ads, but that's out of our control, we promise!" Seriously, that's why people use ad blockers. If you're running content on your site that you have no control over, stop doing that. If you're serving malicious ads, at the very least turn off the banner that tells people you're not serving malicious ads.
- latexr 8y ago1. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, by Scott McCloud A comic about comics, but I don’t think you have to enjoy the medium to get something out of the book. If you enjoy exploring subjects to their core, give it a shot. 2. The Sculptor, by Scott McCloud The latest fiction graphic novel by the person who wrote a seminal book on comics. No surprise it does a lot of things right. 3. S-Town, by Brian Reed Technically a podcast, but it was released all at once and is a contained story that lasts for seven hours. I’d say a fairer assessment would be to call it a well produced non-fiction audiobook, which is what you’d expect from the producers of Serial and This American Life. When I recommend it I always tell people to give it until the end of the second episode before deciding if they’ll stick with it. 4. Mindhunter, by John Douglas Enjoyed the Netflix show? There’s a good chance you’ll enjoy this.
- carapace 8y agoI gotta second "Understanding Comics", it's incredible! McCloud is a under-recognized genius and comics are a profound medium! I found a copy on the sidewalk. I'm halfway through it now and he's blown my mind four or five times already. Don't be too proud to read a comic about comics: it will change the way you think, not just about comics but about thinking itself! It was published in '93. I just looked and I couldn't find the exact quote, but at one point he says something like, "even if you don't read comics, they will be influencing popular art and entertainment" and I thought, "Didn't a comicbook-based movie just gross two billion dollars?"
- erikbye 8y agoGene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun. A four-part science fantasy novel included in the Fantasy Masterworks series. Quote from The Guardian: "science fiction's Ulysses?" I can also recommend J.G. Ballard. A well-known and venerated writer, but who seems under-read, especially in the U.S. I generally like his short stories and a few of his novels.
- misiti3780 8y agoHere are some excellent books I have read in the past few weeks 1) How to change your mind 2) Bad Blood 3) Kitchen Confidential 4) I am a strange loop 5) The good mothers (about the ndrangheta) 6) Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
- dosy 8y agoWhy the West Still Rules - For Now, Ian Morris Grand unified theory of history, focusing on the cyclic patterns of challenge that societies face as they push against hard ceiling of development using their existing methods, and have to innovate to break through, or spiral downward into a dark ages. Guided by an exploration of the question "Why the West has global dominance but the East does not -- for now"
- zilchers 8y ago1. Measure What Matters - John Doers book about OKR’s is awesome, best business book since Lean Startup 2. Bad Blood - Just started it and it reads like John Grisham 3. The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaur - Narrative about dinosaurs, I’m excited 4. Cork Dork - Great book about wine and Sommeliers 5. Waterloo: The History of Four Days - Everyone talks about Napolean’s defeat, but I honestly know nothing about it.
- anant90 8y agoI disagree with you on "Measure What Matters" book. I was really looking forward to reading John Doerr's book, and I stuck along with it longer than usual, but had to ultimately abandon it before hitting the 100-page mark. It seems that just reading GV's blog post[1] on OKR's will teach you as much as reading the whole book. In addition, the book is one content chapter, followed by a few success stories chapters written by founders themselves. These chapters are written in a very uninspired tone (almost as if they wanted to write something and get it done for JD, not because they wanted to share their story) and barely inspire you or bring in any new insights over the meatier content chapters. This is not a criticism of the OKR system — arguably it's one of the best goal setting systems out there. But does it need a whole book to understand? I think not. It just seems to be a vastly missed opportunity to me. John Doerr is pretty much a legend in the valley, and maybe my expectations were sky high hoping for a book on the same level as High Output Management or Hard Things About Hard Things. [1]: https://library.gv.com/how-google-sets-goals-okrs-a1f69b0b72c7 https://library.gv.com/how-google-sets-goals-okrs-a1f69b0b72...
- ddsaso 8y agoNot quite a book but definitely a long essay. "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again" by David Foster Wallace. Great read on consumerism, escapism, and the funny things that people seem to do on cruise ships. Also just started keeping a public kanban board of my book backlog and wondering if others do something similar? I'd be curious to know how others organize their book lists and peaking through to find new things to read. https://github.com/davidsantoso/books/projects/1 https://github.com/davidsantoso/books/projects/1
- anant90 8y agoThe public kanban board is an excellent idea! I'll probably set up one for myself this weekend.
