19 ms·

What one book could give me a new, useful superpower?

• keiferski 14y ago
  It gets suggested all the time, but How to Win Friends and Influence People is my answer. No other single book will help you out more in life.
  • mwetzler 14y ago
    Seconding "How to Win Friends and Influence People". Took me a while to read it because the title was a big turn-off, but it's not as manipulative as it sounds. The audio book is great if you commute to work. Sometimes I would listen to a chapter on the way to work and then apply the lesson that very same day. Amazing. It will change the way you think about your interactions with other people. Another book I love, in a similar category, is "Crucial Conversations". Very useful for improving your communication skills in work and personal life. Also, "Strengths Finder 2.0". It will tell you what superpowers you already have.
    • deleted 14y ago
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    • TeMPOraL 14y ago
      I also second "How to Win Friends and Influence People". I'm just about to start another iteration of re-reading it. I know I still have a lot to work on, but I have already changed things in my life for better thanks to it. The best recommendation I read so far was on LessWrong. To quote, "An excellent collection of the deeper and most subtle forms of this practice of this sort can be found in Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, one of the only self-help books I've read that was truly useful and not a regurgitation of cliches and applause lights. Carnegie's thesis is basically that being nice is the most powerful of the Dark Arts, and that a master of the Art of Niceness can use it to take over the world. It works better than you'd think." http://lesswrong.com/lw/3k/how_to_not_lose_an_argument/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/3k/how_to_not_lose_an_argument/
• icey 14y ago
  There was a different memory book suggested in the MeFi thread, but I really got a lot out of "The Memory Book: The Classic Guide to Improving Your Memory at Work, at School, and at Play" http://www.amazon.com/The-Memory-Book-Classic-Improving/dp/0345410025/ http://www.amazon.com/The-Memory-Book-Classic-Improving/dp/0...
• karamazov 14y ago
  Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath discusses how to make a message memorable. It's changed the way I communicate - I use its principles on an almost-daily basis.
• radley 14y ago
  Zhuangzi Speaks: The Music of Nature http://www.amazon.com/Zhuangzi-Speaks-The-Music-Nature/dp/0691008825/ http://www.amazon.com/Zhuangzi-Speaks-The-Music-Nature/dp/06...
• davej 14y ago
  The 4-Hour Chef is probably not a surprising choice since it's a recent release and Amazon has been pushing it heavily (Amazon are also the publisher). I'm just over 60% through the book so I don't want to give it a ringing endorsement just yet but it fits the category of "developing a new superpower" quite nicely and it's definitely worth a particular mention on HN for two reasons. 1. Ferriss, the author, is very much a hacker in his approach to trying new things and drawing conclusions. This is also very evident in his previous book, The 4-Hour Body. 2. The 4-Hour Chef not only teaches the reader how to cook (which is a superpower in itself). He also delves into the _meta_ and spends a large portion of the book, discussing the framework he uses for learning these techniques and how he has applied it to learning (and excelling in) other skill sets like judo, tango dancing and learning new languages. Edit: This sounds like a bit of a marketing message, which it definitely is not, so I'll add a negative. I find his books to be a bit scattered and although they're centered on an over-arching theme he doesn't always tie the threads together very convincingly. Whole chapters can seem like lightly-edited crib notes. Personally, I don't mind this style of writing and it does make his books very easy to scan and skip chapters without losing the books narrative but at times I've also found it difficult to follow.
  • hndude 14y ago
    I would have to agree with you on the disorganization part. I read the 4-Hour Body and that felt like a magazine in the way that it skipped over different subjects and areas of the body at different parts of the book.
  • technotony 14y ago
    This is a function of the way he writes the book. If you read four-hour work week he basically describes his process, which is that he develops the headline structure for the book and each chapter and then outsources the actual writing online via elance or equivalent. Presumably the writers read a bunch of stuff on the topic and essentially write crib notes. Quite a clever way for Ferris to make money, but not the highest quality product.
    • malloreon 14y ago
• endtime 14y ago
  I recommend The Way of the Superior Man (http://www.amazon.com/Way-Superior-Man-Spiritual-Challenges/dp/1591792576 http://www.amazon.com/Way-Superior-Man-Spiritual-Challenges/...). My roommate lent it to me after an ugly breakup. The title is a little silly (I certainly wouldn't describe myself as "spiritual") and I don't agree with every word of it, but after reading this book I finally felt like I understood women and relationships, and I met my now-wife a few months after reading it. I doubt I would have gotten her without it.
  • hndude 14y ago
    I have to second this book. It helped put me back together like no one's advice could, after I went through a bad breakup.
  • Herring 14y ago
    I've just read half of it & I'll probably end up finishing it because it's so interesting. But I really dislike the implication that leadership skills (purpose, reliability, equanimity) are intrinsically male, while childishness is intrinsically female. At least now I know what type of women to avoid.
    • WA 14y ago
      It is a bit more complicated than that, which doesn't become clear in Way of the Superior Man. I read almost all of Deida's books and liked them a lot, but they all have the downside of too much spiritual babble and being a bit too abstract like "giving your deepest gift". What does that even mean? Thing is - and this becomes more clear in his other books - men and women both have similar skills, but both have a TENDENCY to feel more comfortable in a specific skill set. So, on the one hand I love Deida's advice. It is oftentimes on the spot. Very clear and even actionable at times. But on the other hand, it oftentimes is also too abstract, too simple, or too black-and-white. It almost feels like he's describing his favorite action movie star and if you read it that way, you can get the impression that he describes film heroes (super clear purpose, cannot be distracted, live on your edge). While a film hero can be an inspiration, it is oftentimes still a heavily simplified character.
• AlexMuir 14y ago
  Funny how a chain of thought goes: 1. I read a few titles and thought "Hmm, I'll go and buy a few of these on Amazon." 2. Then I thought: "I already have some of these books that I never read, I could gift them to others." 3. Perhaps I could set up some sort of book exchange where HN users can share books. 4. It would barely be worth the hassle and cost of postage. 5. Couldn't we share digital copies and avoid the postage? 6. That's PIRACY. The idea is dead. It seems to me that a future where books cost a maximum of $2.99 is inevitable. I would unhesitatingly have bought 10 of these books, and there'd be almost no point in 'pirating' them, or even in sharing physical copies.
  • SatvikBeri 14y ago
    paperbackswap.com is a decent book exchange. The major advantage is not that you save money on books, but that you can find a lot of obscure older books.
