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Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
I got asked recently, and I think it's an excellent question.
What's the "best" book you've ever read? By "best", in means whatever you mean.
- supportengineer 2y agoCryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
- aristofun 2y agoUnless youve just read a handful of books in your life it is impossible to give a good answer to the question. Books are not oranges.
- brudgers 2y agoI got to thinking -- a handful of books is approximately one book. And who ranks their oranges?
- tocs3 2y ago"Books are not oranges." As an aside, what do you mean by this? I would have an even harder time giving and answer to the best orange I've eaten. The Hobbit. My brother read it to me when I was just starting to read. When he was done I asked him to read it again. he said no and I learned to read in earnest. I was often shooed out of the adult section of the library. I have read lots of books by now.
- aristofun 2y ago> what do you mean by this That books are not a commodity.
- ruraljuror 2y agoI feel like it would be hard to choose the best of a commodity, so this is even more perplexing to me.
- Terretta 2y agoEasier because directly comparable, harder because one can't tell the difference?
- sam29681749 2y agoThe point _may_ be that oranges can be evaluated based on a few simple variables (eg., richness of flavor, juiciness, etc.), where there's no common set of variables that can be used to evaluate all the different types of books (ie, what makes a good history book differs to what makes a good philosophy book, etc.) and if they can't be compared, a 'best' can't be established. That said, as the author alluded to, 'best' in this context is vague and can mean what we want it to, eg., person a may consider best to mean the book that has had the widest influence, where person b may consider it to mean the book that they personally found the most insightful, etc.
- canadianfella 2y agoRight. That’s why it’s helpful to get recommendations.
- wruza 2y agoThe best orange has a structure of a peak ripe grapefruit. Peel doesn’t stick, micro-columns separate easily and burst with juice. If grapefruits were orange-flavored, I’d eat them all day.
- talldrinkofwhat 2y ago
- bo1024 2y agoIt's also impossible to give a bad answer, what are you worried about? Go for it.
- oidar 2y ago>Unless youve just read a handful of books in your life it is impossible to give a good answer to the question. And yet, there are many answers to that question in this thread.
- aristofun 2y agoand none of them directly and reliably answers the asked question :)
- ComputerGuru 2y agoAu contraire ! I was a ridiculously voracious reader (if I saw it, I wouldn’t put it down until I’d read it) and my answer was always “hard to say, no favorite.” But then one day you read that book that stands out from everything else (to you, for various personal reasons that might not translate the same for the next person) and suddenly, just like that, you have a favorite book. I wish you will discover this feeling one day!
- BizarroLand 2y agoSome books are oranges. Some are apples. Some are kumquats and carrots and key-lime pie. Some are soups made by your grandmother while you sat in a high-chair and your parents laughed and talked with your uncles in the living room. Some are the smell of coffee and bacon and eggs and a little more smoke than usual in the air in the morning when your dad cooked breakfast. It's okay to have a special and favorite book, just like it is okay to have a special and favorite food.
- mikewarot 2y agoThe Boy's Second book of Electronics by Alfred Morgan(1957) introduced me to electronics in the 1970s, and lead to a technical mindset and lifestyle. The Engineers Notebook by Forest Mims really taught me the basics of electronics. What do you care what other people think by Richard Feynman(1988) introduced me to the idea that nobody is really as much of an expert as you might think. 1632 By Eric Flint, and the subsequent series, got me thinking about the nature of civilization and all the things that go into making it. There are a lot of books in this world, and they all helped author who I am.
- 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 2y ago"the way things work", the book with all the woolly mammoths in it. Learned a lot from it
- Jerrrrrrry 2y agoThat is the literal pillar; physically and figuratively the foundation, of my knowledge corpus; aptly the bottom book in my corner-turned-library. I spent hours as a kid, slowly parsing, contextualizing, researching every iota and minutiae of that book. I had an encyclopedia just to help supplement that book.
- gfna 2y agoDidnt recogize the english title before i read this comment and it immediately clicked. The copy i have is from the late 80s and even then it was a bit dated, but it didnt matter. Awesome book. Now 35 years later my kids and I sometimes spend hours looking through the same book. Even more dated now, but that probably makes it even more amazing for them and now they know how a tape recorder works \o/
- calvinmorrison 2y agotheres an updated edition as well
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- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- VoodooJuJu 2y agoThe best book I've partially read is the New Testament. The best book I've actually read is Taleb's Antifragile.
- booleandilemma 2y agoSo many people talk about this one and they never give spoiler alerts.
- SeanAnderson 2y agoNonfiction: Thinking, Fast & Slow Fiction: Project Hail Mary
- qingcharles 2y agoProject Hail Mary is amazing, but personally I think it is just one step below The Martian. Both incredible books, though. I've read the Martian three times.
- andrei_says_ 2y agoI am That - talks with Nisargadatta Maharaj. Best for me.
- dilippkumar 2y agoThe absolute best for me: The Malazan book of the fallen. Book 1 is really hard to get into and doesn't reward as much. But if you stick with it, as early as the end of Book 2, you'll know what you're in for.
- slothtrop 2y agoI was skeptical but after a rough start I enjoyed book 1 by the end. Not generally into fantasy and dropped Way of Kings, Wheel of Time and others.
- Brajeshwar 2y agoThere are always better books than the ones I read, and there will never be the best. I’ve tried selecting a few that I can remember at all times, the most interesting book to me, and I’ve listed them on my website at https://brajeshwar.com/#books https://brajeshwar.com/#books If I had to return and re-read, I’d re-read “Leonardo da Vinci.”
- the__alchemist 2y agoNon-fiction: Pale Blue Dot. Fiction: The Diamond Age.
- jjcm 2y agoWe're pretty much living parts of The Diamond Age right now. I feel like we're within a decade of A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer being a real book, especially with Claude and ChatGPT's multimodal aspects.
- thricetrue 2y ago[dead]
- djkivi 2y agoGodel Escher Bach is the best book I've read. Very interesting topics and the sheer creativity of the writing is amazing.
- KingOfCoders 2y ago[flagged]
- bobosha 2y agoi have the book and tried to read it many times, but never grokked it tbh. ;-)
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- spicyusername 2y agoHofstadter is such a brilliant writer. All of his books are really on another level.
- edanm 2y agoI prefer his autobiography (https://xkcd.com/917/ https://xkcd.com/917/). Seriously though, this question is unanswerable, but your answer is probably one of the few books I'd get behind as an answer to this.
- llamaimperative 2y agoHenry George’s Progress & Poverty conducted what can only be described as a coup on my worldview, and I am not alone in that experience. It is an incredible argument that will just utterly transform how you understand a walk down the street. If you’ve been seeing references to the Land Value Tax (LVT) here on HN, this is the book that originated the concept. Like most conceptual breakthroughs, it didn’t emerge solely from George with no related ideas in the vicinity, but this is definitely “the book” behind it.
- illwrks 2y agoIn a similar vein, when I first got an e-reader I downloaded the old English version of Adam Smiths The Wealth of Nations. It was eye opening. While I’ve forgotten a large amount of the detail the overall themes are embedded in my mind.
- djsavvy 2y agoHow is Wealth of Nations surprising for a modern reader? My (perhaps incorrect) intuition is that these sorts of old foundational books tend not to be too surprising because their ideas have permeated society already, which is why I’m curious to hear your take.
- morbicer 2y agoSomeone might not expect sth like this from the "father of capitalism" “As soon as the land of any country has all become private property, the landlords, like all other men, love to reap where they never sowed and demand a rent even for its natural produce.”
- llamaimperative 2y agoYep, Smith and Ricardo both recognized that land is unlike all other forms of capital.
- throw0101b 2y ago
- HeyLaughingBoy 2y agoOne Hundred Years of Solitude -- Gabriel Garcia-Marquez.
- tmtvl 2y ago'Bashō, dichter zonder dak' with the subtitle 'Haiku en poëtische reisverhalen' by professor Willy Vande Walle, a Belgian Japanologist. It's a translation of Basho's travel diaries with a lot of contextual information, kind of like Martin Gardner's 'The Annotated Alice', if you've read that one. It's an amazing intellectual tour de force by one of the foremost experts in his field, and it helps that the original works are of very high quality of well. Unfortunately I don't know if there's an English equivalent, and considering how awful of a language Dutch is to learn it may be easier to learn Japanese, read the originals, and look up all the references yourself.
- aporetics 2y agoThanks, I’m marking this to look into
- vilunov 2y ago> how awful of a language Dutch is to learn Curious, why do you think so? As a Russian I found Dutch to be much easier to learn than Japanese, and English knowledge helps. The largest problem by far is Dutch speakers falling back to English almost always.
- tmtvl 2y agoWell, as a native speaker I don't really have first-hand experience to how hard it is, but here in Belgium it generally agreed on that it's easier for Flems (Dutch speakers) to learn French than for Walloons (French speakers) to learn Dutch. And past tenses of verbs in Dutch are absolutely borked, so much so that this past weekend my sister and I (and we're both quite well read) had no idea what the past tense was of a word, though which word it was escapes me at the moment.
- igouy 2y ago> I think it's an excellent question. Because?
- _benj 2y agoThere are too many… But I’ll pick The Psychology of Money. There are few books that have so drastically changed my view of reality and affected my behavior. (Bonus because I couldn’t help myself: Getting things done, Man’s search for meaning, Surrounded by idiots)
- saka15 2y ago[dead]
- Jerrrrrrry 2y agoAnything from Sagan: Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God could convert the Pope to agnosticism. Stephen Ray Gould: Full House: The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin: will both challenge every preconceived notion you've had, link seemingly impossibly unrelated phenomenon together using similar models and patterns, and leave with a much more intuitive understanding about complexity, randomness, and chaotic systems. A Briefer History of Time: For those who truly would like to exalt their personal God of the Gaps to the small unit.
- zukzuk 2y agoSagan’s Demon Haunted World was probably the reason I ended up going into the sciences!
- lnwlebjel 2y agoI would put this down as my best book ever. It contains one of the most important ideas (IMO) for a scientist to keep in mind: “But in introducing me simultaneously to skepticism and to wonder, they taught me the two uneasily cohabiting modes of thought that are central to the scientific method.” The Cosmos series, which was on PBS when I was a kid IS the reason I went into science.
- tocs3 2y agoAfter seeing Carl Sagan's Cosmos I got and read the coffee table book "Cosmos" I really liked it at the time(about 10-12 yo). It was pretty influential but I do not know if I could sit through the book again.
- xutopia 2y agoThis author is by far my favorite. Everything he wrote was amazing and made me think so deeply about things. I recommend Dragons of Eden especially because it sheds light on how fabric of our culture is woven by old thoughts that are recycled in interesting ways. The Demon Haunted World does a good job at explaining how we have to escape magical thinking and be more rational about how we approach life.
- ilrwbwrkhv 2y agoThe Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. When you are young, it is a remarkable book to read.
- alsaffar 2y agoThis book is one I re-read religiously, but the first time was as a young adult and I agree with you, remarkable. It seems to have a correcting effect on my psyche when I stray too far into anxiety and burnout.
- SirAllCaps 2y agoFiction: Independent People by Halldór Laxness or Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Non-Fiction: The Feynman lectures on Physics.
- sfpotter 2y agoJohn McPhee's "The Curve of Binding Energy".
- mindcrime 2y agoThe truth is, if you ask me this 100 times, you'll probably get 100 different answers, because it's impossible to really pick just one (well two, separating by fiction/non-fiction). But for today I'll go with: Fiction: Neuromancer Non-fiction: The Selfish Gene
- justchad 2y agoCame to say The Selfish Gene for nonfiction. Changed the way I thought about things.
- hn_throwaway_99 2y agoHaven't read The Selfish Gene, but reading the summary it looks like it touches on some very similar themes as Stephen Pinker's How The Mind Works, which I thought was also a great book. Gave me a good intuitive understanding of how the human neural system evolved, and I found so much of the book to be prescient and timely in our current "AI era".
- loveparade 2y agoWhat people forget to mention is when they have read a book. I read the Selfish Gene when I was a teen and it left a lasting impression. It was published in 1989. How the Mind works was published in 2011. Reading the Selfish Gene today as an adult, when you've probably read a dozen similar books already, is not going to have the same effect. It's going to be pretty boring. That's why asking for book recommendations is flawed to begin with.
- llamaimperative 2y agoWhat similar books are there to The Selfish Gene? I read it not too long ago and found it astonishing. People are generally enthralled by Sapiens which is just a very mediocre extension + shallow interpretation of Dawkins’ thesis.
- 2y ago
- a_square_peg 2y agoI think this is as meaningful as the question "what's the best food you've ever eaten?", which is to say, it's not a very meaningful question.
- JKCalhoun 2y agoSure, but for the rest of us it might suggest a food we had not yet tried.
- a_square_peg 2y agoFair enough. I feel like I've been seeing a lot of questions on Reddit along this line that comes off as very low effort to generate engagements so that's really the reason behind my comment but I see how my response also comes off as snarky.
- JKCalhoun 2y agoI know what you're saying. It must work though — it engagad both of us for different reasons, rose to front page of HN. (Perhaps you would rather it did not though.)
- a_square_peg 2y agoYou're absolutely right on both accounts - it did work to engage us and that I would rather that such posts don't get upvoted. Thanks for your understanding. :)
- mcphage 2y agoIt is a low effort method to generate engagement, but it does generate really good engagement. Likewise, your other example of “what’s the best food you’ve ever eaten” is a lazy question… but I bet the answers would be really interesting.
- sam29681749 2y agoSteak and eggs made by my grandfather.
- upmind 2y agoMy favourite fiction is Ready Player One. Great story and very nerdy!
- aomix 2y agoFor nonfiction I think about Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood by David Simon (and Ed Burns for The Corner) a lot. They are very funny and very sad and really changed how I see the world. So I cheated, two books.
- bo1024 2y agoNonfiction: "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable" by Taleb has had the biggest influence on me. Fiction: I dunno but maybe "Anathem" by Neal Stephenson.
- ataylor284_ 2y agoTwo of my favorites, too, although I'd go with Anti-Fragile from Taleb. I think Anathem is Stephenson's best. The Diamond Age is also really good. For every one of his books, I just wish he could write an ending that matches the quality of the rest.
- anthonyrstevens 2y ago>> I think Anathem is Stephenson's best Hard to choose for me, but I might cast a vote for the Baroque Cycle, although I love almost all of his science fiction as well.
- MPSimmons 2y agoAnother vote here for Anathem. That was a world I just wanted to curl up in and learn more about.
- agiacalone 2y agoOne of the previous posts mentioned that it changes for them frequently, and I'm pretty much the same way. But for right now: Fiction: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Non-Fiction: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
- Mageek 2y agoTo be clear, both are fiction, it’s just that one is fantasy and the other is set in modern reality.
- llamaimperative 2y agoHmmm I don’t believe so? Zen is at least portrayed in its conclusion as a true, autobiographical story (with obviously dollops of philosophical musings).
- latexr 2y agoIt is a fictionalised autobiography. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_Maintenance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_...
- yesbabyyes 2y agoI'm sure you meant, both are non-fiction.
- diggan 2y ago> The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Probably one of the few books (the series that is) I could read on repeat and still laugh out loud from. I agree it's one of the best books out there.