- geephroh 8y ago+1 - thanks, ddsaso! Worth digging into the thread just for this.
- ddsaso 8y agoGlad to hear it! Feel free to open a new issue if there happens to be a book you think I might find interesting based on the books I already have listed. Or if you start your own book list kanban board I'd be interested to see it.
- squigs25 8y agoI use goodreads to keep track of the books I want to read, books I am reading, and books I have read.
- ashtonbaker 8y agoThank you for the Kanban idea; I love it.
- amorphid 8y agoEvery book in the Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. It character driven sci-fi. My non-sci-fi friends introduced me to it, and being a sci-fi lover myself, I enjoyed it that much more. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorkosigan_Saga https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorkosigan_Saga
- adamch 8y ago1: Diaspora (Greg Egan). Brilliant sci-fi where computer science concepts like cellular automata, computation complexity etc are major plot points. Starts with a highly detailed explanation of AI personality creation. Super geeky and a brilliant plot. 2: High Performance Browser Networking. Really explained a lot of modern networking. I was already familiar with the basics of the OSI stack, but this explained a lot of newer ideas, optimizations, and HTTP2. Really comprehensive guide to how the internet works. 3: The Shock Doctrine (Naomi Klein): A history of how the CIA has shot down democratic regimes to enforce small-government-free-market policy in developing countries when these policies are rejected in polls. Explains a lot of the crises in Latin America and Russia.
- wetback 8y agoDiaspora is fascinating, it captured me from the first page. Permutation City is pretty good as well.
- steamer25 8y ago> the CIA has shot down democratic regimes to enforce small-government-free-market policy in developing countries when these policies are rejected in polls I haven't read the book but from another perspective it sounds like the CIA shot down democratic regimes in developing countries to enforce policies favorable towards U.S.-based internationally big, militarily market-intervening government that were rejected in the local polls. I wouldn't be surprised if there were extra-governmental industrial interests that benefited as well.
- wellpast 8y agoBrett Easton Ellis recommended Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, so I read it, just finished it -- devoured it, really -- and fully agree w/ his assessment [1]. [1] I just finished reading The House of Mirth, which I had tried reading as an eighteen- year-old college boy and just didn’t get. Now at fifty-four, it’s crushing. Absolutely crushing. And the writing is just stupendous. I also love Age of Innocence and The Custom of the County. Just going to Edith Wharton every morning was fantastic and blew away any television or movie that I could find online. https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/public/bret-easton-ellis-future-fiction-olah/ https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/public/bret-easton-ellis-...
- calebm 8y ago"Hardboiled Wonderland and The End of the World" (by Haruki Murakami). I love every book I've read by Haruki Murakami, but I think this may be my favorite. I suspect that, for a work of literary surrealist/magical realism fiction, it will appeal to the HN crowd.
- geephroh 8y agoYou might also try some Abe Kobo, who had a heavy influence on Murakami's writing. His 1970 "Inter Ice Age 4" is a really interesting sci-fi-ish novel involving global warming, supercomputers, and genetic engineering.
- stefantheard 8y agoI am going to finally read Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain.
- lurcio 8y agoThe Revelation of Jesus Christ Perhaps the most 'contested' words put to paper (in the academic sense of the word, such as "Europe is a contested concept")
- agumonkey 8y agoa talk from Alan Kay copied by someone here mentioned Geoffrey West : scale https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31670196-scale https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31670196-scale Not read it yet but it's on my list
- kevas 8y agoFor me... 1. Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets by John Murphy 2. Options as a Strategic Investment by Lawrence G. McMillan 3. [just finished] The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right By Atul Gawande 4. [finished last week] Dealers of Lightning by Michael A. Hiltzik 5. [currently working on] Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software By GOF 6. [currently working on] Dan Appleman's Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the Win32 API by Dan Appleman 7. [next on the list] Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed by Ben Rich, Leo Janos
- S_Bear 8y agoIn the Distance by Hernan Diaz Swedish peasant teen finds himself seperated from his brother and on a boat to California in the 1840s. Reads like an odd mix of Louis L'Amour and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I usually don't read fiction, but I found this to be completely gripping. 40 Chances by Howard Buffett Warren Buffett's son, a farmer in Illinois, describes the difficulties in feeding the world and America's somewhat backwards approach to helping the third world get self-sufficient. As someone in a very rural area, learning more about the economics of farming is fascinating.