    • at-fates-hands 14y ago
      Good call. I noticed they have a lot of the older Executioner (Mack Bolan) books (the original 1-50 series) which I'd like to check out. I still have the first printings of the first five books in the series.
      • zmonkeyz 14y ago
        Talk about a blast from the past, my dad used to read all those Mack Bolan books. :) I swear there was one where he was on a tractor shooting someone on the cover...
        • mindcrime 14y ago
          Talk about a blast from the past, I used to read all those Mack Bolan books. Back in the 80's / early 90's, I devoured those things. Haven't seen or read one in years now though. It might be fun to go back and re-read some of them.
  • 14y ago
• jnazario 14y ago
  because so much of our power to influence things comes from our ability to interact with people: "how to read a person like a book" http://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Person-Like-Book/dp/B000SABROU/ http://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Person-Like-Book/dp/B000SABRO... and the classic dale carnegie "how to win friends and influence people" http://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/1439167346/ http://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/14...
• dade_ 14y ago
  Wow, two recommendations for Starting Strength on HN in one week. I have already taken started incorporating the advice at the gym and it seems barbells might be my friend after all. The Easy Way to Stop Smoking worked for me 7 years ago and I can't recommend it enough. I'll never forget scanning the table of contents and flipping to chapter 21, it sold me on the book. I've started Drawing on the right Side of the Brain, which is basically self paced training. Really insightful so far. Looks like a promising book list.
  • rquantz 14y ago
    I've really gone down the rabbit hole with barbell lifting in the past year. Yes, read starting strength, and also practical programming for strength training (rip's other big book). Read Fit, which Kilgore contributed to, and then find some good blogs (I recommend 70sbig). Barbell lifting can be the nerdiest way to work out.
• brain5ide 14y ago
  Everything will be wishy-washy when compared to "The Art of Computer programming" by Knuth.
  • nandemo 14y ago
    Have you read it? Did it change your life?
    • brain5ide 14y ago
      Haven't even gotten through the Vol 1 and it changed the life. However, the change is gradual and when you're into it for long enough it gets hard to look at times before TAOP retrospectively. To take on it all is way beyond that time.
• Jabbles 14y ago
  How do I read this page? Are there any more comments? Or is it just mainly titles and one-liners?
• markyc 14y ago
  [free today]: Porned Out: erectile dysfunction, depression, and 7 more (selfish) reasons to quit porn http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A5X2FV4 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A5X2FV4
  • makomk 14y ago
    There's been a lot of pseudo-scientific bullshit spewed about porn and masturbation by people looking to justify their moralising, and frankly from the summary I can't see how that book's going to be any different.
• johnfuller 14y ago
  I think you would first need to define what a super power is in this world today. Then find the most effective book in that area. I feel the super power of today is the ability to sell because money is one of the most important raw materials from which power is created. Or you could be selling a vision if you are one of those "money is the root of all evil" types. Unfortunately, I don't know of a good book on selling. ;)
• crntaylor 14y ago
  The book that has changed my life the most, so far, has been The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs by Abelson and Sussman. In 2010 I started a job that was far, far ahead of my skillset. I'd written fewer than 10,000 lines of code in my life, and I was completely ill-prepared for the work I was supposed to be doing. I picked up SICP about a month or two into that job. Fast forward a year, and I felt that I knew more about programming than half the people I worked with, and I'd moved to a smaller, more awesome company doing work that I think is much more fun. A year since then and I've picked up half a dozen new languages, given talks at user groups on some of them. Next year I'm aiming for conferences. Pick up this book. It gives you superpowers.
  • adam74 14y ago
    http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/book/book.html http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/book/book.html
    • fredoliveira 14y ago
      A kindle-ready version: https://github.com/twcamper/sicp-kindle https://github.com/twcamper/sicp-kindle
      • mikevm 14y ago
        And here's a re-typeset version in PDF format: http://sicpebook.wordpress.com/ http://sicpebook.wordpress.com/
        • Bootvis 14y ago
          This PDF looks really great, thank you for mentioning it!
      • telemachos 14y ago
        And an epub for anyone with Nook or other epub-friendly device: https://github.com/ieure/sicp https://github.com/ieure/sicp. Check the pull requests for a few updates as well.
• bufordtwain 14y ago
  "The Joy of Cooking" is great for learning how to cook.
  • JasonFruit 14y ago
    I own it, and used it until I realized how much time I was wasting on unnecessary complications. Try "How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman — it cuts out the cruft and the results are just as good.
    • dannyr 14y ago
      There's the Basic Edition of "How To Cook Everything". Should I get that instead? http://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-Basics-Photos/dp/0470528060/ http://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-Basics-Photos/dp/0...
      • JasonFruit 14y ago
        I don't know — I've never seen it. I don't see why you would; the full version is simple enough for anyone who can fry an egg.
    • ctdonath 14y ago
      It's an iPhone app too. I use it weekly.
  • dkarl 14y ago
    The Joy of Cooking is a great reference, but for learning, I prefer The Way to Cook by Julia Child. The recipes are classics, yet adapted a bit to be relatively simple and light. It's well-illustrated, and I really liked the organizational method of presenting very detailed, beginner-friendly master recipes and providing other recipes as variations. I gave mine away when I stopped eating so much meat and dairy (it's not exactly vegan-friendly; it's Julia Child, after all) because I couldn't stand to see it sitting around unused.
• law 14y ago
  I don't think I saw The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward R. Tufte (available at http://www.amazon.com/The-Visual-Display-Quantitative-Information/dp/0961392142/ http://www.amazon.com/The-Visual-Display-Quantitative-Inform... ) on the list. The Boston Globe's review is 100% correct: it's a visual Strunk and White.
• zaidf 14y ago
  Poor Charlie's Almanack, gave me a whole new framework to look at work and life.
  • gregpilling 14y ago
    Upvoted. link for convenience http://www.poorcharliesalmanack.com/ http://www.poorcharliesalmanack.com/ This book is by Charlie Munger, better known as Warren Buffet's business partner since 1959. There is more information on business than in some college classes I have taken. I have recommended it to many people.
• mtgx 14y ago
  Innovator's Dilemma gave me the "super-power" of identifying what kind of businesses will succeed or fail in the tech industry, much earlier than most people (or even big companies' CEO's). I think others who have read it and understood it will feel the same way. I'd also recommend his sequel Innovator's Solution, which also has a few different and good insights in it. Blue Ocean Strategy is also pretty similar to the idea of "disruptive innovation", but in other non-tech industries. These books can also be extremely helpful in identifying if you have a "good business idea" or not, and in choosing one with a high chance of success. But of course business ideas can only help you so much. In the end execution will matter a lot. A very good complementary book to go with these, and about market dynamics and market development, is Chasm Companion. It includes all the theories from Crossing the Chasm, Inside the Tornado, etc, and is more like a handbook with actionable advice, too.