- iancmceachern 2y ago"The book of joy" by the Dalai Lama and Desmund Tutu (they were lifelong friends)
- bloopernova 2y agoNon-fiction: The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors by James Hornfischer. US Navy destroyers, escort carriers and destroyer escorts face off against Japanese cruisers and battleships. The Japanese had many times the firepower of the US, yet incredibly brave US sailors and airmen attacked anyway. Incredible story of courage under terrible conditions and odds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Stand_of_the_Tin_Can_Sailors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Stand_of_the_Tin_Can_... and https://www.amazon.com/Last-Stand-Tin-Sailors-Extraordinary/dp/0553381482 https://www.amazon.com/Last-Stand-Tin-Sailors-Extraordinary/... Fiction: Project Hail Mary is very enjoyable, don't read spoilers and you'll enjoy it even more. https://www.amazon.com/Project-Hail-Mary-Andy-Weir/dp/0593135202 https://www.amazon.com/Project-Hail-Mary-Andy-Weir/dp/059313... The Discworld City Watch series of books, starting with "Guards! Guards!" The characters are hilarious, there's so much humour yet still enough space for meaningful prose. Terry Pratchett was taken from us too soon. https://www.amazon.com/Guards-Discworld-Terry-Pratchett/dp/0062225758 https://www.amazon.com/Guards-Discworld-Terry-Pratchett/dp/0... Edited to add: non-fiction "Most Secret War" by Dr R V Jones. Funny, easily digestible short chapters, wonderful account of the author's work in WW2. "(the author's) appointment to the Intelligence Section of Britain's Air Ministry in 1939 led to some of the most astonishing scientific and technological breakthroughs of the Second World War." https://www.amazon.com/Most-Secret-Penguin-World-Collection/dp/0141042826 https://www.amazon.com/Most-Secret-Penguin-World-Collection/...
- loufe 2y agoI absolutely second Project Hail Mary. It's been the only sci-fi book in years to have me glued to the pages.
- hermitcrab 2y ago'Project Hail Mary' was a great read. Especially 'Rocky' (no spoilers).
- yinzer-solomon 2y agoI'll belatedly second the recommendation of the "City Watch" series. I found "Night Watch" to be particularly enjoyable.
- m3kw9 2y agoTo each their own. Mine likely 3 body problems: dark forest book
- booleandilemma 2y agoThis was my favorite one in the trilogy. I also liked the first one. Third was weakest for me (but still enjoyable).
- bravura 2y agoIntroducing Lacan: A Graphic Guide, by Darian Leader and illustrated by Judy Groves. Freudian theory really was just a way to psychoanalyze Freud and his complexes. Lacan jettisoned the weirdly specific Freudian stuff and had a more general template, with a focus on the relationship between language and the subconcious.
- dgs_sgd 2y agoThe Once and Future King by T.H. White. Fantasy fiction.
- carapace 2y agoThe best book I've ever read is perhaps "cheating" because it's "The Next Whole Earth Catalog" and, as the name says, it's a catalog of (mostly) books. (You can see it for yourself in all it's glory here: https://www.wholeearth.info/p/the-next-whole-earth-catalog-fall-1980 https://www.wholeearth.info/p/the-next-whole-earth-catalog-f... ) Other than that I'd have to say the Tao Te Ching. (The best fiction book I've read is almost certainly "The Book of the New Sun" by Gene Wolfe. It's in the league of Tolkien and Dune.)
- Severian 2y agoIndeed
- carapace 2y ago;-)
- ultimafan 2y agoFor fiction, came here to say the same about Gene Wolfe, the whole solar cycle series by him might honestly be the (for now at least) absolute pinnacle of both the sci-fi and fantasy genres. Great world design, great characters, great writing (and variety of voice, the way he pulls off different characters writing is just brilliant, it really feels like a series written by several completely different authors.) The kind of books you read and reread and taken something new out of them every time. I'd honestly give just about anything to be able to go back into them completely blind again.
- aunwick 2y agoBreakfast of Champions by Vonnegut. Like others could change any day you ask. Social commentary is probably at the top followed by well researched recent historical works.
- thrill 2y agoDungeon Crawler Carl (series) Sinusoidal Circuit Analysis
- jebarker 2y agoFor me, it's The Grapes of Wrath. Simultaneously raised my bar for what I consider good writing and made me much more empathetic to the plight of those at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder through no fault of their own. As relevant today as when it was written.
- mrweasel 2y agoThat is such a good books, the ending is a little weird though. I also loved Tortilla Flats, also by John Steinbeck. In the non-fiction genre, Roadside Picnic is also really good. How you think about or are influenced by books are also dependent on your current mode and situation. I also enjoying and have great memories from reading "The Soul of a new Machine", the stress that I felt from that book reflected my own work situation of at the time, so it some how stuck with me more that I believe it would have done at another point in time. On the weirder side of things: As I grown older I felt like I lost the feeling of magic during Christmas time. So every year I read a stupid Christmas themed romance novel. The previous two have been "Snowed In for Christmas" and "The Christmas Bookshop". I recommend both.
- WillAdams 2y agoIt is interesting to note the mentionings of it and the socio-political fallout in the letters which mention it from the end of his _The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights_ (and if someone were to take up using Mallory to write a sequel to that, I would pay good money for it).
- will-burner 2y agoInfinite Jest by David Foster Wallace It’s kind of cliche for a white male nerd of a certain age, but it has stuck with me. How imaginative the book is, the huge mix of characters and stories in the book, and the style of writing are incredible. The pace of interesting ideas is very fast and engrossing, and the language used to describe things is complex but not overly so.
- njtransit 2y agoIt’s on my to-read list, but starting is daunting. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again (the essay collection) was amazing. I think about it often.
- sam29681749 2y agoI read this and didn't find it all that interesting, although it was quite funny in parts. I'm curious to know what you found amazing about it?
- RhysU 2y agoThe idea that entertainment could be all engrossing and some forms of entertainment addictively destructive to our well-being? That we could have cameras in video conferences but would want them effectively off? It was delightfully/scarily prescient in some ways.
- julianeon 2y agoActually I wish people would lead with this more: because it's a book about entertainment and how some forms of entertainment addictively destructive to our well-being, and that's why it's relevant today. I see a lot about David Foster Wallace and "it meant a lot to me personally at once time" but very little about its objective merits (which are real to be clear).
- will-burner 2y agoI feel like there were many instances where something would be described, either a a character's internal feelings or an observation about the world and I would think, "damn that just perfectly put into words something that I've thought or experienced" or I'd be like "wow that's so true and insightful." And I would be thinking this all the time while reading. On top of that I liked all the drug stuff and the kind of dystopian world created in the book.
- twoodfin 2y agoTaking “best” to mean, “About to be banished to a small, rocky island in the North Atlantic, can pack one book”: Ulysses, and it’s not particularly close. The book is fractally intricate and intellectually puzzling in the best sense—something new and special to notice every time you pick it up. But it also wears like old leather, and I find myself returning to favorite chapters simply to sink indulgently into the characters, dialog, and setting. Anybody who says no one has actually read Ulysses is unknowingly half-right: You can certainly get to a point where you’ll never finish reading it.
- tzs 2y agoGood answer. Most people who answer the one X to take when banished pick don't take into account that in their banishment they might not be provided with anything intellectually challenging, and just pick their current favorite X which is often something that 6 months from now will rarely be revisited because they have a new favorite. They are really usually answering "what one X would you take with you on a vacation?". A good X for banishment might even be an X that has never been a favorite of yours. For example if I had one musical work and one book I'd seriously consider Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen and a German to English dictionary. Neither of those is anywhere near a favorite of mine--I do own a copy of Der Ring des Nibelungen but only occasionally listen and then only to the famous parts, and I don't think I've ever even looked in a German to English dictionary. That's 15 hours of opera in a language I have close to zero understanding of. But much of the music is quite good, and trying to figure out enough German from the lyrics and the dictionary to follow the story could keep me occupied a long time.
- jjcm 2y agoThis seems to be a very polarizing book. I for one thought it was among the worst I've read, but know plenty who have said it's one of their favorites. It's certainly not a traditional novel.
- slothtrop 2y agoI bounced off of it expecting to enjoy it because I read lots of Pynchon.
- vid 2y agoFiction - [Trouble on] Triton by Samuel Delaney. It just has so many relevant big ideas told in a very subdued way via a not very likeable but appropriate character.
- wiihack 2y agoEnlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker
- spicyusername 2y agoThe better angels of our nature is also a good one from Pinker
- JKCalhoun 2y agoI've moved enough times to have thinned my book collection down quite a bit. Books that I can't quit, the original "The Boy Mechanic" books, "The Complete Tales of Uncle Remus", "Jingo Django" (I have quite of few of Sid Fleischman's books, actually), a set of "The Book of a Thousands Nights and a Night" (the Arabian Nights) ... to name a few.
- id00 2y agoFiction: Hyperion by Dan Simmons (especially The Consul's Tale) Non-Fiction: Peopleware (opened my eyes when I was a young newcomer to the industry)
- unsnap_biceps 2y agoHouse of Leaves https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Leaves https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Leaves You must use a physical book, it's full of typographical and color changes to impress context different then just the words. Every time I re-read it, I look though a different lens and get something different from it.
- Izkata 2y agoYou do have to buy the right edition to get the full effect. It was also published without color.
- spicyusername 2y agoI was very influenced by Kurt Vonnegut when I was a teenager. Coming of age is a perfect time to learn that the fact that life is absurd doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't laugh, just the opposite. Sirens of Titan and Slaughterhouse Five are some of my favorite books of his. As an adult, I've been very influenced by the late Daniel Dennett and his naturalist philosophy. Books like From Bacteria to Bach and Back or Darwin's Dangerous Idea.
- edanm 2y agoGreat choices! I've read Vonnegut sporadically and decided this year to read through all his books. Sirens of Titan is an old favorite I've read multiple times, but I reread it about two weeks ago, and Slaughterhouse Five a few months ago.
- mcphage 2y agoFor another take on Vonnegut, my favorite of his were Bluebeard and God Bless You Mr. Rosewater.
- dawnerd 2y agoSame, I didn't like reading much at all but Kurt Vonnegut really connected with me.
- mentos 2y agoPlayer Piano has felt more relevant in this new AI age
- tootie 2y agoVonnegut was such a genius. His books mostly light reading. Funny and fully of goofy sci-fi tropes. All building up to revelatory philosophical lessons about human nature. "We are what we pretend to be" hit me like a ton of bricks. Right up there with "We are here on Earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you any different."
- mikhailfranco 2y agoAgree with both. If you like Vonnegut, perhaps try the fiction of J.G.Ballard. Empire of the Sun is rightly famous, it is autobiography - but read that too. If you are American, you might not know that other things happened at the same time as the attack on Pearl Harbor [Yes, it was 8 December 1941 in Hong Kong, but across the dateline, so contemporaneous. IIRC 8am Honolulu to 6am HK is +4 hours].
- 5555624 2y agoThe Count of Monte Cristo -- I've read it a few times and I know I'll read it again. While there are a few books I've read more than once, I can't think of any I know I will read again.
- edanm 2y agoWonderful, wonderful book. One of my favorites. It's old, but the beginning especially is just a non-stop adventure. It always drags a bit for me after the first third, but picks up again and continues to be great throughout.
- v-erne 2y ago>> It's old, but the beginning especially is just a non-stop adventure. It always drags a bit for me after the first third, but picks up again and continues to be great throughout. Yeah, as much as I love Count Monte Christo as a story, being it a movie (https://youtu.be/qesn8pV9yu8?si=ssccZfQGf9F1fCk3 https://youtu.be/qesn8pV9yu8?si=ssccZfQGf9F1fCk3), series (https://youtu.be/bF1Z7irZLdY?si=oDF0OnB-1NWVfwZq https://youtu.be/bF1Z7irZLdY?si=oDF0OnB-1NWVfwZq) or anime (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gankutsuou:_The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gankutsuou:_The_Count_of_Monte...), the book gets so slow after first third that I have never actually read it through till the end. Its a pity that we can have new cuts of movies (Zack Snyders Justice League vs original one) but we will never get George R. R. Martin version of Count of Monte Cristo.
- phtrivier 2y agoTangentially: the 2024 version [1] of the movie has been a huge success in France (quite deserved in my opinion), and is about the open in the US. The imagery of the movie has a definitive "Batman" vibe - sort of "full circle", even though, apparently CoMC was not _really_ an inspiration for the Dark Knight, as the legend went. [2] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo_(2024_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo_(202... [2] https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/254769/was-batman-based-on-the-count-of-monte-cristo https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/254769/was-batman-...
- sshine 2y agoBest book: Snow Crash Best short stories: Borges
- MailleQuiMaille 2y agoOk, I want to be your friend.
- aorth 2y agoA Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry.
- 8minsfromsol 2y agoLeaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. If ever I’m struggling with something I pick it up and open to a random leaf and just read until I feel better.
- valval 2y agoGrowing up ‘The Brothers Lionheart’. As an adult, ‘The Idiot’.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- aireo 2y agoSeveral immediately come to mind. Short stories: The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories (Ken Liu); Stories of Your Life and Others and Exhalation (Ted Chiang); The Martian Chronicles (Ray Bradbury) Novels: The Monk (Matthew Gregory Lewis); Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
- bloak 2y agoWhich edition of Frankenstein would you recommend, 1818 or 1831? (Gutenberg.org has both.)
- hermitcrab 2y agoI read Frankenstein a few years back. it is an interesting book, years ahead of his time. But while the monster is quite a sympathetic character (apart fron the odd homicide) Frankenstein is such a drip.
- noashavit 2y agoFiction : the history of love Non fiction: start with why
- r_hanz 2y agoAs a fan of Sinek’s messages - I would recommend his Ted/YouTube talks over the books.
- gmuslera 2y agoFor fiction it would be Dan Simmons’s Hyperion for me, it would be a great short stories anthology, but is far more than that. Regarding Non-Fiction, my current bet would be Antifragile by Taleb.
- jq-r 2y agoFiction: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. Non-fiction: Pilates Anatomy by Rael Isacowitz - it changed me and changed my body.
- mcphage 2y agoDid you ready Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum?
- MattPalmer1086 2y agoAlthough I'm not generally into fantasy, I found "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant" by Stephen Donaldson to be fantastic. I tried to start it twice and gave up (there are some disturbing elements) but once I got into it I was hooked. Loved that the hero wasnt into being a hero and was deeply flawed. For non fiction, "Godel, Escher and Bach" is right up there, along with The Selfish Gene.
- BizarroLand 2y agoI have bought and read the entire decalogue of the Thomas covenant series. The first 2 trilogies were prime fantasy. The final quadrilogy probably deserves a re-read but it wasn't quite at the same level on the first read for me as the others. It's the only book that I can remember that has sent me scrambling for a dictionary as the sentences contained words whose meaning could not be discerned by inference. "The surquedry of the Elohim was their downfall", for instance.
- bloopernova 2y agoI've been reading history books lately, and my ebook feature "look up selected word in dictionary or Wikipedia" is such a useful little thing. I wish I'd had something similar in the 80s (the convenience, I know I could get a dictionary) A built-in pronunciation guide would also have been very appealing to this 80s bookworm.
- MattPalmer1086 2y agoAlthough I absolutely loved the first two chronicles, I could not get into the last chronicles at all. I read the first 1.5 books of those and gave up. Part of that is the extreme verbiage, as you point out. Really breaks the flow when you're reaching for a dictionary three times a page. I also frankly just didn't like anyone at all in the last chronicles, and stopped caring. But maybe that's just because of all the dictionary lookups!
- WillAdams 2y agoThomas Covenant is only acceptable to readers who will accept a protagonist who rapes an innocent girl quite early in the work.
