4 ms·

This book is gold! Incidentally, there is a 2nd edition in French, but not (yet?!) in English. Yes, it is hard, but reading is not a contest of "how many page

This book is gold! Incidentally, there is a 2nd edition in French, but not (yet?!) in English. Yes, it is hard, but reading is not a contest of "how many pages can I read per day". With this book, sometimes I just read one/day. Other times it's a negative number. Meaning, I need to go back a few pages. What matters most is the content, and this book has it. No pauses, no cheap humour, just pearls on every paragraph. That puts the burden on the reader. It's a book to be studied, not read.

register 3y ago
It is hard because the prose is unreadable maybe because of a bad translation from French. The way sentences are constructed is Baroque to say the least.
- ofalkaed 3y ago
  I enjoy the way it is written, especially the lack of trying to make it fun and humorous. But I am a humanities sort who spends a good amount of time in literature where prose is a much more varied thing and you often have to think about the language itself, it is second nature to me. Likely the only programming book that I really enjoy reading and a welcome break from the rigid institutional style broken up with humor you often see in programming books. Looking up the translator, she seems well respected in both technical writing and translation between French and English, so it may also be weird in French.
  - tiberious726 3y ago
    It's also weird in French, but I also found it really enjoyable
    - ofalkaed 3y ago
      I think Queinnec is either big on literature or he was writing at a time before prescription and style guides took over academia in France (has it?). Looking at his website he makes no mention of literature or anything related beyond language general, but he does use the comma to for elaboration and context, not just to delimit inline lists. Looking at Lisp In Small Pieces I can't help but notice a strong resemblance to Henry James and wonder if his passion for language extends beyond programming. I also notice some parallels between his language use with lisp itself, but I am no where near good enough with lisp to be certain, his book is still well beyond me but I do enjoy it and the challenge it presents.

It is hard because the prose is unreadable maybe because of a bad translation from French. The way sentences are constructed is Baroque to say the least.

ofalkaed 3y ago
I enjoy the way it is written, especially the lack of trying to make it fun and humorous. But I am a humanities sort who spends a good amount of time in literature where prose is a much more varied thing and you often have to think about the language itself, it is second nature to me. Likely the only programming book that I really enjoy reading and a welcome break from the rigid institutional style broken up with humor you often see in programming books. Looking up the translator, she seems well respected in both technical writing and translation between French and English, so it may also be weird in French.
- tiberious726 3y ago
  It's also weird in French, but I also found it really enjoyable
  - ofalkaed 3y ago
    I think Queinnec is either big on literature or he was writing at a time before prescription and style guides took over academia in France (has it?). Looking at his website he makes no mention of literature or anything related beyond language general, but he does use the comma to for elaboration and context, not just to delimit inline lists. Looking at Lisp In Small Pieces I can't help but notice a strong resemblance to Henry James and wonder if his passion for language extends beyond programming. I also notice some parallels between his language use with lisp itself, but I am no where near good enough with lisp to be certain, his book is still well beyond me but I do enjoy it and the challenge it presents.