  • antonb2011 14y ago
    I'd say also read "Seeing What's Next", the third book in the disruption series. There he deals with a lot of stuff like structuring your business to take advantage of Asymmetric Motivation and Asymmetric Skills as shield and sword of your business, as well as building an orthogonal Value Network to the existing solutions to avoid co-option by incumbents (or not doing so accidentally, if you are aiming to be acquired).
  • zeteo 14y ago
    > Innovator's Dilemma gave me the "super-power" of identifying what kind of businesses will succeed or fail in the tech industry, much earlier than most people (or even big companies' CEO's) Give us some non-trivial predictions or I call BS.
    • balsam 14y ago
      I also read the book and predict that raspberries will in 5 to 10 years replace apples completely. It is up to you to find this humorous or not.
  • gcr 14y ago
    I was required to read Blue Ocean Strategy for class. Definitely an eye-opening read.
• at-fates-hands 14y ago
  "He Said, She Said by Deborah Tannen is a layperson's guide to gender communications." I would actually recommend "You Just Don't Understand" by the same author about how men and women talk to each other. Valuable in ways you cannot imagine.
  • neilk 14y ago
    Seconding this. Tannen's framework is very useful for understanding miscommunication across genders.
• TallboyOne 14y ago
  Absolutely hands down this: http://www.amazon.com/Memory-Book-Classic-Improving-School/dp/0345337581 http://www.amazon.com/Memory-Book-Classic-Improving-School/d... Within a day I was memorizing lists of 75 items forwards AND backwards. Completely random items as well. It makes remembering names a joke, you will remember them for years. I gave the book to my 15 year old brother and explained to him how much the book meant to me and that it was a very quick read (most of the good stuff is in the first 2 chapters anyway) Keep in mind hes 15.. 24 hours later he comes back to me with a list of 100 items (to outdo me).. lists them forwards and backwards. That's my boy. I distinctly remember going to a salon one time and they had tons and tons and tons of bottles of gel, shampoo, hair products lined up in a styled fashion along the middle of the wall going across the wall. by the time my haircut was done I turned around and listed off every shampoo bottle in order and the hair stylist was just like "WTF!!". She probably felt like i was a freak, but I felt really good. Trust me, its great going to the grocery store and not needing a list, and coming up with all 35 items... makes you feel like a boss.
  • martinced 14y ago
    Oh, these memory tricks... Not unlike the ones waiters and martial arts practitioners do use. You hardly need a book for that: I saw a waiter talking on TV about what he was doing. I heard two or three sentences or so. And, hacker way, I devised my own memory trick to remember items. No book needed for that ; )
    • vikramhaer 14y ago
      Mind sharing what it was that the waiter was talking about? As well as the way you devised? Would be great to get some insight!
      • louthy 14y ago
        He's forgotten ;)
  • mitchi 14y ago
    You are not using the loci method are you? (The memory palace) It takes me 10 minutes to memorize a deck of cards right now. It took a lot of time to assign characters to my cards and considerable time to set up mental journeys to store the characters. It's a mental algorithm but the setup is not trivial. Maybe you are just gifted but I'll say it for the others, it's not that easy.
• JasonFruit 14y ago
  Try Strunk and White. Read it once a year, thinking about what you have written since the last time, and you will be ashamed and improved.
  • tokenadult 14y ago
    I have a copy of Strunk and White, but I like other advice on writing much better. The new book by Steven Pinker that is promised in Jerry Coyne's post about Pinker's project http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/steve-pinker-on-how-to-write-science/ http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/steve-pin... is a book that I expect to be especially helpful for Hacker News participants. The book isn't finished yet, but Pinker's lecture on how to write http://video.mit.edu/watch/communicating-science-and-technology-in-the-21st-century-steven-pinker-12644/ http://video.mit.edu/watch/communicating-science-and-technol... includes a convincing critique of Strunk and White. Students who have read Strunk and White should read two other critiques of Strunk and White, 1) the essay "50 Years of Stupid Grammar Advice" by Geoffrey K. Pullum, http://chronicle.com/article/50-Years-of-Stupid-Grammar/25497 http://chronicle.com/article/50-Years-of-Stupid-Grammar/2549... and 2) Adios, Strunk & White: A Handbook for the New Academic Essay by Gary and Glynis Hofman. http://www.amazon.com/Adios-Strunk-White-Handbook-Academic/dp/0937363413/ http://www.amazon.com/Adios-Strunk-White-Handbook-Academic/d...
    • mej10 14y ago
      Wow, I can't wait for Steven Pinker's book. That talk was excellent.
• whyhellothere 14y ago
  Straw Dogs by John Gray - Interesting new ways of looking at things. Read at your own peril.
• kriro 14y ago
  My candidates (not in order): Getting Things Done (Superpower: Time Management) Bargaining for Advantage (Superpower: Negotiation) The Art of Learning (Superpower: Learning) Telling Lies (Superpower: Facial expressions etc...somewhat of a cheat since you'll probably need to read more on the topic) Economics in One Lesson (Superpower: Understanding the fundamentals of economics...and wandering down the dark,Austrian path eventually) Edit: An even better superpower is learning a new language and understanding the corresponding culture. I usually suggest that over anything else for anyone that knows <3 languages well
  • bennesvig 14y ago
    The Art of Learning is one of the best books I read this year. If you liked that, you'd also probably enjoy The Inner Game of Tennis and Mastery by Robert Greene.
    • stephen 14y ago
      I read The Art of Learning a few years ago, and remember it being basically an autobiography, and not anything like a manual that explains how one could actually attain any sort of super learning. It's just personal stories that are basically "hey, this guy is awesome at a lot of stuff." Hm. Well, I do remember how OCD he was about his subjects--reviewing videotapes of himself doing martial arts, studying moves, etc. So, in that regard, I guess his approach, if you could infer one, was basically getting in his 10,000 hours in 1/4-1/3 of the time of most people. Please correct me if my recollection is wrong though.