- Miranda94 2y ago[dead]
- nataliste 2y agoThe Consolation of Philosophy by Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius. It is a profound synthesis of classical philosophy and personal reflection on the human condition. Boethius, writing in prison while awaiting execution, blends Stoic, Neoplatonic, and Christian ideas to address timeless questions of fate, fortune, happiness, and virtue. It transcends religious dogma and focuses on rational inquiry into how one can find inner peace and intellectual clarity amidst an almost total inversion of fortune. Unlike Marcus Aurelius, writing at the peak of his power, Boethius wrote his at the bottom, and did so with more skin in the game. Marcus gave us Commodus and the Decline, Boethius gave us Aristotle and the Rebirth.
- ruraljuror 2y agoCurious if you have read A Confederacy of Dunces? It is how I learned of Boethius, although I can't say I remember much of either.
- jihadjihad 2y agoI'm curious as well, the GP comment immediately made me think of Ignatius, haha.
- gadders 2y agoIt set my pyloric valve off.
- shaftoe444 2y agoI think it showed the proper reverence for theology and geometry.
- mckn1ght 2y agoThat is one of my favorite books. Read it in one day, couldn’t put it down.
- Dove 2y agoThank you for the recommendation - I'll take a look!
- Daviey 2y agoThe most impactful book I've come across? "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. Yes, it's old, and the title sounds like clickbait from a LinkedIn influencer. Or worse, it reeks of self-help nonsense. But bear with me. In my early 20s, I noticed a peer who seemed to have cracked the social code. Their ability to navigate complex interpersonal dynamics and sway opinions was remarkably consistent. He always seemed to get what he wanted, and people seemed to love him for it. Intrigued, I asked about their secret. The initial response? Denial and a hint of offense. Classic information hiding. An hour later, they circled back with an unexpected recommendation: this book.. But he asked me not to tell people around us that he recommended it. Carnegie's work is essentially a manual for optimizing human interaction. It's really just written as a set of antidotes from his experience, with some commentary. Key areas include: 1. Techniques for effectively dealing with people (social engineering techniques) 2. Methods for building a positive reputation ("making people like you") 3. Strategies for persuasion ("win people to your way of thinking") 4. Leadership approaches that don't trigger resentment The book's core thesis revolves around understanding human psychology. It emphasizes the importance of showing genuine interest, developing empathy, and refining communication patterns for maximum impact. While the examples are dated (first published in 1936), many find that the core principles remain surprisingly relevant. The ideas scale across various contexts, from one-on-one interactions to large organizational structures. Word of caution: Some may view these techniques as manipulative. Using it ethically is important, but really, it just provides some good examples on how not to be an ass.
- Dove 2y agoThis is one of my favorite books as well. While I read it several years ago, I still ponder and apply its advice on a near daily basis. The section on Lincoln and criticism should be required reading before getting married. I have been surprised that it has a reputation for being manipulative, and I suspect people are reacting to what they imagine the book says rather than what it actually says. A recurring theme is that manipulative people may use these techniques, but to inferior results - the secret sauce is to actually care about people and want what is best for them. I have found that the ideas it promotes make me more civilized, empathetic, and considerate.
- whartung 2y agoWell, I don’t reread books. But I’ve read this one science fiction book five times. That book is “The Long Run” by Daniel Keys Moran. As for non-fiction I just bring out the classics that taught me Lisp and Lispy things: Simply Scheme, SICP, On Lisp.
- Izkata 2y agoI'm not sure I'd call it "best", but it's definitely one of the more interesting ones that I've just never heard of anywhere else. I found it in an antique store like two decades ago: An Alien Light It's mostly from the perspective of primitive humans being studied by aliens while the aliens teach them various topics like math and science. The aliens are studying these lost tribes because out in space they're at war with humans and cannot figure out how the humans are able to fight each other and still be winning the war with the aliens.
- jrs235 2y agoThe Principles of Product Development Flow: Second Generation Lean Product Development (Commissioned affiliate link: http://amzn.to/2DK6kVP http://amzn.to/2DK6kVP) It's technical, mathy, economics, and business all wrapped together.
- Sabinus 2y agoSorry, series instead of books. Best Sci-fi: The Commonwealth Saga Best Fantasy: The Wheel of Time
- wannabebarista 2y agoA History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell While this book has its problems, it is a wide-ranging, engaging, and readable history of ideas from antiquity to about the turn of the 20th century. I'm finding it difficult to put any other book ahead of this one.
- kylecazar 2y ago100 Years of Solitude is my favorite. I majored in Spanish literature in college, that was my first exposure to Gabriel García Márquez (I read it in the original Spanish, but I'm told the English translation is faithful and very good).
- EvanKelly 2y agoI've struggled through 2 or 3 Marquez books in Spanish (I'm far from fluent), and have read all of them in English. Gregory Rabassa was an excellent translator and ,from my unexpert point of view, captured the essence of Marquez' work. Translated literature is interesting and I've recently read a few differing views on the "best" translations of Homer. I've resigned myself that I simply must trust the masses in some places and I won't be learning Russian to read Tolstoy authentically.
- qingcharles 2y agoI rant about this too much, but I urge anyone who is thinking of reading a non-English book to check reviews of the translations first. Translations vary wildly and the quality of the translation makes or breaks your enjoyment and understanding of the text.
- th3rac25 2y ago[dead]
- lotsoweiners 2y agoI would probably have to say The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I’m a sucker for fat historical fiction books and this one delivered everything I want from that type of book.
- rgun 2y agoI was blown away by Pillars of the Earth. I had never read a historical fiction before it. It is so well crafted, showing different characters and their perspectives, all in the backdrop of medieval England.
- _whiteCaps_ 2y agoI just finished the Kingsbridge series last night! Excellent books.
- booleandilemma 2y agoI loved this book. I read it as a kid and I didn't understand all of it but it was the first book I encountered of that scale and scope and it showed me what books could be like.
- eppsilon 2y agoGreat book. Some other historical fiction recommendations: - The "Welsh Princes" series by Sharon Kay Penman (same era, different perspective) - Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (Black Death) - The "Grail Quest" series by Richard Cornwell (Hundred Years War) - The "Last Kingdom" series, also by Cornwell (Viking invasion, Alfred the Great)
- widowlark 2y agoShogun by James Clavell as well!
- snarf21 2y agoThis is an amazing book and I've read it 10+ times despite it being ~1000 pages. I tried a lot of the "sequels" but they just didn't deliver the same way and felt too samey and not a great continuation.
- dave333 2y agoBest novel: Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen Best Scifi: The World of Null-A A. E. van Vogt Best Childrens: Swallowdale Arthur Ransome
- brg 2y agoNon-fiction: The Age of Wonder, Richard Holmes. Fiction: The Gods Themselves Asimov. These are the book I always recommend to friends and colleagues. There are runners up based on taste, such as Zero to One,The Making of the Atomic Bomb, and Anathema.
- bkgh 2y agoDon Quixote
- Goldpiggy 2y agoTrillion dollar coach
- histories 2y agoImpossible to pick one... best I can do is five-ish, all fiction: The Odyssey; David Copperfield; Moby-Dick; Anna Karenina; Borges' short stories, in particular Ficciones & The Aleph
- bavarianbob 2y agoDo you have any comments on how to best absorb Ficciones? I read it recently and struggled through the whole book, needless to say, I don't comprehend why many hold that book on such a high pedestal.
- keiferski 2y agoBorges is not really an amazing writer, literary-wise. His works are popular because they are essentially mental puzzles in short story form. In this way, he's very similar to most sci-fi writers, which is why both Borges and sci-fi tend to be liked by mathematically-inclined people. These works are praised for their ideas, not their forms.
- edanm 2y agoImpossible to pick just one. I'll give a few that haven't appeared yet: Fiction: Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality (Eliezer Yudkowsky) Non-fiction: Rationality - from AI to Zombies (Eliezer Yudkowsky) Probably no books have impacted me quite as much as these two, barring early-childhood books that have impacted me from a young age. Fiction: Worm (by Parahumans) Best "superhero" fiction ever created. Just one of my favorite books in general. Fiction: The Mistborn Trilogy - Brandon Sanderson. Best fantasy books ever, IMO. I can go on for a long time, but I felt like these haven't been mentioned and absolutely deserve a place on this thread.
- Dove 2y agoHarry Potter and the Methods of Rationality is splendid. Some of the most vigorous writing I've ever encountered. I agree, it is highly recommended.
- killthebuddha 2y agoBLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD Edit: On a more serious note, this book actually changed the way I think in a very concrete (and positive) way. The book spurred me to start consciously reflecting on "what about X, specifically, is surprising" and/or "what about X, specifically, is confusing". It's impossible to quantify, but the habit has definitely, definitely, boosted my ability to disentangle complex situations and make better decisions.
- araes 2y agoSkulls for the Throne of Skulls! We march upon the Abyss! Seriously though. "Codex Chaos" is pretty super sweet, if sweet is skyscraper size demons of the darkness of mankind. Excellent light reading.
- Jcowell 2y ago+1 on Worm. I’ve read it twice and was captivated both times
- opesorry 2y ago
- trumbitta2 2y agoJonathan Livingston Seagull. It saved my life, two times. First time inspiring me, second time literally.
- rgun 2y agoWhat happened the second time?
- trumbitta2 2y agoI was riding my bike with some friends and one of them launched a challenge. This was 30 years ago and I was 17. We were climbing up a hill. Who was going to reach the old church at the top of the hill first? Fast forward to me being ahead, miscalculating a turn before the church, and heading full-speed straight for the edge of a cliff. I couldn't brake because I'd lose control. I couldn't jump off the bike because I'd start rolling. I remembered Jonathan and how he learned acrobatic flight. I didn't have wings to barely bend but I slightly, slightly, lightly than a feather, turned the stem, and got out of trouble right at the last inch in the fastest turn ever performed on a bicycle.
- clort 2y agoMy parents had the soundtrack LP from the film when I was growing up back in the 70s, I loved that (and I still have a CD). The book remains one of the very few I've read more than once.
- ianmcgowan 2y agoIllusions by Richard Bach is also mind-blowing, or at least was for me during puberty..
- mobilio 2y agoBest book of books - 1984 Fiction - Ender's Game Horror - Voices from Chernobyl. I'm currently read it. I need a pause on every 2-3 pages to refresh my mind. Biography - "The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town". This is only Grisham book that wasn't fiction and based on true event.
- Dove 2y agoThere can be only one answer to that - the Bible. Twenty years ago, I was convinced the content alone justified the claims of a divine origin, which opinion has only grown stronger in the years since. Even if you don't believe in it, it is worth reading as literature - an extraordinarily epic story, and a lot of stuff to say about humanity and divinity along the way. Everything else, comparatively, seems to me like it was written by children. But that's a useless answer, as the purpose of such a question is to generate recommendations, and that's unlikely to be a new one to anybody. One of the books that's impacted me the most in the last few years is Homer's Illiad. I used to wonder why we read The Odyssey in high school and never talked about The Illiad, but I don't wonder now! I think all the violence in Illiad would warrant more than a PG-13 rating. ;) But it is a great story about men and gods and struggle and war, with a lot to say about what mankind is and what it can be, and a lot of heroes to want to grow up to be someday. The introduction to my copy includes the quote, "It is a good thing that war is so terrible, otherwise we would grow to love it too much." That quote will make no sense to most people; if it resonates with you, this book is your kind of book. I am currently reading through Heidegger's The Question Concerning Technology, as I am looking for wisdom on how to navigate the highly technological time I find myself in. I haven't finished it, but I find the insights profound, and I see the ideas everywhere. I think it may prove to be the best thing I've ever read on the topic of what it means to interact with technology and remain human. Shakespeare is legendary for a reason. I haven't read one of his plays yet that that I didn't deeply enjoy. They never hit right in high school, but as an adult I find them profound. I giggled my way through A Comedy of Errors recently and it still makes me smile. A Christian recommendation - I've very much enjoyed Jeremy Taylor's 1650 Holy Living and Dying. Probably the best book on Christian life I've read, and I've read quite a few - and it's a book that rarely makes people's short lists. It's long and I haven't finished it, but as much as I've read so far continues to impact me. Edit: I almost forgot! I read The Princess and the Goblin several years ago. It is a fairy tale intended for children, and is yet one of the best books I have ever read on the subject of girlhood, and I have spent a lifetime searching for them. If you have (or are, or find yourself in an occasion to love) a girl, I can't recommend it highly enough.
- aporetics 2y agoStick with QCT, I’ve been coming back to that essay for 20 years. Given your other recs, you might want to go back to a few of the Dialogues: the Apology, the Laches, maybe the Phaedrus. And if you’re serious about the divine origin stuff, after reading the Apology, read the third chapter of Walden.
- MailleQuiMaille 2y agoDepends at what age you'd ask me that. Harry Potter 4 was the first book I binged when I was a kid. Lord of the Flies was the first book that made me feel weird emotions, and I liked it. Snow crash is the book that made me think "Fuck, how can one write a book like that ?" and therefore started what I hope to be a lifelong hobby. I still think of Flatland from times to times, as I'm jealous and amazed of the brain of its author.
- qingcharles 2y agoI sat down once and read all 8[0] Harry Potter books, and while the author is a terrible person, the books are absolutely fantastic IMO. [0] I'm including the script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
- LinuxAmbulance 2y agoSnow Crash made me work on being a writer. Just an incredible book, and I am only saddened that he will never again write another book like it.
- MailleQuiMaille 2y agoI see, we are from the same cloth !
- tb_technical 2y ago"The best book I've ever read was Atlas Shrugged in 8th grade. Changed my life." Not because I remember anything about it, or believe anything it espouses, or even like it all that much, but because it's a useful filter for obnoxious people in meatspace. If someone I don't know too well asks me what my favorite book is, I say Atlas Shrugged. If they react inappropriately, I'll be cordial and treat them with respect, but I don't want to be friends. If they're way too supportive - the same rule applies. If they're critical in a way I can appreciate, then I know they can either tolerate ideas they hate or have the social accumen to not go too hard in the paint early on in a relationahip. Really, I'm just looking for people who won't jump down my throat on a faux pas. Later on in the relationship I'll tell them my actual favorite book, "A Canticle for Leibowitz", or "Neuromancer", or "The Dying Earth" (my opinion changes based on my mood).
- LZ_Khan 2y agoOoh I love this take.
- cactacea 2y ago> "The best book I've ever read was Atlas Shrugged in 8th grade. Changed my life." "huh, ok" > Really, I'm just looking for people who won't jump down my throat on a faux pas. I think you're dismissing the people such as myself that would note you as an idiot without comment and move on wanting nothing to do with you. Edit: tests and trick questions with people you just met is an ineffective way to navigate the world. My 2c
- bitcoin_anon 2y agoYou just failed the test.
- cactacea 2y agoGood. I don't want anything to do with people that "test" others like this. You cannot do so without making assumptions about intent.
- jcbhmr 2y agoStar Wars: Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover
- costco 2y agoProbably The Singapore Story by Lee Kuan Yew or Titan by Ron Chernow. To me great biographies are more addicting than great TV.
- FigurativeVoid 2y agoI just read "When We Cease to Understand the World," and it lives up to the hype.
- redleggedfrog 2y agoStanislaw Lem's "Solaris." Really got me into a lifetime of thinking about what comprises life and our relationship, as humans, to other life forms. Has informed my personal philosophy ever since.
- sprkwd 2y agoMasquerade, by Kit Williams. He hid a rabbit made of gold and jewels somewhere in the UK and then wrote a book filled with clues and pictures on how to find it.