- carapace 8y agoChristopher Alexander's main works: Pattern Language et. al. and the Nature of Order https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Pattern_Language#Other_titles_in_the_series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Pattern_Language#Other_title... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nature_of_Order https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nature_of_Order "Permaculture – A Designer's Manual" Applied ecology for long-term (megayear) stability. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture "Introduction to Cybernetics" Ashby http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ASHBBOOK.html http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ASHBBOOK.html (PDF available)
- Uhhrrr 8y agoA couple people recommended Red Plenty on one of these threads, and I took the recommendation and agree, it's great. Earnest Soviet economists try to solve the Russian economy with mathematical models running on computers. The story is told in a series of anecdotes, kind of similar to Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars. There are diversions along the way about Soviet cars, the probability of getting lung cancer from any given cigarette, academic freedom, etc.
- mindcrime 8y agoA few recommedations: 1. Black Like Me - John Howard Griffin - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Like_Me https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Like_Me 2. More Matrix and Philosophy - William Irwin (ed) - https://www.amazon.com/More-Matrix-Philosophy-Revolutions-Reloaded/dp/0812695720 https://www.amazon.com/More-Matrix-Philosophy-Revolutions-Re... 3. Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid - Douglas Hofstadter - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del,_Escher,_Bach https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del,_Escher,_Bach 4. The New Jim Crow - Michelle Alexander - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Jim_Crow https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Jim_Crow 5. Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal - Ayn Rand - https://www.amazon.com/dp/0451147952/ref=sspa_dk_detail_4?psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0451147952/ref=sspa_dk_detail_4?ps... 6. The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fountainhead https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fountainhead 7. The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect - Judea Pearl - https://www.amazon.com/Book-Why-Science-Cause-Effect/dp/046509760X https://www.amazon.com/Book-Why-Science-Cause-Effect/dp/0465... 8. The Education of Millionaires - Michael Ellsberg - https://www.amazon.com/Education-Millionaires-Everything-College-Successful/dp/1591845610 https://www.amazon.com/Education-Millionaires-Everything-Col... 9. The Silent Corner, The Whispering Room, and The Crooked Staircase - Dean Koontz - http://www.deankoontz.com/book-series/jane-hawk http://www.deankoontz.com/book-series/jane-hawk 10. Godel's Proof - Ernest Nagel & James Newman - https://www.amazon.com/G%C3%B6dels-Proof-Ernest-Nagel/dp/0814758371 https://www.amazon.com/G%C3%B6dels-Proof-Ernest-Nagel/dp/081... 11. After Dark - Haruki Murakami - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17803.After_Dark https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17803.After_Dark
- glorithm 8y agoThe Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, by Mark Manson https://www.amazon.ca/Subtle-Art-Not-Giving-Counterintuitive/dp/0062641549/ https://www.amazon.ca/Subtle-Art-Not-Giving-Counterintuitive... Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity, by Kim Scott https://www.amazon.ca/Radical-Candor-Kick-Ass-Without-Humanity-ebook/dp/B01KTIEFEE https://www.amazon.ca/Radical-Candor-Kick-Ass-Without-Humani...
- mavilia 8y agoThe Subtle Art is a great book that helps put things into perspective. At times you will open it to a chapter randomly, but it still has some application to a part of your life that you may be struggling with. I like to keep the audio book around so that I can have little reminders daily because of course the concepts are useless without application.
- ajhurliman 8y ago-Godel, Escher, Bach / There was an article on here a short while back writing about how they didn't like the book. I figured if the book was important enough that it was noteworthy when someone wrote that they DIDN'T like it, I should check it out. -Salt, fat, acid heat / A no-nonsense approach to cooking that's made me feel a lot more confident in the kitchen -It's your ship / Required reading for a PM class
- orsenthil 8y agoI read Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. It will go down as the one of the best books I have read in my life. I have written the review for that book here - http://xtoinfinity.com/posts/2018/05/04/book-review-guns-germs-and-steel.html http://xtoinfinity.com/posts/2018/05/04/book-review-guns-ger...