      • nelsonweiss 14y ago
        The Art of Learning is less about learning things than it is about becoming very, very good at the things you learn. While the book is highly autobiographical, the author does goes into a lot of detail about how he got really good at chess and tai chi. What a lot of people seem to forget to mention about the 10,000 hour theory is that it's 10,000 hours of purposeful, focused practice. The Art of Learning is all about doing that kind of practice.
• deleted 14y ago
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• nerdfiles 14y ago
  A physical copy of the 3.5 "Player's Handbook", Forgotten Realms supplementary literature, and likely all the literature on Psionics. Welcome to Modern D20 with tinges of Tolkien. Maybe pepper in Neal Stephensen. Read up.
• deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
• elorant 14y ago
  Zen in the art of archery Best book about Zen I've ever read. It doesn't relate to anything about computers but if you get into the Zen philosophy your whole life will be more satisfactory and thus you'll become more productive.
  • kapilash 14y ago
    > Best book about Zen I've ever read. Perhaps you might like to look at a seemingly well-informed critique[0] of the book [0] http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/CriticalZen/The_Myth_of_Zen_in_the_Art_of_Archery.pdf http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/CriticalZen/The_Myth_of_...
• IgorP 14y ago
  I would say the following book may have given me a new, useful superpower: http://www.amazon.com/Ivor-Hortons-Beginning-Java-Programmer/dp/0470404140/?_encoding=UTF8&keywords=Ivor%20Horton%20Java&tag=produc05-20&linkCode=ur2&qid=1356744075&camp=1789&sr=8-1&creative=9325 http://www.amazon.com/Ivor-Hortons-Beginning-Java-Programmer... It is the first book that has actually explained the "why" of using a Java interface to me (Rather than the usual "how"). To most of you, this may seem trivial. However, this brings up a bigger point that I have noticed: Not all books (Or people) can teach or explain a concept in a concise, easy to understand manner. As such, it is a rare gem when I find a book that can explain the "why" of a concept rather than just throw pages upon pages of filler at you. Today, this book has given me a superpower of finally understanding just how interfaces work. Tomorrow, others may benefit from me (Hopefully) writing better code.
• saosebastiao 14y ago
  R in a Nutshell, combined with this tutorial: http://yudkowsky.net/rational/bayes http://yudkowsky.net/rational/bayes
• superk 14y ago
  As far as speed reading books go, this one is decent: http://www.amazon.com/Spd-Rdng-Techniques-Accelerated-ebook/dp/B0047O2DRI http://www.amazon.com/Spd-Rdng-Techniques-Accelerated-ebook/... It's the best superpower: read that book first, then all the rest here in 1/5th the time!
• d--b 14y ago
  if superpower is what you're after, you should get something stronger than a book
• frozenport 14y ago
  finnegans wake
  • return0 14y ago
    I wonder what superpower you got from that?
• ctdonath 14y ago
  Find a good one on body language. Can't recommend one now, but some 25 years ago read several and, done well, it amounts to basic mind reading.
  • codevandal 14y ago
    One that I would recommend is What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed-Reading People http://www.amazon.com/What-Every-BODY-Saying-Speed-Reading/dp/0061438294 http://www.amazon.com/What-Every-BODY-Saying-Speed-Reading/d...
• kator 14y ago
  "Tribal Leadership" http://www.triballeadership.net/ http://www.triballeadership.net/
• Bulkington 14y ago
  1. The Three Musketeers, to teach the young about bravery and comradeship. 2. Catch-22, to teach you to recognize and reject bureaucratic momemtum, and to resist it -- to bravely run away... 3. One Hundred Years of Solitude, to remind us that family and understanding and continuity are being lost, adn that's a shame. 4. My vaporware series of novels, which will contain the wisdom of the universe, to be written in an accessible and engaging style, certain to be optioned to Hollywood for seven figures each. Tick-tock.
  • russell 14y ago
    I second 100 years of Solitude. It was our family book; everyone read it. One day my son was in his English class in high school and the teacher asked, "Has anyone heard of Gabriel Garcia Marquez?" My son answered, "He won the Nobel Prize." The teacher asked, "What for?" My son reached into his backpack and pulled Out One Hundred Years of Solitude, and replied, "This."
• scottshea 14y ago
  I think When Bad Things Happen to Good People is an excellent way to help reconcile jealousy and anger at the fortune of others/misfortune in ourselves
• sandycheeks 14y ago
  The Expert at the Card Table by S.W. Erdnase It was written over one hundred years ago (1902) by a mysterious author who many, including the late Martin Gardner, have been obsessed with identifying. I originally bought it years ago to learn sleight of hand techniques but found that the book increased my ability to detect subterfuge in many areas and not just crooked card games. There is something special about the book.
• rdl 14y ago
  SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham. Basically the opposite of used car hucksters, and really useful for professionals, founders, and enterprise sales.
• drunkpotato 14y ago
  Just code. Seriously, just write code. You will come across a lot of books that influence your thoughts, behaviors, patterns. I have, everyone does. But the only thing that actually has any effect on your psyche is doing, whatever the doing is. So you want to learn how to build a better body, great, read books on building muscle. It won't have nearly as much effect as going to the gym and swimming for a half hour three times a week. Obviously you won't get a bodybuilder physique this way, but it'll make you stronger, faster, better, and smarter. You want to code better. Great, read SICP, On Lisp, Learn You a Haskell. It will make you think differently. They'll make you smarter, faster, better. They will, seriously, but they will have a negligible effect relative to just sitting down and coding up your idea. You probably won't do it better or smarter than you've done it before, but you will learn the problems. Then you read the books, find out how you could do it better. I've been in the position of trying to figure out what to read, the best way to write code, the perfect test framework. All of it pales in comparison to just doing. Reading, agonizing over "the best", all of that seems to be the sugar that the mind gravitates to when it avoids doing. The spinach is sitting down, doing the activity, or thinking through the hard details. Slash soapbox.
  • danenania 14y ago
    Meh, writing code is the easy part, the fun part. Every programmer loves to sit down and bash out features. Even if they do so in ways that they know (or don't know) are perilous, ugly, or inefficient, there is still that beautiful rush of progress, and people will still pay for the service. The discipline to step back, reevaluate, and think conceptually rather than pragmatically is much more difficult to accomplish when there's always so much lying around that needs doing.
    • vog 14y ago
      I fully agree. So the advice should be not merely be "code", but: Code long-term on a real-world project, cooperating with other coders. (ideally, on a Free Software project)
      • canttestthis 14y ago
• deskamess 14y ago
  The Prophet - by Kahlil Gibran. Short read. Powerful yet beautiful words. Has soul.