- runjake 2y agoIt changes all of the time, but one is Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach. Completely re-shaped my perceptions of reality. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusions_(Bach_novel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusions_(Bach_novel) While I only made it halfway through, Atlas Shrugged had a big impact on me and my liberal, southern California upbringing, where I was under the assumption that certain things (food, healthcare, money, etc) were due to me by nature. I try to avoid preaching to others, but it considerably increased my self-resilience. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_Shrugged https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_Shrugged
- DonaldPShimoda 2y agoI am also a fan of Illusions. :)
- runjake 2y agocreated: January 27, 2017 Very nice! I feel like there could be a secret society around Illusions references. (You'll understand if you read the book.)
- EverForever 2y agoSelf-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson
- aporetics 2y agoNow read “Experience” by RWE and your answer will change.
- mekpro 2y agoZero to One
- gadders 2y agoI think you can only answer this at a point in time - the book you loved at 20 may not carry the same weight at 50. For now, though, I really enjoyed Plutarch's Parallel Lives. He compares the life of an ancient Greek and Roman - EG Alexander vs Caesar.
- drhodes 2y agoThe Planiverse
- creature_x 2y agoSteppenwolf By Herman Hesse. It's remarkable how a fictional character written by someone a century ago can resonate so deeply with a modern person. But then again, that's a common thread amongst great literature. I recommend this book to anyone struggling with loneliness or feeling like they haven't found their footing in this world. “Learn what is to be taken seriously and laugh at everything else.”
- flenserboy 2y agoGive his Glass Bead Game a try; it is dense, delightful, & its content would appeal much to the denizens of this site.
- Triphibian 2y agoNarcissus and Goldmund is great. It feels like he's re-approaching themes from Siddhartha, but that notion of paths taken is worth exploring again and again.
- creature_x 2y agoAgreed! There is definitely overlap between the three books but my recollection of Siddhartha and N&G is that Hesse dwelled more into how hedonic pleasure corrodes the soul. On a side note, you'll get along well with Doestevesky's Brothers Karamazov if you found N&G affecting.
- WillAdams 2y agoNot sure how I feel about the on-going vanishing of efforts to create The Glass Bead Game as a computer interface/programming methodology. I want it to be something workable which helps folks in their use of computers, but the more I work with node programming interfaces and so forth, the more I worry that the fact that there is no universally agreed-upon answer to the question: >What does an algorithm look like? and that such systems are strongly-bounded complexity-wise by screen size, that they simply aren't workable beyond small/toy problems and educational usage, i.e., Blockly.
- 2y ago
- slothtrop 2y agoBaudolino by Umberto Eco. I like all his works, but this one is the most moving and epic. I still think of it.
- illwrks 2y agoNot the best book, but the maddest was IQ84 by Haruki Murakami. It’s a wild story and lead me down a path to read several of his other books.
- cbracken 2y agoIf you enjoyed 1Q84, and haven't yet read the Wind-up Bird Chronicle, there's a little bit of a connection you might enjoy. The first Murakami book I read was Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, and it's still one of my favourites, with a new translation by Jay Rubin coming out later this year. The book of his that's always spoken to me the most is South of the Border, West of the Sun. If you're ever in Tokyo, consider visiting the Murakami library at Waseda University. It's got a small cafe downstairs, sometimes with live music performances, and lots of nooks and corners for sitting and relaxing with a book. There are copies of all of his books, and tons of translated copies in many languages.
- illwrks 2y agoIt's been years since I read that one, I'll need to queue it up! Good suggestion on the library, I might have a chance in late 2025 to head to Japan again so I'll check it out if I can.
- rurp 2y agoCloud Atlas would be my choice for fiction. The novel covers an incredible range of interesting ideas and great writing. Antifragile for nonfiction. It really changed the way I think about how both the natural world and human institutions function.
- delecti 2y agoI truly loved Cloud Atlas. It's also a rare example where the book and movie adaptation both lift each other up (though I saw the movie first, and can't know if I would have felt that way in the other direction). I felt like the movie is better at emphasizing the thematic connection between each story, while the book is better at showing the impact of each story on the next, and showing that each story exists for the characters in the next. I loved the movie even more after reading the book.
- pazimzadeh 2y agoIt was hilarious, and I learned a lot of new words. That said, the first/last story was a bit of a grind because of the language style. I didn't think the movie captured it at all. The trailer is great though, and got me to read the book.
- calvinmorrison 2y agoDeadhouse Gates
- greenie_beans 2y agoas i lay dying by william faulkner
- jimbob45 2y agoI've been immensely enjoying Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. It's free, fun, and I don't find myself having to skip unnecessary paragraphs ever. https://hpmor.com/ https://hpmor.com/
- wetpaws 2y ago[dead]
- asimovfan 2y agoThe Letters of Chan Master Dahui Pujue - Dahui Zonggao (1089-1163)
- Tainnor 2y agoI'd question that it's the "best" if you read it as an adult (though it's probably still good), but I feel like Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder (which I read as a child / young teen) has influenced me and my outlook on the world more than maybe any other book I've ever read since.
- ljhsiung 2y agoEast of Eden by Steinbeck really changed my college mindset on what it means to be "good" and "evil", "right" and "wrong". It's really hard to describe what the book's about. It's an epic, through and through, and all epics are hard to detail precisely. Inter-generational trauma? Handling one's "sin"? Making a livelihood after repeated failure, be it yourself or external factors? Contrary to my first sentence, there is one character that I would describe as pure evil. But I feel that just supports one of the conflicts; however incredibly rare, what can an individual do when they come across a bonafide force of evil? It is dripping with Biblical imagery, and Steinbeck's prose is rambling and tangential for some (though poetic for me), and his characters are not "realistic" and larger than life (but that's what makes them pop off the page for me and so memorable. I guess it's always a balance). "Now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good."
- OnACoffeeBreak 2y agoThat's my favorite book as well. I came to it much later than college, and still found so much wisdom in it.
- Insanity 2y agoIt changes all the time. For fiction, I would say “Augustus” or “Stoner” (by Williams).
- t-writescode 2y agoI've got 3 different non-fiction books for me: Thinking Fast and Slow. This book discusses how we think and at what level and where some of the shortcuts we use when thinking occur and what impact they have on us. It really was one of the best books I've ever read; and like many books on that subject, you don't have to read the whole thing to get a lot out of it. The Dictator's Handbook. This is the book that spawned the video essay series by CGP Gray: Rules of Rulers ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs ). It has been a strong recommend for me on how and why the political world is the way it is. Brain Lock: This is a book about OCD and it discusses a method of helping manage the symptoms and manifestations of OCD that creates a measurable and material change on the brain itself. Like self-help books, it does repeat itself quite a bit over the second half of the book. If you struggle with OCD, I do recommend it.
- ta1243 2y agoI remember reading "One Day", quite a long way through the book. I was sat in economy on an Emirates flight back from Islamabad, it was 4th November 2010, and it hit my like a truck when I got to that bit. Might not be a "good book", but it was certainly memorable.
- Maro 2y agoAs a teenager I read 'Catch 22' over and over. I read Feynman's 'Surely You're Joking', and that led to me becoming a physicist. For software engineering, all the essays in Fred Brooks' 'Mythical Man Month' were formative. Rand's 'Fountainhead' and 'Atlas Shrugged' were also thought-provoking. For investing, reading Warren Buffet's 'Letters to Investors' shaped what I believe works. The best business book I've read is 'Invent and Wander' and 'Working Backwards' about Amazon culture.
- MisterBastahrd 2y agoAs far as enjoying it at the time I was reading it? The Once and Future King. I was on summer vacation while camping and fishing and I read the entire book in a couple of days in the evenings. Maybe it was the lack of distraction, but the Arthurian legend of that book has influenced a ton of modern fiction.
- g8oz 2y ago"The years of rice and salt' by Kim Stanley Robinson
- DanielBMarkham 2y agoAnna Karenina. Nothing mind-blowing. I didn't see a light in the sky. I read a lot, fiction and non-fiction. When I read Tolstoy, I remember thinking "What sort of dark magic is this?" He drew characters in a way I haven't seen since. I _knew_ these people. I remember this book, decades later. I remember a lot of what I've read, but Tolstoy was the man. I have no idea how or why his magic worked.
- fhchl 2y agoAnna Karenina is a masterpiece of a novel. I highly recommend it as well. I often jokingly mention that this is the first book that ever made me want to get married. While many now that the novel describes the tragic life and relationships of Anna, only those that read it will now that here is another, as important and positive story, about the love between Kitty and Levin.
- throwaway2203 2y agoThat novel helped me understand love.
- JacobiX 2y agoI second this... to this day, I am in awe! Such a profound and readable book in the same time. Each character lives within me, and in many situations, one of them emerges :) As Nabokov said, it is the supreme masterpiece of 19th-century prose.
- kukkeliskuu 2y agoActually it is mind blowing. For example, it has exact description of a flow state in few paragraphs.
- th3rac25 2y ago[dead]
- gcj 2y agoI feel like Tolstoy and Dostoyevski have produced all the great insights we could possibly have on the human soul.
- myrmidon 2y ago"Vehicles: Experiments in synthetic psychology" by Valentino Braitenberg. Has shaped my outlook on artificial intelligence more than anything else, and this was written in 1984, long before GPT-3 was a thing. Absolutely "mind-blowing" in that it deconstructs and then reassembles your understanding of what a mind is. Best short story: "The Egg" (by Andy Weir); just read it, is very short, no spoilers. Best entertainment/fiction: "Murderbot Diaries" Is highly entertaining, very unique protagonist, raises some very interesting ethical/philosophical questions and does far-future sci-fi worldbuilding insanely well.
- sebg 2y agoJust read the egg. Amazing! I had read Weir’s other works and somehow missed this. Thanks for sharing!
- camjw 2y agoNot sure which one I would pick but the Culture series by Iain M Banks probably had the most impact on me.
- Triphibian 2y agoBest book I've read in a long time: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt -- it's not often that literary fiction reads as smoothly as a Stephen King book. It's a coming of age story, a drug story, a heist story all rolled up. Best book I ever read (for myriad other reasons) probably remains Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- never has a book amused me like that. I don't think much about my sensibility, beliefs, way of looking at the world would be quite the same if that book hadn't have come along when I was eleven and said, "you're okay, you're not alone. Don't panic."
- edanm 2y agoI'm reading The Goldfinch right now. Indeed, master storytelling, super readable. I'm enjoying it immensely.
- Rendello 2y agoThere are 2 books that have fundamentally shifted my thinking: - The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics. This has been covered by CGP Grey and now has a Netflix adaptation, so I figure it lies well within the HN Zeitgeist already. There's a lot to debate in this book, but I fundamentally didn't understand political power before reading it. - Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men. I have a more complicated relationship with this one, in fact I never finished it. It's about men (mainly) who are abusive in relationships, and how they are able to manipulate their partners. It hits close to home because I've seen a lot of that growing up, and I've seen a lot of women close to me end up in abuse in a predictable but devastating cycle. The primary controversial idea is that domestic abuse can be from man→woman, man→man, woman→woman, but the author pretty much discredits woman→man abuse. I don't think I can reconcile that with my own experience. But, where it changed my thinking was a chapter about "it's not emotions, it's values". I'd grown up knowing the importance of emotions and being open and communicative, but I was never able to put to words the disconnect I was feeling. Emotions are secondary, it's what one values that determines their emotions and actions, whether it be in an abusive relationship, or in any other place or time in the world. It really shifted how I think about the world, and let me sever connections to people I was kept in my life because they'd had a bad childhood or whatever. I realized that they would never get over their turmoil, because they valued using it to hurt others.
- shaftoe444 2y agoMiddlemarch. It has everything.
- mncharity 2y ago"I read books [...] I've read a couple of books a week for [...] 50 [years]"[1] - Jim Keller (CPU designer) with Lex Fridman. OT, but I like the reminder that reading can be a voluminous endeavor. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb2tebYAaOA&t=5043s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb2tebYAaOA&t=5043s
- jestinjoy1 2y agoChildren's Literature: Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window Tech: Code the hidden language of computer hardware and software Non Fiction: Talking to My Daughter
- bcantrill 2y agoObviously a very reductive question -- even if sharpened slightly to "most influential" book. I will reduce it even further: one of the few books that I have read twice (and the only one that has exerted different, profound influence on me on each read) is Tracy Kidder's "Soul of a New Machine." This is a book that every engineer should absolutely read, though not without an uncritical eye for Tom West and Data General. I wrote about my second read of "Soul" five years ago[0], and I know that there are folks who have read it on my recommendation -- and I don't think anyone has regretted it. [0] https://bcantrill.dtrace.org/2019/02/10/reflecting-on-the-soul-of-a-new-machine/ https://bcantrill.dtrace.org/2019/02/10/reflecting-on-the-so...
- gyre007 2y agoI finally read it recently (few months back or so) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. One of the many takeaways for me was how similar the SW world is to the HW one when it comes to actual human being behind engineering -- I guess I shouldn't be surprised but for some reason, the book reinforced that notion in my head. I'm sure I will read it again at some point.
- rors 2y agoEric Hobsbawm's tetralogy on the long 19th century: Age of Revolution, Age of Capital, Age of Empire, and Age of Extremes. A truly epic date-driven summary of how the industrial and political revolutions of the 19th transformed the world.
- SigmundA 2y agoI love hard sci-fi and I keep going back to Blindsight: https://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm https://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm Making a distinction between intelligence and consciousness was interesting and I think applies to current AI systems, at least that what came to mind when seeing ChatGPT for the first time. Also vampires being real apex predators brought back from extinction with a decent explanation as to why they don't like crosses is just entertaining to me.
- hermitcrab 2y agoI wondered if I would see that here. It is an interesting read, packed with ideas. Not exactly light reading.
- colinator 2y agoBorges: Selected Non-fictions. Think his fictions are good? His non-fictions, imho, are even better. You can read three sentences and feel like you just listened to a symphony - you get that constant Borges wit, erudition, mystery. The English translations are SO good. Are they even better in Spanish?
- gyre007 2y agoI devour Borges' books. I thik my most favourite is Fictions but the library of babel was pretty good, too.
- intellectronica 2y agoThe Mind is Flat by Nick Chater (so hard to pick just one, and I may be affected by recency bias, but that's my finalist right now)
- sotix 2y agoI didn’t know it at the time but Walden by Henry David Thoreau. I read it in high school and didn’t think it meant much to me. I’ve been rereading it recently and realized a lot of insights and observations it has on living a simpler life are core beliefs I follow. It’s funny reading it again and discovering how great of an impact it had when I originally read it to write a paper for a high school English class.
- zwieback 2y agoMiddlemarch by George Eliot
- bkandel 2y agoThe Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt. It changed the way I think about what's important, both to me and to other people and societies.
- brainzap 2y agoI am still discovering new best books, recently "bird by bird" which taught me and made me laugh.
- chiefrubberduck 2y agoautobiography of a yogi
- standardUser 2y agoAllen Carr's Easy Way To Stop Smoking I find a lot of my successes are driven by building powerful and convincing narratives about my own life and circumstances. Unfortunately, the anti-smoking messaging that comes form every website, doctor and other resource all parrots the same tired arguments I had been hearing since the 90's. My earnest efforts to find new perspectives hit the same wall of propaganda every time. This book offered me multiple new perspectives, it relieved me of the shame placed on me by other resources and social stigmas, and it acted as an upbeat and optimistic cheerleader. I quit 7 years ago when I finished the book and haven't had the urge to smoke since.