- balladeer 8y ago- The Great Indian Novel by Shashi Tharoor - The Mirror of Beauty by Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (I am reading it in Hindi/Urdu[0]. Anyone who loves historical fiction should check this out) - Safe Area Goražde: The War in Eastern Bosnia, 1992-1995 (received it as a birthday gift; my first graphic novel and I am loving it) - Shoes of the Dead by Kota Neelima - Everybody Loves a Good Drought by P. Sainath (one of the best non-fiction works I have read) - and some Manto, Pratchett, and John Le Carré. I have been reading three of the books among these forever and I intend finish them. I am again starting to spend time reading that I had basically allocated to Internet and just doing nothing. [0] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26021373-kai-chaand-the-sar-e-aasman https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26021373-kai-chaand-the-...
- tmaly 8y agoI finished Never Split the Difference a month back. Fantastic read. I am almost finished with Thinking Fast and Slow. I kinda wish I had read it years back given all the useful insights. I just bought a copy of the 1961 version of Stranger in a Strange land.
- arenaninja 8y agoHere's my reading list so far: 1. Principles of Likability: Skills for a Memorable First Impression, Captivating Presence, and Instant Friendships By Patrick King. I struggle with soft skills so I found it insightful without being shallow 2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People By Stephen R. Covey. I think this predates the previous book, and it's not a "read once then forget" type of book; it's about continuous self-improvement. I got a lot from it, didn't enjoy the religious/spiritual overtones but I will come back to this one 3. The Algorithm Design Manual By Steven S Skiena. I'm halfway through; I found the first chapter dense but the rest are very approachable (go figure). I don't have a CS degree so it helps to see problems classified into "this or that problem can be approached with X algo"; some of this stuff I've worked through already but now I have a name for a lot of these things. Definitely highly recommend this if like me you don't have a CS education and occasionally wonder what the gap is between you and CS graduates (IMO not much unless they really grok graphs). I wish I had read it the second year of my career, but better late than never
- ohmatt 8y ago"The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" by Tom Wolfe (RIP). One of my all time favorite book, one of my all time favorite authors. "The World According to Garp" by John Irving. Again, one of my favorite authors, one of his best books, but I really recommend almost all of his books. "Starship Troopers" by Robert A. Heinlein. Just read this a couple weeks ago, highly recommended. "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson. Just another of my favorite authors, I recommend any of his books if you like travel books. Very witty and well written stuff. A Walk in the Woods is probably his best known book about his attempt to thru-hike the AT. "Story of Your Life and Others" - Ted Chiang. Really really good sci-fi short stories. Some great stuff. The movie Arrival is based on the title short story, Story of Your Life. Honorable Mentions (from things I've read in the past year): "Meddling Kids" by Edgar Cantero "The Island of Dr. Moreau" by H.G. Wells "Furiously Happy" by Jenny Lawson I could keep listing books, but this is probably already excessive.
- ohmatt 8y agoHow could I forget "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer. Another amazing author, great book. I also realize none of these are really HN-related content. I just assumed you were looking for any type of books, and this are some of my recent favorite leisure books.
- joddystreet 8y agoBhagvad Gita (as it is) - A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Not just a spiritual book, more like the guiding principles that anyone, starting something new, could use. The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation - Jon Gertner Bell Labs, the RnD wing of AT&T-was the best laboratory for new ideas in the world. The book tells a story about the life and work of a small group of brilliant people - Mervin Kelly, Bill Shockley, Claude Shannon, John Pierce, and Bill Baker. Peak - Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool You must have heard this a 1000 times - "you can do this", the book is about - "yes, and this is how" The master algorithm - Pedro Domingos Book details out the philosophies of various schools of thought in AI - deep learning, bayesian, genetic, reasoning - in a very simple language. What technology wants - Kevin Kelly Technology is a living organism and there are patterns to the technology evolution, not unlike the organic evolution.
- MarkingTime 8y agoOur Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America by James and Deborah Fallows. An excellent look in to the demographic shifts of 'fly-over' country, America. While so much of the focus of tech is on how we can change the world and find customers in heavily urbanized and developed parts of the country - the customers who could stand to benefit the most from innovation are oft overlooked. The book also serves as a great reminder that rural or non-seaboard cities aren't necessarily 'backwaters'.