  • kragen 14y ago
    While this is a wonderful book, I don't think it will give you superpowers.
• edw519 14y ago
  The Ultimate Secret to Getting Absolutely Everything You Want by Mike Hernacki There are many inputs that affect success: intelligence, hard work, work ethic, emotional balance, determination, and even luck. I believe that the single most important of these over which we have the most control is determination. This book is provides a pretty good recipe to cultivate your own determination. I'm even going to tell you the secret below. Spoiler Alert: . . . . . . . . . . . . . The secret is: "I am willing to do whatever it takes to get what I want." Now that you know the secret, read the book anyway.
  • deleted 14y ago
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  • kolektiv 14y ago
    I should never comment after a fine and bibulous meal, but... I'm not sure how appealing I find the idea of a society where people thought in that way. Perhaps Bacchus is distracting me from the nuance of that point however.
    • orangethirty 14y ago
      You are misisng the point by analyzing it from a negative perspective. Read it again but as a positive. "I am willing to do whatever it takes to get what I want." Doing whatever it takes means getting a minimum wage job to be able to pay for college. Finish college and work your way into a good starting job. Then working your way up to a good position. Doing whatever it takes to get what you want is the right attitude to have. Do you want to lose weight? Then run 3 miles 3 times a week. That is a whatever it takes approach. Need to make more money? Get a second job, a side gig selling whatever, or donate blood. Whatever it takes. Though whatever it takes does not imply illegal or immoral approaches. It just implies that you will not put bullshit excuses to get to where you want to be. :)
      • icelancer 14y ago
        Perhaps my favorite line from a physical training author is: "I said it was simple. Not easy." Applies to many things in life.
• christensen_emc 14y ago
  Seconding Mindfulness in Plain English. I am a much healthier person today because of that book.
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• tikhonj 14y ago
  I would nominate some book on abstract mathematics. The superpower is knowing that advanced math is not completely impossible to follow. After a while, the superpower becomes actually knowing some advanced math. I won't say it's easy, but nothing fun really is. In short: math is not scary! It also really changes how you think and view the world. Lately I've been having some fun with universal algebra, but I think any advanced mathematics would be great. I've heard categories are ripe this time of year :).
  • biscarch 14y ago
    Any suggestions on what books? I've been looking to go further with mathematics.
    • fferen 14y ago
      I'll take this opportunity to once again plug Strang's excellent linear algebra series [1] with associated textbook [2]. Also right now I'm working through some Cornell lecture notes [3] (that read a lot like a textbook) on manifolds and differential forms. It's meant for college sophomores and juniors who have taken linear algebra and vector calculus, though it provides a very good calculus supplement in the appendix. For me, it's perfect: the tone is informal enough to provide motivation to continue, but the definitions and proofs are fairly rigorous. It's about the only self-study math text that I think I might finish. Hope this helps, not sure if it's over/under your level. [1]: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-06-linear-algebra-spring-2010/index.htm http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-06-linear-algebra-... [2]: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0980232716/ref=nosim/mitopencourse-20 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0980232716/ref=nosim/... [3]: http://www.math.cornell.edu/~sjamaar/papers/manifold.pdf http://www.math.cornell.edu/~sjamaar/papers/manifold.pdf
      • biscarch 14y ago
        Thanks for the suggestions. I self-taught my way from single variable calc to somewhere around linear algebra/multivariate calc. I'm not sure how to proceed but the manifolds looks interesting.
• donniezazen 14y ago
  The Story of My Experiments with Truth by Mahatama Gandhi. The book is about a humble journey of a simple man who became a great soul and in that process freed a nation from British colonial oppression.
• mindcrime 14y ago
  Persuasion Skills Black Book - Rintu Basu. http://www.amazon.com/Persuasion-Skills-Black-Book-Practical/dp/190543054X http://www.amazon.com/Persuasion-Skills-Black-Book-Practical...
• dsrguru 14y ago
  I'm glad Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming and Moonwalking with Einstein made that list. Lucid dreaming and "photographic" memories are two of the most amazing near-superpower skills that anyone can and probably should learn.
• str0ng 14y ago
  Sweet Sorrow: Love, Loss and Attachment In Human Life Quoting directly from Amazon: "In this volume the author proposes that it is the interplay of love and loss that lies at the epicentre of the human story. Support for this proposal is taken from neuroscience, art and psychoanalysis. It will also introduce the reader to important ideas and findings from Attachment Theory. An exploration of the relationship between love and loss can lead us to some understanding of the meaning of our lives. It shows how love and loss are inextricably bound at the centre of human experience, and form the essential dynamic of the human struggle. This book will appeal to sophisticated lay readers, in addition to various categories of student and professional audiences. It will be of interest to psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, philosophers, neuroscientists and sociologists. Readers with a background mainly in the arts and humanities will find it appealing because of its linkages and use of poetry, song and visual art to elucidate and illustrate the major propositions of the book."
• orangethirty 14y ago
  Security Analysis - Teaches how to analyze securities in a manner that you will understand. It opens your eyes to the world of stocks and bonds in way that other book can't. After reading it, you will have the power to pick good investment stocks/bonds. It works. Though its not a get rich quick approach (if you were thinking about that).
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• chemcoder 14y ago
  The best book imho will be "Bhagvadgita as it is". Problem is it is a religious book and hence people are going to be biased about it. But if you are willing to let go the thiest or athiest part (leave the commentaries seriously!), the very meaningful part of the book can be seen . This book is a conversation taking place on the war field and depicts the persons inability to take decision to go ahead because of various questions. I recommend going only through 2nd chapter and no further, it would be an overkill. In normal life the important part is to get determined to work and get it done .The theory postulated in the 2nd chapter seems to work in the practical life effectively when Krishna tells arjuna to go on with the war and he is reluctant to do so as he finds it immoral , full of vain and dangerous to social well being of everyone. He doubts himself . The weak in his heart and unrest sets in his mind, a common thing occurring in almost all of us . He seeks the answer to all this questions and this is what the reason of the conversation. IMO the book requires considerably unbiased mind and hence its a hard read. It is not supposed to be inspiring it is supposed to work . Considering this , you wont find any magical arrangement of words so it should be taken as theory and used in practical cases . Well if it works for you then great or you can just ignore it . But surely with proper reasons of course :)
• denzil 14y ago
  I know it's not a book, but Less Wrong is what changed my life most so far, learning me to think, ask questions and such. I wish there was more practical guide though. Anyway here it is: http://lesswrong.com/ http://lesswrong.com/
• robot 14y ago
  Autobiography of a Spiritually Incorrect Mystic - Osho Life changing.