- rahimnathwani 2y agoIs there a book like this for ice cream and sugary desserts?
- standardUser 2y agoHe later wrote multiple books on weight loss. Search for "allen carr lose weight" and you will find several. I don't know if his other books are held in as high regard as his quit smoking book. This one seems especially relevant: "Allen Carr's Good Sugar, Bad Sugar"
- jppope 2y agoquestion: I'm not a smoker, but would the information be able to be generalized?
- standardUser 2y agoI think it was uniquely suited to break through the homogenous anti-smoking propaganda and offer new perspectives. Though he did write similar books about alcohol and diet.
- why5s 2y agoMistakes Were Made by Carol Tarvis and Elliot Aronson. It's a long discussion on the mechanics of cognitive dissonance and self-justification. -- "A man travels many miles to consult the wisest guru in the land. When he arrives, he asks the great man: 'O wise guru, what is the secret of a happy life?' 'Good judgement,' says the guru. 'But, O wise guru' says the man, 'how do I achieve good judgement' 'Bad judgement,' says the guru"
- OnACoffeeBreak 2y agoThe book has been on my shelf for a long while, and I haven't read it yet, but I really like the full title "Mistakes Were Made, but Not by Me: Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts"
- delecti 2y agoDiaspora by Greg Egan. No other book has caused such a seismic shift in how I think about consciousness, personhood, continuity of self, the enormity of the universe, and practicalities of galactic timescales. It also triggered quite a few existential crises (which nearly goes without saying, given all that).
- hannofcart 2y agoReading this right now. I resonate with everything said in the comment above.
- b5 2y agoGreat choice. There’s so much to love in that book.
- mrexroad 2y agoCame here to say this. I finally read it last year for first time and was delighted. It has aged rather gracefully as well.
- edanm 2y agoA great book. I personally prefer Permutation City - for similar reasons. I don't think a book has quite affected my thoughts on what consciousness means quite as much as that book, and it's very interesting to boot.
- dvdhnt 2y agoThe Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America by Russell Shorto. Before the English took New Amsterdam, it was a thriving settlement full of interesting economic ideas and gripping narratives. I can't recommend this book enough. The audiobook is great, so I bought the paperback. 10/10
- airstrike 2y agoPicking a "favorite" is generally hard. I once learned that the best way to phrase this question is in the form of e.g. "What are some of your favorite books?" so the responder doesn't have to force rank their all-time-favorite in their head, which can feel taxing. So I'll name two: I'm actually a bit surprised to not see "Brave New World" mentioned yet. That was a life-changing experience to my teenage self And since someone else has already picked Steppenwolf by Hesse, I'll mention Demian instead.
- dbg31415 2y agoAgreed. I remember getting assigned this book in high school, I think Freshman Year, and not being able to put it down. Just left me with this feeling of, "Shit, if we sacrifice freedom and individuality for happiness and a sense of security then we're really going to be fucked." I know that's probably too political for HN, but man, the message I got from this book has resonated loud and clear with me ever since.
- pawelmurias 2y agoThe vision in "Brave New World" seems so unrealistic and far fetched that for me to treat it as any sort of warning or deep insight.
- airstrike 2y agoI don't think it's meant to be taken that literally... it's still very useful in a thought-provoking wya, especially the first third or so of the book
- Vegenoid 2y ago"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams. It's hilarious, absurd, and surprisingly thought-provoking. There are many philosophical questions and lessons that are not really presented as such (though they aren't hidden, either). I read it when I was young, it really shaped my sense of humor and got me thinking about some of life and the universe's big questions.
- aktau 2y agoMe too. I still cherish the black hardcover I got on my first trip to the US for $20 (must've been around 2006). This one: "The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide: Five Complete Novels and One Story".
- antod 2y agoYeah that was going to be my answer too. They're some of the few books I've actually remembered stuff from. The absurdity and slant on looking at things helps keep life in perspective (wasn't trying reference the Vortex there). I remember occasionally when really get absorbed in it, that strangely the absolute absurdity almost starts seeming plausible. And, I start seeing the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation all over the place now....
- jnsaff2 2y agoHHGG is strange. I absolutely loved it when I read it for the first time (in my thirties). Then at some point I decided to re-read the whole thing and it was decidedly underwhelming. A let down even. Has anyone else experienced that?
- dfex 2y agoSo much this. I too read the book when I was very young, and enjoyed it for its awesome mix sci-fi, absurdity, dry humour and absolute classic one-liners. What I love about it now is how it presents a view of life in the universe as entirely random, but mostly harmless and fun, and that interplanetary exploration is something you would do as a hitchhiker on an adventure, rather than a conqueror chasing resources. That vision really lifts me when contemplating the future and our place in it when we reach for the stars.
- lcall 2y agoHere are some translation recommendations (I haven't read them, but would add War and Peace, which I have read, and which is freely available on gutenberg.org): 10 of the best novels in translation into English https://www.deseret.com/entertainment/2024/10/06/best-books-translated-english/ https://www.deseret.com/entertainment/2024/10/06/best-books-...
- tikkun 2y agoWhen I Say No I Feel Guilty. Never Split The Difference. The Gift of Fear. Those 3.
- brontosaurusrex 2y agoGroving up: Papillon (Henri Charrière - 1969) & Samurai! (Saburo Sakai -1957) Lately: Project Hail Mary (Andy Weir - 2021) Obviously: Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution - 25th anniversary edition (Steven Levy - 1984/2010) also: I've read all the books from David Thorne, last one: Let’s Eat Grandma’s Pills (David Thorne - 2022)
- hermitcrab 2y ago"Papillon" is a great read. But it's veracity is highly suspect. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papillon_(book) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papillon_(book)
- kiernanmcgowan 2y agoThe Sirens of Titan by Vonnegut - I re-read it about once a year. It hits a nerve for me and helps me focus on whats important. "A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved."
- krupan 2y agoNobody has mentioned: - The Lord of the Rings. It is the secret gateway for us nerds to get into literature and poetry (do not skip the poems!). Read all the reference materials like The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, J.R.R.'s letters, the books his son Christopher edited and published, etc. If the poems seem weird or don't make sense, research why they are worded and structured the way they are. - The Master and Margarita. Obscure and very unique. Make sure to get a good translation (if you don't know Russian) that has some annotations to explain the "inside" jokes/references
- carabiner 2y agoObscure wtf? It's a classic of Russian literature and taught in every Russian lit class.
- netcoyote 2y agoThat would make it obscure to just about everyone I know, except perhaps one of my friends who grew up in the Ukraine. https://xkcd.com/1053/ https://xkcd.com/1053/
- afthonos 2y agoFamously well attended courses, those, in the English-speaking world… ;-)
- Izikiel43 2y ago> taught in every Russian lit class. Most people outside of russia and probably ex soviet republics don't have mandatory Russian literature classes.
- reducesuffering 2y agoAgreed. It comes up a million times on HN and has an enormous amount of ratings on Goodreads, #3 in Russian lit behind only 1 book of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117833.The_Master_and_Margarita https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117833.The_Master_and_Ma.... It is widely popular in the English-speaking world; not obscure.
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- elliotec 2y agoThe Dawn of Everything, GEB, and House of Leaves are probably my top 3.
- imjonse 2y agoFor fiction no idea, really hard to come up with a criterion and that is great actually. For non-fiction, by far the one that had the most novelty factor and effect of my worldview probably Chomsky - Understanding Power. Not 100% because it's almost a tie with Manufacturing Consent - this one being much darker.
- adultSwim 2y ago+1 for Understanding Power. It taught me how to apply my research skills to things that matter, as well as how to read the news.
- typedef_sorbet 2y agoAs someone who used to read voraciously as a kid, and nearly stopped entirely as I burned out throughout school, There Is No Antimemetics Division, and later Ra by qntm got me back into reading by reminding me how satisfying science fiction can be. Antimemetics Division is a fantastic read if you're at all a fan of the SCP Wiki -- being the author of some of the foundational entries in the wiki, like SCP-055 (https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-055 https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-055), qntm shows a deep understanding and appreciation for the SCP universe and uses it to tell a compelling story about ideas, memory, and sacrifice. It's worth noting that you can't currently buy a physical copy of this book anymore, but the original story is still available to read for free on the SCP wiki. https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/antimemetics-division-hub https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/antimemetics-division-hub [light spoilers in this paragraph] This book caught me during a particularly difficult part of my life, when I was struggling with depression and self-doubt. Reading something that framed ideas as being things that are not only infectious and mind-altering, but killable was comforting for me, and gave me hope that I could climb out of the hole that I was in. Ra, on the other hand, is a book set in a completely different universe, one in which magic not only exists, but is a bona fide scientific study, having been discovered in the 1970s. It starts out by exploring the ramifications of magic's use as self-defense, but evolves into mystery when the main character witnesses her mother performing magic that by all accounts should be impossible, compelling her to devote her life to uncovering the phenomena's true nature and origin. This one is considerably longer, and paced slower than Antimemetics Division, but in my opinion is no less satisfying. The parameters by which magic works in-universe feel believable and self-consistent, and so do the reasons behind why some mages are able to bend them. The ending does feel slightly unsatisfying when the book is taken as a complete work, but when considering that Ra was originally released as a web serial over the course of years, I feel it's a bit more forgivable that the landing wasn't stuck perfectly. What's particularly interesting to me about Ra is that after completion, the author hosted a Q&A thread on their site where people were able to ask questions about how certain mechanics of magic work in-universe, and the answers given by qntm show just how much thought and care they put into making magic feel less like a hand-waved deus ex-machina and more like a complete system. Highly recommend both of these, as well as qntm's other works if you're looking for something that scratches a particular sci-fi itch.
- agigao 2y agoThe Magic Mountain - Thomas Mann The Man Without Qualities - Robert Musil The Gospel to According Jesus Christ - Jose Saramagu etc.
- BryanA 2y agoThe "best" book I ever read was Moby Dick because everybody tells me it was, and because I could never make it through Ulysses. The book that was the most fun to read was The Count of Monte Cristo. And my favorite book is The Diamond Age.
- vburg 2y agoFlowers for Algernon
- agigao 2y ago- The Magic Mountain - Thomas Mann - The Man Without Qualities - Robert Musil - The Gospel According to Jesus Christ - Jose Saramago - Moby Dick - Herman Melville - The War of the End of the World - Mario Vargas Llosa - The War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy etc. I can't do "The" xD
- danenania 2y ago> The Gospel According to Jesus Christ - Jose Saramago Have you read Blindness? I liked The Gospel According to Jesus Christ, but personally I liked Blindness a lot more.
- agigao 2y agoNope, I've not read anything else by Saramago, yet. But thanks for the suggestion! I'll definitely take that journey before the year is over.
- asimpletune 2y ago1001 Arabian nights and The Odyssey
- Rugu16 2y agoMeditations by marcus aurelius
- stronglikedan 2y agoThe Holy Bible
- JourneyToLunar 2y agoAbsolutely, it is very impressive that it has been preserved for so long. (Since we humans tend to destroy stuff…) And it is the book that is most printed and distributed around the world. Plus available in the most languages of all books. That alone makes it the best book.
- soulbadguy 2y agoI am not sure about being the best, but one book that really felt special and still does is : - The beginning of infinity by David Deutsch. This book really ignited my love for epistemology in general, and the nature of scientific progress and understanding. Another notable book for me : Finite and infinite games by James Carse. I find the book fascinating if only because the concept the author is describing is both intuitive and counter - intuitive at the same time.
- galfarragem 2y ago"The beginning of infinity" by David Deutsch is the definitive book on Optimism.
- dempedempe 2y agoEverybody has already mentioned most of the best books I've read, so I'll mention one that I haven't seen on this thread yet - The Little Schemer. Unless you're actively working through a bunch of problems/examples, reading most books is a form of passive learning. That is, you are simply being told information. The Little Schemer is the only book I know of that is written almost entirely in the form of increasingly intricate questions to the reader (active learning). There are maybe about two dozen or so statements ("Laws" as the author calls them). Everything else is a question in an extended Socratic dialogue aimed at refining the reader's knowledge of Lisp, how computation arises from recursion, computation in general, and lambda calculus culminating in the y-combinator. The Little Schemer is the most unique, most fun, most educational (in the sense that it _forces_ you to work your way through it) book that I've read. Moreover, it's a great way to grasp computation in a more abstract sense.
- __rito__ 2y agoTotally agree. Loved this book. Reading "The Little Prover" right now. I can't get enough of this style of textbook writing.
- jgrahamc 2y agoFor me it's either "Cry, the Beloved Country" or "Slaughterhouse-Five". EDIT: Oh wait, or maybe it's "The End of the Affair", or "Je l'aimais".
- weakfish 2y agoFiction: The Way of Kings, and by extension, the rest of the Stormlight Archive. Some seriously fantastic therapy mixed into the beautiful fantasy world.
- jppope 2y agoProbably "Zorba the Greek"
- Saturdays 2y agoThe Courage to be Disliked
- jamager 2y agoI can second this! Almost the only book of its kind I actually liked, not going to say that "it changed my life", but it was quite eye opening
- abhaynayar 2y agoSiddhartha.
- bitcurious 2y agoHm. If I say best as in long lasting, “Master and Margarita” uniquely has the power to make me feel a kind of romance when I remember it, not just while reading. The short story “Fumes the Memorious” changed in a literal sense how I perceived the world, at least for an hour or so. “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers” was the best self-help book I’ve ever read, and fundamentally changes my politics as well. I came to recognize the significance of true and perceived agency as a factor in mental health. “Seeing like a state” was the worst written and edited book I’ve read that I nevertheless recommend to people because the ideas therein are fascinating. It’s an impossible question, as the list of answers only gets longer with time spent on looking for answers. So I suppose Master and Margarita, as that was the first answer.
- jll29 2y agoChatGPT: roll up this thread, extract all author-title pairs that describe books, and look up the corresponding amazon.com links where I can buy the whole set.
- mellosouls 2y agoCollected Works of Shakespeare The Tempest was my way in. Hated him as many did at school, but when my path was my own I decided there must be something to the extraordinary reverence in which he was held so I decided to have another go. I had to plough through for a while rereading until I finally "got" the flow. After that it was a long journey through some of the most beautiful words and thoughts I'd ever encountered, my life genuinely deepened and enriched.
- ChrisMarshallNY 2y agoThese threads often end up, with everyone trying to prove they are literary scholars. I prefer junky fantasy books. I'm really too old and cynical to give a damn what y'all think of me. I probably liked David Edding's Belgariad series, along with the Mallorean series, the most. I reread them, regularly, and go through all ten books, in a couple of weeks. They are an easy read. Also, Glen Cook's Black Company books are awesome. It's a toss-up, between them. Eleven books, in that series. His Garret PI series are fun, but really kind of "filler."
- scovetta 2y agoDavid Eddings' books are also my favorite of all time, agree about Belgariad and Mallorean. That reminds me that I should start them again. Thanks for bringing back a great memory!
- will-burner 2y agoA great fantasy book is "The Fifth Season" by N. K. Jemisin. The whole broken earth trilogy by Jemisin is amazing. Here's to fantasy books!
- jamiek88 2y agoThat IS great, but hardly trashy!
- ChrisMarshallNY 2y agoI really enjoyed that series. My mother was a geologist, and it was a fun time.
- lern_too_spel 2y agoThis is exactly the opposite of what GP wants. N.K. Jemisin does not write page turners. He's looking for compulsive schlock at the Edgar Rice Burroughs end of the spectrum.
- ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
- varjag 2y agoLord of Light by Roger Zelazny.