  • davidw 14y ago
    Just don't get any ideas about poisoning people in Oregon.
• jeffool 14y ago
  Many years ago I read Coercion by Douglas Rushkoff. I expect most of you will find that a public school primer of advertising, but considering it was 2000 and I was fresh out of high school, it was my start to a much more critical way of thinking that I still value today. I care a lot more now about how I give away my eyeballs and info, knowing what's being done with them. That's not to say I'm some nutjob who lies on every form or doesn't sign up for everything. I'm just aware of, say, seating in restaurants, or brand placement on items/film, or even now, sign up for online services. I want ads that are tailored to me, and I may be interested in. I do not want ads that are seemingly random or seemingly say people enjoying brand that they really don't. I like Hulu's and Google's advertising. I don't like Facebook's or Twitter's.
• lsiebert 14y ago
  Ah, saw this previously. As an aside: Metafilter remains one of my favorite community sites, and AskMeFi is one of the reasons. The one time membership fee is also brilliant for keeping spammers out.
• philip1209 14y ago
  Not a book, but microexpression training is pretty cool to take. Being able to spot momentary emotions on a person's face has proven fun in social settings, the dating world, business world, and more: https://face.paulekman.com/face/aboutmett2.aspx https://face.paulekman.com/face/aboutmett2.aspx
• dkarl 14y ago
  I was looking through these titles rather cynically, and wondering if it would be pretentious of me to recommend The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha or the Discourses of Epictetus, and then I saw it: The Inner Game of Tennis, by Timothy Gallwey Yes... yes! I'll gladly recommend this over any book of philosophy. (Different philosophers click with different people.) Granted, I was thirteen and a tennis player when I first read it, but I haven't played tennis seriously in over twenty years, and I still use the lessons in this book any time I practice anything physical. Dancing, chopping onions, running, lifting weights, you name it. I use it anytime I need to do something where the real intelligence at work is not part of my conscious mind, including controlling my emotions, but it works best with physical skills. Gallwey wrote some other "Inner Game" books, but he was a Division I college tennis player, and this was his first book. This is the book he wrote about the sport he knew, without knowing it would be a best-seller. I don't know if the others were written to the same level of quality.
  • konstruktor 14y ago
    I would absolutely recommend the Roman Stoics. The privileged ones lived like kings, but were prone to lose everything if the political climate changed. Their lives were absolutely unpredictable and they found ways of dealing with it in their heads. One can read advice from a philosopher/teacher who was later killed by his disciple (Seneca, forced to commit suicide by Nero), maybe the best Roman emperor ever (Marcus Aurelius) or a slave who was freed only later in life (Epicetus). Those guys knew that nothing was theirs forever but dealt with it in a graceful way.
  • wipt 14y ago
    Having gone though Epictetus's Enchiridion several times, it's certainly something you have to pick through. There is a balance between emotions and objectivity that is lost in stoicism.
• mitchi 14y ago
  I would say it depends? Arguably, even if you read books on body training, you won't become even close to Hanma Yujiro. And assuming you have the time and the ressources, you will still be comparable to the many gym lovers in a few years. Your life will be probably better but you won't be a superhuman. Then there's martial arts? I've done kung-fu and karate but I never felt like I was getting superpowers either. Many people do martial arts and they walk in the streets every day with us and we don't notice their black belts. Actually, I think that most of the martial you'll do won't compare to what a MMA fighter can do. So no superpower there either. Anyway, if you want to go that route, I recommend the Jack Dempsey book. http://www.amazon.com/Championship-Fighting-Explosive-Punching-Aggressive/dp/B004LECAC2/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1356767314&sr=8-8&keywords=jack+dempsey http://www.amazon.com/Championship-Fighting-Explosive-Punchi... If you feel like you can do more complicated stuff for self-defense, there is Jeet Kune do. http://www.amazon.ca/Bruce-Lees-Fighting-Method-Complete/dp/0897501705/ref=pd_cp_b_0 http://www.amazon.ca/Bruce-Lees-Fighting-Method-Complete/dp/...
  • anthonyb 14y ago
    "Learn Karate from book?" </miyagi>
• benrhughes 14y ago
  1) Discourses (incl Enchiridion) by Epictetus, if you're interested in happiness and contentment. 1a) A Guide to the Good Life is an easier introduction to Stoic philosophy if you don't want to dive straight into Epictetus 2) The Black Swan by Taleb to change the way you think about risk
  • konstruktor 14y ago
    I second Guide to the Good Life by William Irvine. It contains applicable techniques and a modern explanation of Stoicism. Stoic Serenity by Keith Seddon is very nice too, it is a guided introduction to Stoic concepts and to Seneca and Marcus Aurelius.
• JanezStupar 14y ago
  Here is my short list: Frank Herbert, Dune - Changed my outlook on politics and complex systems full of complex issues. Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Got me to understand why West is so different to the East and what is the true root cause to our current Western problems. Sun Tzu, The Tao of War - If there was one and only one book I could have, this would be it.
• mikevm 14y ago
  This book helped turn my life around: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594743061 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594743061
• ansgri 14y ago
  The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing, Thinking, & Problem Solving gives you a straightforward way to write a decent tech report of any complexity (Ph.D thesis level included) in a reasonable time.
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• michaelfeathers 14y ago
  How to Sharpen Pencils: A Practical & Theoretical Treatise on the Artisanal Craft of Pencil Sharpening for Writers, Artists, Contractors, Flange Turners, Anglesmiths, & Civil Servants http://www.amazon.com/How-Sharpen-Pencils-Theoretical-Contractors/dp/1612190405 http://www.amazon.com/How-Sharpen-Pencils-Theoretical-Contra...
• plinkplonk 14y ago
  How to Prove It - by Velleman. Opens the path to theorems/proof based mathematics, especially for people without a formal education in math.
• Joeri 14y ago
  Books that actually caused changes in my life: Yes Man ( http://www.amazon.com/Yes-Man-Danny-Wallace/dp/1416918345 http://www.amazon.com/Yes-Man-Danny-Wallace/dp/1416918345 ) This book made me realize that I was defaulting to "no" in many aspects of my life. After this book I changed many things in my life, and ended up meeting and dating my future (now present) wife. Overall my life has been much improved by defaulting to "yes". The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work ( http://www.amazon.com/Pleasures-Sorrows-Work-Alain-Botton/dp/B0085S0HQG http://www.amazon.com/Pleasures-Sorrows-Work-Alain-Botton/dp... ) Gave me insight into how there is a huge invisible fabric of society that we take for granted, and how I consistently underrated many categories of jobs. One change I made after reading this book is to respect the jobs that I took for granted, like the clerk at the checkout counter. I now give attention and respect to people that I used to treat like furniture before. Books that would have changed my life had I read them sooner (and not have to learn their lessons the long/hard way.) The Happiness Hypothesis ( http://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Hypothesis-Finding-Modern-Ancient/dp/0465028020/ http://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Hypothesis-Finding-Modern-An... ) The notion this book puts forward of the subconscious as a powerful but stubborn elephant and the conscious as its well-meaning but often impotent handler provides much insight into why people act against their own interests, and why they tell lies about themselves and their own actions. One of the things I had realized beforehand (through many years of struggling with social interaction) that the book also covers is how we all tell a story of our life in which we are the hero, and how we rationalize our actions to fit the story instead of adapting the story to fit the facts. Peopleware ( http://www.amazon.com/Peopleware-Productive-Projects-Teams-Second/dp/0932633439 http://www.amazon.com/Peopleware-Productive-Projects-Teams-S... ) The book covers why building software is primarily a people problem, not a technical problem. Again, I had already realized this, but it would have been nice to learn it sooner. Some stuff is outdated, but it's still one of the top books on building software in my opinion.
  • thenomad 14y ago
    I'd second the 1st, 3rd and 4th of these. Peopleware is awesome - obviously - and The Happiness Hypothesis has had plenty of press. However, don't underestimate Yes Man. It's by a comedian, but it's still a very powerful and interesting read.
• SideburnsOfDoom 14y ago
  Some of the answers are specialised e.g. "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking" - I don't feel the need to read that, nor e.g. "The Easy Way to Stop Shooting up Heroin" either. If you do smoke then go and read it, sure. But "I don't smoke" isn't the most unusual or most super of powers. At least one of them - Ishmael is junk. I've read it, and it's facile newage woo. I'd suggest instead one or two good scientific books on human nature and history by the likes of Pinker, Dennett or Diamond. And one or two good books on coding. Coding well, instead of hacking out unmaintainable buggy code, is an unusual power and will keep you gainfully and happily employed for a long time ;)
• StavrosK 14y ago
  Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality will teach you how to think properly, and discover people's motives. Great book.
  • eli_gottlieb 14y ago
    Or, alternately, it will teach you to be a really paranoid bastard ;-). CONSTANT NEVER-CEASING VIGILANCE!
    • StavrosK 14y ago
      Haha, that's just Moody, I didn't get that from the book at all. It is a bit paranoid, in that you never know what everyone's motives are, but that's the point, it tries to keep you guessing.
      • eli_gottlieb 14y ago
        It's more than a bit paranoid. Harry's lack of social skills give him Chronic Slytherin Syndrome: assuming that everything going on must be a plot because more mundane explanations or motivations completely elude him. Many of the characters, in fact, completely fail to apply Occam's Razor.
        • StavrosK 14y ago
          It's not paranoia when they are out to get you. It's the same thing in House (the show), everyone assumes everything is a plot, but it turns out they're right. Sure, in the real world, most people just do random stuff most of the time, but being on the lookout for seemingly random stuff that turns out not to be random can be beneficial. Of course, you have to be careful not to adjust too much towards paranoia, but I found that I was ignoring a lot of stuff. After reading the book, people told me that I'd become more insightful, nearly mind-reading. The only thing I did was pay more attention to motives.
    • StavrosK 14y ago
      Haha, that's just Moody, I didn't get that from the book at all. It is a bit paranoid, in that you never know what everyone's motives are, but that's the point, it tries to keep you guessing.
• adidash 14y ago
  Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (http://www.amazon.com/Siddhartha-Hermann-Hesse/dp/1613823789 http://www.amazon.com/Siddhartha-Hermann-Hesse/dp/1613823789). Not really a superpower but did help me understand lot more about life and how everything is connected. I have read it multiple times and the interpretation has been different each time - a new insight into the way we see life.
  • paulovsk 14y ago
    Really? Could you expand on that? I've read it this year and haven't found it special. A little tiring, actually.
    • adidash 14y ago
      I have read the book during my difficult times and even during good times. I was able to relate to the various phases of Siddhartha's life. Also liked the certain amount of randomness in the sequence of certain events. However, I must admit that not everyone may like the book. Some folks I know religiously follow the book as a life guide while some didn't find it all that meaningful. Its entirely on how you want to interpret the book.
• aufreak3 14y ago
  "How to talk so kids will listen and how to listen so kids will talk"
• aztrovoi 14y ago
  IM EXPECTING FAMOU.US TO REALEASE ITS DOCUMENTATION, WHICH SEEMS MUCH BETTER THAN THIS
• b3b0p 14y ago
  Lots of great suggestions here. I believe the answer will be different for everyone based on their weaknesses and what super power people desire to learn. I've added about half of dozen of these to my Wish List now. I don't read many books (I want to read more), but when I do I like something engaging, fun, imaginative, and different. So, I'll recommend any good fiction book that engages you. A book you can't put down. You want to keep reading to find out what happens next. It causes you to think, it causes you to imagine. It can cause you to think about things uniquely instead of being told to do so and give all sorts of ideas and new thoughts. If like me, you will end up remembering the characters, the situations for almost life and want to come back to re-read it some day. My favorite modern day fiction books are fantasy / science fiction, something I would never experience in this world. In order: Shadows of the Empire by far my favorite, no reason off the top of my head and I am not a Star Wars fan, but I love it none the less. Followed by Harry Potter series. It's honestly a very fun read. Lord of the Rings and Hobbit will be popular choices I'm sure, but they just did not catch me and engage me like these 2.
• hluska 14y ago
  "How to win friends and influence people" has blessed everyone I know who has read it with the power of BEING A MASSIVE PRICK. Since that isn't the kind of super power we want, I'd suggest "Power Reading". Being able to read faster than anyone you know will pay off in dividends (provided you never tell anyone that you read an entire novel during your lunch break)...
  • greggman 14y ago
    "How to win friends and influence people"'s main point is to genuinely care about the people you interact with. Hard to see how that translates into "being a massive prick". I'm curious what led you to that conclusion about the book.