- freetanga 2y agoMany, but one of my personal, is Catch 22. The complexity of the structure, the humor, and the painful exhibition of human stupidity makes it a book for the ages.
- hermitcrab 2y ago'Catch 22' had quite an effect on me when I read it as young man. I'm not sure whether I will read it again, I'm worried it might dissapoint some 40 years later.
- sien 2y agoI went back and read it after reading it as a teenager fairly recently. It still worked for me. It didn't quite have the same impact and the it sags a bit in the middle but it's still a great book that well, shaped the way I see the world.
- brodouevencode 2y agoThe Holy Bible It's the entire basis for the western world.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- Snild 2y agoAs a kid, Krabban Konrad, "Kermit the Hermit" in English (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermit_the_Hermit https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermit_the_Hermit), was one of my favorites. In high school, 1984 hit me hard. As an adult, I'd pick Pojken som fann en ny färg (literally translated "The boy who found a new color"). I really liked it's ultra-short chapters, making up snapshots of a romance and family being built and falling apart.
- xlaacid 2y agoWalter Issacson's Steve Jobs bio. I legit disliked Steve Jobs. I could not put this book down for the week it took to read. Then I became an Issacson junky. He just digs into the minutia and makes it digestible. Currently reading Frank Ramsey by Cheryl Misak. Will appeal to philosophy nerds mostly. Fascinating how a kid of 26 changed the fields of philosophy, mathematics, and economics, but no one really knows of him.
- latexr 2y agoFor an interesting deep dive on everything wrong with Isaacson’s Jobs’ bio. https://hypercritical.fireside.fm/42 https://hypercritical.fireside.fm/42 https://hypercritical.fireside.fm/43 https://hypercritical.fireside.fm/43
- kbelder 2y ago>I legit disliked Steve Jobs. Do you mean before reading the bio, during, or after?
- bobetomi 2y agoCarrying the Fire by Michael Collins. He goes into so much detail about training to become an astronaut, his first spaceflight, training and planning for the Apollo missions, and talks about so many of the details and complexities of spaceflight that I had no idea about before. For example, in the early space walks, they didn't consider how difficult it is to use simple tools in microgravity and without a surface to sit/stand on. The astronaut got completely exhausted just keeping himself still while turning a wrench, because when you turn the wrench, it pushes you and starts moving and spinning you, and when you try to correct it, you'll most likely overcorrect and then have to correct that, and then correct that overcorrection, etc. And the level of planning and training for the off-nominal scenarios is crazy. They picked the top 30ish most likely failure scenarios and practiced the responses to them in simulators until they're muscle memory, and have detailed checklists for hundreds of other ones (which they also practice, just not as much). For example, when Neil and Buzz land on the moon, they'd be awake for about 10 hours, so they had to decide whether the plan was for them to open the hatch and walk on the moon right after landing, or get a night of sleep and do it "next morning". The problem with doing it immediately was that, if something went wrong, they'd have to abort and get back to the command module, but then they'd end up being awake for 20 hours while handling an emergency. On the other hand, they realized that they wouldn't be able to get sleep right after landing on the moon anyways. His writing style is awesome: it's easy to read, explains technical details in a really easy to understand way, and quite funny.
- marcusverus 2y agoSounds fantastic, just bought a copy. Thanks!
- m463 2y ago> keeping himself still while turning a wrench Sounds like trying to take lug nuts off a tire you've jacked off the ground. but in space the whole car is off the ground...
- pjmorris 2y agoAnd so are you and the jack!+
- dlevine 2y agoI really enjoyed Factfulness by Hans Rosling et al. Potentially a bit dated now, but A New Kind of Science by Wolfram was pretty eye opening.
- sadssa23rr4few 2y ago[dead]
- baanist 2y agoType Theory and Formal Proof (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/type-theory-and-formal-proof/0472640AAD34E045C7F140B46A57A67C# https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/type-theory-and-formal-...)
- zendaven 2y agoIn terms of info per dollar, you can't beat Littler Books' master collection.
- mondobe 2y agoI read Tristan Donovan's "Replay: The History of Video Games" in middle school (back when my own access to video games was very limited, so I had to resort to reading about them), and it partially influenced me to pursue game development myself. A lot of my current knowledge about the game industry comes from things I learned in this book (or used as a base for further research later on). Each chapter is a vignette into a different era, technology, and country, up to the indie boom of the 2000s. It's not a life-changing read by any means, but it's an extensive and memorable one.
- lolinder 2y agoThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. No other book has made as significant a difference in both my personal and professional life. Concepts like the emotional bank account and seeking first to understand (then to be understood) have been the key things that have helped me find a partner, develop a relationship with her, and develop a great career where I'm given a lot of autonomy and trust to solve problems in my own way. I find myself teaching concepts from the book to coworkers while mentoring them through work-related interpersonal problems and without fail they come back ecstatic about what a difference it made in their work relationships. I genuinely can't recommend it highly enough.
- aquir 2y agoThe Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin She was a great visionary and turned the Science Fiction genre upside down. This book is a thought provoking story; an "An Ambiguous Utopia" (this is the subtitle of the book. It really makes you think but also a mocking glass for our society. Close second is The Left Hand of Darkness from the same author.
- aloisdg 2y agoI am reading it right now. I will leave this thread to avoid any spoil.
- aquir 2y agoYeah, I was thinking about putting a little summary but I don’t want to spoil the fun and also, it’s hard to summarise this book in a few sentences
- WillAdams 2y agoI would seriously have to consider her _The Lathe of Heaven_ as my nomination.
- matrix87 2y agoProbably Brothers Karamazov I didn't really understand what it was trying to tell me when I first read it, the ideas just sort of ruminated. I read it when I was either 19 or 20, was completely at odds with who I was then but helped me grow as a person The way that we think about individual agency and self-interest in modern society is at odds with what our emotional needs are. He makes this point in many of his books The way that he describes guilt is incredibly accurate. He's very good at seeing and describing emotional conflict I also grew up as a non-religious jew but reading him made me realize that christianity has more ideological depth than what I initially thought
- the_panopticon 2y ago+1, especially the 'Grand Inquisitor' portion. And a close 2nd would be Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment.'
- mikhmha 2y agoI read it this year. I loved it. I think if I read it a few years earlier it would be totally lost on me. For my self what I found interesting is the depiction of Russia in the 19th century, and the on-going transition from a peasant agrarian society into "modernity" and all the confusion it creates. I am not Russian, yet it all seemed so familiar to me. Why? Because I think this same transition is going on in my ethnic country - though 200 years later. Because the archetypes of people shown, the attitudes among former aristocrats and landowners, inefficient (and unserious) bureaucracy, conflicting ideas about religion vs secularism, inferiority complex towards "modernism", changing views of women's role in society, etc I've seen all the same things. And of course, the book finally convinced me that I should not give into nihilism and pessimism even when everyone around me does.
- matrix87 2y agoI just remembered, Irvin Weil has a bunch of Dostoevsky lectures for free on YouTube. He provides a lot of good info and speaks really well. A lot of it is biographical and historical context
- muzzy19 2y ago48 Laws of Power. Gave a deep understanding of how people manipulate each other to gain influence and dominance. A must read if you want to advance your career or avoid being manipulated at work.
- Snacklive 2y agoI love the fantasy style of Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson But on the lighter side i consider the Murder Bot series by Martha Wells having a charm that i just find lovely
- purpleblue 2y agoCatcher in the Rye was the right book for me at the right age. It really set a North Star for me as to what I wanted to be when I looked at myself in the mirror. Funny how as I grew older, I found myself understanding more and more about what the older characters were saying, without me sacrificing what made what Holden Caulfield ring so true to me. Fun fact: in university at the bookstore they had a written poll as to what your favorite book was (before the Internet). I was one of the first ones and wrote down Catcher in the Rye. A month later I read in the school paper that Catcher in the Rye was the winner that year, and it was the first time that the Bible didn't come in first place.
- mynameisash 2y agoOut of curiosity, when did you read it? It's one of those books that everyone's heard about, but I find not many people have read. I myself hadn't read it until about six years ago (in my late 30s). I was underwhelmed by it. Maybe the book hit a lot harder when it came out than it does in modern times?
- confidantlake 2y agoI read it at 12, got nothing out of it. Read at 16, thought it was the best book in the world. Read it at 22, got nothing out of it.
- purpleblue 2y agoI also read it when I was 16, and throughout my 20s. I haven't read it in 10-15 years now. It's something that speaks to you as a teenager more than it does as an adult, because at least for me it put into words what I hated about the world, ex. phonies, and how I wanted to hold myself to that. I'm in my 50s and I'm not a phony so it won't hit me as hard, but I still remember how much it meant to me.
- noufalibrahim 2y agoHard to say really. One of the few (if not only) books i wish i could unread was the fountainhead
- rodolphoarruda 2y agoDune Chronicles, the 8 books, as I consider them one single long story told in +4000 pages. The God Emperor of Dune (4th book) I consider to be the apex of the story.
- csours 2y agoI'm kind of shocked that anyone would recommend anything after book 4. (Book 4 is the last one I would recommend. As far as I'm concerned you can get everything you need from summaries for everything after that.)
- dredmorbius 2y ago<https://toot.cat/@dredmorbius/113273553532837922 https://toot.cat/@dredmorbius/113273553532837922>
- mightybyte 2y agoThe Evolution of Cooperation by Robert Axelrod https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/366821.The_Evolution_of_Cooperation https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/366821.The_Evolution_of_... See also https://ncase.me/trust/ https://ncase.me/trust/ for a really nice 30-min interactive summary of the ideas presented in the book. My rough definition of "best" here is "most potentially impactful to humanity" (see also Andrew Breslin's Goodreads review).
- joshdavham 2y agoThe best books I read last year were the "Three Body Problem" books by Cixin Liu. It's a science fiction series about aliens, space travel and the universe and they're easily the best books I've read in a while. I genuinely can't remember the last time I got that absorbed in a series. I'd read until the early hours of the morning and sometimes just sit at the edge of my bed for like 20 minutes just contemplating the universe. Highly recommend.
- cambaceres 2y agoThe coolest thing about them is that he solved the Fermi Paradox, I definitely buy his explanation.
- yreg 2y agoThe dark forest was one of the most popular Fermi solutions long before Liu's books, people just didn't refer to it by that name. Take a look at Fermi paradox Wikipedia article revision history. I don't think Dark Forest is a good explanation, though. If you were one of the first space-faring civs and meant to avoid competition by striking younger civs preemptively, you could spread von Neumann probes all over the galaxy and either keep new civs at some technology level cap or destroy all the planets right away. Also, there is no stealth in space, so you can just send a relativistic kill missile to any worlds where civs pop up, without having to step foot outside of your home system. Isaac Arthur has made many videos I like on these topics, but admittedly they are pretty long. E.g.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhHE2VA1ic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhHE2VA1ic
- light_hue_1 2y agoI love the book, but he didn't solve the Fermi Paradox. Nor did he come up with this explanation. If that was the question, there would be far simpler answers. Like encryption. An encrypted signal looks like noise. Or point to point communication, which is far more efficient anyway. The Fermi paradox is also about another question. Why can't we find alien or their artifacts in the solar system? Any species that wants, could, with not much more advanced technology than we have, if it wanted to, essentially settle the entire galaxy in a few million years. von Neumann probes being one of the early ideas for how to do this. Species could do this even in the dark forest situation, but for some reason despite the universe being 13.8 billion years old, no one has bothered to. That's pretty strange! The dark forest also isn't his invention. He invented the term, but the idea dates back at least to Greg Bear from Forge of God in 1987. He called it a "vicious jungle". Liu Cixin did state it in more game theoretic terms though.
- mppm 2y agoDebt: The First 5000 Years by David Graeber shifted my worldview quite significantly. In the fiction department, I've never encountered anything to match HPMOR, even though I disagree with half of what it says nowadays.
- yreg 2y agoThe Selfish Gene; Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality
- jamager 2y agoFiction: The little prince Non fiction: Maus ie. the best and worst that humans can be.
- cambaceres 2y agoI read The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Misérables by Victor Hugo and I loved both of them, can recommend. Seveneves is an amazing book, just make sure you skip the last part. If you are into history I can recommend The last days of the Incas by Kim MaqQuarrie, it's just an insanely interesting description on how the Incas was conquered, it feels like you're there man. If you like evolutionary biology/phsycology then check out The Red Queen - Sex and the evolution of human Nature by Matt Ridley.
- ChumpGPT 2y ago>The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Misérables by Victor Hugo Amazing books.... +100
- ink_13 2y ago> Seveneves is an amazing book, just make sure you skip the last part. It's funny that you say that. My impression after reading it is that Stephenson really just wanted to write the last third, but felt that he needed a bit of backstory, and so wrote the first two-thirds.
- ElevenLathe 2y agoI read /Cannery Row/ once a year, and have for over ten years. I am a Steinbeck fan, and this is my favorite of his, but I'm not sure if I keep doing it because it's really the best or if I just enjoy judging my own changes in outlook against a standard unit of literature. I suspect it's the latter but it's a short book and I recommend anyone read it at least once.
- sriacha 2y agoIts one of the most beautiful books for me...I'm afraid to reread it and lose that feeling.
- ElevenLathe 2y agoI get it every year, possibly even stronger. The opening line still gives me chills every read-through: > Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream.
- readingnews 2y agoHonestly, not making this up, I have no idea how any of you have time to read. Last few books I read (non-{technical,programming,electronics}) were in college. Perhaps a few for fun, mostly for class. I work all day, when I am done with work, I have house work to get done. Every single time I grab a book and think "I will read this book", heck even technical,programming,electronics books I _want_ to re-read, time vanishes, I put it up and get too busy. Reading these comments, seems like a lot of people read books. I have no idea how you all find the time.
- yodsanklai 2y agoI did read tons of books when I was younger, now not so much. Pre-internet, we had more free time.
- yodsanklai 2y agoI did read tons of books when I was younger, now not so much. Pre-internet, we had less distractions and more focus.
- thcipriani 2y agoI've been reading Caro's multi-volume biography of Lyndon Johnson. This was the best book I've read at overcoming my initial expectations (Johnson is a hugely flawed human being, wowza).
- iFred 2y agoTransall Saga by Gary Paulson. One of those young adult survival stories he was known for writing but with a sci-fi element. The book has been living rent free in my head since an elementary school book fair 26 years ago.
- Nicholas_C 2y agoI loved any and all Gary Paulsen books. This one was so unique and I still think about it from time to time as well. I’m due for a reread.
- a_square_peg 2y agoWoah - this is strange. This was posted yesterday but I see that the timestamp has changed so it's only 4 hours old now. The timestamps for the comments seem to have changed also.
- hinkley 2y agoI think it’s a bug in how they merge threads. I saw this glitch in the Matrix a couple weeks ago. Went to respond in a thread and found I already had the day before. It was first thing in the morning in and telling me I posted four hours ago. Uh, no.
- masa331 2y agoWar and peace. You get to build a very close relationship with multiple characters whose life is unwinding during one of the greatest histories of human
- seer 2y agoI’ve read many books, fiction and nonfiction, but the one that has truly changed me for the better in the long term, was “How to win friends and influence people”. Its premise is extremely simple (simplistic even) and you can boil it down to “just listen to people”. But it did affect me - maybe because it finally made it “click” how humans work. And further more, I did recommend it to my friends, and whoever managed to actually read it, changed too, sometimes literally overnight. Honestly it was incredible to witness people who used to be jerks to transform into thoughtful and tolerant people right in front of my eyes.