• polskibus 14y ago
  My recommendation would be: Kahneman's "Thinking Fast and Slow" for people wanting to understand social and psychological mechanisms and use them more efficiently in real-life scenarios.
• return0 14y ago
  Most self-help books are written by people who haven't "made it" themselves, yet consider themselves qualified to write about it (though, in this process they do become rich). Probably the most overlooked subject in my education was ethics. Moral philosophers have already pondered about every possible choice one is bound to make in his life. Hence i find "Fundamentals of ethics", which summarizes all ethical theories to be the one book that helped me make moral choices in a more thoughtful and systematic manner. http://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Ethics-Russ-Shafer-Landau/dp/0199773556 http://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Ethics-Russ-Shafer-Landau...
• NancyLebovitz 14y ago
  http://www.amazon.com/dp/039370789X http://www.amazon.com/dp/039370789X by Steve Andreas. Not a book everyone needs, and it says the techniques don't work for everyone, but if you're plagued by internal attacks, getting them toned down and less common feels like a superpower.
• Benferhat 14y ago
  Do you count happiness, contentment, enlightenment, higher states of consciousness, etc., as superpowers? Either of these two books might change your life forever. Both by Alan Watts: The Way of Zen [1], and The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are [2] [1] http://www.amazon.com/Way-Zen-Alan-W-Watts/dp/0375705104 http://www.amazon.com/Way-Zen-Alan-W-Watts/dp/0375705104 [2] http://www.amazon.com/Book-Taboo-Against-Knowing-Who/dp/0679723005 http://www.amazon.com/Book-Taboo-Against-Knowing-Who/dp/0679... [3] https://www.google.com/search?q=filetype%3Apdf+watts+book https://www.google.com/search?q=filetype%3Apdf+watts+book [4] https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22alan+watts%22+audiobook https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22alan+watts%2...
• tectonic 14y ago
  Damn it HN, now I just spent $60 on books.
• stiff 14y ago
  It's your study that gives you new skills, not the books, having said this, the following guided the most valuable learning experiences in my life: "What is Mathematics?" by Richard Courant taught me to think at a higher level of abstraction. I read it after I realized the parts of SICP (which recommendation here I obviously second) I liked most were the math-related parts and I think it is fair to call it a SICP for mathematics, at least I don't know a book that comes closer. Then I also used Courant's "Differential and Integral Calculus" and Spivaks "Calculus" with his very detailed answer book, and this way I self-taught myself enough material to finally be able to do some reasonably serious math, e.g. proofs. After reading "Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools" I wrote my own implementation of grep with state machines, then a compiler for a simple language and finally understood what a programming language really is. "Programming Language Pragmatics" was a very useful book here, too, thanks to it teaching me a range of different possible semantics for common concepts in programming languages I was able to learn new languages much more easily and easily spot bugs that I would otherwise spent hours on. "The Mindful Way through Depression" and the accompanying CD with guided meditations taught me to meditate and meditation forever changed the way I react do difficult situations. "Starting Strength" taught me correct exercise technique that completely changed the outcomes of my strength training.
• IsaacL 14y ago
  Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha. It's a guide to Vipasanna meditation, the central practice of Burmese buddhism. Two reasons why HN readers might find it interesting: a) The author claims to have gained enlightenment - yes, enlightenment with a capital 'E', the thing the original Buddha achieved under his tree, and he claims that you can do the same. b) if you're thinking "ok, this writer's a new age nutcase, moving on...", the author's day job is as a medical doctor and he applies a strong scientific sensibility to his experiences. The whole thing is written in a very rational, down-to-earth style. He also rants about how new age practioners in the west have turned meditation into this aimless, chill-out practice when actually in certain Asian countries it's seen as something with definite stages and goals. My view of meditation is that it's basically about training and hacking your mind. There's three main practices: concentration training, which is what it sounds like - focusing your mind on one object; insight training, which is basically running netstat on your perceptual system; and morality, which is integrating your learnings from meditation into an ethical life. Potential benefits: - better ability to concentrate and avoid procrastination - you can learn to feel happy all the time. It's not that you never feel negative emotions, but they're always be an undercurrent of peace and relaxation when you learn to stop fighting negative feelings. - you can access mental states which are not too unlike those caused by taking certain drugs, without the negative side-effects (though it is possible to get "meditation hangover"). - most importantly, you'll learn to train your mind to put it to whatever tasks you deem important. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1904658407/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=nohao-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=1904658407 http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1904658407/ref=as_li_ss_t...
  • ioddly 14y ago
    Thanks for sharing, I was looking for something like this. I noticed the ebook is free: http://integrateddaniel.info/book/ http://integrateddaniel.info/book/
• clockwork_189 14y ago
  I would highly recommend the following books: 1) Gettings things done (It is kinda plain, but if you stick through it, you will get some great advice on time management techniques) 2) How to win friends and Influence People (Probable the best book on communication and interacting with people that I have read.) 3) Good to great (Great advice on building a company) 4) The 80/20 Principle (Great advice on time management and doing more with less) 5) The millionaire teacher (Great advice into playing the investment market game for people who have never invested before.)
• IgorP 14y ago
  If you don't mind, I would like to share two more books that I have found to be extremely useful: Illustrated C# 2012 (And previous version: 2010, etc). http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-C-2012-Daniel-Solis/dp/1430242787/?_encoding=UTF8&keywords=Illustrated%20C%23&tag=produc05-20&linkCode=ur2&qid=1356906474&camp=1789&sr=8-1&creative=9325 http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-C-2012-Daniel-Solis/dp/143... Of all of the books I have read/browsed regarding C#, this has to be the clearest, most concise on that I have had the pleasure of reading. The material is presented in an understandable manner and the author provides the reason "why" you are doing something rather than just list a series of "do this" steps. To me, this is the most important quality in a book: Succinctly convey your point so that the reader can truly learn what you are trying to get across. I do have one other book to recommend for you Rubyists. While I say this is for Rubyists, the concepts in the following book are extremely helpful for other OOP languages as well: http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Object-Oriented-Design-Ruby-Addison-Wesley/dp/0321721330/?_encoding=UTF8&s=books&keywords=Object%20Oriented%20Ruby&tag=produc05-20&linkCode=ur2&qid=1356906813&camp=1789&sr=1-1&creative=9325 http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Object-Oriented-Design-Ruby-... I hope this helps; I have spent many hours going through books that sort of meander around the point, have extra fluff, etc. So when I come across two truly stellar gems like the above, I would like to share with others so that they, too, can save some time learning a programming language or paradigm.