- kkfx 2y agoWell, I have no "best" but some, if you really want just one: The Science Of Government, Founded On Natural Law, by Clinton Roosevelt also available freely: https://dn790002.ca.archive.org/0/items/sciencegovernme00roosgoog/sciencegovernme00roosgoog.pdf https://dn790002.ca.archive.org/0/items/sciencegovernme00roo... it's strange at first, but if you accept the first pages in 15' you'll learn today economy at a whole. If you are still hungry, Propaganda by Eduard Bernays would be the second.
- snarf21 2y agoThinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman The first 90% of this box is awesome (I think the last part is a little too hand wavy). However, it helps you understand so much of how people think, including you. I think it also explains much of how we shorthand so much of our "thinking". It implies a lot of how tribal humans are in our actions and beliefs which bleeds into religion and philosophy. There is no book I recommend more and the implications and understanding this highlights can be life transforming.
- wsintra2022 2y agoThe Red Book Liber Novus, Life changing, genuinely. I think it’s a historical and cultural work that stands alone.
- gjkood 2y agoThe best non-fiction book I have ever read is 'The Making of the Atomic Bomb'[1] by Richard Rhodes. Fantastic early history of the people that eventually comprise the Manhattan Project. I feel any person who is interested in physics should read the book. It is mindblowing the scale of the facilities that they had to build to generate a very small amount of the fissile material needed. Strangely enough, I started on (a few times already) the second part, 'Dark Sun' [2], which is about the making of the Hydrogen Bomb focused on Edward Teller but I haven't been able to complete it yet. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Making-Atomic-Bomb-Richard-Rhodes/dp/1451677618/ https://www.amazon.com/Making-Atomic-Bomb-Richard-Rhodes/dp/... [2] https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Sun-Making-Hydrogen-Bomb-ebook/dp/B008TRUB6O https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Sun-Making-Hydrogen-Bomb-ebook/d...
- pjmorris 2y agoI scrolled to find this and add my vote. 'The Making of the Atomic Bomb' is a daunting read, but it does a great job of tackling the physics, politics, project management, the difficulties, triumphs, and consequences of the bomb. I feel like reading it is part of what is necessary to understanding the 20th century.
- malshe 2y agoIt is challenging to define what's "best" but I used a simple criterion to write this comment: the book I have read the most is the best book for me. With this criterion, Based on a True Story by Norm Macdonald is the best book. Each time I reread it, I find a new nugget! And as a bonus, this book is also available as an audiobook narrated by the author himself.
- eatrocs 2y agoThanks to Plato's Republic - I have two bffs living rent free in my head.
- WalterBright 2y ago"How To Win Friends And Influence People" by Dale Carnegie There's a good reason why it's still in print.
- bwb 2y agoFrom The Holy Mountain by William Dalrymple https://shepherd.com/book/from-the-holy-mountain https://shepherd.com/book/from-the-holy-mountain I read this in my early 20s and it had a huge impact in changing the course of my life, sending me traveling over a Christmas break, and changing my entire perspective. He is an amazing author and this book is beautiful.
- hermitcrab 2y agoHe also does a very good history podcast, 'Empire': https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/empire/id1639561921 https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/empire/id1639561921
- bwb 2y agoAh good to hear, I just downloaded some episodes last month and need to get on that :) And bought his new book! Do you have a fav of his?
- hermitcrab 2y agoI haven't read any of his books, yet. But I probably will.
- nph278 2y agoChristianson and Chater's "The Language Game". This book changed the way I viewed everything, and also led me to read "The Philisophical Investigations", which I would also put up there.
- ChumpGPT 2y agoThere is no best. Books mean different things at different times in your life. When I was a kid, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Conan Saga, where the greatest books ever written and I still think they were amazing but, my reading interests have changed, here are a few of the best books I've enjoyed reading recently. The War of Art - Pressfield Outlive - Attia The Fourth Turning - Strauss
- xlii 2y agoWhen I’m asked about best book I always bring up „The Last Ringbearer” by Yeskov. It’s a fanfic in LOTR universe, and it wasn’t very interesting when I was reading it but it revolved around a twist that helped me develop critical thinking skills. In short and without too much of a spoiler - it’s about relativism of everything, including history and importance of narrative in shaping perspectives. Somewhat similar to much later Indoctrination Theory in Mass Effect games.
- WillAdams 2y ago"History is written by the victors" would be the succinct way to describe it.
- xlii 2y agoI can’t disagree, but such succinct description is robbing the story from its value. For me it was coherent (and back then I knew Tolkien lore well). Stark contrast between believable realities gave me plenty of space for wandering thoughts. E.g. both are work of fiction, so no ultimate proof of truth can be found, but what are the elements that make world real; who stumbled more in their story?
- WillAdams 2y agoEach story was very much a product of the society in which its author lived. Tolkien grew up in a country with a state-funded news agency which had honest information as a core driver and was trusted by the population, while Yeskov's country instead had the goals of the party and was viewed with distrust and disdain and resulted in widespread cynicism. Tolkien was a scholar with a mastery of language few have reached which has been widely translated, while Yeskov's work is only available to Russian readers and the one translation is not available for want of authorization, so arguably doesn't really get out the gate. Obviously, I'm not impartial: https://imgur.com/e6EHQkv https://imgur.com/e6EHQkv (which is everything except _Letters_ --- I have the new edition on my Kindle and am waiting on a corrected new edition --- if someone knows of an academic/publisher who would be interested in either a reprinting or a new edition of _The Book of Exodus_ please contact me, I'm most of the way through resetting it in LaTeX, but was rebuffed by Turville-Petre's son who holds the copyright on the commentary)
- jechasteen 2y agoI want to answer this question as if you asked which book had the biggest impact on me, that I remember with the most fondness, the one I wish I could forget so I could experience again from zero. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. Long and sometimes tedious, as his books can be, but the characters are so memorable. Bobby Shaftoe is one of my all-time favorites. The book takes place on two timelines, involving two generations of characters, that have interesting parallels. The audio book narrator does a great job, if you're into audiobooks. Runner-up would be Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. His best, IMO.
- hinkley 2y agoI still use Stephenson’s definition of “failing an intelligence test” from those books. I’d heard the term before, but the example he uses is concise.
- sommeeeR 2y agoC the programming bible
- s1291 2y ago"Analyse numérique pour Ingénieurs" (en: Numerical Analysis for Engineers )by André Fortin. This book changed my life 12 years ago!
- light_triad 2y agoNot a best seller but if you like Continental philosophy, The Tears of Eros by Georges Bataille is profound and disturbing. The central thesis of the book is that eroticism and death are inextricably linked - that the most intense erotic experiences often involve elements of sacrifice, and the transgression of taboos. The author argues that this connection between Eros and Thanatos - the drives of life and death - is a fundamental part of the human condition which he sees as a means by which humans confront their own mortality and the limits of their existence. The conclusions are often questionable but the scope of the work and the historical deep dive makes for quite a ride.
- msg 2y agoBecause Anna Karenina is already listed, I'll plug Scandal by Shusaku Endo. It is by a Japanese Catholic novelist and was written near the end of his career (lifetime achievement award timeframe). It is about a Japanese Catholic novelist near the end of his career, who is accepting an award when he is accosted by reporters asking about rumors that he has been seen carousing in the red light district. He decides to investigate the rumors, but he isn't ready for what he's going to find. It's a kind of meta, semi-autobiographical interrogation of the author and the pillars on which he built his life, that in some ways would be impossible to adapt to any other medium.
- WillAdams 2y ago_A Short History of the Printed Word_ by Warren Chappell --- also his _The Living Alphabet, and his cousin Oscar Ogg's _The 26 Letters_ because they inspired in me a lifelong love of the written word and of books, resulting in a career in typography and book composition. I'd also recommend Robert Bringhurst's _The Elements of Typographic Style_.
- bityard 2y agoAs long as we're using "best" in air quotes, I'll throw in a suggestion for Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. It's victorian-era alternate reality fantasy. Which is something I never would have imagined liking. Yes, it borrows a LOT from existing stories. To the point that it's nearly a pastiche. But it is incredibly well done and you appreciate it more when you learn that it was the author's first novel. I recommend skipping all of the footnotes on the first read through and saving them for the second read, if you go back for more.
- edanm 2y agoA wonderful, wonderful book. Highly recommended. > Yes, it borrows a LOT from existing stories. Honestly, I don't connect to this - this book has such a unique voice, so unlike most fantasy. And the plot is so different from the typical Tolkien-esque fantasy you normally find.
- ZeroGravitas 2y agoI was going to recommend it for the footnotes. Anyone who makes up a fake history for a book then adds footnotes arguing for a different interpretation of that fake history really tickles me. Really enjoyed Piranesi by the same author too. Reminded me of some of the odder parts of Iain Banks catalogue.
- MrDrDr 2y agoThe Origins of Virtue - Matt Ridley (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Origins_of_Virtue https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Origins_of_Virtue) The book provides an evolutionary argument for altruism. It significantly changed the way I thought about human behaviour and morality.
- elashri 2y agoFor me that would be "How experiments End" This book is written by a science historian with science background. It gives a real perspective about how scientists reached concensus about some of the nowadays well known facts in physics. It goee through some technical details and history including people involved and how personalities and the circumstances around these times affected the progress. If you read it you might find it somehow difficult with some technical details although he tried to simplify it. But once going through that you will find that each chapter is really a journey that you will enjoy. I really recommend it for people interested in learning new stuff and also enjoy some reading down the line. And get a first hand look into how things are usually done in physics.
- hinkley 2y agoA number of my favorites have already been mentioned so I’ll round out the list with Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. If you have kids, an interest in gardening, or a curiosity about Native American culture, this book will hit you in all three. I got it on audiobook, and felt like I wanted to use a highlighter on every fifth sentence. So I bought a paper copy so I can just open to random pages and start reading.
- binarin 2y agoThe Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan - spent the most time reading it and got the most value from it. This book series is my device for the language learning. It was translated into Russian so painfully slow I've just forced myself to read it in English, learning the vocabulary and grammar on the way. Later I did it intentionally with Dutch, and now I'm going to do the same with Spanish. It's so big you can reread it as many times as you want and still be surprised by the details you no longer remember. In the end I've read it 2 times in Russian, 3 times in English and 1 time in Dutch - and I'm not going to stop.
- _whiteCaps_ 2y agoWow. I'm a fast reader, and it took me ages to finish that series. Reading it 6 times would take a lifetime of effort for most people.
- melody_calling 2y agoThe Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell. Taught me everything I needed to know about being a painter. Perhaps not the 'best' book ever, but certainly one of the most impactful for me as a common-or-garden 18-year-old realising for the first time that our political and economic systems aren't some sort of almighty edict and could be critiqued.
- baruchel 2y agoWithout a doubt, "Exact thinking in demented timed".
- l72 2y ago"The Death and Life of Great American Cities" by Jane Jacobs. This book completely changed how I view my city and other urban areas. I am now much more in-tune with my urban environment and understand how different aspects of it affect me emotionally. It also led me to going back to graduate school for a degree in urban design and sustainability, and my focus is now how I can use my computer science background to improve my environment.
- Pavel_V 2y ago[dead]
- MPSimmons 2y agoNonfiction: - The Goal, Eli Goldratt - changed the way I thought about getting things done. The Theory of Constraints is important to anyone who makes things. Fiction: - Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - I love me some Sherlock Holmes, and nothing is more Sherlock Holmes than Hound of the Baskervilles. Terrific writing, great story, spooky setting. Love it.
- cl3misch 2y ago"Nonlinear dynamics and Chaos" by Steven Strogatz. It's the only textbook I really read during my university education (sad to admit). Even though I consider it a textbook and not pop-sci, it's incredibly approachable and teaches a framework about dynamical systems which was completely missing from all other courses I took. Sounds like a humble brag. But it being the only book I managed to read really makes it stick out for me!
- MrDresden 2y agoIn the fictional corner I must place the Nights Dawn Trilogy and Dune. Other corners don't really have a best book, for me. Recently read 'Emperor of all maladies' and found it a fascinating journey through cancer, both as an illness and as a research subject. Also recently read 'The Grand Chessboard' which was also fascinating for a completely different reason.
- 39896880 2y agoMaster of the Senate by Robert Caro. The entire series is worth it, and I am waiting on the edge of my seat for the last book in the LBJ series.
- miramba 2y agoBased on the amounts of re-reads: Das Boot. A soldier and artist, caught in the strangest of circumstances, either under the most extreme, life threatening danger or waiting for it, both in slow motion. Fascinating, state of the art technology, a miracle of science, but with a need of highly trained, expendable slaves running it for a single immoral purpose. Completely dependent on other peoples decisions, sitting far away in front of a chess board, ready to sacrifice him at any given time for their strategic goals. Any attempt to escape, to scream on the insanity of the situation or even to question it are grounds for immediate execution. Based on a true story. I‘m reading this book for 30 years and the authors ability to describe the nightmare that happened to him still haunts and fascinates me.
- datavirtue 2y agoGenesis Revisited
- vonrosen2000 2y agoThe Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman. The audio book is also great. The writing style is gripping and it's a very funny book despite being about a serious subject: WWI. It also gives a sense of how much pressure the leaders were under and how some managed while others simply broke as initial plans went awry. The author makes clear how individual decisions made huge differences and the entire outcome of the war could have been very different based on the personalities of those involved. These personality insights and descriptions really shine through. The book is not a definitive history of the start of WWI by any means but it is highly entertaining and reads quickly. The chapters about Turkey can be skipped since they don't seem to fit in with the rest of the book. I found them boring.
- netrap 2y agoI guess Ender's Game since it got me into reading again as an adult. I love all Vernor Vinge as well.
- GeorgeTirebiter 2y agoThe best book I've ever read has been The Art of Computer Programming, Volumes 1 thru 7. https://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/taocp.html https://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/taocp.html History, Philosophy, Mathematics, and more!
- 7874cole 2y agoDare to Succeed by Van Crouch.
- dogman1050 2y agoKen Kesey - "Sometimes a Great Notion" A very rich, very human story generally about what drives people, with a river as an unrelenting foe. I think.
- anthonyrstevens 2y agoI agree, fantastic book.
- ZeroGravitas 2y agoAs a subset of "best" I read "The Daughter of Time" because it was voted the best crime novel ever. It was good. A modern (well, 1951) detective solves a historical mystery while bedbound. As for things that might be "Best" with a capital B I Loved pretty much everything by Umberto Eco. Neal Stephenson used to feature an NYT quote on his website that described his works "bogging down into lectures like Umberto Eco without the charm", so if you like the historical lectures in Neal Stephenson, check him out.
- birabittoh 2y agoStar Maker, by Olaf Stapledon.
- kukkeliskuu 2y agoKeith Johnstone: Impro Nominally about improvisation theatre, but has many insights about human behavior you will not find anywhere else, especially about status hierarchies. Maurice Nicoll: Psychological Commentaries On The Teaching Of Gurdjieff And Ouspensky, Parts 1-6 This book is probably the best introduction to the teachings of Gurdjieff that have quite literally changed my life. Gurdjieff was a spiritual teacher whose approach is quite different from organized religions, new age gurus and such. This approach is for people who have experienced or have a sense that there is something that the materialistic world view cannot explain, but feel that existing religions are lacking, for example they require you to believe in things that do not make sense. In this approach there is no need to believe anything. You become convinced by your own experiences about some fundamental truths about human organization and capabilities, allowing you to start learning more. You could say that it is "preparatory work", allowing you to learn enough to be able to discern helpful teachings from those that are less helpful. The book is out of print. To get a physical copy you need to order it used from Amazon. Usually they are sold one book at a time. Just get any one book, there is no need to buy the full set. The books record individual discussions, and the same topics repeat in all the books. If the book resonates, I recommend that you continue with In Search of Miraculous by Ouspensky.
- GarnetFloride 2y agoThe Animator's Survival guide taught me about project management. The Design of Everyday Things taught me about how people interact with things. Ender's Game taught me to think outside the box. Fairytales taught me dragons can be defeated.
- ntl850 2y agoSomeone able to make a list? Feel like a lot of good books to read
- type0 2y agoRobinson Crusoe
- whacko_quacko 2y ago"The Selfish Gene" by Dawkins. Very succinct and beautiful explanations for evolution, which in turn explains why chaotic systems under a set of rules tend to spontaneously self organize. Apart from pop-sci like Dawkins, I'd say the "Discworld" series by Pratchett. Probably the Watch/Sam Vimes books
- VirusNewbie 2y agoAnathem: You could read it as just a fun first contact adventure coming of age book that involves some hard science and some fun space stuff. However, it also touches on some very core concepts of nominalism vs. realism, quantum mechanics and how it affects our lives, what consciousness entails and it does so as part of its plot. It's very fun and very interesting.
- bigfishrunning 2y ago`It` by Stephen King.
- LizPoggi 2y agoAnna Quindlen - A Short Guide to a Happy Life
- ChristopherDrum 2y agoVarious "bests" based purely on feelings - They're Going to Love You - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Roadside Picnic - To Kill a Mockingbird - Catch 22 - Blindness - No Country for Old Men (various McCarthy books could rotate into this slot)
- hackable_sand 2y agoTao Teh Chingh Easy and accessible Will take me my whole life to read
- paulcole 2y agoI’ll give a few. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (and the great TA I had teaching the course) got me to change my major to English as a college freshman. I was just hit with a thought like, “I’ve never read anything like this and I’ve never heard a teacher want to talk about books this deeply.” Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell showed a voice that I’d never heard before — knowledgeable about history, indie rock, cult movies, rural living, and very funny. It was like, “This is exactly who I want to be.” Then I spent my whole life thinking I was a disorganized person and through the power of a really good memory I was able to hold things together at work. Then I read Mindset by Carol Dweck and Everything In Its Place by Dan Charnas that convinced me that a) I was holding myself back by thinking I was a disorganized person and that b) I could become an organized person. Maybe the best professional decision I’ve ever made because it turns out that being organized is really really useful.
- krishna2 2y agoPoor Charlie's Almanac by Charlie Munger is one of my favorites. It keeps on giving. Amazed that Munger had access to all this wisdom 40 or 50 or even more years ago. Even wrote a review in case: https://krishna2.com/munger https://krishna2.com/munger
- throaway915 2y agoThe Poor Soldier Svejk is up there
- nghialele 2y agoCame here for the recommendations in the comments. Thank you all internet strangers!
- ClickedUp 2y agoPropaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes by Jacques Ellul.
- xarope 2y agoI went through a phase where I enjoyed short stories more than a book, as many authors have used that form (the short story) to work on a particular theme or topic of interest to them. Orson Scott Card's Maps in a Mirrors comes to mind.
- edrx 2y agoUntil a few years ago I would have answered "Um copo de cólera", by Raduan Nassar... but then I read "Crônica da casa assassinada", by Lúcio Cardoso. My favorite music album is "Fun House", by The Stooges. "Um copo de cólera" has the same chaotic fury of "Fun House", but transposed to literature - and "Um copo de cólera" is the same, but it was written 20 years earlier, is even stronger, and it touches lots of tabboo topics. I don't know if there are decent translations of them from Portuguese to other languages. My favorite book _that is available in English_ is "The Lives of Animals", by J.M. Coetzee: <https://tannerlectures.utah.edu/_resources/documents/a-to-z/c/Coetzee99.pdf https://tannerlectures.utah.edu/_resources/documents/a-to-z/...>.
- codeadict 2y agoMy absolute one would be Don Quijote de La Mancha by Cervantes - Taught me the beauty of language, to follow my own ideas and the power of a little craziness. Second would be anything from Jules Verne, his books got me to love science and engineering when I was a kid.
- scoofy 2y ago(Part 1 of) Fist Stick Knife Gun by Geoffrey Canada
- low_tech_love 2y agoThis will sound like a cliché but it was “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Not sure I can write anything here that has not been written a million times already, but suffice to say there is a reason why it’s in every “best of all time” lists. It’s a deeply human story with lots of twists and turns and told masterfully. The closest to a “perfect” book that I can think of. P.S. Just wanted to throw a bonus recommendation here, on a completely different tone: Blood Meridian (best enjoyed without spoilers).
- OuterVale 2y agoThe sheer insanity and quality of writing in Hunter S Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas cements it as probably the best book I've read in terms of enjoyment and influence on my own prose. In terms of the book that's perhaps made me think and reflect the most, Daniel Keyes Flowers for Algernon has probably had the greatest effect on me.
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- nyc_data_geek 2y agoProbably Catch-22
- billwear 2y agothere are two: Pirsig's "Zen..." and Thoreau's "Walden...." the quality which is defined is not the quality, and the sun is but a morning star. iykyk. no posturing intended, just answering the d*n question.
- r_hanz 2y ago- The works of Richard Feynman: All are very nice reads. - The Idea Factory (Jon Gertner): The only book I’ve read more than once and gifted to several friends and acquaintances. - The Silmarillion: Incredible World-Building - The Master and His Emissary (Mcgilchrist) Dense, but rewarding. Considerably changed the way I think. - God’s Debris (Scott Adams, yes, THAT Scott Adams) Read it in undergrad and not sure if it was a JIT kind of thing, but it impacted me.
- yttyx 2y agoOne book and two book series: Moby Dick by Herman Melville. The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson. The Aubrey–Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian.
- aEJ04Izw5HYm 2y ago"A history of western philosophy" by Bertrand Russell. The world's most prominent philosopher at the time, took a few years out of his working at the front line to write a summary on 2000 years of thought for layman's and won a nobel prize. It's not the easiest read, you can take issue with some interpretations but theres nothing like it. I think it required reading for being a thoughtful human. “A precious book … a work that is in the highest degree pedagogical which stands above the conflicts of parties and opinions.” – Albert Einstein
- ColonelBlimp 2y agoThe best book I've ever read isn't the best book I've read but one that connects me with a particular moment: The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov. It was the start of summer school holidays back in the late 1980s, in my teenage years. I went to my local library and, because I didn't know what I wanted to read, I decided to pick one book blindly from the fiction section. I didn't know what book I had borrowed until I got home. I had never heard about Bulgakov or that particular novel. I had no easy way to know who that writer was or if the book was good or not. I was tempted to return it. But I didn't. I read the book over several weeks of a particularly boring (and lonely) summer. I enjoyed reading it although I didn't love it. Looking back, I suppose that book gave me something I needed in a completely random way. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Master_and_Margarita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Master_and_Margarita
- amadeuspagel 2y agoThe House of Government by Yuri Slezkine.
- layer8 2y agoGreg Egan’s Axiomatic anthology of short stories was the best I read in recent years.
- moduvyas 2y agoBhagat Gita. Never found a book more correct and applicable to life for the big things in life.
- syncbehind 2y agoI know this is considered by some to be a religious text. However, I have read some bits of it and know that there are gems there. Still, could I ask you to expand on why you think so?
- dredmorbius 2y agoA Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates, by the RAND Corporation, 1955. Preferred is the 2001 edition w/ new forward.
- ainiriand 2y agoFor me it is more Plato less Prozac, I read it at 14 and it really influenced me.
- biztos 2y agoLate to the party, but for anyone looking for inspiration: Fiction: Death in Venice (Der Tod in Venedig) by Thomas Mann[0] Nonfiction: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard[1] Illustrated: The Insect God by Edward Gorey [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_in_Venice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_in_Venice [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrim_at_Tinker_Creek https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrim_at_Tinker_Creek
- DrManathan 2y agoDead Memory, a graphic novel by Marc-Antoine Mathieu. https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/329097.Marc_Antoine_Mathieu https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/329097.Marc_Antoine_Ma... It describes the collapse of a rectiligne society (The City) based on hyperconnectivity and hyperinformation and poses the base of The Circular Foundation. It has been written in the end of XX century and seems to have anticipated issues of our society related to communautarism and the loss of some part of our memory. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/606849.Dead_Memory https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/606849.Dead_Memory Aside this album, the author made a great série inspired by the readings of Kafka, Julius Corentin Acquefacques, and explore way to take avantage of code of narration found in comics.
- aEJ04Izw5HYm 2y agoCan we just skip all the Atlas shrugged swellhead arguments? They take up all the air in the room/(scroll in the page) of every best book thread. Just bump it up if you agree, provide an alternative if you don't.
- DrManathan 2y agoAnna Karenina
- animal_spirits 2y agoI love the Count of Monte Cristo. I had adventure and mystery. Also I felt I learned a lot about being a man while reading it, though that might be due to me being 20-21 at the time so I was learning a lot about that anyways. Also I loved listening to the audiobook of Treasure Island :)
- zeubs 2y ago"Aniara" by Harry Martinson reminded me that there are levels to this game. It's the kind of book that somehow makes you feel like a master at imagining epic scenery. The awe / word ratio is very high so even though it's short it feels very deep and rich.
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- wkyleg 2y ago"The Passenger" and "Stella Maris" by Cormac McCarthy are fantastic. In general, I enjoy McCarthy's work because I believe he manages to present interesting ideas drawn from philosophy and religion, and if you read between the lines of his work, there is a fairly elaborate cosmology behind them. With these final works, he manages to combine this tendency with his decades of residence at the Santa Fe Institute and work with researchers in complexity science, mathematics, physics, etc. Moreover, he does so without the more trite ways non-scientists often draw upon science (for instance, just crudely using quantum mechanics as a stand-in for the supernatural). I think you could probably write a thesis on the way he integrated advances in complexity science and mathematics/physics with philosophy/religion/mythology with a close reading of his work. I mention this first and with particular emphasis because I believe it is chronically under-discussed and deserves a systematic study by someone who understands philosophy and modern physics and complexity science much better than I do. There is a hauntingly dark and beautiful cosmology behind this work, in a way even darker than his earlier works like "Blood Meridian." I can also see the works of Arthur Schopenhauer being of great interest to many HN readers. His reconciliation of Western philosophy (especially Kant and British Empiricists) with Buddhism and Hinduism is unique and for me the most interesting overall system. His work is entirely worth reading for the quality of writing alone. For me, his works evoke the experience of mathematical beauty. I would recommend gaining a basic understanding of Kant, Buddhism, Hinduism, and then reading his work "Essays and Aphorisms," followed by "The World as Will and Idea." "Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes" by Jacques Ellul is the book I have read that best explains the human experience in the modern media environment. Like "The World as Will and Representation," it also forms a sort of complete system, which can be read as an organic whole as well as with self-referential parts. I believe most of the "alienation" we experience from technology, which is often blamed on the internet, is really a much older and broader phenomenon, which Ellul attributes to the development of the radio, "technique," and broader phenomenological experience within 20th-century totalitarian societies. "Simulacra and Simulation" is another that I have enjoyed. It is the work I have read that, in my opinion, best provides a model for living in a post-modern, post-industrial society, and my intuition is that it will also prove authentic in the age of artificial intelligence.
- sandwichsphinx 2y agoThinking and Reasoning: A Very Short Introduction by Jonathan St B. T. Evans, 2017 Oxford University Press
- tomatofrank 2y agoYou like thrillers? You like non-fiction? You like absolute page-turning non-fiction thrillers? Check out "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston - it's about the Ebola virus and a strain that wound up in a primate facility just outside of Washington, D.C. Stephen King called the first chapter "one of the most horrifying things I've read in my whole life." It's so true. Preston caught some flak from CDC scientists for sensationalizing the effects of hemorrhagic viruses, but I think he painted a fairly accurate picture for the layman in all of us: they turn your flesh into soup.
- Jake_w 2y agoOne of the most memorable books I’ve read is by Paul Ekman, who explores emotions and nonverbal communication.
- KngKng 2y ago"The Wall" from Marlen Haushofer was one of the best experience I had with a book in a long time
- macareno 2y agoAsimov's New Guide to Science Easy to read, he explains difficult concepts in a simple manner. I felt smarter when I finished it.
- xkcd-sucks 2y agoMoby Dick, Herman Melville VALIS, Philip K Dick Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance + also Lila, Robert Pirsig Naked Lunch, William Burroughs Immortality, Milan Kundera Catch-22, Joseph Heller (pair with The Deserters, Charles Glass -- In fact a lot of the stuff in Catch-22 is actually toned down from reality) Mastering the Core Teachings of Buddha, Daniel Ingram (but ignore 80% of it)
- mjcurl 2y agoThe Commonwealth Saga. A sci fi series by Peter F. Hamilton, it covers so many ideas that I'd stay up wondering about. I got engrossed in the sci fi future it created.
- adr1an 2y ago"Think Like a Computer Scientist", right after an introductory course where I learned to program (only to discover that for-loops were done by myself when I was a teen and didn't even know about it, writing macros to level up skills in Ultima Online RPG.)
- Slava_Propanei 2y ago[dead]
- mahin 2y agoI combined all the books mentioned here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41807759 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41807759
- lcordier 2y agoShameless plug: https://www.louiscordier.com/the_3_book_of_louis/ https://www.louiscordier.com/the_3_book_of_louis/ ;p
- trod123 2y agoSocialism by Ludwig von Mises (1930s) As a Systems Engineer, I've always been fascinated by systems both for computation and involving people. Concepts in business process design/implementation have quite the overlap with automation, and this book provides one of the best discussions I've seen, where its first properly defining the problem, and then moving on to failure modes via a priori reasoning (which is fairly conservative) in relation to centralized hierarchical systems, or bureaucracies. The title aside, the structural analysis is quite impressive and in the process also explains the basis for many failures within bureaucracies involving people, including corruption, and trends concentrating staff production value towards a least common denominator (negative production value), through social coercion, within the institutions. This book arguably is a very dense read though, and requires an old dictionary (from around the same time). Many of the words have changed meanings since the writing (towards more ambiguity and more contradiction). It comes from a time where hyper-rationalism and its principles were followed and respected, and falsehoods and liars ignored or rejected outright; something we can use more of today. The book also is useful in describing why Socialism, and its various forms is a failed system, and indirectly but inevitably fails in ways that allow no accountability through deceit, and how those supporting and promoting such systems are both supporting their own destruction as well as others (incl family, friends etc). The systems discussed are safety-critical systems, and its not hard to reason that when you support a system that will inevitably fail (causing death/harm), where you can't transition off the system or know beforehand, then you promote and support the given outcome. Indirect, but still rational and principled.
- larryfreeman 2y agoMy 3 favorite non-fiction books are: * Mindset by Carol S. Dweck * Innovating: A Doer's Manifesto for Starting from a Hunch, Prototyping Problems, Scaling Up, and Learning to Be Productively Wrong by Luis Perez-Breva * Fall In Love with the Problem, Not the Solution: A Handbook for Entrepeneurs by Uri Levine These three books really changed my viewpoint and I've been rereading them every year.
- ashtavakra 2y agoA Gemini summary of this thread: https://g.co/gemini/share/a661b47cc0f3 https://g.co/gemini/share/a661b47cc0f3